#And maybe that one scene deserves to be edited anyways because it's not that interesting as it is???

[watery-melon-baller]

i need a fucminh. like beta. for this animatic dear god. tragically none of my irl friends are as abnormal about toh as I am and this thing is a digital mess that is completely incomprehensible if I try to export it in it's current state. hnggg

[crowleysgirl56]

Ok, so here are some of my rather long rambling thoughts. I’ll start off with some pros and cons and then provide some speculation:

My initial negative reaction:

- Compressing 5 hours worth of content into 90 minutes feels like things will be rushed and we won’t get a good story.

- HOW do you take a month to rewrite six 45 minute long scripts into a movie length feature and have it still be good?!

- the compression of the story means we will likely not get any more flashback sequences. Admittedly I actually thought we probably wouldn’t get more flashback scenes in season 3 anyway, but this definitely proves the case that we won’t. There won’t be time for it.

- who has re-written the script? Because here’s the thing about Pratchett adaptations. They’re fucking shit. No one (in my opinion) has been able to successfully transfer that man’s unique sense of humour and writing style onto screen. Every single Discworld adaptation has been on a scale of awful to kind of meh. EXCEPT for season 1 of Good Omens. As much as we hate him now. As vile as he has become in our hearts, the thing about NG is that he understood Terry’s unique style. He understood what worked and how to transfer that to the screen. And that breaks my heart on so many levels. Because he was all we had. And we certainly didn’t want him any more. But still, who THE FUCK has written the finale script now?

Now here are my positive thoughts on the situation:

- NEIL GAIMAN GOT HIS SORRY ASS FIRED! GOOD!

- Consequences. The industry has signalled consequences. Finally!

- We are getting a conclusion! It could very well have been cancelled and we would have been left with the final 15 forever. We get to see them again. That deserves a Wahoo!

- thinking back over season 2, which I enjoyed, I actually do have to say a lot of it was kind of unnecessary filler. The flashback sequences were great. But the actual core of the season’s arc involving Gabriel was just a bit boring. I’m forever grateful for it because we got to spend almost 6 hours watching Aziraphale give Crowley heart eyes and Crowley do beautiful acts of service proving his love back. But the meandering stuff with Nina and Maggie and trying to work out why Gabriel lost his memory wasn’t all that interesting. I was here for A&C.

- so I think MAYBE that means the compression of what had already been written for season 3 means it’ll cut out the plot bits that drag. Hopefully this means it’s faster paced and tighter and more focused on A&C.

Speculations:

Thinking back to the last time NG interacted with the fandom, he had confirmed the first three episodes were written and were with Amazon for approval, episode 4 was almost done, the last part of episode 6 had been written, and he had started plotting episode 5. We never got a confirmation if he ever finished them. So this maybe indicates that the finale is lifted exactly out of these scripts. My assumption is they’ve brought in a script doctor to edit what they’ve already got and wrap up plot points. In which case, on the one hand it gives us close to the story and idea of what Terry imagined. On the other, the far more negative connotation, it’s still NG’s work. The articles that have all come out so far merely states “Gaiman is not involved with the production and the finale is based on his work”. This could be Prime distancing themselves without actually confirming how he’s contributed. Which is still largely disappointing.

So, once again I feel very conflicted. A lot of the fandom have been very adamant about not wanting to support the show if Gaiman was involved, and in the end he wrote the show. Even if he had been removed as producer and showrunner and wasn’t allowed on set (thankfully it seems all three of things have happened), I know that wouldn’t have been enough for some fans because he would still have ultimately been responsible for the product that we eventually see. And I don’t know how to feel about that.

I’m happy he’s gone, I’m disappointed the show has been gutted, I’m glad we get a conclusion, I’m sad it won’t be exactly what we wanted.

I’m SO THANKFUL that the women get some semblance of justice, that there is a consequence for a perpetrator, that a big ass company is finally listening to fans and moving with the times and signally this kind of behaviour isn’t appropriate and that repercussions can and will be felt.

Finally, I’ll remind everyone that there are going to be a lot of different and conflicting feelings from the fandom. I would ask that everyone try to be nice to one another. If you have a differing opinion, maybe rather than debating it you just allow that person their feelings and move on. Do not go after someone if you feel like they’re not reacting the “right way” to the situation. Just be kind please. It’s what Terry would have wanted.

[jojo-schmo]

hi jojo! im just wondering but ive been wanting to make a comic for a little while but im not too sure where to start 😅. i really love your style of art and your forgotten land roleswap, and i was wondering if you had any tips for beginners?

Hello, hello! Thank you for enjoying my Forgotten Land Roleswap comic, it means a lot! <3

I'm very honored that people have been asking me for tips and advice. All of this is coming from a hobbyist who draws these comics purely for fun outside of my regular day job. Some of my methods would probably deal psychic damage to a professional, LOL. But I'm more than happy to share some things I've personally learned! :)

First of all, the book, "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud ROCKS. It literally gave me a new dimension to understand the medium of comics and how it presents ideas and emotions to readers! And I haven't even had the chance to finish it all the way! I'm very happy I own a copy and I recommend having one of your own if you can, but it's archived here if you want to read it :D

I also like analyzing other comics and thinking about how they get information across to me as a reader. It's helped me learn more effective ways to visually tell a story, like what to include in a frame, how zooming in or out affects the feeling from the panel, maybe building a scene by focusing on other stuff if someone is talking a lot... etc.

ANYWAYS-! Some other tips I've learned through my personal experience-

I had to overcome a lot of negative self-talk in order to tackle a huge comic project like this and stay committed. I was a pretty severe self-deprecator for most of my life so far, and getting help has allowed me to catch myself when I'm slipping back into those habits, look in the mirror, and go, "NO, JOJO! You pour your heart into what you make and that is a wonderful thing! You are appreciated and loved and you deserve to have fun making something you are passionate about!!" Some examples of the negative self-talk I catch myself in....

"I'm a noob at writing and making a story interesting... What's the point of even trying?"

When it comes to starting a project, whether it's 2 pages or 2000 pages, is to just jump in and start! It's okay to be a little insecure or nervous about your technical art skills, writing skills, etc... But writing a "bad" scene is better than no scene- because you can always edit a "bad" scene down the line, but what can you do with nothing? Nothing!! I also put "bad" in quotation marks because I am trying to use that term less, and instead call them "early drafts." or "works in progress."

The first Roleswap scene I fleshed-out was the first Bandee boss fight, in May 2022. I made this drawing on an impulse, getting my ideas down on the page without thinking about the technical stuff like comic panel borders. I consider it like a "pilot episode" almost, haha. The final project is going to be very different from how things play out here. But it got me interested in the concept and excited to see where I could take it, and I made the decision to commit to an entire game plot's worth of AU comics!!

Also, what's the point in trying you ask? The point is to have fun! Making a fan comic in my free time means I don't have restrictions like deadlines, nobody's telling me what I can and can't write, and I can make the story as long or as short as I want! I have full control, which means the world I'm writing is all mine to create! Yes, with a fan comic there is a pre-established world with existing characters. But a universe like Kirby has enough open-ended concepts for people to take basic concepts in the world and take them to whole new levels! I think that's why there are so many amazing fan interpretations of Kirby characters and OCs. The rules are so vague, you can just make up your own a lot of the time!! And it's a wonderful exercise to learn skills for someday building an original world with all original characters from scratch! Magical!!!

"I'm not good enough to make a comic. I don't understand perspective or color and other stuff. Anything I make will look bad.

I once read a two panel comic on here. I can't find it anymore but I remember most of it. First panel showed the artist looking at what they're drawing on their tablet, looking defeated and sad. "Man, I don't even know how to draw this....."The next panel was like them smiling and shrugging, I think rainbows and sparkles were coming out of their tablet, ".....I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO DRAW IT SHITTY!! :D "

IF ANYONE KNOWS THIS COMIC I'M REFERENCING, PLEASE TELL ME AND I'LL LINK IT!!! Because it permanently and positively changed my brain chemistry.

No kidding, making the decision to just do my best even if it's not perfect, helped me a LOT. I was always waiting to "reach a certain level" to tackle a huge project because I felt like I'd never do it justice at my current state. Except I had been telling myself that kind of stuff for years and I still didn't start any projects!!

So the day I said, "Oh well! If I draw backgrounds shitty, then it is what it is! I'll learn from it and draw the next background a little better," Was the day I could commit fully to the project. I'll keep studying how to draw them better for my own benefit, but I won't let my skill issues stop me from even trying!

And for my limited confidence in full-color art, I solved that by making the comic in black and white with no-to-minimal shading lolol. Because I can only address one skill issue at a time before it takes me 25 years to finish this HAHAHA.

It saves a BUNCH of time to work with skill issues rather than against them! Because at least experience is gained in other ways, and who knows, maybe that new knowledge will help address the skill issues someday! So identifying your personal skill issues and deciding which one to try to grow stronger, and which one to work around, could help with big projects!

"Nobody will read this. I'm going to put months or years of my life into a dumb little thing nobody will even care about."

Learning how to draw for my own enjoyment instead of somebody else's was one of the biggest breakthroughs I ever made. Enjoying the feeling of being challenged artistically and just doing my best, even if it's not technically perfect, is the reason why I was even able to start this!

And just because someone doesn't directly like, comment or whatever on a post doesn't mean nobody saw it! I used to get really down on myself for the lack of engagement on my art on other websites.

I was a lurker for pretty much my entire teenage years and never posted my own stuff or commented much. But that didn't take away the fact that I really enjoyed the things I saw online. Those positive feelings were real to me, even when I didn't know how to articulate it in words. Granted, I grew up into a Words of Affirmation main, and I use words to tell people the positive things I think about them as much as I can! But I know not everyone prefers words to express themselves. So I think about the people that I don't know enjoy my work- that just because I don't see it doesn't mean I didn't make a positive impact on someone by sharing my stories.

THIS IS GETTING LONG-- UHHH, STORY TIPS!!

If you work best on technology, start building the story in a Notes app, or a Google Doc! If you work best with pen and paper, start a notebook and rearrange stuff as you need to!

Or if you're chaotic like me, a mix of tech and paper!! I bought a notebook with ring binding so I can remove and rearrange pages of drafts as much as I wanted to! Like here's two very rough concept pages of one Chapter 1 scene made months apart.

I'd say planning out the biggest basic plot points and then filling in between as I went was most helpful! I also have separate notes for character motivations, important story-changing events, etc... So I can have my own reference when I'm writing new scenes!

Okay this was a lot, sorry about the yapping! Hopefully it helps even a tiny bit. If you have any specific questions I'm happy to talk about my experience in the creation process! Or elaborate on anything I said above.

And finally, because I'm not a professional there are probably plenty of other tactics that could work better for some people. My ADHD probably doesn't help with the chaos of my process either, HAHA. But thank you for reading this far and enjoying the peek into the rainbow glitter and soap bubbles that inhabit the right side of my brain, heehee.

[theinstagrahame]

It's a bad day, and I've been dragging my heels on this. But, I got a bunch of neat new TTRPG stuff in October, so here's what landed in my mailbox.

Break!! - A few years ago, I stumbled on some art on Twitter. It was fun, it was vibrant, and it felt inviting. I wanted to know more, looked into the artist, and discovered it was spot art for an upcoming RPG called Break!! So, I kept an eye on it. The book is beautiful, well laid-out, and really cool, so maybe one good thing came from Twitter*.

The Electric State - Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood have been pretty high on my "To Play" lists for years. A follow-up, set in a similar (or the same?) world was kind of an instant pickup. Not as interested in the movie, but the game seems pretty rad.

The Geologist's Primer - I picked up the Herbalist's Primer when it came out, and was really impressed with the quality and care that went into it, so when I saw "That but for rocks" was in the works, I was definitely already in. Also excited for the follow up "Mushrooms next time".

Starkhollow Hall - I accidentally fell into a Gothic Fiction kick over Spooky Month, so the timing of this was perfect. I don't know a ton about the GUMSHOE system, but I do feel like what I know about it makes it a perfect fit for the genre. Gothic heroines (and I guess heroes) are at their best when they know there's a dangerous mystery at the heart of what's happening around them, and go looking for it anyway.

Forsaken - Kyle Tam is, honestly, a designer to watch. I picked this up because it was part of an Afterthought Committee project, which is a team I've also really enjoyed work from (my game Water Landing is built off of their game Cast Away). Does a better job of establishing a sort of grimdark/Soulsbourne vibe than some stuff that explicitly tries to.

Iron Edda Reforged - The pitch for this caught me immediately: Cyberpunk Norse Mythology. Tracy Barnett is another Designer to Watch, and I really like all of their stuff--haven't played the original Iron Edda, but have heard it on Party of One and really dug it. Was really hyped to see this come into being.

Electrum Archive v2 - I went through a Weird Sci-Fi phase this year, and the original Electrum Archive was an early pick for it. I really loved the world, the way each class worked differently, and the magic/currency/MacGuffin that it used. Obviously I wanted more, because the second book is here.

Alice is Missing - Silent Falls - My friends and I have been talking about the prospect of another Alice is Missing game since playing the first one about two years ago. It was a really memorable experience, partly due to the game's really compelling design, and to some of the in-moment decisions we made (I played the facilitator character, who starts the game having returned after a long absence, and another player immediately got pissed at them for sorta abandoning the group. it created an interesting play dynamic for the whole session)

Kill Him Faster - I picked up a previous Kovidae Games book as a lark: a collection of exercise-based RPGs. I nearly ignored their other stuff, but this had a pretty compelling pitch: What if time-travel was invented mostly so people could speedrun murdering Hitler. Since Eat the Reich came out, I've thought a bit about Hitler Revenge Fantasy as a genre, and honestly, I'm kinda into it. He was a loser, and deserves to be reduced to a video game villain and killed over and over again; so, yeah. Let's kill him faster next time.

Splat (issue 5) - I'm not usually one for essays and interviews, but this is a zine featuring and by some folks I really like and respect, and this one is packed with thoughts about the state of the indie TTRPG scene and industry from a diverse and immensely talented group. It's honestly a must-read.

(Already getting a few things for the next edition, but also feeling too garbage after the Clusterfuck Election to think about doing anything else today...)

---

footnote: * Technically, two good things came from Twitter. I also once expressed sorrow that I'd missed out on a limited T-shirt from a web comic artist that said "Sorry, Glenn, the only Beck I listen to has two turntables and a microphone", and the creator saw it and had an extra in my size.

[waitmyturtles]

As I did last week, I have more constructive criticism for Jack & Joker, so, trigger warning again, please fly away if you can't deal with objective criticism of your faves.

What frustrates me about the construction of this show is that it's tripping on its own feet. And I shouldn't use the indefinite article; I should call out director Tee Bundit directly, because we saw him do this in spades in Step By Step. Tee did everything he could to avoid building a real narrative romance between the SBS leads, and the emotional beats that succeeded their late-series intimate breakthrough were not syncopated properly to match the development of a convincing relationship.

The incomplete beats at hand here are not as bad as they were in SBS. What's keeping me going on in Jack & Joker is that, at least, we are getting separate emotional development trajectories for Jack and Joke -- and a nice, hearty head-smack from Ah Mah at the end of the episode, towards Jack and his inclination to shut down and keep his shit internal. Ah Mah is trying to get Jack to know how to act as family, and she did the same with Joke's father earlier in the episode.

Like I said last week, I think this show has some really wonderful family-related thematic gems like the ones I just mentioned for this week's episode. Yin and War are acting these themes out with heart. Jack's in a really tough spot. The robber clowns will get together again next week to try to get him out of his tough spot.

And I know many of us are upset with Joke's dad, as I am, too, he's a real piece of shit, but his scenes with Joke struck me as very real to the experience of an insanely strict Asian dad. I've written about this too many times to count, but the ability of an Asian parent to cut their kids off like that is a concept that majority Western culture hasn't contemplated, except in instances of religion, sexism, bigotry, etc., but anyway -- that kind of cut-off doesn't exist as part of the everyday Western mentality about parenting, whereas in Asian parenting styles, to reject the patriarchal hierarchy could mean permanent separation, as Joke's dad has enacted to Joke. The fact that the motherfucker reconsidered AFTER EATING JOKE'S FOOD struck me as deeply sexist ("the way to a man's" blah blah, UGH), so I'm glad Ah Mah told that bitch off, but I did think those scenes were done well and realistically.

Anyway, where this series is absolutely lagging is in the EDITING. All these rich people games. I think there are many more concise narrative ways that we can be told that the rich play with the lives of the poor, than to give us bloated scene after bloated scene of literal gaming. Forget metaphors! Just give us some well-written, snappy dialogue about how these rich people are total assholes! We'll believe it!

And at the same time, I'm feeling bad for Rose, honestly. She likes Jack! She has no idea her crush on him is caught up in this Boss bullshit. She's gonna be hurt! And they're gonna rob her house now? I mean, I think what Tee is saying (I think?!?!?!) is that what comes to her, she deserves, because she's as scummy as the rest of the other scummy rich people (Ajahn Pichai, was that you?!). But like, this is her dad's shit?! So she gets automatically blamed because she's a nepo baby? I mean, I guess, if you're a reader of New York Magazine, that's reasonable thinking, but like, some of us are moral thinkers here!

This shit is complicated, and for an episode that was ONE HOUR. AND. 21. MINUTES. LONG., we could have a shorter AND clearer episode that could have scrubbed at the grout of these otherwise very interesting moral quandaries. But instead, we got video games from some dusty-ass rich boy who needs a goddamn bath.

I know, I know we haven't gotten the intimacy payoffs for any of the implied couples yet, and maybe this is part of YinWar's intention in having so much control over their script. But I did wonder if I was watching a Series Y/BL, or if I was watching a dramedy instead. I don't really care what genre it's in. But what I would like is for the themes to be crystal-clearly focused so that us, the viewers, can lean into what the cast and showmakers WANT us to care about -- which, thematically, I'm unclear on at this moment.

[taihua]

tgcf=bad writing (based on that reblog THIS ISNT HATE IM JUST GENUINELY CURIOUS I REALLY LOVE U)

Allow me to elaborate! It's my favorite book so I say this with all the love in my heart for the story and characters, but--

She needed an editor: there are large sections of the book that could have been cut without changing the plot. Like Hua Cheng trying on different outfits during the Brocade Immortal arc... I know fans like this scene, but it's obvious word-padding that doesn't contribute to the story or even contribute anything significant to Hualian's relationship development. See also the endless chapters leading up to Mount Tonglu. Bloated cast and characters not contributing anything significant (why were Banyue and Pei Xiu there except to address the fact that MXTX forgot about them after book 1???) and honestly, there's a lot of boring filler around this point in the novel. Reduce and cut.

Another thing that needed editing: loose ends not being tied up. The Brocade Immortal arc is a disaster, difficult to follow, and has no lasting impact besides Ling Wen being in jail for maybe two pages. It's never explained who created Cuocuo and why and Mu Qing's involvement is handwaved even though his explanation doesn't make sense. Xie Lian puts Banyue in a jar and forgets about her for an entire arc.

The descriptions are severely lacking compared to other danmei novels. I'm not a fan of 2ha but I'm reading it anyway because I love the way the author describes the scenery, the food, the clothes, the architecture... Thousand Autumns also has some of the most beautiful passages describing the cultivation techniques. I'm sure some of this has to do with the translation teams, but TGCF also doesn't really give much to work with? The descriptions of the Ghost City are good, but the rest of the book is just kind of like. "Xie Lian was in a room. He looked around and there was a table." versus other writers who are giving us sentences like "The celadon tea set gave an aroma of jasmine where it sat on top of the mahogany table and when he picked up the teacup, it was cool against his palm." Good descriptive writing engages five senses and I don't feel that TGCF does that successfully. What do we know about heaven except that the palaces are golden?

Anyway, what she does do successfully is making an interesting world with memorable characters, even if most of them don't get the attention they deserve, and she's great with dialogue and humor. Plus the romance is good; it's not rushed and it's believable that Hualian like each other (which you'd think would be a given in romance novels, but some of the ones I've been reading lately don't bother to establish that lmao).

tldr version: too many words that aren't giving us the right info :,I

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 1

Ok, but The Sign has everything I like (at least for now):

coherent plot

good pacing and editing

good acting

great chemistry, relationship, interactions, scenes of the main couple

the actors and the plot sell me the romance

I support the main couple, I am so invested in their romance and story

both main actors and both characters are EQUALLY interesting and attractive to me, this is unfortunately very rare in my case

novelty of the story, unusual for BL series main couple, more reminiscent of Manner of Death than traditional BL

authentic, effortless sexiness of the romance, scenes, characters and actors

very good side characters

a well-shown "men's world" with everything: competition, proving one's worth and masculinity, cockiness, silly conversations, jokes about sex, making fun of each other, but also brotherly bonds and supporting each other

already in the first episode we have so much of good stuff: a romance between interesting guys, a whole lot of other relationships, a truly repulsive villain, a murder, mystery and fantasy. As if the series was specially created for me 😍

good balance between fun, humor, silly tropes like falling with a kiss or running away holding hands 😆, and serious scenes. The funny scenes don't overshadow/ruin the serious scenes, which unfortunately happens all the fucking time in other series

this is the third series recently with virginity discussed and the first in which a person who has not yet had a sexual debut is 1) not forced to do so, 2) not ridiculed, comments are limited to light teasing, 3) Tharn is simply asked about it and he has a chance to say why and is heard without judgment

I like literally everything

Chart is an extremely bad character, at first I hated him because I was programmed that way by ThanType. But no, he deserves complete contempt, and no Tharn, he is not a good cop and never will be, this man should be eliminated from the cop selection at this stage, he will get people killed.

Did the murder actually happen? Is this maybe one of the training sessions like we thought they were actually freeing the hostage at the beginning of the episode? 🤔🤡

Anyway, give me Billy, an equally lovely and cool actor to match, a compelling love story, a water dragon and I'll be fed with it for weeks. (also, the scene in the bathroom when Tharn reacts to Phaya's voice, the hug from behind is, I'm sorry, I don't want to offend fans of other series at all! but it is hotter than other high-heat series currently airing. Heh! even the way Tharn looks at Phaya's hand on his shoulder was hotter to me than the entire last episode of Playboyy, sorry, it's not a diss, Playboyy is fun! but, well, that's just how I feel 😉)

This is my fav series currently airing 💖💖💖💖💖

[xpurdyglambertx]

**Trigger warning for non-con and abuse discussion**

I received the most amazing comment on one of my stories today on AO3, and I'd just like to take a moment to briefly discuss/unpack here.

.

"My Brother's Keeper, My Father's Prisoner" is an omega!verse story centered around Dean, and I start it off by breezing through some of his and Sam's past as kids, growing up on the road with John on hunts. Eventually, Dean presents as an omega, and his life changes in a dark, and traumatic way that ends up really damaging his psyche.

.

Anyways, without giving too much away, *spoilers in this post are inevitable, I'm sorry* John is very abusive towards Dean. In my last chapter, there's a short non-con scene that I had to be kinda picky-choosey in writing because I didn't wanna make it too wordy and lose my audience. It's hard when writing things like this to get the subtext or underlying meaning across sometimes because you don't wanna overload your readers with too much description, ya know?

.

That being said, I'm glad my subtext is still comprehensive, even if it's not being *physically* said. This whole comment hit the nail right on the head of what I was trying to convey! As someone who grew up in an abusive household, I tried really hard to pull from my experiences to make John's and Dean's interactions as realistic as possible, especially in the psychological aspects.

.

Here's the comment in question-

.

I'm not quite sure why I felt compelled to post about this, maybe to gloat a bit... who knows, lol. But if you are interested in reading to see what im fussing over, I'll link it below! It IS dark. Please note the tags if you decide to read!

EDIT TO ADD - I got another one 💞😭 What do I do to deserve these kind of comments? Y'all are truly amazing 💞

[bsaka7]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers! Spread the self-love 💞

doing this was kind of interesting...i don't reread my own work basically ever and only revisit them when prompted so it's a bit interesting to scroll through and think, hm how HAS my perspective on this changed since when i wrote it? how have i as a writer changed? anyway, thank u for the ask! under the cut!

scenes from an american artist (f1, seb/charles, 9.3k) has to be on here. this is my most perfect merge between vision and execution. i think it includes some of the best lines i've maybe ever written -- "Q: How did it all end? CL: The way all relationships end, I suppose. Inevitably." is still perfectly clear in my head. I remember it being very difficult to decide on how to frame it and editing it much more heavily than I usually do. I can still feel the weight of it. It's special to me...

Charles and the Three Curses (f1, charles/alex, 21.3k) because it was so incredibly FUN to write. I enjoy fantasy though I've read very little of it in the past year or so, and this sort of "everyday fantasy" is very enjoyable to imagine to me. I think this fic is both funny and has deeper emotional resonance and I loved adding the footnotes. I even forced research and jogging into it! Just a fic I think upon very fondly!

in your cage of mankind (football, carragher/neville, 19.6k) probably deserves a spot. it's overtaken my previous best dirtbag fic (ill ray) in my head. it's insidious and evil. i hope the misogyny works well for the fic that it is. writing it made my skin crawl.

you whom i cannot betray (f1, pierre/esteban, 41.1k) probably is top 5 even though i've cooled a lot on it. I think the progression of the story works okay; i think the prose is quite weak at times. it took probably the most research of any fic i've written. i'm very committed to the cyclical nature of pierresteban in particular....they would never be who they are without each other. they can't escape the other's influence. they can't escape each other. they want nothing to do with the other ever again. etc.

as the sails burn down like paper (f1, charles/alex, 16.2k) will take our final slot. this was, again, pretty fun to write. i liked imagining the rest of the world which takes place around this story. i like the tragedy, the inevitability of it, the way this relationship is limited in so many ways but they don't know it...i like the ending of this one a lot :)

there's probably a few shorter fics that could get slotted in here depending on my mood but these are some i almost always think highly of !

[campbyler]

ok. a genuine question. how do u guys write 20-30k *chapters* bc i will outline fics minutely or i will just let myself start writing based off a vibe & either way i will get 600 words out of maybe. two hours of work. on a good day with no distractions/interruptions, & i very much do not have an uninterrupted two hours to write very often, so you can imagine how slowly things get written T_T so i’m interested if there’s any aspect of any of your writing processes that really enables u guys to write so much or if it’s not really something you think about? anyways i really like ur guys’s work, & thank you for deciding to write for byler bc i know me and a lot of people enjoy it a lot. thanks!!

hello !! this is a super valid question and i’ll try my best to answer it for you 😗✌️

andi infamously writes a lot faster than thea and i do (she finished draft 1 of chapter 3 in like. two days. which was so scary. i’m in awe of her fr) but she has also spent a lot of time editing ch3 so it’s definitely not like these chapters are publish-ready in a short amount of time by any means! it took thea a couple of months total to fully write + edit ch1 and it took me about 3.5 weeks to write ch2 and another two weeks to edit it which is part of the reason we’ve spaced out our posting schedule like we have — we put a lot of effort and care into these updates and we want to give ourselves as much time as possible to get ahead before all 3 of us inevitably get so super busy with work and/or school in the fall!! so while we do write a lot, please don’t think we are so insanely speedy about it because unless we are having Really Good Writing Days, that’s definitely not the case. sometimes we do have days where we are really in the zone and write more than usual, but at least for me, this is so so so rare. whatever i write in this time gets heavily edited because so much of it was nonsensical brain vomit LOL

as far as writing process goes, i think one of the things that motivates us a lot is that we genuinely do just talk about this au constantlyyyyy like we’re always coming up with silly little hcs or drawing for it or adding to the Lore ™️so we’re always getting inspired to write! all three of us are definitely people who use writing as a way to relax or even reward ourselves after a long day; we would probably die if we had to go too long unable to :/ messages like “i can’t wait to get home and write after work today” or “i’m going to write a little bit of ___ before bed because i deserve it” are very commonly found in our gc because we really just look forward to it so much! as for our scary word counts, i feel like there is a lot of worldbuilding in this universe specifically, and pacing is really important to us — we want to make sure introductions and set-up to a scene and character interactions are meaningful and flow naturally, and building tension (which is a hallmark of this fic hehe) does take some time, which can definitely add up word count-wise.

for the most part, none of us usually have a solid few hours to sit and write either (unless it’s on our days off or after work if we’re not too tired) and we get a lot of writing done in chunks! we hold each other accountable for short check-ins (“ask me for a snip in 30 minutes”) which is super helpful when you’re stuck, because it kind of forces you to get Something down without worrying if it’s super polished and edited and perfect. if you’re writing on your own, something i’ve started doing lately is setting a 15 minute timer and just seeing how much i can get done in that time, and then setting another and doing it again (up until however much time you have to write that day). i’ve found that the artificial deadline helps break the monotony of sitting in front of your computer for Hours on end with nothing to show for it bc TRUST we’ve all been there and it sucks so bad 😔✊

this got super long so i apologize but i hope at least a little bit of it was helpful! it definitely helps that we are constantly feeding into each other (i.e: having brainrot) and offering inspiration and advice, which does wonders for creative flow tbh. we’re definitely not cranking these chapters out as quickly as people might seem to think — thea started chapter four, which won’t be posted for about a month, maybe a week or two ago. i just started chapter 5 — about 6 weeks away — yesterday lol so we do take our time! don’t be scared by the giant chapters, we just had a lot of content we wanted to include in each one and are in too deep to take anything out 🥳🥳 thank you for the question! good luck with your writing we believe in you 🫡

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 2.20.2024

Well, I had another very solid week. I hesitate to call it good, because I didn't actually enjoy it very much, but I did grind out 8,642 words last week. I finished Chapter 8 and made a solid dent in Chapter 9a. Basically, I just tried to write at least a thousand words a day, which I accomplished almost every day. Yesterday, I only did 800, but I did 2000 on Sunday, plus the 800 was the ending scene for the chapter, so I deserve a little grace there. And it was a three-day weekend for my kids!

I am at the stage of the fanfic where most of the ambiguity is gone--I know what scenes are left and I just gotta write them. It doesn't matter if I want to or not, the fanfic isn't going to be done until I write them, so I just do it. I always worry that writing in this mindset is going to produce bad, unlovable writing--like, if I don't love writing this, how is anyone going to love reading it? Historically, though, that doesn't bear out--big chunks of Call Me Back and What We Do with Our Hearts were written in this exact fugue state, and I often end up loving them after the fact, and they still contain parts that are really funny or insightful or heartfelt or whatever. I literally do not know how this is possible, it just is. Also, like: there is going to be editing. It is truly astonishing how hard it is to slap anything at all down on a page and then how easy it is to shape it up into something good later on. It is a lot like throwing flat colors down on a piece of art and then adding a little texture and shading later.

The other thing I don't like about writing in this mode is that it makes me actually insane, which I don't like. I just roll word counts and percentages around in my head 24 hours a day and I'm not really able to relax and do things that are not grinding away at my writing. I can do it for short periods of time, but I think I have too much of this story left to tough it through, plus, like, what's the point? This is the thing I allegedly do for fun, and even though I really really really want to be finished, I feel like I should actually try to enjoy the process a little, at least.

So anyway! My first goal for this week is to be less insane about my fanfic. My second goal is to finish Chapter 9a (I think I have about 3-4k to go). My third goal is to edit Chapters 7 and 8 and send them to the beta.

After that, I'll just have 9b (of which I've already written about 4k) and the epilogue to do. After that, of course, there's still more editing, a beta pass for chapters 8->the end, and then I may try to read the whole thing through again from the beginning. So, 3 weeks, maybe, give or take a little?

In the interest of trying to have a little fun, I think I'm gonna try to post some previews for the next couple weeks? In the past, people have enjoyed previews. Today's is a little long, but it's the opening to the whole thing. It's below a cut for those who'd rather wait until the whole thing comes out.

“I don’t know if they’re trying to capitalize on Boy’s Day, or what,” Rukia said, idly inching her hand toward the plate of hot, steaming gyoza sitting on the countertop next to Renji’s stove, “but they’re having some sort of Seafood Festival out in East Sixth.”

A dish towel appeared out of nowhere, the tip whipping painfully against Rukia’s hand.

“Ow!” Rukia howled.

“They’re hot! It’ll hurt worse if you jam one of those in your mouth whole like I know you were gonna,” Renji replied, stuffing the dish towel back into his obi, and juggling the pan of gyoza he was currently frying. “What about a Seafood Festival? Why the Hell is the East Sixth having a Seafood Festival?”

“It’s being put on by the Train Museum, I hear,” Rukia continued grumpily, rubbing at her hand. “I guess they’re hauling a bunch of spring fish up from the Shiranui Sea at the other end of the line. It only takes a few hours to get out to Six. There’s probably carts making the run that we could take, but I would honestly just flash-step, at least on the way out. I want to eat my own body weight in katsuo. Possibly your body weight in katsuo.”

“Mmm,” Renji replied noncommittally, dumping the rest of his gyoza onto the plate and turning off the stovetop.

“I was thinking of asking Hisagi if he wanted us to take some pictures and do a little write-up for the Bulletin,” Rukia went on. “Get us a little walking-around money.” Not that Rukia lacked for pocket money, but it was a little more expensive than their usual weekend activities, and Renji got a little cagey when she tried to treat him to things.

“That’s a bad idea.”

“Why? We had fun the last time we played reporter!”

“Grab the bowl of sauce, would you?” Renji gestured with his chin as he picked up the plate of dumplings and the teapot to carry them to the table. “Don’t you remember when they built that damn train line? Took ‘em over over thirty years, and there were three to four articles every single Bulletin about the delays, the graft, the politics, the environmental impact, whatever. People got so mad about the idea of a train inside the Seireitei that it doesn’t even go anywhere useful. I didn’t even know they used it for anything aside from twee holidays for bored nobles.”

“I heard a story from my friend, Lady Akizuki, that the old head of the Seshimo clan actually lives on the train! He hasn’t set foot outside it in fifteen years!”

Renji cocked an eyebrow at her. He looked like he desperately wanted to hear about the Train Noble, but also did not want to be a guy who cared about Train Nobles. “Anyway, don’t mention the train to Hisagi unless you got six or seven hours to kill. Preferably when I’m not there.”

Rukia picked up the big, fragrant bowl of ginger dipping sauce with both hands. “It was just an idea. So what do you think? Do you want to go?”

“When is it again?” Renji asked, frowning.

“It’s running for all of May, but the weather has been so nice lately, I thought maybe we could go next weekend,” Rukia suggested. 

Renji was quiet for a moment, but Rukia figured that maybe he was just focused on serving her dumplings, which was, in her opinion, very important. 

“Ru,” he finally said slowly, as he poured her a cup of tea. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Is it that you want to go to the Seafood Festival with me?”

Renji took a big breath through his nose and let it out again. “If things work out, I’d love to go later in the month. Next weekend’s not gonna work, though.”

“Oh.” Rukia frowned. “That’s fine. That’s no big deal.” She looked down lovingly at her gyoza and then up at Renji hopefully. “Itadakimasu?” she asked hopefully.

Renji blinked. “Huh? Oh, yeah, please help yourself. That… that wasn’t the thing I had to say.”

“Well, spit it out, already,” Rukia groused, her mouth already crammed with gyoza. “Why are you being weird?”

Renji still hadn’t touched his own food. He had circled his right wrist with the thumb and middle finger of his left hand and was rotating it back and forth. He used to make that gesture a lot when he was young, and Rukia realized that she hadn’t seen him do it in years.

“I’m having some surgery,” Renji finally said. 

Rukia froze. After a long moment, she slowly finished chewing her dumpling and swallowed it. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I’m getting my arm fixed.”

Rukia watched him rub his wrist for another few seconds. “Did it not heal correctly after the, um, accident?” “The accident” was when Byakuya had stabbed him through the forearm during a demonstration fight the week prior. Everyone was being very polite about it.

“Wellll…” Renji drew out. “I mean, no, that healed up fine. Very clean cut, Senbonzakura, as always. But, uh, while I was at the Fourth, the topic of my burnt-out kidou ducts came up. Captain Unohana thinks she can fix ‘em. And I’ve decided to, um, let her try.” “Oh,” said Rukia. Her chest was filling up with a lot of strange feelings. “Oh.”

[rriavian]

Hello.

You know, if you wrote a book about your version of Corintheus based Dreaming analysis, I would love to have a paperback edition of that ( i love paperback 💖)

Anyway, i probably have told you quite a number of times that, my favourite moment of Baiting the Trap is Corinthian nibbling Dream's earlobe in the library right before Lucienne. Also, i have stated it enough times that,one of my favourite Corintheus prompt is Lucienne's reaction to the Corinthian-Dream dynamic.

So my question is:

When Lucienne was asked to be dismissed from the Library right after the above mentioned scene- what was her immediate range of feelings? Was she hurt that Dream allowed someone as disobedient as Corinthian to be so shamelessly invading his personal space before her presence? She is the most loyal most sacrificing subject of Dream realm. She deserves to be treated with dignity and decency. And being compelled to watch a private kinky moment like that isn't quite decent for Luci. I am not sure if I could make it clear. In my mind, Lucienne is ace. I assume she wouldn’t be comfortable to witness anyone’s unwarranted private moment. Let alone Dream's. The closest analogy is : an elder daughter being bound to watch her ever so dignified father's new shrewd gf trying to show off a glimpse of what they do in their private moment. So, was Lucienne hurt? Or angry? Or shocked? Or confused? Or all together?

Eventually, what was her personal thoughts about Dream- Corinthian relationship when she overcome the initial shock?

I have two more supplementary questions. I will send them eventually. Answer whenever you want to. Or feel free to not answer at all, if there is an upcoming fic shading light on this plot.

Much love💖💖

<3 oh if I wrote a book there would be so much I’d put into the analysis!

That moment in the library is definitely one of my favourites too, and one of my biggest narrative regrets is that there hasn’t (yet) been more Lucienne in the series. Her reactions to the dynamic are very important narratively, and very very interesting given her relationship to both Dream and the Corinthian. So I was happy to get a question about it! This is also something I’d thought about when I was writing so will probably come up at some point, but at the moment my answer shouldn’t spoil anything :)

The aftermath of the scene in the library links directly to the one between Dream and Lucienne in Courting the King, where there's a bit of tension before it’s resolved. There was worry when she left, some anger (at the Corinthian), but no confusion. I don’t think Lucienne was hurt—maybe a little bit of wounded pride—because while protective of Dream/the Dreaming she also respects his right to decide how to run his realm/respond to an insult against him. I think they both verbally negotiate where the boundary of that is. There’s a balance there and I think Lucienne’s stubbornness can, like any strength, work against her in certain situations.

There’s a wonderful parallel in how both her and Dream are incredibly alike in how they can be very stubborn, very prideful, so in many ways they’ve always understood each other.

What happens in both this scene and the one in Courting the King is that they are examples of Dream’s way of being like ‘I respect you greatly but you need to let me handle this’. It’s not an insult against her capabilities, or her role, nor a dismissal of the worthiness of her opinions (Dream is quick to rebuke the Corinthian when he precedes to insult her). It’s a demonstration of Dream taking his own responsibilities very seriously (I am the King and I will deal with this) while also making it clear that this is additionally a decision of personal agency.

Dream doesn’t need someone to step in and take away his choice of whether to accept what the Corinthian is doing or to punish him for it.

The privacy of the moment is definitely a factor in his decision too. Dream knows very well that the Corinthian is trying (and succeeding) to get a rise out of Lucienne. He knows that the Corinthian is using it as a way to finally feel like he’s won, to get pleasure from the context of how disrespectful it really is, to find a sneaky way to achieve what Dream is still denying him. That links something else too - while allowing this change to a sexual relationship is a decision that Dream has made (and the myriad of reasons within that is an analysis in itself!) that doesn’t mean it’s one any one else has agreed to see, that they’ve agreed to be made a part of.

The Corinthian tried to make Lucienne a part of it here, and Dream dismissed her to protect her, to make it clear that this fight was to remain private.

It was very much done out of respect to allow her dignity. To treat her with care. Dream is refusing to be remiss in his duties as King, as her friend, as someone who loves her dearly, by allowing her to be used as a pawn in a power play. And so Lucienne wasn't hurt because she understood why Dream did what he did even if she doesn't know all of the reasons why.

Lucienne being ace is definitely a reading I like! I’m also ace so that’s an interpretation I very much lean towards, though in some ways I read Dream as ace too haha.

As for her thoughts on the relationship, I think that will need to unfold as the series continues, but right now I think Lucienne is looking at Dream like ‘I support your right to choose sexual partners/forgive criminals even when it’s obvious you have terrible taste in men’. She’s pretty convinced that the Corinthian is going to betray Dream/the Dreaming again and—as shown in that scene in Courting the King—is being very cautious about keeping an eye on his behaviour in the Dreaming.

You are wonderful as always and I hope you enjoyed reading this <3 Feel free to send any questions at any time! Some might take longer to answer than others but I do love answering asks about these things :)

[agirlinsearchof]

I just watched a playthrough of the Utena visual novel. Granted, I only saw one route, but I’m going to give my thoughts anyway!

The protagonist (whose name is customizable, and who looks like a cross between Utena and Anthy) is very naive, much like Utena. But they are different kinds of naive. While Utena is quick to make snap judgements and can be reckless, the protagonist tries to see the best in everyone. Even when there is no "best” to be seen. Case in point, at least one scenario has her describing Saionji of all people as kind. Lady, people who slap people who don’t deserve to be slapped are not kind. And you witnessed him slap Anthy. And what he feels towards Anthy (which is entitlement, not love) cements him as not kind. At least he’s self-aware enough to refute her statement afterwards. Sometimes, I yelled at my screen because of how painfully naive she is.

When was this released, anyway? If it was before the Black Rose episodes aired, it’s awesome foreshadowing, especially in the post-credits scene. Chigusa Sanjouin, a character exclusive to this game, is like a cross between Souji Mikage, Juri Arisugawa, and a Black Rose duelist.

EDIT: So it seems that this game was released in 1998, while the final episode aired on Christmas of 1997. So not foreshadowing, so much as being set in a particular point in the series.

It’s odd, though, that Chigusa was described as an “evil queen” instead of a witch. I get that there were Snow White motifs (the protagonist is sent a poison apple, the confrontation between her and Chigusa has Chigusa mockingly referring to her as Snow White, etc.), but “witch” is the usual term in this series used to refer to women who fail to live up to the “princess” ideal. Which makes me wonder if this was released before the third arc.

EDIT: See previous edit.

I appreciate the reveal that the protagonist’s parents were kicked out for their involvement with each other (being that her father was a teacher and her mother was a student, though given what kind of place Ohtori is I’m shocked he was punished), though I’m disappointed nothing was really done with it. She gets the chance to call them but they aren’t there. An explanation of their point of view regarding what happened would have been nice.

Strangely enough, while they are shadowed out when they show up at the beginning, the photo of the protagonist’s mother shows her face. Huh.

Also… why are Utena and Juri just chill with showering with a person they only knew a couple of days? I could see maybe Utena being cool with that, especially since the protagonist is a girl, but Juri? Of all people? It’s not like there’s any lack of water for showering at Ohtori! (Unless they’re trying to save hot water…)

EDIT: Anthy too. I don’t know the context, but… yeah. I wonder if there’s a run of the game that gets all the shower scenes?

EDIT EDIT: So there’s an ending where the protagonist duels Utena, wins, is engaged to Anthy, and proceeds to ask Anthy to wash her back for her. In-character for Anthy, and rather disturbing. At least Utena beats the protagonist in their rematch.

Also? Utena. Girl. Lady. Why do you shower with your ring on? Wouldn’t that trap water between your ring and your finger? Or at least prevent that specific part of your finger from being washed?

Also, the protagonist arrives at the conclusion that Juri has a locket under her shirt quickly. What kind of super-observation skills do you have, and how can I get them?

Overall, it seemed rather interesting! It’s surprisingly true to the spirit of Utena, while also telling its own unique story. (Fun fact, Utena mentions having fought in four duels in this game! So we have a timeline!)

[flickering-chandelier]

Writing tag game by @bonecarversbestie

Thank you so much for tagging me @thelov3lybookworm you're the best 🩷

First of all, I am SO SORRY I've been so inactive 😭 Life has been insanely hectic but I promise that I am still cranking away and will have new fics for you all soon!

Anyway, onto the tag...

Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing

Gosh, is it dumb to say I don't really know? 😅

If we're talking about my own ideas, I truly don't know where they come from sometimes. A lot of times I'll be reading or watching a scene in something and it won't go exactly the way that I want it to. So then I'll start imagining how I would've done it, and then it kind of takes on a whole new life of its own.

For requests, I try to brainstorm a little more and really focus on the prompt so I can hopefully make the requester the best thing that I can.

Once I've got my idea, I honestly just sit down and write. I do get stuck, and then I'll have to go for a walk or take a shower or something and try to figure things out.

I edit and proofread as I go, and usually just post it when it's done.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I am a pantser alllll the way. For better or worse!

What do you listen to when you are writing?

Almost always Taylor Swift. She always makes me want to write, especially her moody, sad ones.

What’s your drink of choice(while writing)?

I'm not usually drinking much while writing, but once in a while I like to go to a coffee shop and get myself a latte.

Promote yourself! What’s your favorite thing you’ve written?

Ooooh, this is hard. One of my favorites is definitely Was Any of it True? and all of its sequels. I wasn't expecting to love this one so much, and it got a lot of traction which was really exciting. I also just love the characters in that one.

Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.

Maybe Second Chance? I feel like Cassian doesn't get enough love sometimes 🤣

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I know everyone probably says this, but...Literally just sit down and write. Don't worry about if it's good, or if people will like it, or if you're formatting things correctly.

Just go for it! The best way to get better is to just do it and keep practicing.

What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?

I am SO BAD at setting descriptions. What does the meadow look like? What does the room look like? Don't know, don't care.

(Cuz idk how to do it lol)

Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?

Azriel! I was really new to the fandom and wasn't sure if anyone would even be interested in reading about him, but he was intriguing to me so I went for it... and now he's like my bread and butter!

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it because I don't have writer friends lolol sorry

[alesyira-ffn]

So, midway through re-reading 41, I realized some things and determined (on a whim??) that I needed to fix something in ch15, which led to a definite spicing up of that ending with Kagome and Seth, hooo my goodness. That edit is only on AO3 because it’s explicit enough. do emojis work? this one would be perfect. (Narrator: they do not.) Anyways. It’s only like an additional paragraph and a sentence or two but it kind of boosts that interaction. to like 11. :3c

The re-read is obviously nearing its completion and I am just so excited for where the rest of this storyline is going.

(I’ve also come to the realization that some of my pre-written upcoming smut absolutely doesn’t have a future home in the fic, so I think 42 is going to get an extra scene added on that i’d intended to use as kind of a sexy flashback (will only posted on AO3 because it’s really smutty) and then the outtakes (again, ao3) will have more that doesn’t fit in otherwise.) I’ll add a note to the newest chapter I post here about the additions in ao3 as they happen in case readers here don’t bother checking the profile. maybe. if I remember. people who sift through the profile rantings here deserve more o_o

anyways, back to re-reading and note-taking. thanks for your interest.

[lonelier-version-of-you]

I realised I don’t have a lot to do today, so I can get back to my S15 Holby rewatch!

One thing I wanted to say before I move onto the next episode though - while watching “How Lo Can You Go” the other day, I was thinking the actress playing recurring patient Aisha was brilliant, but I didn’t know her name. I thought “hm, when I finish the episode, I should look her up so I can say how good she is!”. I didn’t get round to that.

Anyway, I then found out from a HolbyTV tweet that, apparently, this actress was none other than... Salma Hoque! Yes, THE Salma Hoque, the woman who played Meena Chowdhury! How am I so prosopagnosic I didn’t even recognise her after seeing her as Aisha in multiple episodes?? I’ve always thought Meena was a good character who had a lot of potential, but now, after seeing how brilliant Salma was as Aisha, I’m even more convinced Meena deserved better material. It’s a shame she spent so much time tied up in the Gaskell story.

So, yeah, I found myself praising Salma Hoque without even knowing I was praising Salma Hoque. It also feels strange to think this means that Salma shared scenes with actors like Jing Lusi or Paul Bradley who had long since left by the time Meena arrived.

I’ve now finished telling my anecdote. Time to watch and liveblog S15E09 “Fault Lines”.

Edit 1: Oh, it’s a Nick Fisher episode. First one of his I’ve watched since the news, I think. :(

Edit 2: Sacha’s ex-wife’s new boyfriend is taking her on a trip to an ice hotel in Norway, according to a phone call that we only heard Sacha’s half of. I can’t lie - that sounds great, I may envy her a little bit.

Edit 3: Lmaooo, Christmas songs in theatre!!

Edit 4: Imelda is taking Lilah’s accusations towards Ric very seriously. Imagine if she’d been there when the real deal happened with Henrik and Sahira. Maybe Henrik actually would’ve had to face consequences then. Sigh.

Edit 5: Albie the married barman (you’ll never guess what pub he works at 😉) who’s been sleeping with Mo has just turned up, with his wife who’s been brought in as a patient. :|

Edit 6: Okay, so Albie’s wife actually knows he’s sleeping with Mo! Still, I don’t think Mo should be handling this case. It’s way too personal. It’s unfair to expect her to treat Albie’s wife, given the... complicated circumstances. For once, I agree with Jonny - Jac or someone should be handling this instead.

Edit 7: “We raised businesses, not children.” is a great (and very sad) line. The actress delivered it perfectly, too.

Edit 8: I love Chantelle.

Edit 9: Mo, seriously, you really shouldn’t be treating Albie’s wife, for your own sake.

Edit 10: I do love Ric.

Edit 11: Poor Malick, dragged into the Ric vs. Lilah situation.

Edit 12: The Lilah and Ric situation is actually quite interesting, I’d heard of the storyline but I didn’t know it was this complicated. It’s a very grey area. Lilah’s obviously wrong in her claims that Ric made her fail the exam because she didn’t sleep with him again, but on the other hand, Ric shouldn’t have slept with his mentee and he definitely shouldn’t have taken over from Malick doing her exams in an attempt to try and make her pass just because he fancied her. I wouldn’t call it harassment, which is what Ric is being accused of, but it was definitely majorly unprofessional on his part. Nothing he should lose his job over (I can’t say that for Henrik’s treatment of Sahira...), but worth a slap on the wrist. Lilah regretting making the accusations is also an interesting angle.

Edit 13: The situation with Albie's wife is reminding me of Jac and it's making me sad.

Edit 14: Malick snarking at Imelda 😂

Edit 15: The patient thinking Chrissie was married to Michael 🤣

Edit 16: Ric is on the list of characters (alongside the likes of Stevie Nash) who have faced more consequences for a false accusation of sexual harassment than Henrik ever did for actually sexually harassing Sahira. :/

Edit 17: Albie brushing his wife’s hair one last time... ow. The fact that it’s so reminiscent of Henrik brushing John’s hair out of his face in “One Of Us” makes it even sadder.

Edit 18: We're near the end of the episode, so I'm guessing Lilah retracts her accusation soon?

Edit 19: That scene with Mo and Albie was lovely.

Edit 20: No last-minute retraction from Lilah, Ric actually left?! Okay, I have no idea how this is going to be resolved.

In other news, Luc’s going to be spending Christmas with Sacha and Chrissie. I hope we get to actually see that. It sounds hilarious.