#I could go into detail on specific scenes

[amfstargirl]

Details of half return

The narrative starts with y/n going back to their old house, where they start with reminiscing about memories from their old home. They admire every mark they left in their home when they were a kid not knowing that was the last time they were gonna live and make memories there. It's also a perfect situation where you can relate to Adrianne Lenker's lyrics, specifically in which she says, “standing in the yard, dressed like a kid,” which indicates a moment of nostalgia. To me, this song is highly associated with missing the innocence, youth, childhood, or simply who you were in the past.

 If you're wondering why the reader goes to their old house, it's because it's a way of letting go for them. As they have said in the story that it was a way of letting go and mourning that version of them. Because you can never really let go if you're not mourning/did not mourn even the slightest.They saw it as a necessary step in the process of growing and becoming a new person.

In the old house scene, you can see the memory of the reader, where they see the life they want in the lives of others, making them yearn for that. The space between two windows, reader and their neighbor, indicates or symbolizes their current life (reader's window), while the other mirrors the life they long for (neighbor's window), like a window to their desired reality. So watching the Barbie movies/shows through their neighbor was them actually watching the life they wish for. 

Also, the puppy she found on a random day while she was alone. The puppy is a symbolic object of the reader. As you saw in the first scene where they both first met, it was said that the puppy was just crying for its mother and father, hoping, waiting. (That's eerily familiar, don't you think?) And! The reader named the puppy “Amara,” which, if I'm not mistaken, means forever loved, which she is. Amara was a mirror of y/n's soul. And y/n treated them the way they have always wanted to be treated. 

But Amara is not a mirror to the current reader's soul. Do you get it? Because Amara was the symbol of the past version of them, which means they were the beacon of youth Y/N once had. Amara staying and waiting within the walls of where they both grew up just connects to y/n’s journey of letting go. That is why when the reader saw her, whispered gently to her and reassured her that it was okay, that she could rest now. representing readers' way of saying goodbye to the old y/n and letting them rest. The scarred innocent of their younger self is now free from the heavy pain of the things they went through. 

The scene where the reader “made up” with their mother and the fact that their mother admitted she never hated them that much but couldn't confirm that she didn't entirely hate them is SO important. It was a moment where their mother finally acknowledged her faults and apologized bitterly but with sincerity. She was very honest in that scene, as she knew that was what you needed and wanted. No sugar-coated words, only the truth. Also the fact that they made up, but it was also going to be the last time they would see each other!! Because the reader cut them off on good terms, and that was the final step in making peace with everything that was part of their past. 

Also, if yall were wondering how the reader “moved on” with the Bat family, it was actually the first ever step they took in making peace with their past. As their way of doing it was just accepting. Accepting that they will never see them as family, and they will never be interested in them in any way. (Guess who got clowned.)

And Alfred, who was driven by his own selfish desires. Now we all know that it was Alfred who took care of the reader the moment they got to the manor, so naturally it would be Alfred who first spiraled into yanderism. I like the idea of Alfred; despite wanting what's best for the reader and what makes her happy, he is still a yandere. And that means he still has traits of a yandere, which is what made him come up with a heavily detailed plan. 

[wisteria-lodge]

can i ask for advice i really want to start writing fics(never done this) but i don't know what to do or how to start it? also in hp universe, how do you bring in the wizarding lore or remember all the the details like the spells what they do, the locations and a bunch of stuff

In terms of the lore, you don't want the fanwiki, you want Reddit. Sorry fanwiki, but you are often wrong, misleading, or difficult to search. Or, bring in info from the video games without making that clear. Keeping all the spells straight is a big one, so he's an alphabetical list of every spell Harry ever casts, and what it does:

And here is a list of every spell Hermione eve casts:

Thank you very much, reddit user HHrPie.

Also, I would be lost with out my trusty master pdf.

Download that. It's searchable, and Control + F (on a PC) and Command + F (on a Mac) is your friend.

I would also go to the Harry Potter Lexicon over the wiki if you want details on specifically things like locations. It's much easier to navigate, although it isn't as complete as it could be in some places, and runs into it's own problems with editorializing (but on the whole, there's not *as much* editorializing as on the wiki.) It also leans a lot harder on the quotes, and makes its sources more obvious.

In terms of what to write... I'd say focus on one or two characters to start. You'll get the most bang for buck by figuring out the different ways they speak, and making sure they speak differently.

Write a missing scene, or a existing scene going a different way. My first HP fanfics were alternate epilogues, and the best one was an outsider perspective on Harry bringing 11 year old Teddy to Platform 9 3/4. You probably have an idea, or scene, or image in your head. Start there.

Also, I have always enjoyed fandom spaces. Lots of people enjoy beta-ing fics, or just generally showing off their lore knowledge (and by people, I do mean myself.) If you have a specific question, just throw it out there as an ask like you're doing, to a blog that tends to write about that sort of stuff.

[tiggymalvern]

The Burn Notice pilot spackle nobody asked for

There are various moments in the BN pilot that in retrospect seem to be OOC. Like Michael begging Lucy for work by acting like a dog, a ridiculously playful side of him that we never see again.

And obviously those moments happened because Matt Nix hadn't figured out quite who the characters were yet, but as fans we're left to come up with Watsonian answers for them. In the case of Michael and Lucy, the BN podcasters explain it away as a Lucy-specific in-joke - they met years ago not long after Michael joined the army, still a teenager, and that act is a hangover from when they were silly kids together, which is a headcanon I cheerfully accept.

At least that odd scene with Michael is harmless. In the case of Fiona and Sam, there are scenes in the pilot that come across as character assassination. So here I go, wading in...

With Fiona, there's the infamous, "Shall we shoot them?" that appears in every opening credit. Fiona's a violent criminal who hates cops, yes - but she's also smart. Way too smart to think shooting three FBI agents in the street is a good move. Suggesting it makes her seem like a brain-dead, trigger-happy lunatic. So why does she say it?

Fiona doesn't really know Michael Westen at this point. The man she knew was Michael McBride, the IRA sympathiser. Michael himself says in season two (with his Irish accent back in place) that Fiona and Michael McBride 'caused a lot of mayhem'. We don't know what the CIA wanted Michael to find out in Ireland, but whatever it was, Michael would have been very interested in Fiona talking about her work. Would have encouraged her to give him all the details about it. Wanted to help out with her work in any way he could. Fi knows Michael as someone who's really into her violent side, who thinks it's amazing and fun and hot when she's showing him weapons stores and blowing things up.

So when she's trying to wriggle her way back into Michael's life and into his bed, she plays up that side of herself. She beats up Sugar's hitman outside the loft and expects that seeing her do that will make Michael horny. And she suggests shooting multiple FBI agents, not because she plans to actually do it, but because she thinks hearing her say it will make Michael hot for her, remind him of everything he always liked about her.

And then there's Sam. When Sam meets up with Michael, he's openly leering at a random woman who's just walking past in the street minding her own business, and he's making vile comments. Sam's a flirt, not a creep! There's a difference. But here the audience is introduced to Sam and he immediately comes across as the nastiest kind of sleazebag. What is going on?

Sam's meeting up with Michael, who's just been burned. Michael's been unceremoniously kicked out on his arse and he's angry, frustrated, depressed. It's exactly the same thing that happened to Sam two years earlier.

Sam can't sit there and tell Michael that being fired from the job he loved and was incredibly good at is the worst thing that ever happened to him. That he's bored out of his mind and drinking too much and eating too much and having lots of casual sex because there's nothing else for him to do. That he takes on an occasional job for Lucy when he needs cash, but he doesn't even do that much because Lucy doesn't know if she can trust him any more, and the jobs she offers him are so far below his skill level it's positively depressing.

Sam needs to tell Michael that life after your career's ripped away from you is fine! That he can have fun! That the world is his oyster! And Michael knows Sam as a flirt, someone who enjoys sex and booze between missions, so Sam lays it on extra thick, tells him how great it all is, how you can pick up hot women in bikinis everywhere you go.

Both Fiona and Sam are putting on a performance for Michael in the pilot - they're dialing one aspect of themselves up to eleven, in the hope of eliciting a particular response in Michael. And that's why they both come across as not quite themselves.

[mydearestbeloved]

Note: this scenario idea may be ooc. also does jinwoo even attach his shadow to her like with others? at least during the first days they became acquainted? If so, does she even feel their presence? My bad if I’m being lore inaccurate here.

Jinwoo and tp!reader argued for whatever reasons. Jinwoo regretted it but tp!reader who hadn’t calmed down deciding to “block” his shadows from seeing her (kinda like solar eclipse), even “flashbang” them, and in return jinwoo (took him a bit to recover), when he tries to sneakily force his way in and peek and causes her to be in creative mode.

Truly one to assert dominance over jinwoo is to show that you have the right to privacy bc that stuff is non-existent when you’re this guy’s loved one or in his radar.

(the solar ecslipse thing is me being inspired by the fact that tp!reader has golden aura thing, like the sun, while jinwoo is white blue, like the moon)

It's not ooc at all, Anon! The circumstances are just different—I'll explain in a bit.

Unfortunately, since this ask is related to a future chapter in the main story (there will be a scene similar to this), I’m afraid I can’t go into much detail scene-wise. 🙏

In the Trial Player AU timeline, the two became acquainted really early on after Jinwoo had his Job Change Quest, meaning he had just acquired his job-specific skills of <Shadow Extraction> and <Shadow Preservation>. If I remember correctly, Jinwoo was only able to attach his soldiers to other people and ‘see' through their shared senses after he gained <Shadow Exchange>—which happened after the second trip to the Demon Castle. I don’t remember the exact chapter in the manhwa, but I recall a panel where he started sending his shadows to guard his neighborhood, so I’m guessing it was around that time.

Dear novel and/or manhwa readers, please correct me if I’m wrong and enlighten me if I’ve missed any details—I’d really appreciate the help, considering I’m still a bit confused about some parts even after rereading the manhwa. 🙏

The timeline in Trial Player AU is left a bit vague, but I certainly extended it longer than canon to fit my narrative.

Again, please correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I understand, the events of Solo Leveling, from the start (the D-Rank Dungeon Arc) to the end of Jinwoo’s fight with Antares before the timeline reset, all happened within roughly three years, right?

If that’s the case, then yes, Trial Player AU will be longer. It’s implied that TP!Reader and Jinwoo have already worked together for over a month while Jinwoo’s deal with Jinho (clearing a total of twenty raids) is still ongoing. TP!Reader started accompanying them during the last few raids after Jinwoo introduced her to Jinho. Before that, she and Jinwoo had already spent time clearing new gates that the System provided (around normal or lower C-rank dungeons)—something that didn’t happen in canon, as already noted by TP!Reader in the story.

Hence, at the point where Jinwoo receives the <Shadow Exchange> skill in Trial Player AU, he and TP!Reader are no longer newly acquainted.

So, to answer your question, Anon: No, Jinwoo didn’t attach his shadows to TP!Reader because he hadn’t gained the skill when they became acquainted early on. As for what happens after he does—well, that will be revealed in future chapters.

However! I can say that TP!Reader does have the power to send back the shadows Jinwoo attaches to a person. The details are still not fully fleshed out, but it won’t affect the story much once I release the chapter—adding to the mystery, if you will. But for those interested in behind-the-scenes mechanics, I’ll still be sure to answer as best I can.

The “flashbang” theory you mentioned could potentially work, though! Say a spell that emits light from multiple angles could reduce or even eliminate shadows visibly. Since shadows exist because light comes from a specific direction, a spell like this could interfere with them.

But I’m not sure if this can be done every time without essentially flooding the target and the space around them with light. Then again, in a world where magic exists, something like flashbanging only the shadow (and not the person) could be possible to offset this limitation.

If the soldiers reside in a person’s shadow as if it were a pocket dimension, the spell would just need to flood that small space with light, outwardly diminishing the shadow without affecting the person by concept. Visibly 'blocking' each side from seeing eachother.

Not sure about the aftermath, though. If it’s a momentary effect, we could think of it as a pocket dimension that was always there, just temporarily cut off as long as the spell was maintained. It would need to follow the movements of the person since shadows can reappear, change shape and position. So, this momentary effect would work if a person’s shadow was a single, interconnected entity.

There’s also the possibility of a permanent effect. If flashbanging the pocket dimension made of darkness actually destroyed it, then the person’s shadow might cease to exist entirely instead of just being temporarily cut off. If shadows were interconnected, then no matter how the person moves, they won’t have a shadow at all. If not, then moving would create a new shadow, meaning TP!Reader could only prevent Jinwoo and his soldiers from peeking if the affected person remained completely still—which, for a living being, is nearly impossible unless they’re dead.

Wow, I just went on a wild tangent analyzing a what-if mechanic. 😅

I hope you still enjoy this what-if concept of mine based on your idea, even though it’s not in the usual scenario format (which I assume you wanted), Anon. Since the related scene will appear in the story, I can only offer this discussion for now. For others reading this: this is just me theorizing based on Anon’s take. The “flashbang” mechanic is not canon to Trial Player AU—have the potential to be, because Anon is giving me great ideas—but as of now, it isn’t.

Now, onto the last topic: the solar eclipse—sun and moon idea.

Again, great take, Anon! I’ll add a few thoughts of my own that can be be related to the topic:

It's interesting because in this, TP!Reader is mentioned with Jinwoo.

So far, she and Jinwoo fit the opposite trope—sun and moon, light and darkness, life and death, etc.—when they are contrasted.

In reality, what I'm aiming for is that TP!Reader doesn’t exist as his opposite—she just balances him out.

Try seeing TP!Reader alone, two of the most notable aspects of her abilities are:

Her healing can harm.

She can bring life (e.g. butterflies) and take it (e.g. the use of lifeforce).

The sun can burn, which fits TP!Reader. But at the same time, the sun started scorching you when you get too close. TP!Reader is approachable, so liking her to the moon also fits.

When elements that contradict exist as one instead of simply coexisting, what does that create?

TP!Reader exist when there is equilibrium. Tip off the scale and she's gone.

What do you see when she is with Jinwoo? What do you see when she is with someone else, Cha Hae-in for example?

She naturally spends the most time with Jinwoo, so their contrast is more pronounced, which is deliberate. I want to show 'balance' through it, I want to cement the fact that TP!Reader isn’t inherently the 'light' to Jinwoo’s 'darkness'—but she can become one.

We'll explore more on this too once TP!Reader started interacting with other characters in the future chapters. 🥰

Welp, I think that’s all I can say this time.

Thank you for showing interest in my works and for sharing your ideas, dear Reader. 💕

[the-sky-queen]

I agree with all of this! I would like to add onto the point about writing scenes out of order because it really works and I have done it! Specifically for my With Great Power Comes AU.

There was a while there where I wasn't all that consistent with updating A Spark Soaring Down Through The Pouring Rain, but I would still get ideas for scenes I hadn't quite gotten to yet. I decided to write them down so I wouldn't forget. I didn't know if they'd still match up when the story caught up to them (and some of them didn't and had to be scrapped) but I figured I could tweak these scenes to fix them once I actually got to them.

This decision was SO HELPFUL on so many levels. When I started going absolutely insane over this story, I was able to get so many chapters written a lot faster than I would've otherwise. I would get to a certain point in a chapter and then realize I'd gotten to the point where I could plop in one of my miscellaneous scenes. They actually required very few fixes, just a couple touch ups and added details and then they were ready to go!

So yeah, definitely try this out if you haven't already!

Do you by any chance have any tips n tricks on making aus + stories fleshed out and more coherent? This can also be answered in Reblogs idrm 🙏🙏

AU & STORYWRITING TIPS AND TRICKS

You have released me from my cage and I have unleashed a word dump below the cut. This isn't really organized at all and I did jump back and forth between sections but I hope at least some of it helps.

Since I don't really know the specifics about your AU, I'll use some shows, books, or even sometimes my own AUs as examples but you should be able to take what I said and apply it to your stories.

(Note from future mod after writing this guide. I also ended up spontaneously making new AUs because of this. That was not meant to happen.)

This will also be tagged under #collision questions! If you want to reblog with some notes of your own go right ahead!

It's important to figure out how canon divergent your AU is and how that impacts your characters.

Think about your overall AU concept!

Like, let's say you have an AU that diverges off one point of canon. Everything up until this event is the same. Then something changes, something happens differently. For these kinds of AUs, I'd definitely recommend reviewing and analyzing the original source a lot!! Especially the events taking place after your changed plot point!!

Understand the importance of that event in canon and how it may have impacted events afterwards. Take the episode The Sign from Bluey for example. Also SPOILERS FOR THE SIGN!! Let's say, Winton's dad and the Terrier's mom had never gotten together. This would mean that since Winton's dad would not be moving in to live with the Terrier's, he would have no need to sell his house. And since he isn't selling his house, the sheepdogs wouldn't have changed their minds about buying Bluey's house. Bluey and Bingo would have ended up moving to a new city, as a opposed to canon where they ended up staying. If you've seen The Sign, you'll know there's way more examples of this cause and effect than what I just listed.

Or another example, let's say in Sonic Prime, Shadow didn't use the emerald when Sonic shattered the paradox prism. This leaves Sonic on his own without Shadow's help. Now think about scenes where in canon, Shadow was there to help Sonic. Now take Shadow away. What might have happened in that scene? How will Sonic handle the situation without Shadow? Take creative liberties! Because Shadow isn't there, the story may take a completely different turn. The story SHOULD take a completely different turn. Things that happened in the show, may not have even happened at all here as a result. Things that happened in the show, may be impossible to occur in this world as well! I don't have specific examples because I haven't watched the show in a while but man do I want to turn this into a real AU now. What have you done to me this was supposed to be a random example I came up with just a few minutes ago. Anywho, moving on! Sonic's character in this world would also be different as a result of his experiences and how he had to adapt to the situation differently.

Alternatively, your AU isn't canon divergent. Let's say it takes place in a world completely different from canon. A world with different rules and norms can affect and change how the characters experiences as they grow up. For some reason I have been thinking about Shadow a lot so let's say we have a world where Sonic and Shadow grew up together on ARK. They knew each other from day one and don't have a reason to distrust each other. Consider how something like that would affect their dynamic, personality, etc. Because they grew up together, consider how for example, SA2 would be changed.

This can apply to AUs where its Sonic characters but in the world of a different fandom. Like a Lilo and Stitch sonic AU or Percy Jackson AU. Consider how the Sonic characters interact with this world. Try not to rely on too much on how the actual characters of that world interacted within that world because here's the thing. Sonic is not Percy. Sonic would not act the exact way Percy would in a situation because they are different characters. The AU covers the main beats of the original story but it will not follow the exacts events word for word. If you're planning on writing a fic for an AU like this, please please please don't just like yoink the script and exchange character names for Sonic ones because there's really nothing new being added and that's what makes these stories interesting. Same thing for role swaps!! They may have changed roles but do not give them the exact same dialogue as the original. Characters have different personalities and speaking patterns after all. Take the overall message of the dialogue and reword it to better fit the character who's saying it.

So about characterization

Maybe you have an idea of x character doing something, and that something may seem out of character for them, but maybe that action is really important to the story or you just really want it to happen. Here's what you do: have the steps you take to get to the out-of-character event, be in-character. Have the reasoning for the actions be in-character.

An example with an AU of my own but I'm not giving specifics due to spoiler reasons. There is a character who canonically, is loyal to a fault. Their loyalty to their friends and family is both their greatest strength and weakness. But my AU features this same character, betraying their friends and family. They're fighting on the wrong side, sabotaging their friends. So as you can see, very out of character.

That AU started around just the concept of that character betraying everyone. Now since loyalty is a vital part of their character, I need to take that into consideration when figuring out how to get the canon character to become the AU character.

This character is loyal to their loved ones. So, I put their loved ones at risk. This character's parents and baby sibling are held captive by the enemy. They must help the enemy otherwise their parents are at risk. This is why they betray their friends and share information with the enemy.

So pretty much, an out of character action will have in character reasoning. What will this character do to get to this point? How do their actions get them to his point? And maybe, all that happens before the main events of your AU and that's why your AU character is different.

Writing stories

Speaking of characters doing one thing to get from point a to point b, that's pretty much how writing a stories go. At this point I've been writing for over an hour so I might not dive too deep into this.

First think of. What is the status quo? What's usually normal in this world? Then. What happens that causes a change in that normality. And there's your beginning of the story.

Again, think about how the characters will react to this change? What do they do next because of it? What is something they want? What is something they need? What do they do next to get it? And what do they do if an obstacle appears in their way.

If you know the climax or any events in the middle, just think of what you can do to guide this character so they can get where they need to be for these events. Then what does the character do to get out of the situation?

As for the ending. You can establish a new status quo. What's going on now in the world after all the adventures they've gone on? What's your stories message? What do you want readers to take out of it as they reach the end?

Miscellaneous bullet points

Sketch!! Do a lot of little doodles of character designs or scenes to help get the ideas flowing!! Don't feel obligated to post these online, draw what you want for you

What if? A lot of AU ideas can come from asking what if x happened? Maybe there's a point in a game where something you were hoping to happen, didn't. Well, what if it did?

Use a notebook!! Sometimes, it's better to take a break from the screen and get all your thoughts down traditionally and break them down in a way you just can't in Google docs. Try making a mind map. Start with one idea and branch out from there.

Review the source material!! Get an understanding of the characters and their world and why they act that way

You can write scenes out of order! Then when incorporating it all together into a main storyline, just think of what the character did to get from this point to the next.

Save deleted scenes!! Keep them in a separate document. There's always a chance you can use them for something else later

Keep readers engaged by raising questions within the story and not answering them until later. Say Sonic gets hit by a spell but don't say the exact effects just yet. Have Sonic slowly notice them himself. But he doesn't realize what's wrong. The readers will be curious to what exactly happened to Sonic and if it can be fixed. When a question is answered, raise another one. Sonic and friends learn about the spell and luckily! There's a cure! Unluckily, they have a time limit. Will they make it in time?

Create an outline, but don't stick strictly to it. This what I usually do. I let my thoughts run wild as I piece together what happens in the story. It's messy and chaotic. I'll show you an example of my outlines if you go over to my main blog. Then I use the outline to guide me as I write, looking at it every so often but not 100% following it. There will be times as I write that I deviate completely from the outline, adding or changing different scenes because it just makes more sense for the story. The outline is a guide of suggestions, not an instructive manual.

Hope at least some of that made sense and provided some help!! If you've got more AU specific questions feel free to ask here!

If you want more on story writing or you want a look at my story outlines, I'd like to direct you on over to my main blog @starzdeath

[soft-persephone]

Triple Frontier

Rewatch and Review

I did a deep dive in the making of this movie and it adds to the experience.

They worked will a real team of navy seals to really make the team feel more authentic outside of their preexisting relationships with one another. The guns they used were real and everything. They truly learned not only physical, but also the mental aspects of being a team of people in the military who operates at such a high level.

They all had a separate member of the team to go one on one with as well. It’s truly fascinating.

The director is JC Chandor, and he’s also directed and written A Most Violent Year.

I’m finding that his movies are mainly character driven. It’s more about complex characters in different situations or how they navigate a specific environment. There is a “story/plot”. The premise of the story can be interesting, but the complex nature of the characters is what really sells the movie.

This specific movie is about the special forces and how they navigate life once they “retire”. Which is the most obvious part, but it’s also about a group of guys who did it together and have a reunion.

I think what makes this movie special is how they all interact and how different and similar they are. It can be argued that Santiago starts the movie hungry for more. He just wants more. Out of his life, out of his job. He wants something to show for all the things he’s lost and missed out on while “fighting for his country”. He not only wants it for himself, but also for the people he served with.

They’ve all moved on with their lives. In whatever way that means. Santi wants so much more for them. Doing whatever he can to convince them to join him, isn’t selfishness, but a love to him. A vow to his loyalty and how much he cares about them.

They don’t see it that way, but he’s fine with that. Because he sees the end result.

He pushed and he pushed hard. It might not have been completely right. But it’s not completely wrong either.

You could also argue that Tom is the one that made the wrong move in every turn. One look at the money changed him completely. He went from ambivalent at best to, beyond all in. He was gone. It’s in the way he stopes following their plan. How he says they got time when the didn’t. How he put them in a situation to kill people they didn’t anticipate killing.

You see this change between both Tom and Santiago. They both start the film at completely different ends of a spectrum and swap places by the end.

As they keep going, Santiago , and the rest of them for that matter, care less and less about the money with them. They give up more and more as things get complicated. However, Tom argues more and more. Every time he opens his mouth, it’s about how much money they are leaving behind. It’s in that tension of his greed and the goal of getting home that gets Tom killed.

By that point, Toms loss is when there’s a change in everyone. It’s where now they have to get at least some of this money for Toms family. However, even that gets complicated. Lorea’s men have caught up with them, and are blocking their escape.

There’s a beautiful moment when Will calms Santi down when they have to figure out how to confront the rest of Lorrea’s men and how they are all teenagers. Santiago says they have to kill them all because he can’t grasp doing this all for nothing. He doesn’t want to go home, tell Tom’s family he’s dead, and have nothing to show for it.

He says “I thought we could do this.” And in that specific moment you can see how upset he is that every thing is falling apart. How he accepts that very fact in this moment that they failed and need to focus on getting Tom home. He’s made a complete assessment change on everything. The money and what he thought he wanted.

It’s an amazing arc for both of them. (Not Tom dying. But the processes of greed to his ultimate downfall, and Santi’s deliverance of sorts to accepting the simpler things of life. That he can’t beat the system even if he tries really hard. He just has to take the short end of the stick that has inevitably been offered to him, and find a way to be content with it.

I will never be able to shut up about this movie! Thank you for reading if you made it this far!

[sskk-manifesto]

Next time we should just skip over ep 3 and do a chapters 84-87 reread

[crystalkitty1220]

Man I wonder where the leader of the fear realm could've gone, it's alMOST LIKE NEVIN HAS AN

[sysig]

My kingdom for a "So you say” (Patreon)

[fumifooms]

do you have any character analysis posts you're working on? i'm currently mulling Daya/Dia over in my head right now. In general, I'm thinking a lot about Kabru's team because they don't show up much in the manga and won't be in the show much longer as noticeable players, but have quite a bit of outside-the-manga content to comb through. Personally, I like the idea of Rin and Dia becoming friends with Marcille post-canon, but I want to know them better first. I know Rin pretty well already. 1/2

(for example, Rin/Dia/Marcille seem to like clothes, and i want to draw them clothes shopping.) And I ask this not to put all the work on you! I want to discuss these characters with somebody, and you're one of the only ones I can think of who enjoys doing in-depth dives into the side characters of Dungeon Meshi. You, summerboletes, shisurus, and ambrosiagourmet are some other blogs i can think of that made great meta posts. You can reply to this privately if you want! 2/2 (think about it. daya has a boyfriend and marries him post-canon. marcille loves romance and loves clothes. it'd be adorable if she helped daya find a wedding dress. like kabru introduces them and dia (god i'm so used to writing 'daya') mentions her wedding and marcille immediately pounces on her with eyes sparkling in excitement. i plan to write this fic one day)

This idea is so cute! I’ll also check out those other blogs you mentioned when I have the time to hehe~ I do latch onto minor characters easily but it doesn’t mean I have much to say about everyone. Dia (agreed btw, the situation with Daya vs Dia is confusing)… I do like her, but I feel like her Adventurer’s Bible profile sums it all up quite nicely and straightforwardly honestly. You’re right though her reaction to the treasure bugs was so cute and honestly surprising considering her appearance and demeanor, she does like pretty things and jewelry I could def see her going shopping. More content of her would definitely be fun, I’d read your fic!! I do love imagining how everyone’s relationships are like in Kabru’s party, the intricacies of it… I haven’t mulled it over enough though. I’ve been thinking of Mickbell more because of recent posts though, also Rin… If you’d like, the dunmeshi discord I’m in would be a good place to brainstorm about it I think! Hmu for an invite if you want

Summing up the posts I’m working on was long so here’s a cut out of mercy

I have 78 drafts on tumblr currently oh boy… The thing about my process is that I ramble easily but then I need to compile panels to illustrate the points and that’s real tedious… Character analysis wise - I’m most hyped about a Falin one on the topic of if she’s a people pleaser, how much does she care, what’s her way of thinking etc etc, also her differences with Laios because I hate seeing people seriously say they’re the same person. - Also a Cithis one that I just need to streamline at this point. I want to analyze her demeanor, poke at her psychology and analyze her relationships, she’s fascinating. - Oh I’m so stupid I almost forgot to mention the one I’ve been working on currently about Thistle, the age shenanigans but in an in-world way where yes it’s wonky and it means something. He hauntssss me I have so many thoughts on Thistle & Falin lately. Like, offtopic for the analysis but… Falin loves nature and Thistle is named after a flower… Imagine her post-canon coming across wild thistles and feeling a rush of fondness and she doesn’t know why… Thistles have thorns but they taste sweet… Peel of his thorns and eat him pls.

I have more Chilchuck & family thoughts coming, and more Toshiro & family, but these will have more of a casual brainstorm & speculating tone to them, I also just need to streamline these… Like I am obsessed about Toshiyuki and Chilchuck’s alcoholism I’m sorry

Beyond those the topics of the character analysis become more specific, like - How much social awareness does Laios have? Not none, not a lot, but the specifics can be blurry in ways I think are interesting, he was sensitive to people’s judgements in his hometown after all, and he does worry about others’ perception of him… He does know that buzzcut guy was taking advantage of him, etc etc. - There’s an extensive one I want to make on how the winged lion reflects abusive relationships, like how he targets all his ‘meals’'s specific weaknesses and draws out the worst in each of them. A lot of Dunmeshi is about unity and overcoming prejudices & differences & flaws and forming deep and long-lasting bonds despite it all, and amongst all of it it’s like… How flawed relationships with flawed people can still be made into somehing good and healthy that make the world brighter… Except the winged lion there to represent abusive relationships which you need to fucking DITCH, lol. - And on the topic of Dunmeshi & relationships I want to talk about it and queerness, especially in the queerplatonic sense of blurring lines, and Izutsumi + Laios’ relationship to touch should feature in those.

And my crown jewel but I’m soooo hyped about the Marcille & Chilchuck’s arcs one I’m working on it’s gonna go over so much stuff I’m obsessed about, like the importance of books in Marcille’s life, what the succubi reveal about the characters in what ways, the theme that’s so prevalent in Dunmeshi of idealization, Marcille’s imagery as a dungeon lord, a shepherd a general a princess a monster a damsel a woman in mourning…

But that’s enough for heavy ones, side characters wise: doing quick posts like for the gold-stripper characters has been great, but those usually come to me on the same day that I post them. I might make some analysis posts on say Mickbell or Holm or Otta, but I don’t have the thread I want to follow yet. Flamela’s been on my brain so much too…

Mostly though there’s just a lot that I wouldn’t write analysis for, but that I’d love to explore in fanfics! For example, the hienbeni I want to write the most rn is about the surges of anger that Benichidori gets, impulsive and stressed out. I haven’t made a post on my Izutsumi & Benichidori brotp and all the interesting parallels I think I have, but I’ve written a fic on it! Same about Chilchuck’s daughters and their relationship with his alcoholism, etc. I explored the guilt and confliction he may feel about his wife in my fic Enough as well, etc etc. You can see my fics here! For Kabru’s party lately mickrin has been having a chokehold on my brain, I’d love love love to explore Rin’s and Mickbell’s characters and issues through fics for them. As I think you might have figured, I love to explore characters through the lenses of relationships they have with others (Cithis & Mithrun and Pattadol, Thistle and Falin, etc), and that’s why for example I love to make posts that pitch ship ideas, I think specific dynamics can really have a lot to say about either characters. Oh another one’s toshimari, I want to make a fic about them and their feelings of being foreigners and not being able to integrate well to The Island, through the plot of them going to a restaurant as coworkers and the food they eat there~

These are only the ones I have at the top of my head though………. Someone help me Hopefully this post wasn’t boring lol, but yeah those are my wips rn. Need to make posts on toshimari, kabushuro, cithaios, cittadela and ships like that I think have interesting potential too. Many of these I’ve mentioned here I’ve had in my drafts for like 6 months btw gdvd 😭

[definitelynotshouting]

Do you have any tips for starting a story? The middle and end is easy (lie) but the beginning SUCKS to write sometimes

oh gods no joke openers are one of the hardest part for me. Theres so many ways a story can start, and it makes me CRAZY because that right there is your hook, thats what convinces people to start reading!!!!! And there are so many unique ways one can start, so it ends up feeling a bit like that one reaction image of the girl being handed so so many pancakes

I think for me, what i try to ask myself when sitting down to write an opener is: "what kind of story is this?"

Because each story needs something different to accomplish its goals. A slower story might want to take its time with setting the scene, while an action-packed one might start in media res and with a bang!!! I guess if i had to give advice i would say, take the time to identify what your story is trying to say, and then look at what different openings can do for you to identify that goal.

For example; this is from my fic when the night cries, which is essentially a ghost story:

This was meant to be an introspective story, with a very gentle pace overall, so i took the time to really set the scene, build up the sense of what we're looking at before we get dropped into the fic proper. I remember my thought process for this was: how can i make this unique??? how can i make it FEEL like one of those old paintings with the beautiful yellows and summery oranges, while giving the reader a sense of whats to come?? Adding in the repetition of "it begins" was a way for me to sorta hammer that home: this is the start. This is where the story originates. And in a technical sense, it hooks your attention, with the question and immediate answer within the narration. The intention here is for the reader to want to know why this is important, and now it's answering that, but still leaving gaps for more questions.

Now compare that to, say.... lost in the dark's opening:

The overall pace of hunger au is slow, but this opener isn't-- partially because it's a rough draft, but also because what i wanted out of this scene was a sense of deep, deep urgency. We're in the middle of action; Grian is physically running while he thinks, and i wanted the reader to feel hunted and uncertain with him. Dropping everyone in with Grian at one of his most frightened, shaken points was the best way i felt i could establish that scene, and throughout it i drop hints as to what's actually going on. He's scared. He thinks he's going to hurt people. He's been on the move for a very, very long time. These are all things that are meant to pique interest and get answered later, when the reader is already invested. And i guess in that regard, its really all about timing.

But yeah!! Rambling aside, i'd say try out a few different ways of opening your fic and see what works. Think of em as thumbnails; write maybe 200 or so words at most and see if something works better than something else. I think theres this secret culture of shame among writers for not putting the perfect start down on the page the very first time you open the doc, but it's super normal to have to workshop things around to your liking!!! There's absolutely nothing wrong with writing a few different openers to see what works best for you and your story, and in fact is something i genuinely recommend. Its good practice, and essentially functions as a warm-up!!! You also get the benefit of exploring new angles in a scene, which can sometimes unlock really cool stuff for your writing

Sorry for how long this is, anon!! Hopefully you find my rambling helpful :D thank you for sending in this ask!!!

[conspiring-limabean]

jurassic world chaos theory is very good. its kind of insanely good for something that's a sequel to goddamn Camp Cretaceous. and im losing my mind because no one i know gives a single damn about it but it's like. actually so fucking good

[helsex-moved]

hey there! I know you've only talked about it twice but i'd love to hear about your exhels western au!/nf

HI. HELLO

Okay it's been sooo long since I talked about this to anyone let me remember

If this sounds incoherent that's because I've only talked with one person about it at length, months and months ago

Where we start Ex is on the run from England for treason (what they did is unimportant, just a coup) and runs to the very edge of civilization, the heart of America. But in getting there they used all their money and has to turn to stealing, they get pretty good at it to, becoming a bit infamous.

Meanwhile Hels is deputy in a small town with Wels who is sheriff and he's so tired of it. It's boring, a stifling job under a brother he's always been seen as second best to.

So maybe when Ex comes to town and Hels happens to catch them he lets them go, maybe several times, because at least this is something new - someone new. And so maybe they fall in love and maybe they meet in the dead of night, until Wels catches them and throws Ex in jail. This is the deciding moment Hels has been waiting for, so he breaks them out and agrees to run away with them and join in on their life of crime

But there's an issue

The scar on Ex's face, under their mask. A Cheshire grin that never healed quite right the cruel reminder of why Ex will never be accepted by most people ever again.

Infection sets in quick, they didn't make it far before Ex's injury had gotten bad. Really bad. With them at deaths door and no other options Hels swallowed his pride and fear and took them back to his town.

He begged Wels not to throw them in jail or turn in Ex, to harbor them just long enough for Ex to heal and live. Wels almost didn't want to, the reward money for turning in Ex dead or alive would be enough to fix up this little town and give it new life.

But looking at his little brother on the verge of tears over this criminal, this stranger, he realized he just couldn't do it. Even though Hels had betrayed him and run away.

He called for their doctor and kept their existence in his house secret for the weeks it took Ex to heal. When he woke up one morning and they were both gone he knew chances were he'd never see either again, but he still felt like he'd made the right choice.

From there I have less of a coherent plot and more general stuff, they do have two horses a Clydesdale and an unknown breed (I know what you're thinking but there is a story reason behind the horse types), and on their journey to who knows where they slowly decide they'd like to stop being on the run and settle down for once.

Then it turns into mostly domestic fluff about them and their ranch/animals. They'd also run into other hermits too though I won't name names until I have things more thought out.

[babisawyer]

paramount+ has given up on me suddenly so I've only been able to watch a tiny bit of scream 6 so far.

[imwritesometimes]

I'm at that stage where I can so clearly, vividly see all the scenes. I can connect all the dots. It's all coming together. But my god it takes so long to write. That I just end up. Not doing it.

[exopelagic]

DND IS SO FUCKING COOL