#I think the final product is much better for the rewrites though

[a-path-diverged-in-the-woods]

Welcome to "My Hero Academia: A Path Diverged in the Woods". This is a living choose your own adventure story featuring Uraraka Ochako. The adventure starts when Ochako meets Toga in the forest at Summer Camp. How will this meeting change this time around? Will they be enemies, rivals, friends or more? You decide.

There will be a poll below the cut at the bottom of each main post. Read the section and vote how you see best. When the poll finishes, new fiction will be posted based on the results of the poll. Each poll will be based on a decision Ochako is facing in the moment. The answers may not always be obvious. Further information is available pinned to this blog.

Now enjoy this tale of two girls, a hero and a villain, continuing their chat from inside a jail cell. Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 available here.

Chapter 6: Girl Talk

Ochako rested on detective Tsukauchi’s couch with her eyes closed. She tried to calm herself to decide her next move but felt several opposing desires gnawing inside of her. She wanted to help Deku by giving him the address, but she also wanted to be involved in the rescue. Talking to Toga had awoken something inside of her. A desire to be active. To be useful. To be a hero. Toga was the first villain she’d defeated. The first suspect she’d interrogated. The first person she’d convinced to help the heroes against the villains. And the first person she’d rescued. It was intoxicating.

At the same time, she felt like her conversation with Toga had been cut short. They’d been coming to a sort of understanding but had stopped right before the breakthrough. Maybe if they kept talking, she would finally understand the girl whose smiles she couldn’t get out of her thoughts. Ochako had never met anyone with so many different smiles. The variety and meaning behind each confused and fascinated her. When she thought of a villain, she didn’t think of a girl her age. But here was proof in front of her. What had happened to Toga for her to become a villain? Was it an external event or was it something internal to the girl? Something inherent? Was being a villain just in her nature? Ochako realized she needed to know.

Checking the time Ochako saw that she had two hours until her friends planned to meet to rescue Bakugo. Kirishima had told everyone when and where to meet. It was a sign of trust that no one would turn them in, but Ochako also knew no one would take him up on the offer. This was too big for them. At least, that’s how she’d felt a few hours ago. Now, just maybe, she felt like she had to be involved.

New determination filling her, Ochako balanced her desires and stood up. She took a deep breath and headed into the main part of the station. She found a desk being operated by a secretary and approached. “Hello?” she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

The secretary looked up at her. “Hello. Do you need something?”

“I would like to visit with someone.”

“Is a detective expecting you?”

Ochako shook her head. “Not an officer. Someone in the jail.”

A frown. “In the jail? Who in there could you wish to talk to?”

“Toga Himiko.”

A look of surprise. “Why would you wish to talk to a villain like that?” asked the secretary. Then, dawning comprehension. “Wait, are you a UA student?” Ochako nodded.

“She’s not just any UA student.” Ochako felt someone clap her on the back as they moved to stand next to her in front of the desk. In between trying to not get bowled over she glanced up at a tall man in uniform. He had red skin, horns growing out of a bald head and a bright smile filled with rows of sharp teeth. On his chest was a name badge, Lieutenant Akumetsu. “This is the little hero who caught Toga Himiko. Didn’t you just have an interrogation with her?”

“I did.”

“What, got a taste for interrogation and want to see what else you can learn?” His tone was friendly, teasing.

Ochako shook her head. “No, I just wanted to talk. Like people.” It sounded stupid when she said it aloud. This was a villain she was talking about after all. A villain who’d attacked her. This desire of hers was absurd.

A strange expression flashed across the lieutenant’s face before the smile returned. Ochako wasn’t sure what she’d just seen, but something about him reminded her of Toga. “I see,” said the lieutenant. He turned to the secretary. “I’ll approve the visit and escort our little hero to meet with Toga Himiko. There should be no issue with just a chat.”

The secretary looked like he wanted to disagree, but after a moment he just nodded. “If you’re both so sure, then I wish you luck.”

“Right this way,” said the lieutenant. He led Ochako through the busy police station, curious glances thrown their way. She ignored them and just focused on following. She was past the point of feeling self-conscious.

Soon enough they exited the main part of the station and got to a hallway where they only passed a single person. The person nodded to the lieutenant, shot Ochako a questioning look that she avoided and went on her way. They made it to a stairway that led down below the station.

“Due to Quirks we need to be a lot more cautious than they were in eras past,” said the lieutenant, leading Ochako down the stairs. “Quirks demand a level of security to prepare for that isn’t very friendly to people in custody. Especially when we don’t know what their Quirk is. I don’t like the idea of keeping a young girl like this locked up under the station. Luckily, she should be out of here soon and I would hope on her way to a rehabilitation facility. Somewhere nicer that she can get the help she needs.”

“I’ve never really thought about all that before,” admitted Ochako.

“Most people don’t. Villains are just the people heroes beat on television and then they’re locked up out of sight. But for police and heroes, I think we need to think about them more complexly than that.”

“Like how?”

“As people who are hurting and need our help too.”

“But they hurt people,” said Ochako. Toga hurt people. Her shoulder stung again.

“Both can be true,” said the Lieutenant. “But if we don’t do it, who will?”

As they approached the bottom of the stairs, Ochako could hear someone talking loudly and passionately. “-believe this? The higher ups are hesitating to send that psycho to Tartarus. She attacked children, shouldn’t that be enough to prove she’s a dangerous villain who should be locked up?”

“Is that gossip I hear?” asked the lieutenant as they got to the bottom of the stairs and could see two officers, a man leaning against the wall, and a woman behind a desk. Past them was a see-through wall with the outline of a door in it. Beyond that was a series of metal doors. Cells, Ochako assumed.

“It’s not gossip if it’s the truth,” said the leaning officer, turning to face the lieutenant. “What’re you doing down here, sir?”

“Just escorting someone who wants to have a nice chat.”

Both officers looked to the lieutenant, then to Ochako, then back to the lieutenant. The one seated started typing away at her computer. “But the only prisoner in jail currently is the League of Villains member Toga Himiko. You want to talk to her?”

Ochako nodded. “I do.” She took a deep breath. “I already interrogated her, but I want to see if I can just have a chat with her.”

Lieutenant Akumetsu clapped her on the back again. “Listen to this little hero. Doesn’t hearing something like that make you feel like the future is secure when us old folks retire?”

The woman at the desk laughed, but the other officer scowled. “That’s stupid and reckless. There’s nothing to be gained by talking to someone like this. You trying to get yourself hurt?”

Ochako became conscious of the bandage on her shoulder. She resisted touching it, clenching her hands by her side instead. “I’m aware how dangerous Toga is. But I just want to talk, and I think she does too. Where’s the harm in that?”

The scowling officer opened his mouth to shout at her, but lieutenant Akumetsu clapped his hands loudly and drew all attention back to his toothy smiling face. “I think that’s enough of that. Toga Himiko is secured, and they’ll be talking through a wall. I’ll also be watching, there should be no danger. And if there’s any kid I’d trust to talk to her, it would be the little hero who caught her. I doubt anyone else is more aware of what Toga is capable of. Even villains get visitor rights. Could you log the visit for me, and I’ll take her right in?”

“Yes sir,” said the officer at the desk. He typed something into the computer and then the transparent wall buzzed and the door in it swung open. The lieutenant led Ochako past the scowling officer and through the doorway. It was shut behind them, and they walked to the end of the hall. They walked past several open doors revealing empty rooms. Only the final room was closed, a metal door blocking the view inside. “Here we are. Give me a sec to see if she’s up to seeing visitors.”

Ochako nodded, her heartbeat picking up pace. What would she do if Toga said she didn’t want to talk to her? Would it be strange and embarrassing to walk right out of the station if her offer was rejected? She wasn’t sure she’d be able to resist running out as quickly as possible, head low so no one could see her face. Maybe the lieutenant could sneak her out?

Lieutenant Akumetsu knocked on the door, waited a few seconds then slid open a viewing port in the door. “Evening Toga, you awake?”

“Nope. Sleeping soundly.” Ochako felt chills at the familiar voice.

“Sorry to disturb you then,” said the lieutenant with a laugh. “You decent? You’ve got a little hero who would like to talk to you if you’re up to it.”

A pause. Ochako’s breath caught in her throat. Then, “If the little hero can stomach seeing me just in my panties, then I think I could spare a few minutes from my busy schedule.”

“I’ll let her right in then.” The lieutenant opened the door by putting his hand on a scanner then gesturing her inside. “Enjoy your chat. I’ll be right here. Let me know when you want out.”

“Thank you,” said Ochako. She walked through and the door shut right after her.

Toga’s cell was very basic. There was another transparent wall separating the room in two, the outline of a door visible in it. On Ochako’s side was a couch for a visitor and a small television built into the wall. The news was on, but the TV was muted. On Toga’s side was a bed and toilet. And sitting on the bed was Toga Himiko.

“Disappointed that I’m not in my underwear?” asked Toga, holding her arms out, her orange prison garb completely covering her.

“Not really,” said Ochako, turning away in embarrassment. How could this girl turn being fully clothed into something lewd just through suggestion?

“Oh? I figured since you’d come back to visit me at night in my room that you were expecting something steamy. An illicit rendezvous with a villain while your crush ignores you to go rescue someone else. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

“I just came to talk,” said Ochako, forcing her gaze back to Toga. The villain had moved to lounge on the bed, one leg in the air. She was focusing on her toes instead of Ochako. Something about that annoyed Ochako.

“I really don’t have any more information and talking to me in a more comfortable setting instead of a cold, hard interrogation room isn’t going to change that.”

“Not about hero or villain things.” Toga’s golden eyes casually drifted towards Ochako. “I just wanted to have a…girl…chat….”

That got Toga’s attention. She sat up, put her elbows on her lap and her head in her hands. “I could go for some girl talk. We going to talk about how dreamy Izuku is while covered in blood?”

Ochako shook her head. “No!” She took a deep breath. “Maybe more like things to get to know each other first. Like…introductions?”

“But we already know each other, don’t we O-Cha-Ko?”

“Proper introduction,” said Ochako. She gestured to herself. “I’m Uraraka Ochako, age fifteen and hero in-training at UA Academy. My Quirk is Zero Gravity. I love Japanese food, especially mochi and my blood type is B. What about you?”

Toga smiled. “My name is Toga Himiko, age sixteen and a member of the League of Villains. My quirk is a se-cret.” A wink. Then, her smile widened to show fanged teeth. Ochako was suddenly feeling regrets. “My favorite food is…,” Ochako inhaled sharply, “Pomegranates.” Ochako gave a sigh of relief, then felt embarrassed as Toga laughed. “What did you think I was going to say? Blood?”

“Uh…,” Ochako absently rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “It did occur to me for a moment that might be your answer. Pomegranate is surprisingly normal.”

“I do enjoy blood though.” Toga stood until she was right up against the wall. “Especially the blood of those I find cute. You’ve got some cute blood. I wish I could get a taste of it.”

“You’ll need to buy me dinner first,” said Ochako, trying to cover up her embarrassment at being studied so intensely.

Another laugh. “I’ll make that the first thing I do when I get out then.”

Toga went back to laying on the bed as Ochako took a seat on the couch. The pair were silent for several minutes. Ochako tried to think of what to say but was coming up blank. She’d never had trouble talking to people before. But there was something about Toga that made it hard for her to speak. Finally, she settled on a topic. “What school is your uniform from?”

“All over,” replied Toga, lounging on her back on her bed.

“All over?”

“Yep. I built it from all the cutest outfits I could find while on the street. It worked really well, didn’t it?”

Ochako thought back to how ill-fitting the sweater had been. Suddenly it made sense. “That skirt was a little short though, don’t ya think?”

Toga sat up and smiled brightly at Ochako. “Were you oogling my legs, Ochako?”

“Of course not!”

“I bet you were,” said Toga in a sing song voice. “More importantly though, was that the hints of a cute accent I heard for a moment there?”

Ochako averted her gaze, blushing. “What if it was?”

“See, this is why I love you, Ochako. We’re both keeping secrets, putting up fronts to seem normal in a world of expectations. To the people born normal, who it all comes naturally to, they’ll never understand us, and we’ll never fit in with them.”

Ochako looked back to Toga. The girl had a neutral expression on her face. “Toga…,”

“Himiko.”

“Huh?”

“I told you to call me Himiko.”

“To-“

“Hi-Mi-Ko. Easy, right?”

Ochako took a deep breath. “Himiko.” Himiko’s smile reappeared, but this one was less predatory, more joyous. Ochako liked it much more. “What do you want?”

“Well, I’d to see some more of your or Izuku’s cute blood. I could do with Tsu’s I guess. Maybe see you crying on the floor. Tears add a lot to the cuteness of a person.”

“I’m trying to be serious here.”

Another predatory smile. “So am I.”

Ochako clenched and unclenched her fists a few times, taking a deep breath, then releasing it. “Please, what do you want?”

“You came to talk to me.”

“And I want to know what you want.”

A shrug. Toga laid back down on the bed. “You’ll need to narrow it down then.”

“Why did you become a villain?” asked Ochako.

Toga didn’t turn to look at her. “I felt like it. Seemed fun.”

“You’re dodging the question.”

“Why do you hide your accent?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you hide your crush for Izuku? Why are you embarrassed about being poor? Why do you act like the good girl all the time?”

“I don’t act like a good girl,” said Ochako.

“You totally do,” said Toga. She was staring at the ceiling and kicking her legs through the air again. “You want to be normal. To be like everyone else. To be accepted. To hide your real face so that others don’t reject you. Doesn’t that get tiring?”

Ochako wanted to protest, to refute Toga’s comments, but she stopped herself. The villain was partially right. She did hide her accent to not stand out as a hick. She didn’t have a crush on Deku, but she was drawn to him in a way she couldn’t describe and wasn’t comfortable talking to people about. They always jumped to conclusions like Toga was. Her closest friends knew that she was poor, but it was still embarrassing to admit. And she kept up a smiling polite face to her parents. She couldn’t worry them, after all.

“Maybe I am embarrassed a bit,” said Ochako. “It’s hard to show parts of myself to some people. I don’t want to worry my parents; they work so hard to care for me after all. And by being normal, by not embarrassing myself and by making friends, I can put their minds at ease. But is that so wrong?”

“It’s pretty stupid,” said Toga, putting her legs down but not looking over at Ochako. “The world has shackled you, forcing you to be who you aren’t. I hate that type of world. It’s not cute at all.”

“Is that why you became a villain?”

“Who knows?”

Ochako took another deep breath, then let it out. She checked her phone. A half hour had passed while they’d been talking. She would need to leave soon. It was a short train ride to the hospital, but she wanted to get there early to not miss Deku and the others. She was sick of sitting around and wanted to help rescue Bakugo. Like a hero would. Right now was probably as good a time as any to leave. But as she stood to excuse herself, she felt unable to turn her gaze away from the girl currently ignoring her. Lieutenant Akumetsu’s comments about how heroes should treat villains rang in her mind. She considered his unspoken conclusion; if we don’t help them or give them a chance, who will? She took another deep breath. “Himiko…”

Himiko glanced over to her, a look of surprise on her face. But only for a second. It was quickly replaced with a toothy smile as Toga hopped to her feet and skipped over to the wall separating them. “You called, O-Cha-Ko?”

“I want to help you.”

A laugh. “Sure you do. Why don’t you start by breaking me out of this cell first?” Himiko continued to giggle at the thought.

Ochako clenched and unclenched her fists. “Sure.”

The giggling stopped.

#     #     #    #

Akumetsu Saito hummed to himself outside Toga’s jail cell. The girls’ chat had been going on for quite a while, which he viewed as a good sign. He’d always admired heroes, even if his Quirk hadn’t been well suited for the profession. There was nothing that gave him more pleasure than assisting heroes. Especially the idealistic ones.

There was a knock on the door behind him and he turned and said loudly, “You done in there?”

“I am,” said the little hero. “May I come out?”

“Sure thing,” he said, opening the door. Uraraka exited the room, her expression bright. “Have a good chat?”

“I did,” she said.

“Here, let me walk you out.” He led the girl down the hall and waved to the guards. They buzzed Uraraka out.

As the little hero was leaving, she turned to him. “Oh right, Toga had a question for you.”

“I’ll go chat with her then. You good leaving the station yourself?”

A nod. “I am. Thank you for everything.” Then the little hero was gone.

“What a strange kid,” said Officer Eizen, a perpetual scowl on his face. “You actually going to give a villain the time of day?”

“There’s no harm in answering a question,” replied Saito. He turned back around. “I’ll be right back.”

Saito made it back to Toga’s cell and knocked. “Hi Toga, I was told you had a question for me?” No response. He knocked again. “Toga?” Still quiet. He unlocked the door. “Sorry, I’m coming right in.”

He opened the door and stepped in. What he saw was not Toga, but a brown-haired girl laying on the floor of Toga’s cell. Unconscious. “Uraraka!”

The girl came to consciousness, groaning. “Uh…” She looked up at Saito and her eyes went wide. “Lieutenant Akumetsu?” She scrambled over to the door of her cell and tried to open it to no avail. “Please help. I’m sorry, Toga tricked me. She knocked me unconscious and snuck out. I think she has a transformation Quirk!”

“I’ll get you right out,” said Saito. He opened the door and the girl practically fell out of her cell. He caught her and helped her stand. “That must’ve been Toga I let out. I’ll go right after her.” He turned around, back to the girl. Then he felt a sharp pain in the back of the neck as he fell to the ground and the world went dark.

#     #    #    #

Himiko hummed to herself as she walked out of the police station. That police officer’s blood had been surprisingly tasty. Not as good as Ochako’s of course, but not unpleasant. Maybe she should send him a thank you gift later? She had his wallet; she could probably buy him something nice.

She took her time walking to the station. It was in a lesser trafficked area that she entered the women’s restroom and found a stall in which to wait. Ochako hadn’t arrived yet. Himiko dropped the lieutenant’s phone into the toilet then stood in the toilet bowl. She balanced herself with her arms on either side of the stall and dropped her transformation. Most of the goo from her Quirk was caught in the bowl. A few dots slopped against the floor though. That was sure to confuse a janitor later. She flushed the remains of her escape down the drain.

“Hello?” asked a timid voice. Ochako. “Anyone in here?”

“Occupied,” said Himiko in a sing song voice. “Why don’t you join me?”

“I’ve got the clothes.”

“Are they cute?”

“I think so?” replied Ochako. “They should be better than that jumpsuit you’re in, I guess.”

Himiko got out of the toilet bowl and unlocked the door. She swung it open with a bright smile on her face. “What ugly jumpsuit?”

Ochako let out a small squeak as her face turned bright red and she averted her gaze. “Why are you naked?!”

“That’s just how my Quirk works,” replied Himiko.

Ochako held out the clothes she’d bought, never looking at Himiko. How cute. She took the clothes. “Thank you very much.” She slapped Akumetsu’s wallet into Ochako’s hand. “Here, take how much it cost from here. You can even return it to him when this is all done.”

Ochako looked at the wallet, then to Himiko, then quickly turned around. “It’s no issue. The clothes are pretty cheap.” The hero in-training pocketed the wallet without opening it. “How is the lieutenant? You didn’t hurt him too badly, right?”

“I played nice like we agreed on,” said Himiko, trying to look as innocent as possible. “Knocked him right out, took his blood then bandaged it up like you told me to. I was a good girl and I deserve a treat.”

“Thank you for doing that. He’s a good man and doesn’t deserve what we did to him.” Himiko caught a cute expression of melancholy for a moment. But then Ochako went right back to business. “Now, please change quickly. I’ll go buy us tickets.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Himiko closing the stall door. She slipped on the clothes Ochako had put thought into buying for her. She slid on the cheap panties and bra and thought about the embarrassed face Ochako probably made when she bought these things for another girl. She admired the shorts Ochako had bought her, sliding them on and finding them able to stay up but slightly loose. And finally, a plain red T-shirt. Simple, but cute enough for the moment. Once she was dressed, she tied up her hair in a single messy bun and slipped on a black face mask Ochako had included. She was good at sneaking around, but it never hurt to mix things up while keeping a low profile. But the most effective cover was going to be traveling with Ochako. One girl was suspect, two were friends.

“I got the tickets,” said Ochako through the door. “Are you done changing?”

Himiko slid the lock open but didn’t touch the door. “Why don’t you open and see for yourself?” There was a moment of hesitation, but Ochako opened the door. Himiko made a cute pose. “Are you disappointed to see me fully clothed?”

“No,” said Ochako, averting her gaze. How cute. “Let’s get going. We’re going to cut it close on meeting with everyone.”

“Eh, worst comes to worst we go ahead,” said Himiko, following after Ochako. “It’s not like we don’t know where we’re going.”

“But we need to be able to offer that help to the others,” said Ochako as they scanned their tickets and passed the turnstile. “And it wouldn’t be good if they were surprised by you being there. They might think you’re an enemy.”

“And who says I’m not?” asked Himiko with a broad smile.

“I do,” said Ochako, boarding the train.

Himiko lagged for a moment, considering staying behind to lose her guide. It would be so easy. If Ochako was doing this properly, she would’ve had Himiko board first. Always keep her slightly ahead and in view. Instead, she naively walked shoulder to shoulder, and boarded the train first. It was laughable.

Ochako turned to see if Himiko was following and found herself nose to nose with Himiko as she invaded the hero’s personal space. “Going to keep moving and give me some space or just stand like this the entire time?”

“Let’sgofindseats!” said Ochako quickly, turning and leading the way as the doors shut behind them.

As the train started to move, Himiko followed her hero and mused about how fun this night was going to be. Corrupting Ochako to be like her would make her blood even tastier. She planned to savor it.

#     #     #      #

Saito sat up in his new cell, rubbing his neck. “Damn, she really knocked me out. I was planning to play dead but guess I didn’t need to.” He held up his hand and saw that a strip of cloth had been ripped off his shirt and wrapped around his finger in a rough bandage. That was a surprise. Toga wasn’t known for kindness like that. He took it as a good sign. That kindness hadn’t extended to not taking his phone or wallet. He bet his money was being used to facilitate her escape and his phone was probably in a fountain or trash can somewhere. She’d left his watch though, and checking it told him that he’d been out for about fifteen minutes. Toga had already been fed dinner, so it would be a while before anyone came to check on him. Most likely the guards wouldn’t bother to walk down and check on the cell until the morning. The chances of anyone finding him soon were low.

So, he grabbed the remote and turned the volume up on the TV and waited for the UA press conference to start. That should be interesting. Bide him over until he found out how the little hero was doing in reforming their wannabe villain. He couldn’t wait to see what the pair managed to do. He had a good feeling about them.

[salemlinnet]

hey everyone!

a few news items right before we start up chapter 5. firstly i just wanna say thanks to everyone who follows my comics, it's been a pleasure as always. i've been keeping a longer buffer on patreon than usual, mostly for my mental health. publishing takes a lot of energy and i've really felt it necessary to just focus on production for a few weeks. at this point, patrons have seen most of chapter 5, there's only one more scene and about a page to be drawn. the quiet has been nice, i've caught up on a lot of house keeping, though i'm obviously very excited to present it! and on house keeping,

DOMESTICATED IS NOW LIVE AT IT'S NEW HOME!

to not go into the boring details (the old domain got trapped between to hosting sites in the middle of a buyout), it's not hosted at cod-domesticated.com (rip custom url you will be missed) it will instead be hosted at salemlinnet.com/domesticated (now you live at my house like you're my son why didn't i think of this sooner). if you find any errors in the pages i am so sorry i just formatted so many buttons TTuTT it would be super helpful to me if folks could report any specific buttons that don't work if it's convenient, it's been beta tested by the discord (thank you guys so much) but i'm just a dunce and i can't be trusted so there might be errors.

the simons are all wearing a little beret this chapter is my third point of business, i am losing it over the ghost beret. oh and the devil may care is up to chapter 18, will be chapter 19 within a few days. page 21 is out for patrons.

finally, to the people lurking for thistle and spade. i've wanted to say for some time, i'm really grateful that you've stuck around while i've been too sick to work on a bigger project. if you were here to see me start production for and then pull ghost #1, the story behind it is that i sort of suddenly learned i wouldn't always be as sick as i was, that i didn't have to rush anything, and that i could produce thistle and spade in chronological order with a bit of patience. that left me with no smaller project to draw and release in the mean time, except, see, i really like this game, call of duty. i was still on bed rest when i started domesticated, and with a ton of physical therapy i've been able to draw longer and longer hours. it's trained me up to be a better comic artist than i ever was before. it's grown into a sturdier project at the same pace. it's so unlike thistle and spade, whose chapters were written and edited over years and planned to every gesture and expression. i'm just winging it with domesticated, i'm usually rewriting massive swaths of dialogue as i sketch the scenes out, i just keep throwing out ideas until it's something i'm excited to draw and present as my imaginary "what happened outside of the games" day dream land. it's reminded me what i love so much about story telling and comics. it's made me excited to see thistle and spade go live again down the road. but first i have to rebuild its website too TTuTT

all right i'll see everyone pretty soon! thanks for hanging around as usual!

[lilykydillac]

Congressman! Bucky Barnes x Secretary! Reader

Word count

1,768

Summary

She gets an escape from home, and he gets an escape from work.

Bucky needs to adjust to a new kind of job, and that means finding new ways to relieve stress. When his new secretary seems to match his work rhythm, he sometimes allows himself to lower his guard—though sometimes, it backfires.

Warning

+18 MINORS DNI, domestic violence, alcoholism, PTSD, self-harm, mentions of BDSM, power dynamics, and anything else I might have missed I’ll add it. Please feel free to tell me about it

Based on and inspired by the movie Secretary (2002) and the book Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill (on which the movie was based).

N/A

I've been writing and rewriting this thing for a while, the story I wanted to tell I think will need more parts, so I think I'll publish this in Spanish first on Wattpad. Publishing here feels so serious for some reason. Anyway, here's the beginning. Remember that this is my first time writing fanfics and that my native language isn't English, so there might be grammar and spelling mistakes.

I want you all to know that this image is me finally posting this, because I'm very nervous.

—————————————

Screams, cries, fists pounding against the wall. This kind of violent behavior had become routine, so she wasn’t putting any effort into trying to understand what was really happening.

A door slammed shut—that was when she paid attention. She threw off the covers and ran to her bedroom window. Her father hadn’t even reached the other side of the street when he turned back, and their eyes met for a few seconds before he turned away again and kept walking to who knows where. She stood there watching until the darkness made it impossible to see him anymore. He had left again. Until when? There was no way to know. Last time, it took him three and a half weeks to return.

A few minutes later, she stepped back and sat on her bed. Her body felt heavy, but there was one part of her that burned—her hands. So much effort and dedication to keeping them the way they were now: spotless, clean, with a well-maintained natural manicure. It had taken her a lot of work to grow her nails just one centimeter past their natural length, and now she kept opening and closing her fists, avoiding looking at her hands, rubbing her fingers together, hoping the sensation would go away. She had come so far—why fall back into such a disgusting habit?

Three knocks on the door and a trembling voice. "Come down for dinner." It was her mother. She didn’t bother to answer; it was all part of the routine. In her opinion, the best thing to do was make as little noise as possible and keep interactions to a minimum—at least until tomorrow. When she went downstairs, her sister was already there, silent, frowning deeply as she pushed her food around on the plate. Alissa was four years older than her and seemed to handle things better. She spent as little time at home as possible, and when she was there, she made sure to stay away or at least not be in the same room for more than an hour. She had considered following that example for a while—getting a full-time job—but since there was no real need for more income in the family, she had been working from home as a freelancer for a few hours a day, keeping herself busy and productive in her parents’ eyes. But now, she thought it was time to urgently find something outside the house. The burning sensation in her hands was her final warning.

She sat down at the dining table and ate in silence. Next to her mother lay a half-read newspaper, which struck her as odd—no one in the house used those anymore. Her mother had become addicted to her phone, just like Alissa. So, it had to be her father’s. She must have been staring at the bundle of gray paper for too long because when she looked up, her mother was staring back at her with wide eyes and an unpleasant expression. She swallowed hard and glanced at her sister, who was looking at her as if she had just done the most blatantly obvious thing not to do.

"Go throw that away," Alissa muttered through clenched teeth, not waiting to hear anything else from her or their mother before getting up and practically running out the front door.

The lump in her throat must have been from the saliva she had swallowed because there was no other way to explain the tightness cutting off her breath. When she opened the trash bin and tossed the newspaper inside, a bold, black-lettered headline caught her eye. Just one word: "SECRETARY." Few requirements. Relatively close, enough to save money on the ride back home. There it was, her quick escape from the house and from her disgusting habit. A smile spread across her face unconsciously, and she spent the rest of dinner with the piece of newspaper tucked into the back of her pajama shorts.

————————————

Dress pants, a sleeveless white blouse with a pattern of small black dots, low-heeled patent leather shoes, her bag, her lipstick, and… She glanced over her shoulder at her nightstand, where, behind her lamp, sat a small bottle of nail polish pearly pink, of questionable expiration, and with the worst taste imaginable. It had been her ace up her sleeve during those moments when she couldn’t help but put her hands in her mouth. And when she finally managed to break the habit for more than six months, she decided to keep it as a reminder and a warning. "Get out now! You'll be late for your interview!" Her mother’s old, beat-up car honked a few more times, now with excellent humor.

The walk to the building where the interview would be held was relatively quiet, and when they arrived, she said goodbye with only a couple of nods. The building was far too modern for the job listing, definitely governmental. There was no other explanation for the heavy atmosphere that could be felt even from outside. The receptionist showed her the way, and she followed her until she reached a door with a plaque next to it. The name engraved on it read: "James Buchanan Barnes, Congressman." Silver letters on a black background.

"Shit." That was the first thing that came to her mind. That definitely should have been in the job listing.

She licked her lips, and before she could reconsider and bolt out of there, the receptionist knocked a couple of times. Nothing. The silence between them quickly became uncomfortable as they exchanged glances before both of them awkwardly decided to look away. The receptionist knocked again, this time a little louder, and finally, a dull, unenthusiastic "Come in." came from inside.

The receptionist gave her a small smile before walking away, faster than before, leaving her standing in front of the door.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob, which moved away the moment her fingers wrapped around it. She had to lift her head to see the person who had just opened the door, James Barnes, the congressman, though at that moment he didn’t look like one. No suit jacket, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly disheveled, and an unkempt beard.

“Who are you?” 

She opened her mouth slightly, but her mind was distracted by the strand of hair that slipped across his face when he had to lower his head a little to look at her. He snapped his fingers in front of her, pulling her out of her trance. She slid a hand into her bag, pulled out a crumpled gray piece of paper, and handed it to him. "I'm here for the job." He raised an eyebrow before glancing at the paper, then opened the door wider and stepped aside, motioning for her to enter. "I'm assuming you brought your references, right?" She nodded, and they walked toward the desk, where he sat down, resting his right hand against his face, fingers barely covering his mouth—just enough to speak. "So? Where are they?" She pulled out a rather thin spiral-bound document and placed it on the desk. Barnes picked it up and started flipping through it.

The office was nothing special, white walls, gray carpet, without decorations, paintings, or even plastic plants, it looked empty, almost depressing. The only things in the room were massive windows that offered a decent view, the desk, and a couch.

As she took in her surroundings, her gaze fell on the floor, covered in stacks upon stacks of documents. She grimaced, a reaction that didn’t go unnoticed by Barnes, who had stopped looking at her file a while ago. He lifted it and tossed it back onto the desk with a loud thud, snapping her back to the moment.

"I need someone who can keep up with me, who can get the work done without me having to check in or push them," he said, raising his left arm. Although she watched him for a few seconds, she didn’t seem scared or impressed by it, which he liked. Instead, she focused her gaze to the monstrous columns of papers.

"Getting started on this could take entire days, maybe even weeks, just to catch up." He noticed how she bit the inside of her mouth while she continued looking at the stacks of documents, as if she were already planning where to begin.

"I can do that" she replied.

“It's very dull work” he hurried to say.

"I like dull work"

He narrowed his eyes, looking at her incredulously.

"Don't get too excited. It’s demanding and more stressful than I should admit. You might spend days away from home on business trips…" No boss should speak this way about a position they’re desperate to fill, but the meaning of what he’s saying almost made her smile “…I don’t even want to describe the pressure you’ll be under. Everything you do will reflect on how people perceive me as a congressman, and there’s no margin for error." He made sure to emphasize that last part almost as a threat, harsh words, spoken by someone irritated. She let them slide—after all, someone buried under that much overdue work couldn’t be expected to say anything pleasant or be in a good mood.

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Barnes." She answered in a soft tone, completely different from his and the way she said his title sent a tingle through his brain.

He nodded slightly and placed his right hand on top of the spiral-bound document, sliding it across the desk toward her.

"I'm desperate for a good coworker—someone who's not just efficient. I need loyalty." She placed her hand on the document as well, almost inappropriately close to his. "Betrayal is not in my nature,” she replied in a low voice, without a hint of doubt. He let out something resembling a sly smile and pulled the document back toward him, tucking it away in his desk drawer. “We’ll see. That’s why, starting now you’re on probation” He tore off a Post-it and quickly scribbled down a number. “It’s from the old secretary. Contact her to learn everything you have to do, and show up first thing tomorrow morning. You have three weeks to prove you can handle this job.” She nodded eagerly, and after several excited thank-yous, she left the building, practically skipping. She got into her mother’s car, where the woman had been waiting outside. "Well?" her mother asked anxiously.

She straightened up, a proud smile spreading across her face to answer "I think I got it."

[kiththecat]

how do you make the plot of your fanfics? do you just wing it? or do you have a plot outline or a lore document of some sort

ok this answer became longer than i intended but i love talking about writing. im just going to talk about it from ajwiaap perspective but this is my general experience with all longer works. 

i kiiiinda wing it. i'm good at storing ideas in my head so i rarely put them on paper because everything changes so much all the time that it'd be a lot of effort to write down.

i'd say the main thing i do for plotting is just thinking about it. a lot. like every time i go for a walk, or before falling asleep, or when im doing every day tasks, or sometimes just sitting down somewhere and jumping into my head for an hour to play out scenes and tweak ideas.

my outline and all the lore exists pretty much only in my head. i have a short list of acts of physical affection that i'd like for clownzy to do and turn to that for inspiration every time im writing a scene. i also have a list of park-related ideas. and i did keep an outline for the first few chapters but, well, the level of effort put into it can be shown in the way i wrote chapter 10 plot down:

- “Watch and learn, Kaboodle.” fucks shit up!!!!!!!

- (gets depressed)

with the "watch and learn, kaboodle" dialogue never happening and the (gets depressed) being his stir crazy arc.

i DO have a vague plan, but i also give myself a lot of freedom to switch things up. i find it more fun to write when the scene im writing can take a sudden turn because i came up with something new on the spot.

a few instances where this has happened:

chapter 12 was almost fully written and edited before i came up with the breaking the wrist conflict, so i had to rewrite and edit almost all of it

despite setting up ash and squiddo spending a night in the park, i only came up with the idea of them being there the same night as minute as i was writing the start of chapter 9

the chapter 13 clownzy renegotiation is literally two drafted scenes with vastly different contexts and atmospheres in a trenchcoat. honestly have no idea how i pulled it off.

for the first two months of writing i imagined clowns house to be a much smaller, cosier place, until they finally got there and i was like.... this is no place for branzy to go insane

when i wrote the halloween murder scene i too had no clue who the murderer was. all i knew was that clown knew.

the scene where rek and branzy call the kids on new years eve simply did not exist until i was editing, but now it's important to the plot.

(for every new lovely idea made on the spot there's like two drafted scenes that will never see the light of day also god bless)

in the earlier chapters, back when i was updating every week (insane behavior) i was much more focused on writing... clownzy. in a way. like, yes, still big clownzy now! they're weirder than ever. but back then, the plot was kind of a background thing to me and i prioritised silly and weird flirting. but as my attachment to the fic grew (and as i started getting a lot of feedback from you guys like !!!!!!!!!!!!! holy motivation) i started wanted to just flesh things out more, build the world a little better. one reader asked me some worldbuilding questions in chapter 9 and i found it really fun to think out the answers.

which is also why the updates are slower now. i spend hours thinking about how to make the plot work and how to set up the concepts that need to be introduced (it's either thinking deeply about the world and the complexities of the character dynamics or me just thinking about clownzy kissing. no in between. one is much more productive). i dont wanna post something if i have this sense that there's a better direction to take it, or if the dialogue sounds clunky to me. im also mildly upset that i didn't get into proper worldbuilding a bit sooner but i think the evil capitalism workaround + branzy being unreliable narrator has helped it make sense, even though there are things i would go back and change in earlier chapters to make the worldbuilding better (if i wasn't too lazy to be bothered)

all that being said. in short terms. what happens with me and writing long fics is that usually, i'm like "ah, this will probably be about 20k words" and then i get to 20k words and the fic has taken over my life and i'm suddenly saddled with the task to think of a proper storyline. and the "taken over my life" is not hyperbolic, it is literally all i think about.

and as of now, the outline is as polished as it's ever been. it also still only exists in my head, but ive set up things for the major plot points im planning, so im not winging it entirely, just keeping it in my head! :D

[nightlyrequiem]

Be Still My Heart

Chapter 12- The Shower Task

Masterlist AO3 Next Previous

New Chapter Every Saturday

You're the best in the meth industry but a new product suddenly pops up. You and your boss, Valeria, must figure out who is making it so you can take back the market. All the while tension is building between the two of you.

A/N: I cut open my foot in July when I was outlining this chapter and couldn't shower for a couple days. Was awful. It's also shocking how much a simple cut can bleed. I have a scar now, it's purple and sticks out a little

Tags/Warnings: Illegal Substances, Boss Employee Relationship, Angst, Some Hurt/Comfort, Violence, Manipulation, Suggestive Themes, Smut (But Only in CH19.), Dual POV

Sleep does its best to evade you that night. Between the unwelcoming unfamiliarity of the guest room to the slight ache in your leg, you just lay there awake. Finally, late into the night you begin to fall asleep. Resting uneasily.  It's quiet all the way out here. A silence only cut into by the occasional bark of coyotes. It feels like as soon as you close your eyes you're opening them again. Valeria sharply knocks on the door and doesn't wait for you to bid her entry. She walks in and sets down a pair of crutches next to you.

"You can't do much with your leg," She starts. "you'll help me around my office."

You rub your face and sit up, feeling as heavy as two and a half bags of bricks. "... Okay." It's not what you want to be doing but your options are sorely limited.

Not only are you supposed to help her in her office, it turns out, you're confined to the office. Having to ask her for permission to use the bathroom like you're a child in school. It seems she doesn't trust you with the important paperwork, so you're stuck reading the official contracts and agreements that need to be signed in order for her to keep her possession of the fisheries and warehouses. The subtle scratching of Valeria's pen makes it difficult to focus on the swimming words in front of you.

"Valeria?" You pipe up.

"Hm?"

"... I think... could you send someone to look through the lab for my notes?" You ask.

The scratching stops.

"Your notes were in the lab when it exploded." Valeria says flatly. You look up from the documents and meet her gaze. She's backlit by the harsh sun shining through the window behind her. Making her shadow lunge imposingly across the floor towards you.

"Yeah." You frown. "Can you send someone?"

"Yeah, I can send someone." She sighs. "You could still cook without them though right?" She asks.

"Yeah." You reply calmly. You're not sure though. You know how to make passible meth, but you'll have to try and get all the ratios right again. You decide not to tell her that. "Just makes me feel better to have them on hand."

Your notes haven't been recovered.  So you've been spending the last couple of nights trying to rewrite everything you can remember. Maybe it's time to move onto a more modern way of keeping notes. Digital notes can't burn in fires, but it doesn't feel right. The first night insomnia has disappeared and you're stuck fighting sleep. Not wanting to stop now that you're going, hand moving faster than your mind. Scribbled out mistakes litter the lined pages of your brand-new notebook. Risk of destruction isn't the only issue with physical notes. It's hard evidence. Or perhaps soft evidence.

Your mind comes to a blank and you resign, closing the notebook and lazily pushing it to the side of the bed. Due to your injuries, your hygiene isn't what it should be. Valeria had taken you back to your apartment for the essentials like she had promised, hair care, bodywash, toothbrush and toothpaste, spare clothes. All you've managed was changing each day and brushing your teeth. You still can't fully stand on your bad leg but it's healing fast. Faster than a fracture should. You're starting to suspect the doctor is an idiot and that your fibula and tibia weren't injured at all. Or at least, not at severely as he said.

The need to clean yourself beyond sitting on the bathroom floor with a soaked rag tugs at you. You want more water, soap. You feel filthy, like you've grown a second skin made of grease. You struggle off the bed, considerate of your leg and ribs and slowly make your way out of your room. Casting a glance into the hallway that leads into the living room. 

In the bathroom you lean your hip against the sink and discard your crutches. Stripping out of your clothes is frustratingly harder than it needs to be, especially with the unnecessary cast. You lumber into the bathtub, struggling with how little weight you're able to put on your leg. It's worse some days. The shower is still wet from when Valeria used it. The water slickens the porcelain. You bend down and turn on the water, flinching at the cold spray of water,  and adjusting it to be warmer. You curse, realising you forgot a rag to clean yourself with. Warm water pelts your back as you contemplate if maneuvering back out of the tub for one is worth it. 

You decide that it is. Getting out is harder than getting in. Your knee almost slips out from under you when you kneel. You swing your good leg over and push yourself to an unsteady stand. Placing a hand on one pale blue tiled wall to keep yourself up right. You reach up and snag a rag. The sound of the shower drowns out all noise as you awkwardly climb back into the tub. Your blood freezes as you step on the curved edge and slip, Slamming into the wall and knocking bottles off of the side. You gasp, feeling a burn in your thigh and leg. You look down, checking it over.

The white bandage along your upper thigh, soaked gray from the water blooms red. The fall reopened the large cut. It dilutes in the water, swirling into the drain. In seconds the bandage has turned red.

"Valeria!" You panic. It heightens when she doesn't come so you call her name louder. The burn in your thigh hurts more than the throbbing in your leg. The bathroom door flies open and Valeria shoves the curtain out of the way.

You can imagine what you must look like right now. Laying in the tub naked getting sprayed in the face by the shower, a river of red running from your leg.

"What the hell happened?" She barks, leaning over and turning off the shower, getting her arms and shoulders wet.

"I fell." You reply sharply.

"Really? I thought you were just laying on your side and bleeding for the fun of it." She retorts. "Come here." Valeria carefully pulls you from the tub, ignoring the hiss of pain as the skin on your thigh stretches.

The feeling of her warm hands along your bare ribs is overwhelming. She doesn't offer you a towel to cover yourself, instead just sitting you down on the side of the tub. Water droplets drip down you and pool on the ground as she retrieves something from under the sink. It's a bucket of supplies. Bandages, stitches, alcohol, scissors.

"You're bleeding all over my bathroom." She says, beginning to cut away at the soiled bandage. You know you are, you can smell the nauseating metallic tang of it. "You tore the stitches, I'll need to fix them." Valeria comments. You wish you were a little more prepared to be seen naked. You wonder what she thinks of the sight. 

Valeria painstakingly takes out and restitches your thigh. Leaving the skin tender and delicate to the touch. She even wraps your thigh in a new bandage. Giving it a gentle pat when she's finished.

"You'll live."  She says. You don't respond, feeling embarrassed. You can't even shower properly without turning it into an issue of some kind. Valeria goes quiet as well. The silence is oppressive and uncomfortable. You're far too aware of the fact that you're naked in front of your boss, who had to drag you from the tub like a wounded soldier and fix your injury for you. She places a hand around your shoulders. "Come on, you need to lie down and stop putting strain on your leg."

Valeria walks you back to your room, arm still around your shoulders, keeping you pressed against her. You feel tired and gladly lean against her. Giving up on caring about your nudity. The white sheets suddenly feel welcoming as you lay in them. Pulling the covers over your body. Valeria lingers beside the bed. Seemingly unable to trust you to settle down without hurting yourself. You're left wondering what else will go wrong this month.

[artisimpossible]

My post about the mess that is trad pub editorial is going around again, and a lot of people are asking "so should I go indie or go trad?" and the answer is *it depends on what you're looking for*.

[I'm referring to "indie" here meaning self-pub and "trad" meaning a publisher, though most small publishers will lean closer to self-pub in terms of distribution and whatnot]

This has always been the answer, but the reasons behind it have changed a lot. People used to say "go indie if you want full control, go trad if you want someone else to handle everything else for you". This is only partially true. Even if you go trad, unless you are part of a handful of heavily supported titles, you will be doing *a lot* yourself. From editorial (I know people who were advised to hire freelance editors or sensitivity readers on their own because the publisher wouldn't do enough) to cover art (I know people who had to walk their publisher through getting them a decent cover) to cover copy (*I* had to rewrite the jacket copy for both of my books because the first attempt was inaccurate) to marketing, odds are, even in trad, you will be doing A LOT of the work yourself, but with more barriers because you don't *own* the print rights and can't stop the publisher from doing things you highly disagree with.

So what's the benefit of trad? DISTRIBUTION. If you are trying to put out the best possible book, I stand by the fact that indie authors have the ability to make *a way better product* than trad can because they can set their own timelines, make sure things are accurate to the book because things aren't being subdivided into so many overworked departments that haven't even read it, and cater to what works best rather than what seems the most profitable. The only limit for an indie author is the time and money they're able to invest into it, but once those things are present [and you can decide how much of each are needed for your book], they have significantly more potential than the average Big 5.

But indies lack *distribution*. There is still a lot of stigma against indie books that prevent readers from picking them up or lead to readers deprioritizing them when reading or writing harsher reviews. Many libraries, bookstores, etc. can't or won't stock indie books, and a lot of professional events bar indie authors from attending. This means that even if an indie book is flawless, they will inherently be gatekept out of places like Barnes & Noble, won't be present on cataloguing websites the industry relies on like edelweiss, etc. etc. This doesn't mean that indie books have *no* distribution, but there are massive financial barriers to entry when doing it alone, and even when you are doing the same marketing/promotion/networking/etc., that work goes significantly further when booksellers/librarians/etc. will go out and stock your book vs. when most will have to turn you down for one reason or another.

So to make this simpler, I think going indie is better for *the book*. It gives you the ability to put more time and effort into it, to ensure it meets your vision, to sink your love into it without having to boil out its uniqueness in favor of mass market profits. It also gives you the room to make sure the quality is up to your standards from editorial to formatting to cover design to quality of the print run. You don't have to cross your fingers and hope your publisher doesn't fuck it all up with AI or by working your team to death. You also get more knowledge about what is happening with your book (big pubs often withhold important information or straight up lie), which means you can coordinate more effective marketing campaigns than you would if say, your publisher decided they no longer cared to market your book (which happens for most books). Finally, publishing likes to do a two-month book lifespan, meaning most books stop getting any sort of in-house support two-months after release or earlier. If you want your book to stand a chance of finding an audience slow and steady (as in, the organic way books spread), you won't get that with trad pub.

However, trad pub is better for *the audience*. If you're writing for kids or teens especially, it will be VERY difficult to reach them going indie because indie thrives mostly on ebook sales and eretailers, which minors have less access to. Getting an indie book into schools and libraries is hard if not borderline impossible, and that is how most books reach kids and teens. On top of that, you likely won't reach most indie bookstores, most libraries, and won't be allowed at many conventions and events (even if you pitch yourself), which will limit who you can reach to people who readily shop online and use social media. There are many access points in getting your book discovered that, even if you *had* a large sum of money, would be denied to you by virtue of being indie. This makes discovery harder (even beyond marketing) and means that even people who *actively want your book* may not be able to get it if it's not distributed to their country, a store they can access, their library, etc. If you're writing to reach a wide audience, something that you think is educational, or that really serves an under-served demographic, trad makes it much more likely you will actually reach those people.

Now, obviously this is just my two cents. You can choose to go trad or indie for literally any reason, even just because you like the idea of getting published by a Penguin. I don't care. People's experiences also vary, and you could be that super lucky 1% who gets doted on and everything is handled for you. This is just a big picture summation of what I tend to see for the average, midlist or quiet title. But trad is notoriously opaque and a lot of people don't realize the advances indie has made in the past 5 years and also don't realize how any of this stuff works behind the scenes, so here's some info from your local hybrid (I do both) author. And if you found this helpful, consider checking out my next book, which is now funding on Kickstarter until Oct 12th.

[cbrownjc]

As an older fan, I’m starting to get some major Sherlock-vibes from the show, in the sense that fans are coming up with all these big-brained theories to explain weak writing that we have to have faith will come to fruition in some future season. Why make the change to Lestat saving Louis? Why is Louis seemingly stronger than Armand?  Why have the Loustat reunion, only for Louis to leave and challenge the entire vampire world (despite the fact that he’s apparently in a better place mentally-speaking)? Why publish under Daniel’s name, when that would clearly paint a target on his back, especially now that he’s a vampire? What’s going on with Daniel’s eyes?

The whole “spite” thing seems like a clear mis-direct, but with only like 8-ish episodes a season and Dubai-era Devil’s Minion being 100% subtext so far, I don’t think the writing team can do DM justice. All the inconsistencies seem like they’re being written off because it’s the unreliable narrator show, when they’re actually just plot holes.

Like…I 100% think the writing team forgot makers can’t telepathically talk to their fledglings, and that’s why they had to add in the throwaway line of Lestat actually whispering to Louis in 1x02. There was no hidden reason we were meant to find, it was just inconsistent internal logic justified because Louis can’t remember anything correctly.

IDK. I don’t want to be a downer, but a lot of my hype for the show just kinda fizzled out with the finale. I'm still gonna watch S3, but I think I'm just gonna wait til the whole thing comes out this time.

Hi!

So I never watched Sherlock nor was every in that fandom, though I did hear about some things after the fact. So I can't compare it to that fandom. But I can compare things to another book series that was being adapted fandom I was in which was Game of Thrones. And I think wrt things we are at least nowhere near that level of things and theorising. Yet.

Maybe because, unlike ASOIAF all the VC books are written and done. So that's a plus.

And see, the thing is? I can actually see a lot of methods to the madness of some of the things you've listed. Especially given the nature of how the story in the show is told through POVs. Where the issue comes into it is not ever knowing if what you are seeing is true, false, or just an interpretation of the truth -- as in Louis' POV of the play-trial rehearsal.

And I'd really like to know if how they ended this season is how they plan to end every season when a full book has been adapted? Something that wraps up the main character arc and story, but just leaves a host of other questions that, if we weren't getting a Season 3, would have never been answered. And who knows if they will all be answered in Season 3? As far as Devil's Minion goes, or Armand himself, I'm not expecting it to be now, given that Season 3 is The Vampire Lestat adaptation and Armand is a straight-up villain/antagonist in that book and Daniel doesn't appear in it at all, so anything we get with him will be extra anyway.

Now, as to whether Rolin Jones and the writers have a plan, Rolin says he pitched an 8-Season (or so) Arc to AMC before he was given the show to run. So at the moment? That is the only solid thing we have to go on right now wrt if there actually IS a play or not for the show.

But see (and oh boy, please forgive me as am I about to go into a big digression here), plotting a TV show is much harder to do than a book or a movie. TV writing is way more organic given that unforeseen circumstances can occur that you've never planned for when you go into a new season of TV production. Such as the studio asking you to split the first book you're adapting into 2 seasons instead of one, leaving you with only a month to rewrite the scripts. Or, a writer's strike and then an actors' strike a few weeks later, delaying production for months. Both of which happened to IWTV wrt Season 1 and then Season 2.

So organic things beyond the show's control are why it is much harder to plan out every little detail of a TV show in advance over multiple seasons. Take another AMC show, Breaking Bad. It's known that Season 2 of that show was intricately plotted out in advance but then, after that, the writers plotted and wrote the rest of the show as things came along for the remaining seasons, with no grand design to it -- even though the creator of the show, Vince Gilligan, knew way in advance how the show was going to end. And the show was able to get there, to that ending, without having a meticulous plan over seasons on how to do so.

I mean, the character of Jesse on Breaking Bad was originally supposed to die at the end of the first season. But instead, he lived through the whole damn thing. That was not planned at all.

And I think that might very well be the situation we have going here wrt IWTV. I think there are larger things they already know in advance about the show -- which books out of all of them will adapted into full stories vs which will only get references. Which characters in the show will make it into the show as full characters vs which characters will either be cut or combined with other existing characters (as Sam Ried revealed in his interview with Autumn Brown that that is going to happen -- that some characters will be combined with others). And what end point they want each of the main four characters -- Louis, Lestat, Armadn, and Daniel -- to be at when they get to at least Season 8. (If not Season 10, which is what AMC wants, 10 seasons). I think those are things Rolin and the writers very much know.

But I don't think the show has every single little detail plotted out for every little thing wrt how they are going to get to certain things. Not super far in advance at any rate.

I do think they'll purposefully put in seeds for later -- that they very much know they are going to need later -- though I think at most they do it one season ahead if it's a little thing. I very much do think that is what the things from episodes 1x02 and 1x03 very much were, since Season 1 and 2 were supposed to just be one season originally. Or the fight in 1x05 only being shown from Claudia's POV. I think that was also deliberate and they are very much planning on visiting it once again in Season 3, as they did in Season 2.

But I also think there are some things the show has not plotted way in advance and only figured out when they are writing that particular episode. Or maybe just decided to do that season as they were writing it, and not before then. Just like how almost every other TV show works, even ones that might very well know the ending they are working toward.

So I in no way think the show has figured and plotted out every single moment and beat of Armand and Daniel's relationship. Why? Not only because much of it happened in the past -- which yes I very much still think it did -- which covers 12 years of time, but because if you look at this clip, Rolin Jones kind of hints that they haven't plotted it out completely point for point even though there are some things they've thought and figured out:

video credit: Rei Gorrei on Twitter

So as far as Devil's Minion goes, I think Rolin and Co -- mostly Rolin -- has an endpoint for it in mind. But how they get to that endpoint is probably not planned out to the letter, super far in advance. And something they very likely just come up with as they are writing that particular season. At most? I'd say they've put things in this season that will be relevant next season and that's it.

So, I'm not going to say they can't do it justice. Not yet. I frankly don't have enough data to call that in a yes or no fashion since we haven't seen anything adapted from it aside from the 3-4 days Daniel spent in a cage, which is just the very start of how Devil's Minion begins. Basically one or two paragraphs. That's all they've really adapted when it comes to it at the moment.

And hey, it's okay if you feel down about all of this. If it helps, I'd say try and take a pragmatic approach to the show season by season, and if you feel it's better to binge it than watch it episode by episode for a time, that's good too. This is going to be a long journey after all.

[vodika-vibes]

I don't know, but a lazy afternoon with Fox would be amazing to think, especially after morning sex.

Lazy Afternoon

Summary: You and Fox spend the day together.

Pairing: Commander Fox x Reader

Word Count: 845

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: Fun fact, I started this yesterday, and then got super sick, and so I had to delete everything I wrote and rewrite it, because what I wrote yesterday was trash. Anyway, I'm feeling a little better today.

You’re in the hazy place between sleep and awake, cozy and warm and comfortable, with Fox’s fingers tracing random shapes on the back of your neck while you nap on him.

Today was supposed to be a productive day. There’s so much that needs to be done to make your house livable for Fox to move in with you, furniture needs to more moved, other furniture needs to be bought-

But when he showed up that morning to help you with the move, you didn’t really get anything done before you were pressed against a wall with his lips hot against yours.

To be fair, you didn’t actually go out of your way to stop him, either.

So the pair of you spent the whole morning in bed, relearning each other as though it was possible to forget what makes the other tick.

And now here you are, splayed out on the couch, with a quiet holo playing that you’re pretty sure that Fox is watching, while you just doze on him. 

You release a soft sigh and press your face against his chest, and his hand moves from the back of your neck to play with the ends of your hair, “Are you awake again, cyare?”

You hum in response, and shift slightly so you’re able to look up at him, a warm smile crossing your face when you see that his hair is still mussed up, “Did I sleep long?”

“Only about an hour. You seemed exhausted, so I was happy to let you sleep.” He shifts and presses a kiss to your temple.

“Hm, and whose fault is it that I’m exhausted, I wonder?” You tease with a small grin. 

“Couldn’t be me, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replies with a boyish grin. 

“Oh, I’m sure,” You say with a laugh. You take a moment to press your face against his chest again, allowing the scent of Fox, warm and comforting, to fill you, and then you place your hands on his chest, and push yourself up slightly.

Fox releases a huff, and snakes his arms tightly around you, tugging you back down to his chest, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I was thinking you might like some food.”

He considers you for a moment, “I suppose I could eat,” He finally admits, “Are you going to cook for us?”

“I could, but I was thinking of grabbing my datapad and seeing if we could find delivery that would appeal to us both.”

“Lazy,”

“Guilty as charged.” You slide up just enough that you’re able to press a quick kiss against his lips, and then you squirm out of his embrace. Which you’re only able to do because he allows it.

When you return with your datapad, Fox is sitting up and you are more than happy to tuck yourself against his side when you sit back down. He takes your datapad and starts searching for food options, “What kind of food do you want, cyare?” He asks as he drapes his arm over your shoulder.

“Hm…noodles.”

“That doesn’t really help, love.” Fox replies with a grin as he drops a kiss to the top of your head, “Let’s see…oh, it looks like that restaurant you like has started a delivery service. We can get you your noodles and copious amounts of cheesy bread.”

You wrap your arms around him and lay your head on his shoulder, “My favorite. Is there anything there that you’ll eat?”

“I’m sure I can find something.” He scrolls a bit, and then places an order for himself, and then he enters your order. You take the datapad back to pay for the food, having memorized your credit chit number ages ago.

And then you toss the datapad onto the table and you snuggle close to Fox again, “There, food should be here within the hour.”

“And what should we do until then,” Fox asks, with a mischievous grin on his face.

“You’re insatiable.” You say with a huff.

“Mm. You’re addicting,” Fox slides you onto his lap, and pulls your head down so your forehead is pressed against his. “Can’t seem to get enough of you.”

You brush your thumb against his cheek, “Oh, the things you say-”

“I mean it. Every word.” Fox says, seriously, “You make me want to be a better version of myself.”

“Not sure how you’d improve on perfection, love.”

He chuckles and pulls you into a deep kiss. “I think you’re a little biased, mesh’la.”

“I’m allowed.” You reply as you kiss him again and again.

Fox releases a noise that could only be called a growl, “Careful, cyare. Keep that up and we’re going to end up back in the bedroom.”

You flash a slow smile, “Is that a threat or a promise?”

He groans, “Both. Neither. I don’t know.”

You laugh, and then yelp when he suddenly stands, “Fox!”

He grins at you as he carries you back into the bedroom. Looks like your lazy afternoon isn’t going to remain that way for long.

[woodchipp]

I think I finally have an idea how to make Headspace at least a bit more thematically cohesive - make the locations represent the stages of grief. Headspace as a whole is Sunny's Denial, of course, but I think there could be more to it

(This still takes place in the same “rewrite” where Mari kills herself, by the way. Just to be clear.)

The playground in the forest at the start of the game could represent Denial more precisely. Mari's alive, Sunny's old friends are all by his side and it's an eternal summer because that's how Sunny himself wants everything to be 

Anger could be represented by a big, scorching desert with violent sandstorms; this could also allow Orange Oasis, a leftover from early development that was left in the final product for whatever reason, to be relevant to the plot. Maybe placing the desert after Sunny goes outside and sees the “new” Aubrey could give it additional relevance - Headspace’s Aubrey could become increasingly irate as you progress to indicate that reality is slowly seeping into Sunny’s fantasies. I don’t think the Unbread Twins would even need to be changed much - just make them pissed at being trapped in an endless cycle of baking bread and have them try to take out their anger on Omori and co. lol

I guess Sweetheart's Castle could represent Bargaining? Have something very bad happen to the kids in the desert and make that the catalyst for Headspace’s Hero becoming overprotective along the lines of “If I do a better job at taking care of them, things like what happened in the desert won’t happen anymore”. Maybe the plot could be tweaked so that Hero is the one who proposes to marry Sweetheart on the condition she doesn’t hurt the kids, but she doesn’t uphold her end of the bargain and throws everyone except him into the dungeon anyway

Deeper Well could represent Depression because figuring out what whirlpool leads where is bound to make you depressed it’s a water level and the obvious “depression is akin to drowning” metaphor is obvious lmao. It would probably have to be longer, though, since it’d be the last location. Humphrey would just be Headspace’s final boss battle instead of a whole separate location.

The stage Headspace would conspicuously lack (because it loops on itself after Deeper Well) is Acceptance. I suppose Faraway Town itself could represent it in a sense. Reconnecting with his friends is what allows Sunny to move on in the original game, after all.

This idea could also establish a sharp contrast between Sunny’s dreams and the real world in terms of characterization - he slots his friends into definite and simplistic categories in his mind while the ways they grieve in the real world are decidedly different and more complex than he realizes. 

[thelasttaleofthepari]

I passed my finals and am free from the prison that they call school (for a few weeks) so time to continue my AiStars Rewrite because I am better than Bandai

(also I am prone to forgetting things so if I repeat information from the last post,,,, just be patient w/ me please 😭)

Season 1 (continued???)

Main characters as usual are Yume, Koharu, Rola, Mahiru, Ako, and Haruka Ruka 

I said that S4 only had Yuzu, Yozora, and Tsubasa but we’re changing that– Lily now is also part of S4 and takes Hime’s spot since,, yk,,, Hime’s missing 

Hime disappeared a while before the S4 Selection (so she was there for her second year at FSA and was in S4 for one year, but is not there for her third year when the series takes place) 

Hime disappeared after an S4 concert (the same one that Yume and Koharu attend to in Episode 1 of AiStars)-- and Yume was the last person to see her (and the rainbow power was accidentally given to her here idk how just bear with me) 

Anyways uhhhhh what else 

Brands in the rewrite aren’t under a specific type; they don’t fall under cute, cool, sexy, pop coords specifically (so they can make coords that vary in types) and idols can choose what coord they want based on their preferred idol type 

We’re deleting that one FSA rule where you can’t make a brand if you’re not in S4 because I think that’s lame and stupid and doesn’t do much for the plot anyways 

So some characters still have the same brands (Lily w/ Gothic Victoria, Yozora w/ Romance Kiss, Yuzu w/ Shiny Smile) but some don’t 

Ako, for example, uses a brand that’s story themed– this brand is heavily connected with a film production agency and the agency and brand correlate stories (like if the brand released an Alice in Wonderland collection, the film agency would then release a movie based on Alice in Wonderland) 

I wanted to lean more into Ako’s acting side and thought this would be a good fit 

Haruka Ruka uses a brand called “DECO●LOUR MY WORLD” that follows a decora and candy concept

Oh and she’s also the princess of this land called “E-Magi Nation” (pronounced “imagination”) and everyone thinks she’s putting up a persona because there’s no land called the E-Magi Nation silly! Except no she’s dead serious she’s a literal princess from the E-Magi Nation and her home palace is actually made of gingerbread and candy canes thank you for asking 

Romance Kiss’ official concept says that its a “brand that travels around the world” and takes inspiration from different ethnic cultures, so I was thinking this brand would have a whole bunch of branches in different parts of the world with different top designers and such– Yozora (and later Mahiru) is the top designer of the Japan branch 

The muse of Romance Kiss is in charge of representing the different cultures of the brand 

The school coords in Four Star Academy also has various silhouettes rather than the typical “different tops- same skirts and shoes” pattern 

Here’s an example with an Ako Star Coord I designed 

(I didn’t design anyone else guys I don’t have any ideas I tried with Hime and it was a disaster so please be nice about the Ako design I tried my best) 

Also people can enter the magic fitting room thingie (I forgot what its called HELP) by using their Aikatsu mobile instead of their Aikatsu pass because idk I thought it’d be cool I’m not too sure about this idea though

Lets move on from most of the plot points and go to the end of the season 1 where the S4 Selection happens because I forgot SOOOO many things!! Yay me!

In Wind Dance, Haruka Ruka loses to Yuzu (but since everyone in S4 is a third year including Yuzu, Haruka Ruka gets the spot for S4 next year) 

In Bird Theatre, Ako wins the spot for S4 by beating Tsubasa 

In Moon Beauty, Mahiru beats Yozora and inherits the muse position from Yozora

Its here where Yozora announces that she’s taking a hiatus from being an idol to focus on being a designer (for Romance Kiss) (guys I need reasons to get the 25th S4 Gen out of Season 2 okay bear with me) 

In Flower Song, Lily wins over Rola and Yume,,, however, Rola wins over Yume and gets the S4 spot; Yume becomes Flower Song Class’ admin

TLDR: basically Rola, Ako, Mahiru, and Haruka Ruka are the 26th generation of S4 and are the S4 for Season 2, Mahiru (or Ako I’m not sure) becomes the leader for S4 and we say goodbye to our previous generation of S4 

Oh and Hime shows up at the finale! But like in a super mysterious way where we know its her but no one sees her and she’s just quietly lurking and its basically a hint to her being in the next season

Season 2

Ohohohohoho here’s the fun part 

OKay SO 

The top idol Hime Shiratori has shown up to Four Star Academy… with the Perfect Idol Elza Forte 

Idk why they’re there its probably to try to steal S4 away from FSA 

Anyways Elza does her big performance and she gets her Star Wings and everyone’s in awe and she’s made her name as a perfect idol you guys know the drill 

Hime says that she has returned to help her friend Elza collect perfect idols and get all the Star Wings like they’re Pokemon 

And because of this, she is currently residing in Venus Ark (not as a student she just stays there as a guest of Elza’s) 

The normal shenanigans happen, some Venus Ark characters get their pretty wings 

Oh and later, Hime does a performance (which is her big return back to idoling (which she kinda hates), just for Elza to get her sun wings) and gets the Earth Wings 

A big thing here is how Hime truly trusts Elza and wants her to achieve her dream, doing the one thing she hates (being back in the public spotlight) just so Elza can get her mom’s approval (this is important later) 

But you may be wondering…. if Hime got the Earth Wings… what wings does Yume get? 

LOL HAHAHA GUYS 

she’s not getting any wings 

(I swear I love her she’s one of my favorite characters I just gonna make her struggle… sorry) 

The lineup for the wings goes like this: 

Kirara has Mercury as usual 

Mahiru gets Venus (guys guys calm down I know that Elza has Venus canonically but I swear I have a good reason!!!) (the good reason being that I like Mahiru and Rola together and if Rola gets Mars then Mahiru should get Venus because in mythology-)

Mahiru got her wings due to a plot point in Season 2 where she has multiple muses in Romance Kiss to show the many faces of beauty in different cultures rather than just one– she implements this officially in a festival celebrating different cultures and does a performance and BAM SPR 

Hime gets Earth because it made the most sense to me 

Rola gets Mars and Aria gets Jupiter, like in canon 

Ako gets Saturn (I kind of pushed out Yuzu and Lily in Season 2 so that they play roles similar to Yozora and Tsubasa and Hime in the canon Season 2 of AiStars, so that Ako and Haruka Ruka can get their pretty wings) 

Rei gets Uranus and Elza gets Neptune (because *mumbling* the Sailor Moon ship) 

Haruka Ruka gets Pluto and her wings are made of candy because I said so 

Oh and Koharu’s back! She was in France for a bit learning more about fashion and Elza took her in and now she’s a cool fashion designer who loves Venus Ark with all her heart and having the time of her life 

Aria and Hime also have a sweet relationship– Hime actually meets Aria in Season 2 (rather than pre-show in AiStars), and the two connect 

The main reason they connect is because they were both muses of My Little Heart. My Little Heart was Hime’s brand before she disappeared, and after she did, the whole brand was running around to pick up the pieces 

They had a little reboot and got a new muse (our little fairy Aria) who became the new muse of My Little Heart 

Hime is sorry for the trouble and hate that Aria received after she became the muse but Aria’s very sweet about it with her– they get along quite well because Aria sees Hime as this cool older sister and not a top idol, and Hime is truly at her calmest with Aria 

Oh speaking of brands, Hime has a private brand in Season 2 to avoid the same thing that happened with My Little Heart (she’s planning to leave the spotlight again after Elza gets the Sun Wings) 

We’re gonna skip a lot of plot points because.. again… I forgot a LOT of the ideas I had I should really write these down 

Hime finds out that Elza was just using her the whole time and gets really really upset,,, and pulls a little revenge 

Can you guys guess what it is 

Lol Hime gets the Sun Dress… surprise(!!)

I know Hime is out of character here compared to canon but then again this is my rewrite and I can do whatever I want and I think she should be able to destroy a few dreams because of the betrayal she feels 

And everyone was like “WOAH!! How did she do that!! Gasp!! The Sun Dress is here again??!” 

So the main rival of Season 2 shifts from Elza to Hime

Uhhh skipping more plot points,,, but Yume is doing pretty great! She was kinda moping around after she didn’t get an SPR but she and Koharu made up and created a new brand called “Rainbow Berry Parfait” Yay!! 

So she’s kinda vibing because her best friend is back 

OH MY GOD WAIT I FORGOT TO MENTION 

So at the end of Season 1, because she lost the S4 Selection and was exhausted due to the rainbow power, she took a small hiatus 

She still trains a LOT, more than she used to, so she learns to control her rainbow power again idk how 

But you may be wondering,,, Yume has no SPR nor a sun dress, how the heck is she gonna beat Hime in the finale? 

Basically, Yume and Koharu,,, craft a Moon Dress by themselves– its not given from the system or anything but they literally make a dress that can rival the Sun Dress 

Each one of Yume’s friends help her too, like Mahiru making the crown, or Haruka Ruka helping get certain fabrics? Stuff like that 

And then in the near finale of the season, Yume performs in this Moon Dress (without wings) 

She activates her rainbow power and has a super powerful aura,,, except the rainbow from her aura then goes into her back,,, and forms a pair of wings 

And its sort of basically the system deeming her “worthy” of the Wings of Stars 

Yume wins the competition and beats Hime– so both of them sort of get what they want? Yume is at the top now because of her hard work and now her super rainbow power and Hime is finally lifted the burden of being the top idol 

Also Rei, Aria, and Kirara get Elza’s mom to give her a hug and they sort of mend their relationship from there 

And in the end of the season, Yume beats Rola in the S4 Selection, Mahiru, Ako, and Haruka Ruka win their S4 spots again

Rola decides to go to England to find out what being an idol means to her (and makes a cool rock band because I think that’s what she deserves) 

Koharu is now the top idol of Rainbow Berry Parfait– she leaves Venus Ark and opens a boutique that is also a candy shop because why not 

Ako is the top actress,,, ever; she’s getting film deals everywhere, every movie she is in sells out completely, she’s a big hit 

Mahiru is a supermodel, she’s constantly traveling the world for brand deals; one of the most influential people in the world 

I’m ngl I barely talked about Haruka Ruka,,,, oops I swear I love her 

I imagine that she gets her own talk show that’s super successful- I also remember making her have a rivalry with Yuzu so she probably beat Yuzu sometime in Season 2 but I never mentioned it until now 

And Yume is the top idol of top idols; she’s now the leader of S4 with her super successful career and now she’s just vibing 

Elza and her mom are working to mend their relationship good for them good for them 

Also Elza apologizes to Hime for using her because I think Hime deserves that apology; they don’t end up being friends again but they do end their little,,, whatever they had going on, amicably 

Venus Ark leaves Japan at the end of Season 2 and they’re gonna go to some other country to girlboss and be better than other idol schools good for them 

Hime actually stays in Japan! She now helps with Hotaru’s (Moroboshi’s sister) flower shop! 

Yozora is the top fashion designer for Romance Kiss in the Japan branch 

I think Tsubasa starts an idol agency because I think it’d be cool to have one of those and no one would do it better than Tsubasa 

And Yuzu and Lily make their own idol unit its literally a canon event 

And I think those are all my ideas so far for the series but if I remember any more ideas I’ll probably reblog this with the new ideas 

Also if you read this whole thing, I APPLAUD YOU BECAUSE HUH??? One of god’s strongest soldiers fr 

(Note: I swear the characters, especially the main six, are very close to each other I was just trying to get my ideas out so I didn’t focus on much on the relationships between characters) 

Also I definitely planned more for lore building like the origin of the rainbow power and how the aikatsu system works (because that thing is definitely sentient,,,) but that's all in Season 3 + 4 where there are new characters (,,,,my ocs,,, STOP SCREAMING I AM BUT A GIRL WHO WANTS TO INDULGE HERSELF IN HER LITTLE DELUSIONS!!!) so that may be a different post,,, maybe

(special tag for @elcall, I hope I did Ako justice 🫶)

[tumblingxelian]

Some of the asks sent to @citadelofmythoughts had me musing on all those RWBY fanfic animation projects proclaiming to be rewrites.

Firstly, I am eternally vexed that there's so much energy and resources being spent on stuff that spins the wheels of Beacon forever or is basically the original series but with screenshots & also bad.

Like, can you not imagine how cool it would be to be having fan projects around "What of RWBY were dragon riders" or "What if RWBY were super heroes?" or "What if RWBY but older, Weiss never escaped Atlas, Blake's now a general in the White Fang, Ruby is Weiss's bodyguard & Yang's a WF double agent & also dating Blake" AU.

This is also why I don't take any real issue with that Qrow centric project as that at least exploring a less utilized character, new or rare locations and original story beats.

I am also suddenly reminded that ages back I full on considered trying to get a group together for a RWBY fan project. I can't recall the name now, but it was basically an ABRN-AU.

Or more, "Explore these side characters by making up backstories for them and giving them a fun little arc". In this case each got a color trailer and had a local villain in the form of a gang boss to beat cos some team members pissed them off.

But I didn't have the 3D skills then that I do now, or the time sadly & I imagine it might not have taken off anyway, but cest-la-vie.

As it is, I think there's a couple of reasons why this keeps happening.

Though, to be clear, I know some people who work on some of these and are both very nice and some do have people that really like the show making them, or who at least aren't RWDE levels of "CRTQ".

This is more talking about their general explosive number and scale compared to more original or challenging projects.

Firstly, on a pure production level it is easier long term to make a handful of fairly iconic set pieces and then have the characters just hang around there. As opposed to exploring, seeing new places, meeting new characters and doing new things. Almost like producing something at the scale of actual RWBY is really hard and expensive.

Secondly, even when people do like RWBY make these projects they have a vested interest in keeping it to pre V3/Pre-Fall era stuff. Reason being the RWDE crowd has proven time and again willing to throw money hand over fist and even dedicate hours upon hours of free labor to productions like this. As it provides tacit confirmation of their world view and serves as another bullet in their clunky ass gun that they fire off whenever they can cos apparently they've nothing better to do with their lives.

Third and finally its... I guess comforting? Familiar? Simpler perhaps? Even wen telling something more dramatic like Dust Queen, having a stable setting, no ticking clocks and a 'safe' locale for the heroes with supporting characters on hand but not needing to be present. It makes for easy watching...

It is rather like the 'Bat-Fam' Web Toon where everything is simpler and easier cos all the edges & potential complexities in the story, setting or cast got filed down. Maybe new one's were introduced but those are entirely in the authors control as opposed to leaving them grappling with canon.

That's just my take though.

[sleepyowlwrites]

hello, since you oferred advice to the other anon can I get some words of wisdom too? you don't have to, I understand it can be a lot to ask. or maybe just a ear to listen? idk I'mhaving mixed emotions right now because somet things made me realize that even though I like writing, it's only gonna be ever for myself. which isn't a bad thing but I wanted to one day publish something but I find out now that writing is really hard and I don't have the discipline or even much interest it studying how to do it "right" like all the technicalities and stuff. so really I just like the finished product and how it "looks" in my brain more. I do like trying to figure out how to make a story make sense and all the behind the scenes stuff, but I'm rarely able to get to that stage due to being tired and unable to focus/ discipine myself to work.

I was wondering if there was something I could do about it? I mean I guess I need to accept that now when I write it's just gonna be as a hobby and for myself. though, similar to the other anon, I would like to share my writing, I mean I think we all want to share something we make at some point. but I probably have to give up wanting to make any kind of career or even part time thing from writing. I'm just not built for it I guess.

it's hard to accept. I tried developing templates for myself to follow to make it easier but I failed. I've tried many tips and suggestions and advice to write better but I just can't seem to grasp the craft. even reading doesn't help me.

I've thought about writing poetry instead, like you. but even though I like reading it I don't really like writing it much. I prefer to have characterts and drama, typical story stuff. but I struggle when it comes to putting everything together and actually crafting/building the story rather than just tell it.

sorry this got too long, I'm not really sure what I was trying to say, just need to go on a rant. I'm sorry if this was rude of me. thanks for reading if you do and I always like your responses so that's why I reached out, but let me know if I shouldn't do it like this

Had to wait until I got home from work.

So it looks like you understand your situation pretty well, actually, which is great to see.

Writing doesn't have to be a full time thing for you to go the published route. We have several published authors on here who have other jobs! You don't need to devote your whole career to it. It's fine for it to be a hobby and for it to be a hobby that you'd like to pursue a final result in.

If writing is something you enjoy, keep doing it, and if you'd like to progress, you can do it. (You can probably do it. Not everything is achievable for everyone. I will never be able to do advanced math, no matter how hard I try. My brain can't process it. But from what you're saying, your braincan process writing.)

You already know stuff you like or dislike, right? You know the story, just not how to tell it? Here are a few things that have worked for me and my discombobulated brain.

1. Bullet point lists. Just listing off major plot beats in bullet points. It's not an outline, it's not a plan, it's just a list of stuff that happens.

2. Rubber ducking. I pick somebody from something I've watched recently - for a whole there it was Keanu Reeves - and I explain my story to them multiple times so I understand myself how it works. Or not.

3. Draw a map. Not just a land map, but a map of where the characters go and notes on where they're from and what they're doing in each place.

4. Ask games. I make up so much stuff for ask games and some of it even stays canon!

5. Don't try to fit yourself into one mold of one type of writer. Just write whatever. Write one wip or 17. Write short fiction. Write fanfiction. Write one paragraph stories. Write comics with stick figures or rambling prose that goes nowhere.

5. When you read, rewrite it in your head. Edit those books! Pull out a trope you notice and stick it in a story. (A trope is anything as general as "enemies to lovers" and as specific as "traumatized tall girl with a big sword.")

6. Actually rewrite scenes, from any media you like. Choose a new pov. Focus on a particular sense, like touch, or write it in future tense, or change the setting.

7. Write descriptive prose that's not a story. Write something that's only dialogue. Write journal entries. Switch it up.

And sweetheart, if you are unable to focus or enjoy this hobby that is usually a good time for you, I think think the hobby is the issue. There's something else going on in your brain and taking up the space and you don't have room to create.

For instance, I work retail, full-time, and it’s the holiday season, and I'm fatigued and stressed and not currently writing anything. But I was also not writing when it wasn't the holiday season. And I was too fatigued to create then, too. And it's probably because my depression is acting up.

This might not be the case for you. I can't know. But everybody learns differently, and if you're willing to try new ways of learning, you might find the one that works for you! I hope so. I hope that you sit down with your brain and parse through it, taking the time to figure out the style that suits you best.

But mostly I hope you understand that regardless of how your brain functions or doesn't, that you are amazing and trying, because you like this thing, and you don't want to give up on it. So good job. As long as it is a thing that you like, I hope you keep trying. Somewhere there is a method that speaks to you, some way that helps you find the dawn after the dark. I believe you can find it.

Keep going, love.

[nonbayanary]

Just gonna vent a little about my fic

I'm rereading some parts of my fic and I WANT TO SCREAM AJDHDJDK like, "NO, HIRUMA WOULD NOT SAY THAT???" but it's ME who wrote it and i want to bash my own head in! To my present self, I feel as if my past self mischaracterized Hiruma so much in Chapter 2, and I feel truly ashamed of posting it at its draft stage. (Although I posted it BECAUSE I was sure that if I didn't do it soon, I would delete the whole chapter entirely smh.)

Which is why I feel genuinely shocked sometimes when people say they like my fic hhhhh. Like please don't get me wrong, I'm so so SO GRATEFUL, and I love all the kudos and comments! But sometimes, I'm teary-eyed, like, "Hiruma and Sena are SO mischaracterized here, and yall still love this fic, despite its flaws and shortcomings? AAAAAAAA!!!"

I'd also like to say that now that I'm rereading Sena's dialogue in my fic, I'm screaming, "SENA WOULD NOT SAY THAT!!!" Like ohmygod, WHAT HAVE I DONE, WHY DID I POST THIS???

But also, I can't really blame myself??? I wrote Chapter 2 when I was low on sleep, and ULTRA HIGH on coffee. Like, after working a 9 to 6 job, which is on a COMPUTER, I'd eat dinner, and then continue spending my night hours writing Chapter 2, STILL ON THE COMPUTER. Veins in my eyes would regularly pop, and I'd be typing deep into the night with scattered blood on my sclera.

Because of that, I was almost always sleepy in the daytime. So I'd combat that grogginess with coffee—TOO MUCH COFFEE. In just a few hours, I'd drink three cups of coffee, and top it off with a fourth cup, just to get the inspiration going. And inspiration WOULD come, but I'd be so high that my fingers were shaking. I would feel like I was on a different plane of existence, lile my whole core was vibrating with caffeine. My hands would dance on the keys of my keyboard, as fast as Eyeshield 21 himself. Yet, I'd be so high that I wouldn't even FEEL the keys on my fingers.

I'd be triumphant—but only for a little while. The caffeine crashes afterwards were shit. Inspiration would stop flowing, and I'd just stare at the screen blankly, all blood-red eyeballs and despair-filled gaze, with the knowledge that I ruined my body—and would continue to do so—for one mere fic chapter.

It's understandable that Hiruma and Sena would say shit they wouldn't, because I was high as fuck, and low as shit on logical reasoning.

Still, I can't help but cringe when I reread my fic, the product of several months' worth of sleep deprivation and self-sabotage. Would Hiruma say, "Lead the way"??? Would he say, "Due to certain circumstances, I will be passing away"??? FUCK NO!!! Would Sena say, "And you're the troublemaking son he talks about"????? Would he say, "So you noticed"???? I THINK THE FUCK NOT!!!

But I think all I can do is forgive myself for this misinterpretation of the characters. I'm glad that at least you guys liked this story, misshapen though it is. Maybe one day I'll rewrite this fic, when my circumstances IRL are better. When I'm out of my domestic abuse situation, and when the inspiration finally flows again, because I'm not in a constant state of fight-or-flight every hour.

Perhaps, perhaps.

[stillbeatingheart]

thank you for the tag @gnpwdrnwhiskey💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Oh this requires visiting the dreaded stats page... 75

2. What's your total A03 words count?

1,261,118... I don't know who wrote all those though, I must have been possessed

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I've written for Sterek, Gallavich, Harringrove, Mungrove, LoVe, and Deran/Adrian from that show that shall remain nameless

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

3 Sterek and 2 Gallavich

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Typically, but I turned off comments on a lot of my fics when I felt distanced from the characters, or the fandom in general.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angstiest ending - well I do a lot of angst but I always do a happy ending if it's a full fic. I guess the one-shot for D/A that took place during the last season was left open ended, so maybe that.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Everyone always ends up happy... but I guess it depends on your definition of happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yep. Part of the reason I turned off comments.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yeah but not super graphic, I prefer the intimacy of sex and really only write it in the fic if it serves a purpose... unless it's just a smutty one shot, then the smuttier the better!

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I had one up for awhile, but I think it's gone and I think it was the only one.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah, someone translated a Sterek fic for me, I thought that was super cool, and I also had someone podfic one of them which was super fun!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Twice - a Gallavich one with @ms-moonlight-inn and a VM one with @gnpwdrnwhiskey

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I've ended up falling out of love with the ships that I loved the most because the final seasons fucked me up too much or fucked up the characters too much and what do ya know, they were both JW productions... I think I'm all in on slash pairings now, lol, because it's easier to rewrite their endings if they never had a canon ship to begin with.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

All of them at this point

16. What are your writing strengths?

I"m not good at tooting my own horn so I can't really answer this

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I guess all the things that advice people and teachers told us all to do before, during, and after writing 😂

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I had Mickey speaking Ukrainian to his tigers in The Circus, but I wrote the dialogue in English because I figured if the fic is in English, then all we'd be doing is entering it to translate only to have readers also enter it to translate, so it's kind of a waste of time for both of us.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Gallavich

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I had a lot of fun with Uneasy in this Skin and I'd Be Waiting... and yet all it took was one mean comment on each for me to rethink the entire thing because all the parts I had fun with were shit on... but either way, they were very different for me to write and I think that's why I loved them, it pushed my boundaries 💕

NPTs- @ms-moonlight-inn if you haven't already and anyone else who wants to do it....

[adventuresinclientservice]

Has human interaction become a luxury?

I remember the last time I conducted an in-person workshop:  at the behest of agency CEO and founder George Popstefanov, I flew to Ft. Worth, Texas to meet with his colleagues at the digital agency PMG.  It was April 24, 2019.

If I recall correctly, my day of discussions began with the first of two presentations, Five Ways to Build Trust with Client and Colleagues.  Those who know me knowI am a vociferous and all-in supporter of why meeting face-to-face, not as an option, but instead as essential, which explains why one of those “five ways” is called “Stand Up.”  It extolls all the reasons why meeting in-person is hugely important of building and sustaining trust-based relationships, not just with colleagues, but most especially with clients.  

Leading the workshops that day, what I did not foresee was the looming advent of the worldwide Covid pandemic, which had an ongoing, profound impact not just on what I did, but on what everyone did.  No longer would I be able to meet in-person with clients.

I suspect I know what you’re thinking:  with hundreds of people tragically and often needlessly dying worldwide, the inability to meet is, in retrospect, seemingly trivial.   I get it; you’re right.

Trivial though it might be, many of us still needed to continue conducting business.  If not in-person, then how?

I shared my resulting hand-wringing confusion, in a series of posts, starting with this one, and this one, and finally by this one.

If you’ve read the last of these posts, you see I made peace with Zoom as my video platform, beginning to conduct my workshops from my office desk.

I also found myself rewriting the “Stand Up” section of my Five Ways presentation, now acknowledging the necessity of video platforms, continuing to insist on the preferred primacy of in-person meetings, asking, rhetorically,

…knowing that they do.

I make this claim knowing many clients, beleaguered by too much to do and too little time in which to do it, insist on meeting remotely, even with agency people willing to travel across town or across the country to see them, reaffirming the importance of meeting face-to face:

That’s why I was stopped dead in my tracks when I read the headline of the New York Times story, “Human Interaction Is Now a Luxury Good.”  A luxury?  Seriously??  You must be kidding!

The story’s author was not referring to meeting people in-person; she’s primarily concerned about religious caregivers in hospital settings, but when she says, “technology has accelerated and replaced or bowdlerized a lot of low-stakes human interaction….” I’m thinking of tools like Zoom.  Aren’t these among the types of technology to which she’s referring?

From my Ammirati & Puris days I recall a point made when we crafted advertising for what many would consider a long outdated, old-fashioned product, Philips Milk of Magnesia:  we should not give in to the forces of commoditization, remembering, “There are no boring products; there is only boring advertising.”  The television spots crafted by copywriter Tom Nelson and his art-director partner Tod Seisser were witty, funny, wholly human, and anything but boring.

In a similar vein, just because your agency doesn’t think you have the time or is unwilling to spend the money, or just because your clients say they are too harried to meet, doesn’t mean you have to give in.

Can’t meet at the office?  Everyone takes a lunch break sometime; why not try to have it with your client, even if it’s just for 30 minutes, and even it’s in the company cafeteria.  The client eats lunch at his or her desk?  No problem; brown-bag it.

If lunch doesn’t work, suggest you meet before or after hours, for breakfast, dinner, or a beer.  You don’t have to talk business.  In fact, it’s better if you don’t.

Your clients still resisting?  Are they fans of a particular sport or kind of music, or are fans of a particular artist?  For heaven’s sake get tickets and ask them to join you!

Finally let’s answer the question that began this post:  has human interaction become a luxury?

It never will be that way for me, and it never should be that way for you.

[ryanmillerprocess]

Visual Presents

October 14. 2023.

Today was spent working on the creative brief and mood board for this new assignment.

October 16. 2023.

Today was spent thinking of how to create an informational package on Rooster Teeth that would align with their ideals and style. A video is really the only thing that makes sense for a video production company.

The plan is to create a video filled with references to the company while providing information on the company.

October 18. 2023.

I am struggling with coming up with a way to make this work that I'll be happy with. I don't know how to work the videos into the narrative I'm trying to write.

I've been looking through old videos to help remind me of the older videos I used to watch, and that is helping, but I still don't know how to make it work. Just have to keep at it I guess.

October 23. 2023.

After thinking it over all weekend and scrolling through 13 years of YouTube content, I am finally starting to see a clearer picture of what I could do to produce something I can be happy with.

I picked out a few videos that I can replicate that were moments from the history of the company that stood out in my mind. I've been trying to write a script to help layout how I'm going to use these videos, but 3 rough drafts later and it's starting to get frustrating. This writing stuff is hard. I'll keep with it, but I'm running out of time and I need to start shooting so I'll have something to work with.

October 25. 2023.

Finally started shooting for this project. I spent a couple hours setting up and shooting short videos for the compilation I'm making. I always forget how fun it is to just experiment with setups and throwing something together to make it work. I feel much better about the project, and I'm looking forward to doing the rest of it.

I have a rough schedule for the rest of my shots, and locations to take them in. I still have a lot to do, but it's getting closer to something I can be happy with.

October 30. 2023.

Spent the weekend shooting for the project. Got shot by some paintballs, got some regular balls thrown at me. productive weekend.

Today we played Jeopardy instead of having a quiz, so that was fun. Our team won and earned a 48 hour extension on a project of our choice. Hopefully won't be needing that.

November 1. 2023.

Last night I tried rewriting the script and couldn't do it, so I went back to watching videos for inspiration. I think I have a way better idea, which unfortunately means I am going to have to re shoot a few things and completely start over on the video editing. I'm glad I like doing this stuff otherwise I'd be panicking right now. Probably going to need that extension though.

The idea is to recreate the intro of the first episode of immersion and then go straight into the videos I've shot. I recorded the originals without considering the audio because I was going to voice over them while talking about the history of the company and my introduction to them. Now that I've scrapped that idea, I have videos that might not work with the new idea. I'll see if I can make it, but hopes are low, maybe that'll let me surprise myself.

November 3. 2023.

The project is due today. I have made a lot of progress and I'm feeling very good about this project. It's still not what I want, but it's better than before. I also thought of remaking the original case of the season 1 DVD for RVB. Just more work for myself, but it's more authentic and fun. Feeling grateful for that extension right now.

November 4. 2023.

The last stretch of the project is always the most stressful. I need to get better at gathering all my pictures and information in the same place throughout the whole process of the project.

Progress Pictures