#hence this dialog

[ganondoodle]

recent panel i liked for chapter 2s rough draft (page 22), one of the more chaotic sketches

(comic wip)

[breadandblankets]

Duke, picking shards out of his hair: why is it that people seem to aim right for the helmet

Jason, mooching: I know right? like it didn't go well for the last ten guys why would it go well for you? anyway did you at least have a mask underneath?

Duke: no i didn't have a mask underneath, i Have shadow powers, the fact that you have one is dumb as hell, how do any of you see shit in those

Jason, rifling through the Hatch's pantry: practice

Duke: you wear a domino under a face covering mask with the tiniest little eye holes imaginable, its a miracle you don't shoot like a stormtrooper

Jason: hey its harder to shoot with a concussion ill tell you that

Duke: ya know what, fair, did i get all of it?

Jason, looking up from mauling a box of pocky: yeah looks good

[transbeamrooikat]

biblically accurate katniss doodle :D

[lynkolnevans]

Getting Isekai'd to Another Dimension Kinda Looks Like You've Been Kicked Out of an Abusive Household 

OR

Tired Dimensional Traveler Accidently Gets Adopted by Grumpy Old Man Due to Funny Misunderstanding, More at 9!

----

Stan Pines had seen quite a few strange customers since he started up the Mystery Shack. From slack-jawed idiot tourists, all but drooling on themselves as they handed over their money, to sweaty know-it-all basement dwellers who claimed that their 1am deep dives made them the Number One Premiere Expert in cryptozoology. The former he welcomed with enthusiasm, a half-sincere grin plastered on his face as he fleeced flocks of rubes and their spawn. The latter, although very rare, he tolerated until they started spouting some half assed science talk about how his 'Sascrotch was an outdated representation of the genus' or 'that jackalope is clearly a fake', it was then those nerds would have the honor of being kicked out by the one and only Man of Mystery. Either way, everyone who visited the Mystery Shack had their pockets emptied, whether through buying overpriced items from the Gift Shop or a little sleight of hand when they got thrown out.

When the gift shop bell rang, Stan expected to see another easily tricked tourist, and to be fair, they looked the part. Wide-eyed and mouth breathing, a young adult entered the shop, their head spinning from object to object, seemingly entranced by the items on display. But that's where any resemblance to a tourist went. As Stan looked over the visitor he noticed some things that were out of place.

First of which were their clothes. Not only were they wearing a hoodie and sweatpants during the middle of summer, but they had many twigs and leaves stuck on them, not to mention the areas smudged with dirt.

Second of all was the half destroyed laptop held tightly in their hands (it was called a laptop right? Stan honestly couldn't remember). It had some kind of sticker attached to the front, maybe a logo from a movie or something?

Third of which, and probably the most alarming, was the specks of blood almost rubbed away on their face, and the heavy bags under their eyes.

Separately these things could probably be explained. Maybe they got lost in the forest and they were one of those people who preferred to roast in the summer heat than wear anything but a hoodie and sweatpants. Maybe they forgot their laptop case or were rich(!) enough to afford buying a new one whenever they destroyed the last one. Maybe they're one of those people who just get bloody noses randomly and don't sleep as much as they should. But together… It honestly wasn't enough for alarm bells to be ringing in his head, but Stan trusted his instincts enough that there was something weird going on.

Grabbing the strange customer's attention with one of his charming greetings, he seemed to startle them enough to actually jump. The ensuing staring contest was probably one of the most awkward moments of his life. The kid was staring at him like he was some sort of cartoon character, seeming transfixed that he even existed, mouth even further agape. Stan expected them to let up on the staring after a few seconds, because that's how long it usually took those with too few brain cells to get used to his loud charming personality, but they didn't. Maybe it was the extreme staring, but something about the kid's eyes made him nervous, like they knew something he didn't.

Although a little unnerved by the stranger, that didn't dissuade him from making a move for their money. Maybe a bit more snappy than what was socially acceptable, Stan all but ordered the young adult to buy something.

Nervous was an understatement. The kid stammered out an affirmative and began looking through the shop, barely hiding a few twitches and handling each item like it was glass. Stan, now free from their uncomfortable stare, deemed it safe to observe his peculiar customer. The back of their clothes was dirtier and messier than the front, as if they fell on their back or fell asleep on the forest floor. The laptop, which they left on the counter for some reason, had some kind of golden bird holding an arrow in its beak. It was also on fire, for some reason? The computer seemed to be cracked in the casing.

The stranger looked back at Stan, jumping when they noticed his staring and returned to browse for more items. Currently they had a few maps and were looking at the meager stock of blankets he had. Honestly, the kid was shifty, and if Stan wasn't already keeping an eye on them, he would be now just because of their jumpy behavior. The messy hoodie, baggy eyes, and general nervousness screamed shoplifter. But surprisingly they brought everything back to the cashier, Stan not seeing them make any suspicious moves to steal anything. They even grabbed the set of hand knitted fingerless gloves Mabel made as part of a bet. Smiling in triumph, Stan ran up the items, before frowning at the customer's wallet and their bandaged hand. 

While the lack of money to purchase the whole set of items was concerning, what was more concerning was the stranger's bandaged hand. It seemed they didn't mean to show it at all, quickly hiding it in their pocket as Stan noticed it when they grabbed the set of gloves. Before the hand was snatched back, Stan could have sworn he saw some type of symbol on the back of it, but why what kind of injury would result in something like that?

It was when Stan asked how long they were staying in town for that the pieces started to click. They said they would be staying for "the foreseeable future" and, while a valid response, their tone was odd. Originally Stan asked so he could set up some kind of debt collecting plan cause the kid seemed really put out when they found they didn't have enough money to buy everything. If they were staying for a bit, such as in a motel or a new residence, he'd just have them work off their debt and gently harass remind them until they payed it in full. But it seems Stan just found himself in a difficult situation.

The injuries, nervousness, ill-suited clothing, and lack of money painted a grim picture, a picture Stan was all too familiar with. You don't wear long clothing more suited to winter in 90 degree weather and hide seemingly innocuous injuries from random strangers for fun. You don't take just the essentials and wander around the woods until you're tired and your clothes are ruined for fun. You don't stare like a deer in headlights at loud, shouting old men for fun. You don't look defeated cause you can't buy a blanket, some maps, and something else to cover your injuries, just for fun.

And thus, Stan had a choice to make. He could turn them away, take their money and only give them a map and a blanket because that's all they could afford. As soon as they left he wouldn't be involved and he could continue his life in peace. Or he could be a better person. He could let them into his house, give them a place to stay, maybe a job. Maybe he could give them everything he wanted when he was kicked out: a warm place to stay, edible food, and someone to talk to…

Ha! As if! Stan was no bleeding heart and definitely didn't have any concern that this kid was probably running away from some horrible home life. He only let them keep the maps and blanket because he was gonna work them to the bone to pay him back for the money he should have gotten. He only let them keep the gloves because he was determined to win that bet with Mabel. He only hinted that maybe they could have a job at the Mystery Shack if they worked up to his standards, and only because he needed more competent employees. He had no concern for the kid and everything he did was rational and only for his benefit…

And even if he was a better man, who'd do anything to help the kid, he still wouldn't let some stranger stay in his house. Not when he was letting his great nephew and niece stay over the summer. It was his responsibility to watch over the kids and keep them out of danger. It was his responsibility to keep his family safe.

Even the one he already failed.

And no stranger was going to stand between him and getting his brother back.

[bolognamayhem117]

"The Failed Rejection" (Alt title: A gentleman never tells). Based on the dialog Astarion throws when your approval rating is high enough and he decides he wants to lock down that meat shield sleep with you well before the Teifling/Goblin party.

I'm hooked on this style and as it turns out, praise (reblogs) begets repetition. This has been STUPID fun. I wanted to play around with the more unhinged things found in medieval manuscript doodles. Hence the horn Astarion is toot-a-looing which is not actually a thing, the borderline fantasy religious iconography, and scattered symbolism.... And the beenises.

[thesiltverses]

Hi! Big fan. Wanted to ask-- how did yall develop the structure/audio style of the Silt Verses? Where did yall draw from? I love the show because it's one of the first really fresh, creative takes on the audio drama medium I've seen since Nightvale--your blending of diagetic & nondiagetic sound and dialog is very lucid and flowing; it's vivid and easy to follow *because* it's not so hung up on an in-universe explanation for why the audience can hear the characters and action. The montages especially are just exceptional.

Hi and thank you so much! The mix of diagetic sound, dialogue, narration, etc, has honestly been an evolving and organic aspect of the show rather than something that was drawn from a master-plan. We knew we wanted to do a full-cast audiodrama, but we'd never worked with actual sound design before, directly or indirectly (and we wanted to establish an intimate, confessional aspect to the storytelling that contrasted with the secrecy, lying, and spitefulness in Carpenter and Faulkner's initial exchanges) - hence the narrated segments, and we've dialled them up and down for various purposes as we've gone on.

The montages this season are, I think, more obviously and directly drawn from television; I'm a massive fan of the four-minute montage that closes out The Wire's season finale, which manages to cram in final glimpses of 15-20 protagonists and antagonists across a dozen different locations, demonstrating in a heartbeat who's managed to change their life for the better and who's repeating the same old cycles - while also underlining the fact that there's an entire vast world beyond the central cast, and life goes on there as well.

This is the kind of broad-scope, location-and-POV-jumping storytelling and worldbuilding that as far as I'm aware, we don't see very much of in audiodrama (I'd guess partly because audiodramas tend to focus in tightly on a few close characters, partly because creators understandably fear that the work will become incoherent or impossible to follow.)

But what's really interesting to me about that sequence is that while the montage is geared towards its own medium (including the very deliberate contrast between the silent conspiracies of the drug dealers and the noisy applause that greets the white-collar criminals and establishment figures), The Wire has previously worked to develop such a rich audio vocabulary that with a few tweaks, you really could make this scene work entirely without visuals.

We can already recognise the sounds of police brutality, corner boys yelling out the latest product, the horns of the cargo ships down at the docks, the smash of vials and the sound of running footsteps, we can hear the environmental shifts from a prison yard to a sterile office to the projects - and we can understand that these simple repeating SFX are conveying the central theme that nothing has changed in Baltimore but the players.

In other words, there's no reason you can't accomplish something as absurdly ambitious as that sequence in an audiodrama, so long as you've already done a good job of conveying the thematic and emotional significance of a few individual sounds to the audience - and I think that's really, really exciting for audio storytelling.

[collegetennisoriginstory]

Hello! Just finished a playthrough of the demo, and I just wanted to say the entire thing is amazing. All the dialog especially makes it feel like you are really there, and the characterisation is so nice!

Do you have any plans for any poly ro options in the future?

Thank you!!! Oh gosh, you know, I actually wrote that in for one of Sam's convos.. I was so ready... but then I was like no. Be kind to future self.

Short answer is, I think right now the amount of branching /variation for romance scenes is getting a little out of hand (hence how long this chapter took) and I really should avoid scope creep till I bang out more chapters so... no.

It'd be fun though.

[fallout-mountains]

Thoughts on Fallout 4 companions after playing the game for a bit and reading a whole lot of headcanons and fanfic and reactions:

- Hancock said he didn’t want to look at this face in the mirror and decides to do a drug instead of surgery. That’s some real self-hate there.

- There’s so much self-flagellation

- One the same note, ghouls can’t go under surgery?

- Someone mentioned that quests for the minuteman could have been handed out by the Freedom radio, instead of Preston, so that more backstory could be given to Preston.

- Nick and Deacon we’re probably thought to be too old and they didn’t want it to be creepy of hooking up with an older guy…(sigh)

- That it’s easy to write Sole to be compatible with everyone, since the game allows you to role play that character in many ways.

- MacCready’s backstory is both endearing and weird (because of him not going to see his son). I think the people who made the game didn’t want to bother with coding him leaving for a bit and then coming back, but… really? Should have changed the background story a bit to at least add that he needs to stay in case the medication didn’t work (or something like that)

- Deacon since he changes his face and has seemingly traveled could be in another Fallout game, any of them…

- Since Deacon changes his appearance, you get more attached to his voice. (He also has some very interesting things to say.)

- That when Deacon changes his face, Dezdemona is there the whole to verify it’s still him.

- Nick rolls with the punches, and has a very good emotional IQ, moreso than any of the other companions. He’s so even keel emotionally, that the Far harbor expansion hits a bit harder, because that’s where you see more of His emotion.

- Piper would be the best to adapt to our world

- Majority of the ways people can become your companions is weird why they even offer. (Like why would Hancock travel with Sole and not another person who wasn’t part of quest to raid their warehouse? Doesn’t Piper have other stories to investigate? Doesn’t Deacon have missions to do? Why isn’t Strong following Rex Goodman around? Nick has plenty of other cases to just run around randomly)

- Paladin Danse says that he wasn’t sure about Sole but also highly recommends you join the Brotherhood. So which is it? Also, I only did like one big quest for them and I am given a power armor.

- Is the reason they complain about picking up stuff is that eventually they have to carry some of it?

- Ada is a good companion, but doesn’t offer a perk, hence the reason probably not talked about a lot because no reason to travel with her

- I don’t know why the institute is doing what they are doing

- I really wish they could mark the clothes that can go under a person’s armor.

- Why are people wearing scarves? Is it cold there because it never seems to snow.

- I find it interesting that the companions all generally know each other or at least the have swapping dialogs that make it seem that way. (Curie has literally been locked away for 200 years.)

- They have veritbirds but no land vehicles. There’s supposedly caravans, but no wagons? Would it be too dangerous to have that?

I probably have more, but that’s for now

[brucewaynehater101]

"If it's closer to fanon Tim, he would feel guilty for Jason. Closer to canon Tim would either be indifferent to Jason's troubles or he'd feel glad (maybe even a little spiteful) that Jason is facing the consequences of his actions. He would, however, feel guilty for how the revelation affects the street kids."

I have to say I disagree with this. Firstly; with the whole post you're framing this as though Jason beat up a child... which like, true, but also Jason is hardly two years older than Tim. I know comics make him seem aged up, but its simply not the case. (dont @ me if u know this cuz u probably do know this already)

Secondly, Canon Tim.... doesn't hate Jason?? Like, really not at all. If there is any dislike, I'd see it as when Jason is acting particularly villainous, he treats him like any other rogue. Though they don't necessarily interact a lot when Jason is in his villain moments. It's other bats who take care of that, so there's really no beef there.

When Jason isn't having an evil moment, honestly a good word for what Tim feels for him is either pity at worst, admiration at best. With the admiration, I'm not talking about Tim liking him as Robin 'cause that's honestly pretty fanon, I'm talking about how Tim admires his tenacity and determination to keep going even when he feels like everyone is against him. And Tim wants to support him! He sees Jason struggling a lot and wishes Jason would accept help- hence the pity.

I sincerely doubt that Tim would ever feel glad or spiteful towards Jason. He's gotten him back for the whole 'beating the shit out of him' thing. Which really, wasn't really about Tim? Plus its far in the past at this point.

Not to mention Tim is one hell of a badass, he doesn't wallow in self-pity, and I don't think he'd want to interfere with RH's stuff and would probably stop the information leak himself, or even deny the rumors with something like "Oh that? It was just a disagreement/misunderstanding lol the rumors got out of hand,"

Sorry if this was too much, I like ur blog and the things u say, this one just felt really misinformed.

Thank you for letting me know. Reading the post back, I can see how I worded it wrong. I appreciate you giving me the chance to correct that and clarify.

Yes, Jason and Tim are close in age. However, Jason's age (as far as I'm aware) isn't known to civilians. Because of his helmet and bulkiness, a kid would view Jason as an Adult. If they knew his age and then the fight with Robin, that would probably be an acceptable level of violence for them. That's just two kids beating each other up, then. From their perspective, though, Robin is a Kid and Jason is an Adult. A possible solution to gain back their trust could be to disclose how old they were at the time (they might not even need to disclose any details or reasoning with that).

Later in canon, Jason and Tim start getting along. If the reveal happened at that point, Tim would not feel gleeful and spiteful. He'd feel bad for Jason. That is entirely my bad for not making that distinction.

Tim is, undeniably, an asshole at times. He wants to do good, tries to help people, and overall is kind. He's badass and I love him, but he can be an asshole (particularly to Steph). He, especially his inner dialog, sometimes makes asshole comments. This includes Jason. To add on, when Jason was beating him up and demanding Tim to answer if he thought he was good (skill wise), Tim answered yes twice. To me, this seems like a petty/spiteful response. That or Tim is just being honest af about his feelings, not giving a shit he's taking a beating.

However, Tim would not hold this grudge against Jason. One of his better qualities is to not hold grudges against most people (even those that he arguably should). It's why some villains/rogues/enemies become his allies or end up becoming fond of him.

Tim may feel glad that Jason is experiencing the consequences of his actions, but not for himself. This would be during his time as Robin exclusively. Red Robin would not feel this way.

Spiteful, though, was the wrong word to use. Tim, as the loveable asshole that he can sometimes be, might be sort of happy that Jason, in his villain era, is being shown the effects of his actions and possible wrongs in his ways. Happy also seems to not match, but the emotions wheel isn't really giving me an alternative.

Tim would, despite his feelings, hate the effect of this on everyone. The street kids, Jason, and the batfam would be negatively impacted by this, and Tim would try everything he could to stop or mitigate the outcomes. He would never release this information willingly nor stand aside to let it happen. Robin may internally say some shit about Jason and the situation if it blew up in their faces, but you're right that he wouldn't purposefully make shit worse. He would actively work to fix the entire mess.

I really am thankful that you helped me articulate this.

It's 100% my bad that I dropped the ball so hard. If y'all see me fuck up like that again, feel free to let me know. As long as you're not mean about it, I appreciate constructive criticism.

Imma edit the previous post this is about and link it to this one so that I fix the mischaracterization

[macaronijellyfish]

(Just a Wallmark rant)

Something I noticed...

I haven't seen anyone mention this (yet), and I feel like this has angst potential. (Like Mark focuses on his work more than Wallter when they were in the relationship, not caring about the little things that matter. Hence, another reason why they got divorced....Mark doesn't pay much attention to Wallter as much as he hopes. This could be used to show why Mark never got him flowers.)

[Edit 4/4/24: I forgot to give credit to the Regretevator Wiki for the dialog snipits so here it is!]

[mysticmilks]

Will and his feelings for Katherine

In this TED talk, I will argue that Will guessed or at least suspected that Katherine was his sister from the moment he met her, and hence there were no romantic feelings from his side.

[Lots of spoilers]

Yes, maybe it's obvious for everyone, but I still find it interesting to inspect how the narrative structure was keeping us intentionally in the dark both because of different POVs and because of the parts of the backstory that we get only way afterward.

The idea that there were any romantic feelings comes from two sources, Katherine's POV and Violet's. But when we look at the story from Will's perspective the meaning of his actions changes.

Let's start from the beginning.

Assumption 1: Some vague suspicions that he had siblings (backstory in Book 2, Elizabeth's POV)

Will was around 6-7 years old when Elizabeth was born. At that age, he would at least remember something, even if his mother never talked about the baby, even if she said that the child died or claimed that it never happened. Some memories, some half-forgotten moments must have stayed with him.

He knew for sure that his mother had a platitude of secrets, that she was afraid of something, and that she acted cautiously.

Assumption 2: Almost sure that he has/had sisters after his mother's death (Book 1, very close to the end, Will's POV )

Will is around 16, his mother is dying, covered in blood, murdered by unknown people. And she is talking nonsense. She is afraid of Will, so she attacks him, and she begs him not to hurt her girls.

Will was never stupid. And he had plenty of time to think about his mother's last words (and actions). And even though he wants to believe that she just didn't understand who he was, and what was going on, he is still our clever Will, and it's not that unbelievable, to at least suspect, that his mother really did have other children (girls), that she had to give up (and maybe that, somehow connected to her death).

He doesn't know if the girls are alive or where they are, but at that point, he must be almost sure that his mother had daughters.

Fact 1: Will knows both how his mother looks (obviously) and how Lady looks (Will's POV, Chapter 1)

Will is probably the only person alive, other than Devon and Sandy, who knows how Lady looks, and seeing her in the mirror he immediately recognizes that she has similarities to his late mother. 

Conclusion 1: When he saw Katherine for the first time he, for sure, noticed that she looked very similar to his mother and to Lady.

Once again, Will is smart, and seeing Katherin for the first time, he understands that she must be his sister.

He tries to find out if she has any other family members, asking her about her cousins.

When she reaches to his neck, he instinctively pulls away. The same way he wanted to pull away from Lady in the mirror. Because in both instances he thinks about his mother.

And at the end of their first meeting, he says that he was wrong, and he won't do whatever he planned.

Fact 2: When Katherine kisses him, Will pulls back

Will never initiate or encourage any intimacy. Probably because he didn't feel that way about her, but also because she is his sister.

She kissed him.

He tried to warn her and protect her because he promised his mom.

And Violet is the one who talks about love and kisses, while Will wants to say “It’s not what you think” because it's not. And it's not what we, readers, think because at that point Will (who's still not stupid) very much suspects that he is either Dark King's descendant or Dark King Reborn.

So my conclusion is that the feelings he has for Katherine are mixed but there is very little indication that he felt anything romantic or passionate toward her.

The whole point of this long post is an attempt to prove that Pacat is playing with our minds via POVs, vague dialogs, and a backstory that is revealed way too late. And if we can't trust the story in these small details, we also can't trust it in much bigger points such as Dark vs Light Sides, the role of the Collar, and the story of The Betrayer.

[foreverdolly]

IM OBSESSED WITH YOUR FEYD FIC, ITS SO GOOD DOLLY 😭 i was actually looking for a fic where feyd's personality wouldn't change THAT much but at the same time, he wouldn't be an absolute freak, who harrasses the reader. and your fic is the perfect combination of both! can't wait for the next chapters whenever you'll be able to write more <333

one of the main things i’m worried about is changing feyd’s personality too much. i want the dialog and mannerisms to read as “canon” as humanely possible given the unlikely circumstances i’ve placed him in. genuinely this means so so much to me, so thank you from the bottom of my heart!

don’t get me wrong though, feyd is definitely a freak in this fic. things get freaky and smutty from here on. he has very animalistic tendencies, hence why the crew made the stylistic choices that they did in dune part two. so i’m playing into that a lot with my rendition of him!

he’s crazy territorial and wants his woman to smell like him at all times- which is a trope that is highlighted in this next chapter. i hope you don’t mind him being a freak too much ;)

[beawhatchumean]

[COMIC]

so this is a very old comic from 2021, when s2 special just came out (only mandarin dub at the time hence why dialog is different from the English ver)

am in the midst of redrawing it since my comic making skills have upgraded and I can make this more angsty :3c

[transhawks]

I know you're writing a fic with Twice is in (and also actually appreciate his character), so do you got ideas, rules whatever, on how to write his dialog? Ll the fics ive read never feels right unless it's straight from the source material 😭

Hey! So, I've definitely played around with this in writing. Let me show some examples and word vomit about Twice. I will say that while I often return to the manga and observe how he talks, I also have developed LOTs of head-canons, so much of this is my own ideas/fanon. When I wrote You in 2020, it was very much an experimental fic, stream of consciousness kind of fic. And I encourage people to play around if they are doing something like solely focusing on Jin. In this case I essentially wrote it in Second person, to emphasize the idea of a fractured mind/depersonalization or the feeling as if "I'm not the real one" that Twice had. Here's how I showcased the split:

This is how I described Jin's initial "split" by the way. Note there's actually THREE different ones - I have a personal theory there's actually three personalities, the dominant Jin who is incredibly traumatized and slightly regressing in maturity, the older, quieter maturer personality who shows up only when we see into his thoughts, who seems pensive and contemplative (most of 115 is his narration) and kind of gives Twice's manga international narration a film-noir like quality, and the vocal "negative" voice that I guess either contradicts voice 1 or functions like an id to the ego.

Before anyone chimes in with "FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY IS TRASH AND DEBUNK-", yes, I know, but I find the idea of splitting the mind like this useful for literature, specifically, not real life. And I suspect a lot of writers do as well, so the idea of a "split" mind where a voice voices the things no one should want to say or think as Horikoshi has created here works well in that framework. Hence, when I write the split in Jin's mind, I use it as a way for me to figure how what's with his mind.

One of the biggest issues is that Jin's issues are very much pop-culture/fantasy mental illness because no disorder fits him well. For one thing, Jin's trauma is also a neurological one because he clearly had brain damage from the whole experience that cause his scar. And then it's like Horikoshi decided to take elements of schizoaffective psychosis, tourette's, BPD, DID, and OCD and PTSD and throw in "actual force blunt force brain damage" into the loop. That's not to say Twice's struggles aren't realistic/relatable - they totally are, but whatever he has isn't exactly an accurate depiction of anything out there (especially since it's so quirk-based). Personally, tailoring it to fit something neatly, I think, would do a big disservice to his character so I don't strive for that sort of realism and just work with what Horikoshi outlines for us.

Anyway, that is to say that often when I try to depict mental illness in writing, especially from the perspective of the ill person, I try to incorporate elements of disorder into the writing itself stylistically (I sometimes do this with writing Hawks as well). A lot of people just only strictly stick to this past-tense (or present) third person limited way of writing, and I think there's fun in throwing that out and using characters like Twice as reasons to do it. Or just playing around with formatting.

Anyway, this is how I try to depict it from a Third Person Limited perspective in Irreversible.

So first off, I distinguish between the spoken voices Jin has by bolding the contradictory voice. Internally, I depict intrusive thoughts by keeping it bolding, putting in parenthesis, and then justifying the text to the right. It breaks up the paragraph and creates the "element of disorder" I spoke about earlier. Here's what that can look like at it's most disordered, where there's essentially a mental conversation written out.

There's also a clear difference in spoken vs internal because while internally the voice addresses Jin himself to create an element of insecurity (questioning if he even deserves Toga's kindness), it's only in speech that he'll contradict Jin after he says something. This doesn't always happen, and I don't think every sentence needs it. Jin has moments in-manga where he doesn't speak like this and I also think it correlates with emotional state (interestingly a really upset Twice can be more "together").

But it's not as simple as "Jin says something, bold immediately contradicts it." That would make it boring to both read and write. My suggestion to have an actual reaction by a Jin to the bolded words - because it happens in canon (sometimes he tries to stop himself from talking further).

In this sentence, I make Jin immediately refute the previous sentence. It's not a full on back and forth, but it does show that he's aware the other voice is saying things and what it is saying. Lastly, this is more me on how to actually make it matter besides keeping it accurate to canon characterization. First, Jin is funny. Naturally he's funny and very blunt, but his illness is also used by Horikoshi for tension relief and to kill the seriousness or somber mood the LoV scenes can evolve into. Do not be afraid to use this for humor because as a character, Horikoshi DOES do this HOWEVER, this is not all Jin is, and when showing his internal life, there's far more seriousness to it all. But if you just want to write Jin instead of focusing on him, I think acknowledging he has a (wacky, immature and slapstick-y) sense of humor and in turn can be a funny character is not a bad thing. He lends himself well to physical comedy so don't be afraid of writing him doing weird things or making funny gestures.

Two, make the words count. At the end of the day, you're writing a story. You are not only conveying personality through these words, you are hopefully moving plot forward, or using the space you have carefully. Do not be afraid to have the contradictory voice say something poignant, something no one else would say, or ominous that can be used as foreshadowing for later parts of your story. Remember, these are characters that are meant to tell stories so use them.

[illmoraineakoi]

Also, I noticed this when I was messing around with sprites earlier:

Broken Vessel's shell is a grey while Ghost and Hollow's are bright pure white. Grey shells seem to be the default state of dead Vessels.

Which brings up something I always found interesting: Bretta's first Dream Nail Dialog:

"...Shining figure...So bright..."

Shining figure? So bright?

Bretta, you are speaking with a eldritch abomination filled with Literal Shadow Goop. Vessels and Darkness are as synonymous with each other as Fire and Hot. You cannot get a darker dark than the VOID!

Except, Vessels aren't all Void.

Their mask-shells are clearly different. The only part of them (outside their 'cloaks') that isn't black. And a part of them that is very hard and immobile, like bone. They crack, they splinters, they can break. It is the most vital part of a Vessel to staying 'alive'; the Vessel's shells are the only thing keeping their shades contained, keeping their physical forms stable. They are the "harness upon the Void" that the White Palace workshop lore tablet talks about.

And they might be, potentially, the only thing left mostly untouched by the Void when they became Vessels.

Because why else would their shells glow?

Why would Bretta think that Ghost was shining and bright if they weren't? Why would the color dull to grey when they die if they weren't loosing some sort of brightness? For what other reason would an aura of faint light follow Ghost in-game?

Vessel's mask-shells glow faintly with Pale light.

That's why alive Vessels use #ffffff; the exact same reason why it's used for PK: to show brightness. And just like PK, that brightness goes away when they die. They stop glowing.

Except for the Greenpath Vessel.

For some reason.

GP's shell is white even though they are very clearly dead. It never changes, not even when they've fallen onto the ground. My best guess is that GP was an early-ish replacement asset that TC didn't really put much thought into.

Hornet's arena used to be where Broken Vessel's fight was supposed to be. BV was originally supposed to give the Mothwing Cloak upon defeat. But BV was moved and Hornet was added. So now there was nothing to drop/give the Mothwing Cloak, bc let's face it, Hornet dropping a whole article of clothing upon a non-death defeat would be really weird for multiple reasons. So, TC needed a replacement way for the player to get Dash. So why not another dead Vessel? Now with bonus Foreshadowing Points! That's what I think happened, at least.

Depending on how early this was done, the entire concept of the Vessels might not have even been a thing yet. Hence the inconsistency.

It doesn't change the fact that now when I look at them it feels like they're still just barely alive.

[roses-dreams-andthorns]

hi hello, r u getting tired of my requests? Because another one is here!!! May i request a They/them reader, a Herrscher of the Void reader preferably. You can see i'm going crazy with all the honkai impact readers but i have seen nobody do it, excluding you ofc. This time is genshin! May i request Aether, Kaveh and Baizhu?

Hi Hiii! I'm not getting tired of your requests at all, dw! Though I am kinda burnt out ish, so I'll try my best to get all my current requests done! This one will be first since its the most recent one~ "𝓗𝓪𝓲𝓵 𝓶𝔂 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓭 𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷, 𝓸𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓷, 𝓸𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓷." "𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝔁 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓮𝓫𝓫 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀" "𝓢𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓱, 𝓢𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓱, 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮" "𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻, 𝓸𝓱 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻, 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓿𝓸𝓲𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓮." Genshin impact x HoV!NB!Reader. Characters included: 𝓐𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻, 𝙆𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙝, 𝔅𝔞𝔦𝔷𝔥𝔲 Reader pronouns: They / Them

Author's notes: I was unsure if you were referring to Kiana HoV or Sirin HoV, but technically they are the same, but also different, so I'll try to reference both some how. I also don't know which Aether we're talking about either, Abyss or Traveler, but it would make some more sense if it was abyss Aether to me. Also, to make it make even more sense, I decided to make the Reader a member of the abyss order. It just made sense to me if they were a part of it, considering them being the herrscher of the void, also unsure if you wanted this to be platonic or romantic, so... its maybe a bit of both ish? Reader's dialoge color.

𝓐𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻

For some reason, you remind him of someone... (*coughs* Unknown god *coughs*) but he shrugs off that feeling of doubt and familiarity. He believes you are as graceful as you are kind of evil, and he's all for it, especially if this is Abyss Aether we're talking about. Your powers are useful to the abyss, being able to remove almost all obstacles with just the snap of your fingers. Like the abyss heralds and mages, you're like an assistant to him, but you're closer to him than that of the rest of the abyss.

you, too, must have experienced the true nature of Teyvat through your own journey, whatever the true nature may be, just like he did. you wouldn't have joined him in the abyss order other wise, would you have? "Reader, fetch the abyss lectors for me, won't you? I require them for something." "Understood, Prince Aether."

"...Please just call me Aether, Reader. There's no need for formalities."

He sees a tiny bit of Lumine in you, hence why he's so attached to you, but he loves you just a bit more than a sibling, because though there are similarities, you are not Lumine, nor are you related by blood. and there may be a tiny bit of romance between you two, according to the rumors that circulate around the abyss order, that is, no one truly knows if they're true or not.

𝙆𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙝

At your first meeting, he was quite intimidated by your... aura. That abyssal aura that follows you around. At first, he labeled you an enemy, and, like any sane person who senses danger would, tried to fight you off, but a little later after that, he realized that maybe not all those who have committed some sin against the archons and thrive in the abyss are that bad... though humans like him can be so gullible... Despite the dark feelings in your heart that tell you "humans are worthless and pathetic." you can't help but feel the tiniest bit of sympathy when he meets with you in secret around the Ruins of Dhari, with this human substance known as... coffee, which he shares with you, and begins blabbering to you about how annoying his roommate is, and how he's in such a huge amount of debt. The urge to give him some of the mora you've stolen from other pathetic humans like himself is strong... "He never listens to any of my complaints! It's extremely annoying to deal with him everyday... You're lucky you don't have to live with the stupid acting grand sage of the academia..."

"Your life certainly sounds... interesting, mortal. Not even any of the abyss mages in which I command are as annoying as this... 'Alhaitham' sounds."

You've also grown to open up to him slightly, but you don't tell him anything of the abyss orders plans, right? ...Okay, maybe you told him some things... or maybe you told him too much... because now he might just be starting to doubt the archons and Celestia and the rest of human-kind just like how you and the rest of the abyss do.

𝔅𝔞𝔦𝔷𝔥𝔲

A human doctor who runs across a high ranked member of the abyss by chance... something no one could ever expect. not even Changsheng expected an encounter with such a high ranking abyssal being. Though despite your occupation... you couldn't help but to stop and assist the sickly human, instead of trying to actively kill him, despite knowing that what stood before you was nothing but a pathetic mortal in your eyes... something about him caused you to want to help him, so you had lead him back to Liyue Harbor discreetly, but on the way back, you continued to call him as such.

"Pathetic mortal human... I am only helping you out of my pure benevolence! I feel no sympathy for your weak and pathetic mortal self what so ever! I expect something in return for this!" "Yes, yes, I understand. I believe I have something that may satisfy your request back at Bubu Pharmacy."

"Baizhu... are you sssssure we can really trussssst this abyssssssal being?"

"Come now, Changsheng, they were kind enough to guide us back home, its the least I could do as compensation for wasting their precious time.~"

He then proceeds to give you plenty of expensive looking items and herbs and some medicine as compensation for... "wasting your precious time.", although you don't really have any use for these, you reluctantly accept them anyways, and then proceed to have even more random encounters with the human doctor and snake companion in the wilderness.