#i dunno y'all i just love when a character gets thrown into a world and has to very quickly figure out what to do

[tvrningout-a]

ngl i think if i manage to write anything, it's gonna be like one draft so lemme just say that i'm still waiting for the day i get to write an isekai au and indulge in my favorite cliché trope of all time

[mobius-prime]

104. Sonic the Hedgehog #61

Outback Gut Check

Writer: Mike Gallagher Pencils: Harvo Mercadoocasio Colors: Frank Gagliardo

I've had my mind blown! I actually had no idea that "Harvo" and "Harvey Mercadoocasio" were the same person up until now. I always assumed "Harvo" was just a random guy using an alias or something, but nope, it's a nickname! My mistake.

Anyway, we open this issue with Guru Emu and Wombat Stu of the Downunda Freedom Fighters stuck in cages hanging above the ground, and Sonic, Tails, Barby Koala and Walt Wallabee down below, surrounded by a veritable army of platypuses that all look identical to Duck "Bill" apart from their color scheme, because in this universe, I can't stress enough how every Mobian species are just clones of one another (with the exception of armadillos apparently, if you look at Mighty vs. Arlo). We're thrown right into the action as the four who aren't caged up defend themselves from the attack fairly easily.

They manage to chase everyone off, and Sonic smashes open the cages, leaving everyone free to discuss amongst themselves what the hell is going on and give a convenient recap to us readers. Apparently, after the DFF sent the postcard to Knothole, they started cleaning the site of the prison camp up, which included disposing of many pieces of Crocbot's body that they found scattered around.

Soon after, Bill began leading a band of renegade platypuses, attacking the site of the cleanup operation and forcing it to be abandoned due to safety concerns. He then sent a peace offer to his former teammates, and Guru and Stu went to verify it only to predictably be captured. At the same time, Sonic and Tails arrived, having been ordered to check up on the DFF since they were in the area, and found Walt and Barby about to set out to rescue their friends, and thus they all teamed up. Now that reinforcements have arrived, they set off to take down Bill's operation once and for all, rafting down the river in pursuit.

I dunno why Sonic and Walt are being played off as hostile to one another, because it doesn't actually end up tying into the plot of this story at all, but whatever. They're ambushed from the water by a gang of platypuses on crocodile mounts, because why not? It's not even clear if they're Mobian crocs like Vector or just random wild crocs, but either way, Sonic fends them off by kicking up water, something which should not logically be a deterrent to platypuses or crocodiles by any stretch, and they reach Bill's hideout with relative ease.

Well that seems bizarre. They open up the floorboards to find none other than Crocbot, the eternal thorn in the DFF's side, half-disassembled and incapable of moving on his own. Man, this guy just won't die, will he? The second he's spotted he lays out his entire plan in multiple paragraphs without even being asked, about how when Bill was still trapped in his torture camp he implanted him with a mind control chip that lay dormant, and during the cleanup when he saw Crocbot's mangled remains it reactivated the chip, causing him to steal Crocbot's body and start rebuilding it in secret while raising his own platypus army to fight for him. Crocbot ends his little rant by saying his defeat doesn't matter either way, as the bunyip is about to arrive, but is disconnected before he can finish. With the threat ended for now, Sonic and Tails say goodbye and fly off once again.

Okay, first of all, yes the bunyip may be from Aborigine mythology, but that shouldn't even be something y'all talking animals should be aware of given you're not even living in the same world as we are. Second of all, yeah, Barby was flirting with Tails pretty hard throughout the entire story, something which is hella creepy if you consider that she's portrayed more as a teenager or young adult along with the other Downunda Freedom Fighters. She's not implied to be Tails' age at all. Apparently Ian Flynn acknowledged this much later on when he took over as head writer, stating that he would never consider making Barby/Tails a thing as long as he was in charge, because yeah, it's freaking weird. I don't know why Michael would even bother writing something like this in at all, but well, we already know he has a weird interest in setting up Tails with random female characters (as we saw with that awful "boing!" sound effect the moment Tails saw Fiona). It would have been a lot less awkward if he just played this as like, Barby being sweet to Tails because he's a little kid and Tails developing a kid crush on her, but no, he had to make it weird and write about a teenage girl flirting with a ten-year-old. Let it never be said that Ken Penders was the only one who wrote really inappropriate uncomfortable stuff for this comic, okay?

Total Turbulence

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Frank Gagliardo

After their little adventure in Downunda, Sonic and Tails are flying over the ocean when they end up flying into a storm. What's more, the tracker on their plane that maps out Naugus' path across the world via his magic residue or whatever is going haywire and pointing in a dozen different directions. Apparently this is because… they're inside Naugus!

I don't know how they missed the fact that the clouds directly in front of them are shaped exactly like their adversary, but sure, okay! He whacks the plane, sending it careening down towards the ocean, but at the last second Sonic is able to pull up and get them flying again. In doing so, he inadvertently sets the plane on a direct collision course with Naugus' water-vapor-y face.

Imagine if that actually killed him? All his power and he just got exploded 'cause a plane flew into his face while he was in cloud form? Man, I would love that.

On His Majesty's Secret Service

Writer/Colors: Ken Penders Pencils: Art Mawhinney

Anyone remember Commander Fleming? He was an officer under Geoffrey in the Rebel Underground. He and Geoffrey are working to disarm more traps within Robotropolis, but Fleming is just getting too old to continue active service, and announces his resignation. Thus, King Acorn orders Geoffrey to begin putting together a new team to operate as a secret service for him.

Geoffrey already has three candidates in mind. The first is on the Floating Island, where Geoffrey fires off a trap from his crossbow towards a seemingly empty tree and catches, wouldn't you know it, an Espio clone! Except this guy is blue instead of purple. Apparently he once served as a secret operative and Geoffrey is bringing him back in. His next target is none other than Wombat Stu, whom he flies all the way to Downunda to drop in on and recruit. I'm surprised that Stu agrees so instantaneously, given that well, doesn't he already have his own team that he's loyal to? A team with whom he just risked his life to rescue one of its members and defeat their old adversary once again? Eh, whatever. Geoffrey finally drops in on Hershey as she's doing some paperwork for the princess, and simply tells her to "show up at the armory tomorrow morning" without even asking her properly if she wants in, apparently counting that as a successful recruitment. With that, he goes to bed, apparently having done all this within the span of one day - airplanes must be massively faster and more high tech in this world than our own if he was able to fly across the entire globe and back in one day - trusting that a good sleep will help him decide on the final member to recruit.

[scarlett-olivier]

10 (30?) Questions Writing Game

Hey, y'all. I've been meaning to do this for a hot minute now. Ever since I got tagged by our lovely @faireladypenumbra. So without further ado, lets get started.

1. What do you hope to communicate to your audience with your WIP?

Find the people who appreciate you for you. Even the best of us have hard times. Finally, even if you've had a really shitty past, or are currently in a shitty situation, you can still be the hero of your own story and possibly to someone else too. ^.^

2. What do you find the hardest to write? (Ex: emotion, humor, seduction, etc...)

Anything fast paced is notoriously difficult for me to write. Humor, wit, action, any of those things that live in the fast lane, and are usually just a one-two punch, are horrendous labor. They take forever to write (I'm sure there's some kind of irony in that statement). I love for my audience to be able to savor the moment and live vicariously through my characters, so fast paced moments always feel well, rushed and forced to me. It takes at least 4 drafts of the scene for me to feel alright about it.

3. How bad do you feel your first draft was/is?

Oh, my, holey spacerocks batman, was it awful. POV breaks, spelling errors (their mostly. I before E my ASS. My peeps, beware of the grammar fuckery, it abounds everywhere.), wrong verb usage, and just all around plot and flow shittiness. I kept some of it, but 2/3 got hit in the face with a rusty crowbar, shoved right up in the payload area of a rocket, and blasted off into the sun.

4. What is your favorite genre to read? Write?

Fantasy. To both. All the fantasy. Gimme.

5. Who have you based your style of writing off of?

Honestly, I'd like to think that I've picked up bits and pieces from a multitude of various authors' style and garishly sewed it all together to fashion my own personal brand of magnificent monstrosity. However if you forced me to narrow it down to three specific authors, I'd have to say... Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austen, and Angie Sage.

6. What made you want to publish your work?

I ran out of books on my bookshelf, and I'd read the ones I had to the point I could almost recite them by rote. While I was writing my first story, I thought that my problem could be someone else problem too, and it was selfish of me to hoard these stories I kept on inventing to myself when someine out there might like them. So, I decided to share.

7. What have you had to research the most for your WIP?

How to write. Due to my upbringing's effect on my mental health, and the fact that I'm a high school drop out deciding to get together and tag team my self confidence into the nearest portapotty and flip it down a hill, I'm incredibly hypercritical of my own abilities. Therefore, I acknowledge that I lack the ability to judge my own work properly and rely heavily upon research, beta readers, and critique partner feedback to appropriately improve and turn out a quality product.

8. What character do you like (that you've written) the least?

Hmmm...... Merlin. He's a douchenozzle in a saint's disguise. If he were real, I'd have to punch him. Repeatedly. In the face.

9. Are you basing any of your WIP off your life and what would it be ( if not to spoiler - ex: people, places, situations)?

Finally, an easy question! Yes and no. Every author draws inspiration from life, but as far as specific instances or anything of that nature? No.

10. Who would you dedicate you book to?

My mom, my daughter, my fiancee, and my critique partner. Without them, the book would've never happened, for whatever reason.

11. If you could steal one idea from a famous author, what would it be?

I dunno. Honestly, even if I were able to do that morally, what would I possibly DO with it? I think the reason some stories are timeless is, in part, due to the author. They've poured their heart and soul into their work, breathing a life into it that could've only been so perfectly captured by them. Even if I took the idea, it wouldnt turn out the same in the end. For example, my Frankenstein would be vastly different from Mary Shelley's, simply because we're two different people with different values, morals, beliefs, and standards. I'm not saying my version would've been bad, per se, but it definitely wouldn't have been Mary Shelley. In ancient times, it was thought that the story (carried by the muses) chose the author, and the author had minimal control over what story they were to write, and I kind of follow that line of thinking.

12. What's been the hardest to write in your WIP so far? (Ex: beginnings, middles, ends, etc.)

Beginnings are the bane of my existence. Like I said before, I'm hypercritical of my abilities, so during the beginning of a story (before I get into the flow of things) I spend a ludicrous amount of time going over, and over, and over, and over my starts. On the plus side though, by the time I'm somewhat satisfied by the "first draft" of my beginning, the rest seems to fly by in comparison. Just gotta get over that initial hump. 😉😜

13. Which characters in your WIP get along the worst? The best?

I'd have to say Merek and Rowan, as the worst. As the best.... Cassandra and Nimue.

14. Tea, coffee, water, or nothing when working?

Tea, mostly. Tea is life. Followed by Redbull and Pepsi. I rarely drink coffee.

15. Is your desk organized or messy?

*eyes a particularly large stack of objects suspiciously.* Hang on a sec. *sweeps the uppermost of the stacks onto the floor with both arms.* Amazeballs! I actually have a desk! How long has that been there?!

16. Can you summarize your favorite piece of writing (that you've created)?

Orphaned girl gets captured by strange creatures and thrown into a world not her own, where she's informed she will finds out that not only is she NOT an orphan, but she will have to fight one of her parents to the death for the fate of the multiverse.

17. How long have you been working on your current WIP?

About a year and a half? Ish. It will, hopefully soon, be my first published novel. 😸😸😸😸

18. Sum up your main characters in three words. (Sorry, not a question)

Nimue- Troubled, stubborn, curious

19. What time of day are you most productive?

1 bloody a.m., when I'm trying to sleep.

20. What's your favorite fictional place?

Neverland. Because Alliteration. Magnificent Murderous Mermaids....

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😄

21. What book inspired you to write the most?

Probs a toss up between T.A. Barron's The Lost Years of Merlin series, Tamora Pierce's The Circle Opens series, and Cecelia Dart-Thornton's The Bitterbynde series. I love all of them.

22. Do you write by hand, type, or some combination of the two?

Both. I prefer to type because it's far easier on my hands and joints, but writing by hand seems to improve my productivity. Not that I have the option of typing atm... My fan quit on my laptop and I can't afford the replacement part for it. 😭😭😭😭 why, wiritng gods, WHY?!

23. A book you would recommend to anyone?

Well, unfortunately, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all book. Books are usually targeted towards a specific audience, and will tend to go over better with that audience, than with those aren't part of that particular grouping. A book recommendation is a highly personalized experience based on a variety of factors such as; age, gender, orientation, beliefs, and morality.

29. What is the one thing you NEED while writing, that isn't necessarily a writing tool?

Scully, my skull shaped pillow, a warm blanket, and music. 😆 I know you said one thing. I lumped them all together under the comfort umbrella. Comfortability is a major factor in my productivity levels. If I'm in pain, those levels drop, sharply.

25. How much time do you spend writing?

Ideally? When I'm not in the midst of a pain flare up, 30hrs a week is pretty typical.

If I'm in the middle of a flare up? 10 to 15hrs per week. I hate myself for it all the time.

26. How much time do you wish you spent writing?

Again, ideally, I would wish to spend about 8hrs a day, 5x a week on writing. This would leave the weekends open for time with my loved ones.

27. Do you set writing goals? If so, what is your writing goal for this year?

Oh boy. I set myself some unrealistic goals. They are as follows;

- Finish writing my horror short story, edit, and publish it.

- Finish editing my novel 'Something Wicked'

- Send out ARC copies of my novel

- Set a solid publishing time table and sales goal for my novel.

28. What's you favorite POV to write in?

Limited third person will always be my go to.

29. How may WIPs do you currently have?

One short story, two novels.

30. What is your favorite thing about writing?

Watching the world, that had previously only been a seed in my imagination, bloom into it's multi-tiered glory.

And so concludes the 30 questions game! Thank you again, to @faireladypenumbra for the tag. Sorry it took me so long to get around to. Also, in return, I'm tagging @alisonhaines and @alittleredfinch. I hope y'all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed answering the questions. ^.^ Hope y'all have a lovely day.