#i have some ask drawings in progress (good job hand!! yay for my hand :) shes trying)

[shkika]

w1 almost ended up having two heads while i was shaping it's silhouette and i find that incredibly funny.

im really glad i decided not to do that for narrative reasons

[grumpy-zane]

((Had a ninjago fan season idea that takes place after s13 and semi centers around Kai ninjago. This seasons theme: Vacation gone wrong! I have segmented it into episodes for convenience. I uh, may or may not dedicate some time to drawing content for this thing, so I apologize in advance. ((also it is. a long post.

Episode 1 - Answering machine going off and its’ Ronins voice over the machine: 'Looks like I’m gonna run late.. ugh this whole thing is falling apart isn't it. But we'll make it work. I got you a ferry to take you there, one of the cruise ships. It was the least I could do for now... I'll meet you there, I promise.'     >Cuts to Dareth on the boat, taking him and the rest of the people to ‘Aves Isle’.    >While everyone is getting off, Dareth helps a naga lady with carrying some of her stuff because Dareth ninjago.    >Naga ladys' name is 'Olive', she is a semi native. She starts talking about the islands' history. 'there used to be a temple but we don't know what happened to it, but it sunk into the ground.    >two investigate the area because Dareth has time to wait on Ronin.    >Upon finding whats’ left of the area and entering, the atmosphere changes and inflicts a weird curse or whatever.    >Dareth starts getting progressively more pushy Episode 2 - After s13 Wu wants to do more adventures so the bounty is just flying wherever the wind takes it I guess w/e {{Also realized I didn’t write much for Wu this entire rest of the story so I am assuming he’s having a grand ol’ time being on vacation}}    >wow it is night time, the bounty is flying in    >The crew ask where they are and Zane starts to go on his normal informative spiel before getting cut off.    >Oh there’s a thing on the radar. What the heck is that thing flying towards us OH GOD THAT’S A BIG ANGRY DRAGON    >Bounty has two smaller 'runner' boats? I guess? marketing. Two of the ninja hop on those and fly off.    >Zane and Jay distract the dragon so the bounty can safely land but it turns out there are two dragons and Jay gets taken down first. Yay soft landing.    >Bounty makes it safely over the fences that are on the island    >Zane gets taken out.    >Cuts back to Dareth and Olive still rooting around. activates something and wow a lava fountain. the ground is glowing in weird markings!    >Dareth snaps at Olive and she wells up and runs away and Dareth snaps out of it temporarily like 'oh crud why did I do that I didn't mean to be so bossy' and goes after her    >Olive gets overtaken and now: pointy.    >Dareth tries to stop her but she jumps into the portal lava whatever? hole?? not sure.    >He, of course, jumps in after.    >Fire Dareth.    >Random golden-looking platform chained to the bottom of the hole they are in. ominous voice: hey how about you get these locks free and we'll rebuild the temple? nice.    >Temple platform rises    >Zane gets tossed into an area? park? fenced in something or another??    >oh hi Jay    >oh community service sorting trash from recyclables? can do.

Episode 3 - The remaining ninja visit the two who are in 'time out' before deciding to have a look around the island.    >They take a nice walk down the beach Cole reminisces about the time Kai was extremely afraid of water    >Kai frowns as a laugh track is played. Claims he has gotten better at it but screams when Nya splashes him.    >Zane and Jay are done with service and its like 'okay how about we try to get out again?’    >Zane suggests doing it in the broad daylight since the dragons went out at night and may be nocturnal    >they try    >they get taken out again    >another round of community service    >sees another aircraft fall out of the sky    >guard: wow more property damage.    >sundown. lloyd notices that something strange is happening with some of the residents randomly getting more nippy and then not. strange. (Ninja get into an arguments with the locals or whatever)    >Stop by community service area    >Jay is now frustrated    >rest recuperate at where they parked the bounty    >Nya: well nothing is really going on here we can probably leave once the two are done breaking the law     >Ronin shows up to the area and is greeted sourly by Jay ninjago

Episode 4 - The ninja are ready to leave when they notice a weird ominous structure that wasn't there before.    >Crew investigate    >oh its hot. you can go in, Kai ninjago    >kai enters    >oh frick fire dareth    >kai ninjago, walking out and is krispy: there is a problem.    >three get out of service    >ronin asks if the little runner ships are 'truly' important    >hekcin steals their engine or whatever    >regroup at the bouty    >Kai: hey uhh, Dareth is peeved haha, I don't get it though he and I hang out every now and then.    >Ronin, internally: oh god he's really mad I didn't follow plans to a T-    >the ninja exchange awkward glances of guilt    >decide it'd be best to talk to him tomorrow, or try to. Also, more people are randomly getting upsetti, Jay is still frustrated.

Episode 5 - jay still has a bad attitude. lloyd is also starting to get upset. Cole tries to diffuse the situation but it causes the two to point their noses up at each other in silent anger. great.    >Kai enters in the temple again, which is even more built than it was before.   >Dareth being snarky   >kai apologizes and tells him he wasn't aware of it, and that he thought the two were good friends, reminding him of the times they hung out outside of mission things.   >Dareth calms down a bit   >finds a reason to be mad again.   >Ronin shows up   >'ronin?'   >''Told you I'd meet you here, what didn't you believe me? not really much of a vacation. How about we get some fresh air?"   >Dareth approaches   >oh no he's really hot.   >cheek caress with the robotic arm. gae.   >two head out. Room is no longer unbearably hot. good!   >squad enters in. goes into one of the inner chambers   >oh look the towns people overtaken by rage are building. nice.   >oh no jay and lloyd are fighting again.   >grabs attention of workers.   >the ninja get their butts handed to themselves, and lose Jay and lloyd in the process. nice   >cuts to Ronin and Dareth walking on the beach.   >Ronin smooth talking, normal Ronin behvior   >Flames and whatever fade from Dareth and he snaps out of it completely and immediately starts pouring out how he feels bad about being rude to Olive and whatever the bad guy is and what the plans of the temple are.   >Ronin: maybe we should tell the ninja. I don't want us to get involved anymore.

Episode 6 - Ronin informs the ninja of what's up.   >Nya: oh no we gotta stop this !   >Dareth: I want to help.   >Ronin: no we are on vacation we shouldn't have to; leave it up to them.   >Dareth: no I started this, this is my fault, I have to make it up to Olive and everyone <:(   >Ronin: :/   >Zane: we should focus on. not making the locals angry because that seems to draw them towards the temple.   >Ninja proceed to do good deeds, while part of them break off to do research   >learn about the bad guy dunn dun dunn!

episode 7 - Kai ninjago somehow is the one keeping the most level head out of everyone here and things get tense again. is it potentially out of character? Well he's mad that lloyd and jay are overtaken but he's doing a good job at self control.   >cuts to lloyd and Jay   >lloyd: this is dumb! why are we helping!? We're supposed to be stopping this!   >Jay: we're helping because YOU dragged us into this with your plan!   >argue. great   >bad guy laughing or whatever, oh the voice has a physical form that's manifesting from the heat of the temple. 'Good, soon I will be reborn and reclaim the island!'   >Olive inform him that Dareth has broken the spell   >bad guy furious and confused but is also like 'whatever we have a lot more important things to worry about'   >Nya and Zane are stepping on each others' toes.   >ronin and Dareth relay what they learned.   >kai sitting in the bounty looking disheveled   >'Human pinata makes the kids happy'. Horrifying.   >story about how the bad guy was dispersed after 'other beings' landed on the island and taught he locals the importance of peace and not war or whatever. It was probably some Oni and dragons chillin.   >Cole: oh! I mean we have two 'other beings' and those are the dragons, but they seem really angry and territorial   >Kai: maybe they want something and just haven't gotten it? ((Id have to mention one of the festivals known as the 'laughing dragon' festival or whatever but it's fallen into obscurity due to the dragons not being happy. Mention that sometime during episode 3))   >investigation time part 3.   >learn that there's a fruit that the dragons like, but the recipee was lost on how to make the disk for them   >well gang, time to get cooking! thank goodness Zane is on our-   >just kidding Zane and Nya are gone now because they got too angry at each other and went to 'get space' but they're probably at the temple now.

Episode 8 - Gotta do the cookin by the book!   >the ingredients are gathered.   >Dareth insists that they used a very speicific brand of exctact.   >Cole has no idea how to cook well   >Kai starts putting things together.   >Cole: when did you learn to cook?   >Kai: Well I had to take care of my sister buutt.. I dunno I think being the master of fire, cooking comes easy. ;)   >Cole: if there's any way I can help just let me know.   >kai: oh, yeah, bust open those things.   >Cole literally smashes open the fruit sending bits everywhere   >good ol happy comedic moment.   >first try   >Cole: . looks. uh. strange.   >Ronin: I am afraid to taste it.   >Dareth: oh I'm sure it can’t be- -face scrunch-   >Kai: <:)   >Dareth: well... I swallowed it.. at least..   >cuts to temple again   >bad guy is like 'we need more people how come everyone stopped coming?? someone needs to go out and start beating people up >:('   >Olive reports that the ninja were gathering ingredients for something or another   >Bad guy is like 'okay send some people there and stop them'

episode 9 - after the 5th attempt it's much more palatable so they make a larger batch and stick it in a boat all fancied up and now have to deliver it   >oh god angry people   >why are they looking at us hhh   >fite   >Kai: we legit cannot let any of this spill otherwise I'm going to scream.   >only way to get it away from the people is to go by ocean   >Ronin: we'll do what we can but you gotta do this kai. You're tough.   >kai: ahaha I still don't like water but!   >boat on water   >gets to the part outside of the gate   >oddly silent.   >kai proceeds to put it on the beach and starts calling out for the dragons and starts making noise or whatever. "im gonna kick your sand! haha! what are you going to do about it??'   >Dragons emerge, ready to fight   >sees the offering. Kai: it's okay it's okay, this is for you.   >backs away from the boat   >lets the dragons have it.   >the smaller one is curious about him and approaches him after   >good ol’ kai dragon interaction. yay confidence!

Episode 10 - wow I sure do hate this sorting plant by now, thinks Ronin ninjago.   >tossed in the sorting plant Cole: this isn't too bad. Dareth: yeah I thought we were going to be burned by the stake, haha! Ronin: oh you'll hate it soon enough.   >Dareth and cole exchange glances. Cole: oh I know, how about we do a song, get a beat going? I'm sure kai has things under control! Dareth: good idea! Keep the spirits high, huh?   >Olive informs that the offering made it out into the ocean   >bad guy says 'no fear the ocean probably will swallow it', both unaware that kai was on the boat.   >temple is nearing completion.   >the angry ninja attempt yet again, to try to make a plan to stop him.   >everyone has a different idea   >they don't work together and go do their own plans.   >lloyd tries to go after him directly   >jay attempts to use his powers to get the workers to stop and go after him   >nya yells at jay   >Zane attempts to take out Olive, with mild success, kicks her out of the temple.   >olive decides to visit in on the captives   >glares at Dareth   >Dareth proceeds to apologize profusely   >Olive is stunned and snaps out of it, sorta. moment of clarity   >apologizes for stopping their plan about the dragons. gives more detail about the situation inside the temple before getting ready to head back.   >ronin. heckin. kidnaps her w/e He wants answers, and also doesn't want her relaying the information she gathered back to the bad guy. Dareth: oh my GOD did you KILL her?? Ronin: :B no messengers.

Episode 11 - The dragons fly overhead and do their little dance and show and yaay, the people are happy!   >people working on the temple stop and notice in awe and decide to go outside to have a look.   >bad guy takes notice and a n g r y, number of the workers stop and go enjoy the show. Some even going to their work areas and getting snacks and things like a festival. Bad guy: where is my messenger?! How did this happen?! steppin out. that's it, I'll deal with this personally.   >bad guy stands on his temple top whatever. Starts blasting fire balls.   >kai ninjago shooting fireballs back to deflect Locals: wow firework show!   >even more stop their progress.   >lloyd notices   >the rest of the ninja notice. lloyd: woah kai ninjago..! Nya: I don't know how long he can last doing that.. Zane: the power comes from the temple.. Jay: so we have to sink the temple!   >sink time   >as the temple starts to submerge again the fire balls become weaker   >bad guy adverts his attention to the ninja and decide to try to take them out   >Kai ninjago shows up and they have a fire bending battle not ripped from avatar at all Jay: kai you gotta get outta there the temple is collapsing! Kai: I will give me a minute!   >This is sparta kicks the dude into the portal thingy lava(?) and gets the heck outta there before everything falls in again.   >yaay, we won!   >mini celebration that's more like we gotta recover

Episode 12 - partially filler episode? w/e   >actual festival held   >good ol relaxing for real this time.   >Dareth: that was fun!   >Ronin: so much for a vacation, seems like trouble is always following you around.   >Dareth: thank god I have you to protect me from it all, huh?   >Ronin: wow gay   >Dareth: also why did you run late?   >Ronin: weeeeeell... that's a long story. B) I'll tell you on the flight back.   >Olive: how did you find the recipe for the thing?   >kai: I didn't I just... I mean, Well, when you have flare like me you tend to know how to make a good dish B)   >Cole: he guessed and messed up 5 times.   >Olive: oh-    >kai: >:( c o l e   >the ninja can actually leave now   >FFIV victory fanfare

[scifrey]

2019 Writing Round Up

The new year is here, and with it everyone is talking about what they wrote this past year. The last quarter of 2019 was a brutal rollercoaster for me, emotionally and personally, so it’s good for me to have the chance to sit here and reflect on what I accomplished and the good things that happened too.

2019 started with receiving a grant from the Toronto Arts Council for The Maddening Science – said grant went to research materials for the novel, a new computer, printer, and keyboard, and paying off some debts. But 2019 also started in a place of utter burn-out, having slammed through writing, editing, and publishing five big novels in three years, as well as rewriting a feature film and completing the scripts for three seasons of a webseries.

I was also working two dayjobs – one first thing in the morning, for an hour and a half, and then a standard eight-hour shift in the evenings which got me home at around 10pm – so my sleep schedule was a mess and I was having trouble not only making time to write, but concentrating when I did have the time.

I started the year in a place of complete exhaustion and mild frustration that neither of my book series had really caught on, and as my agent once said, “burned out from tried to break out.”  I’m not happy to say that I think I still occupy that place a full year later; but I’ve had the opportunity to rest more, and begin to refill my creative well again, and to reclaim my writing space by no longer needing a roommate.

I’m not quite there yet – turns out finishing two series in four years really takes it out of you – but maybe in a few more months I’ll be ready to sit down and begin to spin out a new novel. In the mean time, I’ve got lots of irons in the fire, as you’ll see.

January

The first third of 2019 was dedicated to rewriting The Skylark’s Sacrifice a second time. I’d rewritten it in the last third of 2018 and my editor ended up agreeing that while the rewrite was exactly what she asked for, we should not have gone down that street in the first place. It was what was asked of me, but it didn’t work. So I took it back to the drawing board, and started the re-write all over again.

I also published WORDS FOR WRITERS: The DO-ING Trap.

I finished the edits/polish on A Woman of the Sea, which I had begun in October 2018 and loaded the book onto Wattpad in preparation for serializing it.

February

I spent February rewriting and jobhunting. I tried to write a short story and Did Not Do Well. It’s half done and likely to end up on the Pile Of Unfinished Tales.

At least I got some new words on the page with WORDS FOR WRITERS – Beta Readers.

And I began releasing A Woman of the Sea a chapter at a time on Valentine’s Day.

March

I completed the Skylark rewrites and handed them over to Reuts Publications.  I also published WORDS FOR WRITERS – From Signing to Signing.

At this point I tried to start The Maddening Science, the book I received a Toronto Art’s Council Grant for in 2018, and bashed out a few chapters and a few scenes. But something was off about it, and I couldn’t pinpoint why, so I kept going into the file and only put a few hundred words in here and there. I couldn’t really sit down and dig in, and because I don’t believe in Writer’s Block as a mystical magical reason for why people can’t write (there are always reasons), I had to step back to try to figure out why I was struggling. I assumed it was probably because I was in the middle of job interviews and decided to try again later.

April

I started a new copywriting job, leaving my other two dayjobs, and it sucked up all my brainpower and creativity and made it very hard to want to sit down and compose yet more words at the end of the day.

I resumed working piecemeal on The Maddening Science, pecking out what I could one molasses-slow sentence at a time. I realized that the incidents in the news regarding the current political comment and the toxic white supremacist misogyny that is rampant in our society today has made it very hard to figure out how to tell a responsible story about a supervillain as the protagonist.

I’m still working on that. In the mean time, while I figure out how to restructure the tale, the book and the progress blog are on hiatus.

May

Still brain-dead from work, I only managed to bash out WORDS FOR WRITERS: How do social media and writing/publishing work together?

June

There were some final edits on The Skylark’s Sacrifice to be discussed, but I really did nothing this month beyond marketing pushes and watching all the webseries I judged for TOWebfest.

July

The director of my feature film, To a Stranger, was going to start shopping the script around to executive producers, so before he did that I got some actorfriends together to do a table read. The read, and their feedback, revealed some character motivation gaps in the film, and I set about organizing their notes and figuring out how to solve the issues.

I also wrote and published WORDS FOR WRITERS – How To Write a Synopsis.

This was also the month of TOWebfest, the festival itself, and I spent a lovely day with fellow creators and spoke to some executive producers about my own webseries to try to garner interest.

I was a guest at Pretty Heroes Con for the first time and LOVED it. It’s great to celebrate strong female leads in SF/F and I loved Sailor Moon as a kid, so I was in nostalgic nirvana. It was lovely to introduce those Girl Power-loving fans to The Skylark’s Saga.

August

I restructured and rewrote To a Stranger, added extra characters and extra scenes to clear up some character motivation in the screenplay. It’s now back with the director and I hope to hear that he’s got a production house and an Exec attached to the project soon.

I appeared at FanExpo Toronto to do some panels, sell some books, and judged the short fiction contest. I also wrote and published WORDS FOR WRITERS: How to Create a Pitch Package.

September

The Skylark’s Sacrifice was published! Yay! I had a wonderful launch party at Bakka Phoenix, and got to simultaneously launch the incredible book trailer for the duology animated by Elizabeth Hirst to a song by Victor Sierra. Friends Adrianna Prosser and Eric Metzloff, and Danforth Brewery made it extra special.

I also got to read at Word on the Street, which was been a career-long dream, reading on the new Across the Universe Stage.

However, September was also the month when I lost the copywriting job. I saw it coming, so I was shocked when it happened and how it went down, but not surprised. I wasn’t fitting in well with the team, the original project I had been hired for had been vetoed by the execs, work was being taken away from me and given to freelancers, and I didn’t have the training they wanted (though that makes me wonder why they hired me in the first place.) In retrospect it’s been a blessing, as the workplace was not at all a good fit for me and was slowly becoming toxic, but at the time it was a devastating blow to my confidence and my coffers.

Just a few days after I was fired, on my 37th birthday, I won a Watty Award for A Woman of the Sea. Happy birthday to me! I was offered a place among the Wattpad Stars program and accepted – and wow, is there a lot of paperwork for that – and I’m still trying to figure out what benefits the program offers. (Though I’m pretty chuffed with my free Canva Premium subscription!) A Woman of the Sea was featured on the home page as an Undiscovered Gem and as of today has about 82k reads. Whoa!

I also wrote and published WORDS FOR WRITERS: How to Plan a Series.

October

I spent most of the month sleeping and crying and working through how I felt about getting fired. When one identifies oneself as a writer, to finally get a job in writing was a thrill and felt like a confirmation that although I was struggling with my next book, I was a writer and I’d get through it. Being fired from the job – even though the reason was an exec decision to eliminate my project and thus my role – felt like a very personal blow. I wasn’t a writer after all. (Or at least, that’s what it felt like).

This had me thinking long and hard. Especially about where I wanted my writing career to go next – as much I’ve been writing in the realm of SF/F the past decade, I’ve begun to realize that was I really am is a Character-Driven Romance writer. Romance set in spec fic and fantasy realms, sure, but Romance and Character Work are my wheelhouse and how I should be selling myself.

This realization has been pretty freeing because it means that the frustrations and roadblocks I’ve been coming up against can maybe be dissolved by reframing my brand and rethinking my career map.

Wattpad added the sample of City By Night that’s on Wattpad to their Halloween Reads list on the homepage and I decided to put the whole novella up on the site for people to read. Read it now, though. It won’t stay up forever as the eBook rights to the novel are signed with an indie publisher. This is just a limited-time promotion.

And knowing that readers were asking what I would be posting next on Wattpad after A Woman of the Sea, I rejigged Triptych for the site and started serializing it from the start. You can read it here. This story also won’t stay up forever, for the same reason.

I also started serializing Words for Writers on Wattpad. I won’t be copying over all 75+ articles I have on my website, just the ones that are specifically useful for Watties.

I also polished a webseries and sent it to a producer with a major broadcaster after our convo at TOWebfest for consideration. I’ve followed up but there’s no reply. I’ll follow up again in January 2020 but I can pretty well assume that No Answer is my ‘No’ Answer.

I am thinking about maybe pitching it as a graphic novel in the future, though I’m going to have to reach out to my friends who write them for publishers to figure out how to put at pitch together.

November

In 2017 I handed over a YA contemporary re-telling of “Northanger Abbey” to my agent, and it was lukewarmly received by both her and the handful of editors she showed it to. It was then shelved for possible future reworking.

In the first part of the NaNoWriMo month, I decided to tackle this reworking, and I was still wrestling mentally with The Maddening Science. This reworking was inspired a lot by reading Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston in October, and realizing that the tone I’d been going for with my narrator hadn’t been irreverent or GenZ-y enough for the story I was trying to tell, and not grounded enough in the technologies and social media that my modern-day Catherine Morland would have access to.

I reworked the Pitch Document for the novel, now currently called “Title TBA”, and got to chapter seven during NaNo. I’ve got some thinking to do about structure for the novel, and how far into using Social Media As A Storytelling Tool I want to go with the idea, but generally speaking I’m pretty pleased with the result of the rewrites.

Partway through NaNo, it occurred to me that there was another story that my Wattpad readers were asking for, and one that would be a lot of fun to write. In A Woman of the Sea, my fictional Regency-era  Jane-Austen-analogue authoress Margaret Goodenough writes her debut novel “The Welshman’s Daughters”. As I describe this non-existent novel in A Woman of the Sea, it’s a gothic romance that’s very Elizabeth Gaskell-and-Jane Austen-esque in terms of it being a character study driven romance, with some of the fun high melodrama and gothic tone of Anne Radcliffe. And, in the world of A Woman of the Sea, it’s the first queer kiss in Classic Western Literature.

A handful of readers have asked where they can find this book, or have confessed to going to the library to ask for it, only to learn that it’s not real. I made it up.

And I thought… well, why not make it real?

So I’m working on the pitch doc and the first chapter now, to see if a) this is something I want to pursue and b) this is something that will help me break through my burn-out slump. I hope it will, but I think I still need to take time to rest before I really push into it.

And I still have the “Title TBA” rewrites to complete.

December

I published WORDS FOR WRITERS: How Do I Get An Agent?, and spent the rest of the month just trying to chill. I’ve become a bit of a reluctant reader, so I am trying to push myself to read a little each day, to remind myself why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place.

A Woman of the Sea was turned down for Paid Stories, unfortunately, because of the structure of the romance. The Stars Team explained that romance stories like this one, with one romantic partner in the first half of the book, and a different one in the second (a la Brigit Jones’ Diary) doesn’t tend to do well on Paid because readers are reluctant to shell out for a romance where they don’t meet the HEA partner until later. It’s heartbreaking to hear, because I was really hoping that this might become a viable stream of income for me. At least the team who turned it down were very kind and expressed how much they loved the story in and of itself.

But no matter – onwards and upwards!

What’s ahead for 2020

Well, I’m not sure. This has been a really, really difficult year and I have really, really struggled with trying to figure out who I am and what I want, both in life and as a writer.

Certainly, there will be lot of hard thinking about the future of my writing career. I have ideas that I love and want to pursue, but this post-firing-return-to-the-job-hunt-depression is killing my desire to create. And honestly, the fact that I’ve worked so hard for so many years and haven’t managed to get any sort of break-through or cultural foothold or ability to even really to pay my bills with this job is disheartening. I’m still paying more in marketing every year than I’m making in Royalties.

However, I have some new opportunities on the horizon – conversations happening behind closed doors, as well as Divine Paradox Films still working toward filming To A Stranger, and Alpaca vs Llama shopping The Skylark’s Song as a teens animated series. And the webseries I wrote is under consideration with a new production team, so I can keep my fingers crossed.

Who knows, perhaps the rewritten “Title TBA” might be just the thing to propel my work into a realm where I’m really earning money. Though I had originally envisioned it as the first of a series, the more I work and think on it, the more I feel like it would be best as a stand-alone. I think it would slap a lot harder if it was a one-off.

And I am genuinely liking the plot of The Welshman’s Daughters, and all the research reading and viewing I am doing to get the tone and mood of the book right (please recommend me your favourite Gothic Romances – film, TV, or books!)

But I’m not going to rush anything. It’s nice to be able to remember how to putter with a book and have no looming, razor-blade deadlines hanging over my neck.

2020 will be, I hope, a year of renewed creativity, motivation, and the year where I complete at least one of the three novel projects I’ve started.

For now, I think I’m going to go have a nap.

*

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[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: The Shining Beacon Part 2

I miss RWBY. Specifically, I miss early RWBY when there was less drama (not really but let me pretend), so let’s head on back to Volume 1.

In our opening scene of Episode 3, Ruby and Jaune have managed to find the hall where the rest of the newbies are meeting and honestly? I’m super proud of them for it. These are the two fools who will later argue over who had the map while wandering around the wilds of Remnant. Baby leaders managing to find the rest of their flock? Great job. Well done. Mama’s proud.

This little time skip raises some questions though. Did they ever find the Beacon cafeteria? What else did they chat about the rest of the day? Yang makes it sound like they’ve been gone a number of hours and I for one would love to know what awkward Ruby and even-more-awkward Jaune got up to during that time.

Tis the realm of fics though, not canon. Instead we get another shot of RWBY’s infamous shadow people with Yang standing out like the goddamn sun.

Who could the main character possibly be??

Beats me. What a gosh darn difficult question.

Yang: Ruby! I saved you a spot.

Are... are there spots, Yang? You’re all standing in a giant auditorium. If Ruby comes to stand beside you is another student gonna throw a fit about it? I mean real talk, I went to watch the changing of the guard while spending a month in London and let me tell you, there were people who guarded their spots like a pissed off bird guarding her eggs. (For the record you couldn’t even see anything. This was just human prickliness at its finest). So who knows, maybe Yang knows precisely what she’s doing.

Ruby abandons Jaune to join her, which on the one hand is kinda mean—you can’t invite your new friend to stand around with you?—but Ruby does say she’ll “see [him] after the ceremony,” so that’s nice and all. I know my anxious ass would have been thrilled to hear someone making future plans like that, even if it’s mostly just a nicety. Making new friends is hard.

Of course, Jaune doesn’t make that job any easier on himself. I’ve written before about his Nice Guy tendencies in the early volumes and they come back in full force here. He bemoans Ruby’s leave, asking himself where he’ll find “another nice, quirky girl to talk to?” It’s an easy introduction for Pyrrha, revealing her behind Jaune and quite obviously setting her up as that “nice, quirky” girl who he’ll become closest to as the episodes progress, but jeez, Manic Pixy Girl assumptions abound. Especially given the fact that Jaune/Pyrrha became canon in Volume 3. Obviously Pyrrha will be written with great depth as RWBY continues, but it does rankle a bit to have her introduced as a Ruby stand-in, someone positioned as a way of fulfilling Jaune’s ridiculous “needs.” I’m glad this is undermined later when she takes initiative towards him, i.e. saving him during initiation and angling to be his partner. Her interest is clear even if at that point Jaune will take anyone pretty: Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha herself.

But I digress.

Ruby gives her whole spiel about meeting Weiss and Yang’s response is, “Yikes. Meltdown already?” heavily implying that she expected Ruby to have a “meltdown” at this school, just not so soon. Which—iffy terminology aside—isn’t at all surprising. RWBY does an excellent job of setting up Ruby’s nerves, from her “bee’s knees” comment to her eagerness in showing Weiss exactly what she’s capable of. The girl is desperate for validation—as is the whole RWBYJNPR gang, in their own ways—and a lot of that comes out as anxious, social awkwardness. If Ruby was at all inclined towards “meltdowns” at Signal then I’d say she did a damn good job holding herself together through everything that happened at Beacon. Granted, being put in a position of power will help with that, at least on a surface level. To semi-quote Oz, how can you expect others to put forth their best if you’re not constantly doing the same? Ruby has the veneer of self-control down now because she had to for her team... which makes me anticipate her inevitable breaking point all the more. We saw in Volume Six how close Ruby got to dropping her ‘I’m an endlessly put together leader’ persona with Qrow drinking himself to oblivion, but she never quite got there. I’m waiting (hoping really) that Ruby’s long-established anxiety will finally be addressed, what with Yang having made good headway in that department and all the shit they’ve gone through adding up to a very justified breakdown.

Let the poor girl really falter for once and let the rest of the group grapple with that. Everyone deserves it.

I’m jumping six volumes ahead though. Here and now Ruby is still telling Yang all about her horrible encounter, segueing into how she “just wanted her to stop yelling” which of course is the perfect moment for Weiss to sneak up behind her with a loud “YOU!” (Jaune’s comment linking to Pyrrha; Ruby’s comment linking to Weiss—RT enjoys writing these little bridges, particularly for introducing new characters).

I love this moment simply for how much it tells us about Weiss. Largely in retrospect. Because while her trailer song is definitely on the nose in some respects—“I’m the loneliest of all”—it’s not until later on that we realize exactly how abusive Weiss’ family is and how isolated she’s been for the whole of her upbringing. This girl has absolutely no experience interacting with people outside of the Schnee/everyone else hierarchy (note in a moment how she assumes that Ruby will want to “make it up to [her]”) so if you’re suddenly surrounded by people for the first time who aren’t fawning over your name and money and dust connections... what do you? How do you get some vaguely positive attention? Oh okay, guess I’ll force it! Here Weiss is claiming that she never wants Ruby to speak to her again, but she’s the one who barged in on their conversation and loudly drawing attention to herself. Weiss is starved for healthy validation while simultaneously stuck in the behavior she’s been taught: asking for attention solely by trying to show off— here’s a rambling summary of the Schnee Dust Company’s disclaimer look at what a good puppet I am—or by insulting others. Weiss mocks Ruby’s genuine offer to buy school supplies together but then doesn’t move away from her and Yang once the announcements start. She doesn’t know how to say ‘yes’ to any offers of friendship, but she also doesn’t want to say ‘no.’

Interestingly, that moment also tells us a fair bit about Ruby. Not just by re-emphasizing how kind she is by extending the offer to start this relationship over, but also adding weight to the headcanon that Ruby is neurodivergent. Weiss’ heavy sarcasm about how they can “go shopping, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys” goes right over Ruby’s head. She responds with a “Wow! Really?” similar to the “...can you?” heard right before she attacks the Nevermore during initiation. Ruby has a history of not just being awkward but missing a lot of ‘normal’ social cues as well.

The girls’ bonding is interrupted when Ozpin begins his speech and boy oh boy do I love this moment too. Anyone who reads my metas knows that I’m a firm defender of our disaster headmaster, especially after volume 6, and looking back this scene is the PERFECT example of how RT tries to make Ozpin seem shady... while really failing to accomplish that. Obscuring eyes/the whole face is a super easy way to tell the viewer that this is an Untrustworthy Character. See: every horror movie where the villain’s face is obscured by shadows, our own dear Adam who keeps his face hidden with a mask, etc. It serves to dehumanize the character, keeping us from seeing some of the most expressive parts of their bodies, and equates one thing they’re hiding—such as a deformity. Yay ableism! /s—with other things they’re keeping from the heroes; secrets, sinister intentions, and the like. The primary exception to this are characters who wear masks for defined and morally acceptable reasons. i.e. superheroes who need to keep their secret identities intact and, notably, aren’t withholding that information from the viewer. We as the audience usually know who they are and thus aren’t inclined to distrust the character based on secret-keeping.

Awesome superpowers aside, Ozpin doesn’t fit within the mold of superhero, so all of this reads as pretty damning:

Like holy shit, friends. With the exception of one moment, 

notably when Ozpin informs them that “knowledge will only carry you so far,” the cinematography goes out of its way to hide his eyes, if not his entire face. Oz comes across as super shady here, compounded by the close up and centered shot of Ruby’s silver eyes to contrast. Compounded further by the exchange Ruby and Yang have afterwards about how he seemed “kind of off”—an exchange that doesn’t precisely fit with in-world logic (how does Yang know what Ozpin is normally like?), but serves as a clear message to the viewer: Something is UP with this guy.

The problem? This isn’t Ozpin’s introduction.

Imagine a series where in Episode One we only hear about a powerful Beacon headmaster. Someone who bends the rules and let’s Ruby in two years early for reasons unknown. Then by Episode Three we see this guy almost insulting the new group of students (Yang’s eyes narrow when Ozpin says he sees only “wasted energy in need of purpose”) and the entire time the camera refuses to give us a good look at him. That would have set up a character who is legitimately creepy. Someone we know instinctively might not really be on our side.

Instead our introduction to Ozpin is this.

He’s smiling and charming and legitimately kind. He listens to why Ruby wants to come to Beacon before making his decision (aka establishing her agency here). He shares a fond “Aww, you know I’m gonna get what I want” look with Glynda. He brings cookies, for god’s sake. Ozpin’s supposed shadiness falls completely flat here because we’ve already developed positive feelings for him, notably while he was with our protagonist and his BFF headmistress. The intimacy in Episode One implies that this is the “real” Ozpin, whereas a formal speech in front of (from the audience’s perspective) a literally faceless mass sets this up as a “fake” Ozpin, one that comes out when he feels the needs to be stern with incoming students. Or, based on information we learn later, when he’s pulling from another personality.

All of which isn’t a criticism of RT’s writing. Rather, given what we now know definitively from Volume Six, I don’t think they were invested in making Ozpin into a legitimately shady character. What RWBY is invested in is poking at or outright dismantling a lot of tropes and conventions, which is essentially what they did here. “You EXPECT the secretive, powerful headmaster to be a morally gray kind of guy... so we’re just not even gonna go there. Not really.”

But back to the actual plot. Jaune ends the scene by sliding up and announcing that he’s a natural blonde, another excellent example of precisely the thing women aren’t looking for in a guy. He knows Ruby now so it’s totally cool for him to re-join her, but using that as an excuse to start talking about his looks? Nah. Remember folks, women generally like it when you treat them as more than just a romantic and/or sexual conquest!

But enough about Jaune. We cut to that night where all the newbie students—way more than we’ll actually see throughout the rest of the series—are crowded together in Beacon’s hall, which from a world building perspective is a really great choice. I love what it says about Beacon as an institution: We’re not giving you rooms yet because we believe that most of you will fail the initiation (or at least that’s the impression they want to give the students). There’s a sense of ‘roughing it’ with simple mats and no personal space, the sort of things they’d have to get used to if they’re out traveling as huntsmen later in life. The overall emphasis on community and team work. Like the teams of four, Beacon is invested in setting up situations where the students are forced to work with one another. Particularly with those they might otherwise avoid.

That’s precisely the sort of interaction we get in a moment, but first: a tangent. Okay. So in previous metas—mostly Volume Six stuff—I’ve gotten a lot of pushback for my use of the term “kids” to describe the RWBY gang. Which I get. Post-Beacon most of them are legally adults by our standards and they’re certainly doing Adult Things nowadays. I do think there’s a lot of interesting nuances here—the fact that our protagonist and arguably most significant character plot-wise (Oscar) are both still underage, asking whether Remnant even views age in the same way we do, whether hitting the magical age of 18 suddenly gives you any more insight or maturity than you had at 17 or 16, acknowledging that they were never meant to be out in the world fighting this war and making these decisions yet, so we shouldn’t conflate traumatic necessity with emotional growth—but for the most part fans don’t want to grapple with those sorts of questions. There’s a knee-jerk reaction (particularly from those who are around the group’s age) of, “Most of them are 18. They’re not kids so stop acting like they are.” RWBY has raised a lot of questions for me regarding how I balance “Kids/teens/young adults are people with agency and more maturity than people tend to give them credit for” with “I remember how much of a kid I still was at 18 and know precisely how much I’ve grown in the decade since. I was not an adult then, no matter what the law said.” It’s a matter of acknowledging generational experience without turning into one of those, “Bah! Kids don’t know what the hell they’re talking about” curmudgeons. I’m an adult with a father who dismisses everything I say because he’s got—and will always have—50+ years on me. I’m well aware that it sucks.

Why am I bringing all this up again? Because this scene is just so kid-ish. It’s wonderfully young and carefree! Ruby is writing a letter to her friends in cutesy grimm PJs. Yang slides over with a comment about how it’s just like a sleepover. They acknowledge that Tai would not be pleased with all the boys around while Yang ogles the shirtless guys and Jaune wanders around in a footed one piece. This entire scene has a distinctly middle school or early high-school vibe. Not that adults don’t hang out and chat in super comfy PJs—we totally do—but rather that viewers know how scenes like these are coded. They’re supposed to look young here and even though experience has most certainly aged them, even though about two years have passed since this moment... that’s still only two years. I have a difficult time accepting that we should now view the group’s decisions as irrevocably Adult and Mature (cough-airship-cough) when such a short time ago they weren’t either of these things. And they weren’t meant to be those things. Not yet. I wish that these later Volumes of RWBY were more interested in exploring the concept of (yes) kids forced into the role of adults, as opposed to trying desperately to pretend that they’re adults already with a more worthwhile voice than people with 10, 20, or in Ozpin’s case, a 1,000 years more experience than them.

Anyway. Enough ranting for one recap.

Ruby shares her fears about not making any friends and Yang has her “You’ve just made one friend and one enemy!” line before giving her little sis a legitimate pep-talk. She explains that there are friends all around Ruby, “you just haven’t met them yet.” A near identical perspective to what we heard from Jaune last episode. Which is hilarious given that ten seconds ago Yang was pseudo-insulting the guy.

Seriously though, how is there not more Jaune-Yang interaction in canon? They’re got so much more in common than just blonde hair and anger management issues.

Cue another segue. Right after Yang finishes talking about future friends Ruby catches a sound off screen and we get our first look at Blake since the courtyard.

Yang quite literally drags Ruby over and it is an excellent display of siblings being siblings.

Blake recognizes Ruby as “the girl who exploded” and honestly I’m sad that this didn’t become a moniker for her in the same way “vomit boy” did for Jaune. Nothing like being defined by your embarrassing moments and ridiculous habits to encourage true bonding! My BFF calls me Trout and I call her Hunter and no, I will not expand on the ridiculousness that was my middle school years.

I mean, Ruby starts to tell Blake that she can call her crater face before realizing that this might not be the best idea. The girl is awkward af and I love her.

Yang: What are you doing??

Ruby: I don’t know help me!

God they’re so fucking relatable.

Yang manages to get Blake’s name out of her and then makes the mistake of commenting on her bow. Granted, Blake doesn’t show any overt signs of discomfort here—that would have been too obvious even by RWBY’s standards—but looking back we can assume that any conversation veering towards the one thing she wants to hide wouldn’t exactly endear her to these girls. Blake gets pretty rude by saying that she’ll continue to enjoy her book just as soon as they leave. Yang gets ruder by announcing, right next to Blake, that she’s a “lost cause.”

The book is Ruby’s in though. Now it’s less small talk and more legit interest as she asks what Blake is reading. The fandom has acknowledge to death the “It’s about a man with two souls, fighting for control” line and how that obviously relates to the Ozpin-Oscar situation, but beyond that I’m interested in the fact that we never learn the title of this book. Normally that wouldn’t mean much (only so much world building you can do and book titles aren’t necessarily the sort of thing RT wants to waste time on), except that Ruby specifically asks for it and Blake delves straight into the summary. I wonder if perhaps this specific text will show up again in future volumes. I don’t have any real evidence for the hunch, just the fact that we now know Ozpin has put stories out into the world that relate to his situation, namely The Maidens fairy tale. I have to wonder if perhaps other lives of his created art as a way of coping with their situation—unknowingly truthful accounts that people like Blake read, oblivious to the ways that this fiction might be setting them up to be more empathetic towards the same situation in real life. It just stands out to me that we’re not given a title or author here; that Blake was one of the ones to learn about Ozpin’s immortality off screen (denying us her initial reaction); that comparatively she was one of the more sympathetic during that awful moment out in the snow. It would be awesome if the “lol Blake is a nerd who sometimes reads porn” aspect of her personality actually sets her up to be one of the more understanding people in Volume 7.

Basically, please give me super nerd Blake who starts warming back up to Ozpin because she finds out he’s authored a bunch of her favorite books lol. Or at the very least she realizes that she’s now living the stories she’s long adored; she’s been given the opportunity to extend real support to someone so very like the characters she’s felt for all these years...

RWBY does love its meta.

Ruby admits to loving books too, particularly the fantastical stories that Yang used to read her. Blake is far more pessimistic.

Blake: Hoping you’ll live happily ever after? 

Ruby: I’m hoping we all will.

Hello, conflict of the entire series. As well as many fans’ hope for how it will all turn out. I’m personally not at all interested in a 7+ year investment with this cast only to watch them end on a bleak, or even bittersweet note. Despite what some might claim nowadays, happy endings are far from overrated. Given the state of the world, happy endings are radical.

Blake tells Ruby that her dreams are “Very ambitious for a child,” one of the very few indicators we’ve gotten (along with Weiss’ “Aren’t you a little young to be here?”) that the rest of the students recognize on sight that Ruby is younger than them. I’ve literally never heard one child refer to another, same-age acquaintance as “child.” Especially not when they’re hinting strongly that they’re being naive.

Yang is SUPER proud of that optimism though and starts a tackle hug that leads to them fighting cartoon style, complete with stars, cat noises, and dust clouds. The racket of course brings Weiss over. And by “of course” I mean “Oh look, another excuse she can use to go talk to the only people she knows here.”

We get another handful of great lines—Ruby has known Weiss a day but she was “always on [her] side,” Weiss exclaims that Ruby is “a hazard to [her] health”—but the episode is basically over. Blake blows out her candles and that’s that.

Meanwhile, I can’t believe I just wrote nearly four thousand words on a six minute episode. I’m gonna go re-think my life choices.

Minor Things of Note

“You’re lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff!” Hey there, episode four foreshadowing! Also, Weiss, you guys are nowhere near a cliff. You’re so dramatic.

You can really see the difference in their expressions when Oz gives his speech. Ruby and Yang looked pumped and joyous. Weiss is anxious and unsure.

Still super interested in Ozpin actually using his cane as he leaves the stage. Probably just a random animation choice before they worked out all his character kinks, but if we imagine that his host was currently speaking maybe that’s a quirk specific to him.

We never again hear about “the gang back at Signal” that Ruby is writing to. Just like we never see the friends Yang apparently entered Beacon with (and weren’t meant to given that they were also shadow people). Not that RWBY needs any more characters to keep track of, but from an in-world perspective it is a little strange that they were supposedly super close to all these people and then just... never mention them again lol. 

[quonit-aceattorney]

1-5 Reaction

Rules:

Q = Me, Quonit.

BF = Bardic Feline, the friend that made me spend 30 dollars on the game and whom I am messaging

I don’t use those when I send the messages close enough my username doesn’t appear.

Any typos (unless they are funny and part of the conversation) will be fixed.

Index

—

Q: I'm doing the next one sorry for all of the messages

wow what was even that opening

what girl?

febuary 2017. I remember this month well.

Q: Who's this girl?

hey she looks like an adult! Second girl without her main feature being boobs :D

no mai is dead I took her spot though, she was in the tutorial level.

:D yay am I better

YES INDEED

yes phoenix please I like this girl a lot

i didn't know my name could also come with one m!!! My name is Emma, I had no idea people could also be named Ema with one m

aww so she isn't an adult I still like her though

phoenix please she's only like 10 years younger than you

BF: Hahahaha yeah, Ema is the Maya stand in for this case

BF: She returns for the fourth game, which takes place 7 years after the third game

BF: Still not very busty, even in her mid twenties haha

Q: :O Interesting!

I like Ema.

Q: What age of people did they think were gonna play this game? If kids then why does it seem they talk down to them so much?

I'll get back to playing

Q: oh so that beginning scene actually meant something

She's know Mia because she was kinda well known

okay why is she bad

how did she even get in teh office in the first place?

hahahaha no im not trading my badge for 50$

what do you mean ''yet''

Q: I LIKE LANA

HER OUTFIT IS GREAT

Q: it's obviously a coincidence that the two siblings are so alike, but if it motivates you then sure I wanna get to the second game

Q: you're telling it from the witness' perspective Lana. Do you remember what happened? What was your motivation?

Q: hi cowboy detective please don't kick me out

what

I AIN'T SCARED OF NO GUN LET ME EXAMINE

Q: why are we having this stepladder conversation again

Q: this office looks like Edgeworth

Q: maybe you wouldn't be low on money if you did your job

Q: five thousand???

MAN edgy must be rich!

BF: The stepladder debate is one of the running gags of the series haha

Q: interesting!

Q: that and Phoenix (and later Apollo and Athena) presenting his badge every chance he gets, and cross-examining non-human witnesses

Q: yaaaaay I liked cross-examining the parrot. 

I still can't believe they let me do that

Q: wait a second the bundle doesn't come with the fourth game just the first 3

oh well it's still a lot

Q: examining the examined. This could be useful.

Q: yeah, no, just the original trilogy

Q: alright, makes sense. Are they still making games for it?

BF: the fourth game came out well after the original trilogy ended, and it only JUST got an updated port to iOS and the 3DS e shop

Q: great an adult woman with a main feature being boobs. I liked the other ones more.

ah, alright. how good/bad is the anime I'm curious

BF: and yes!  in the main series, there are six games total...five and six only came out in digital form for the US, no physical release

don't focus so much on the boobs, it's just drive you crazy

and Angel really isn't THAT busty, she's just got a bust emphasizing outfit

Q: huh, alright. If I feel like it maybe I could get them.

fine. I'm not eating whatever she just handed to me though, she doesn't seem very trustworthy true I guess, not really as bad.

BF: she very much does that on purpose to put you off your guard, btw

she's not EVIL

but she's smart as hell, and she's not necessarily on your side right now.

Q: oh so it's intentional, alright that's more forgiving than the developers just wanted another boob-joke.

Q: angle please we're looking for evidence please stop freaking out Ema

Q: yaaaay edgy! I knew this was your office!

BF: hahaha yep

his office is as frilly as he is

Q: "this office looks like edgeworth"

why is there a dead body in your car that car looks too dirty to be yours it isn't even purple

BF: oh and to answer one of your comments from last night when I was asleep...Phoenix/Edgeworth is an overwhelmingly popular ship, to the point where it can become a bit annoying if you ship either of them with anyone else.

or if you like any of the rarer pairings, period hahah

Q: edgy we know you didn't do it I'm on your side and always will be

except when you're not on my side

With how his dialogue was set up in that chapter I am not surprised how much of the fandom ships it.

Q: Phoenix that was a very cruel joke, remember the case two months ago? Very cruel.

Q: gumshoe isn't dead lol must be mia's fualt he randomly appeared in my head, same with maya

Q: ya why do random flashes of random people keep appearing

how do i investigate this

BF: hah...if it's the bit I think it is, that's just Phoenix connecting him to the INCREDIBLY NEAT AND CLEAN OFFICE

BF: which Gumshoe totally takes times out of his day to keep tidy because that's just the kind of stuff he would do for Mr. Edgeworth, pal!

Q: Well I bet the lunchlady and edgeworth and I'm investigating while edge is in his office.

possibly but phoenix actually commented on "why did i just have ___ randomly appear in my head". whatever I'll keep looking

I guess!

BF: gumshoe just a big old loyal puppy who loves Edgey

lol no that's the reason hahah

Q: gumshoe!!

still needs a better name

Q: I need to copy paste my reaction in a place I'll be able to easily get to later because this will probably be very valuable to me later on.

(Edit: Fuck me for making me do this)

Q: edgy tell me what the trophy thing is

no mumbling

edgy you did good why are you being so defensive over the shield

Q: well the fact it's broken could be important so please tell us

Q: oh ya! I can examine the examined now :D

Q: well 5:12 and 5:15 are very close to each other so this is important that they are so precise

who's this cartoony cop!!! he doesn't look like he's drawn in the same style as everyone else in the game!

Q: noooo i want the report

Q: Edgeworth in the Wild: A Documentary

Q: YABADABADOO

Ema why

Q: huh, so apparently phoenix doesn't just teleport? man that must be so annoying when I don't know where I'm going for them

Q: blue badger looks like a pokemon that is why he seems familiar

Q: yaaay i found gumshoe

ema knows too much poor edgeworth indeed, I hope soon he can get a break

dance till you die

Q: "they make a good pair" so I guess this game isn't against gays, cool.

Q: well i mean the letter probably will get us somewhere if this game is going to progress

Q: oh so is Angel dating Marshal? What a turn of events

yaaaay i can get in now

...I just realized I can use headphones on a DS... Interesting....

Q: the music hahaha. Marshal theme song

Q: don't think too hard on cannibalism and you'll be fine

Q: Marshal is fun

BF: hee hee yeah, I like him.

Q: "well if phoenix showing his badge to everyone is a running joke guess I better help with that by showing it to everyone".

This case is pretty fun so far, not even a single irritating thing yet

BF: LIke Ema and Lana, Jake Marshall is actually deliberately made to be sort of a nod to another pre-existing character haha.

BF: and yeah, Rise from the Ashes is a good case!  I remember finding some of the trial segments to be tricky, but overall, it's solid

tQ: "Noe to self: when finding evidence, think of Texas"

who is this pre-existing character?

BF: and it makes good use of the new mechanics that were introduced for the DS

Q: it does!

BF: you won't meet him until the third game haha

but yeah...Ema and Lana are clearly meant to be nods to Maya and Mia

BF: Jake, less obviously, is sort of a nod to Godot

Q: and thankfully this gets Phoenix motivated again

godot... who's that? I should probably know

BF: Godot plays a MAJOR part in the third game, you'll know him the second you see him.

He...stands out.

to put it mildly.

Q: can't wait to meet him

when will the Y guy (shack guy DL-6) appear again he's already pretty interesting that's probably spoilers

BF: Yanni Yogi?  He only appears in that case, sadly.

though there's a background reference to him in one of the spinoff games.

BF: He's one of Zarla's faves

Q: I assumed... he seems pretty interesting, sad he had to leave so soon. As you saw I was REALLY shocked when a character zarla drew appeared that I didn't even know would be in the game... sad to see him leave so soon.

Q: forgot to talk with Marshall, maybe I can progress through this

oh yay the autopsy report

Q: tell me about yourself marshall, how long has your cowboy career been going on?

why would you kick out gumshoe!!!

D: I don't know if I should break the news to him or not

Q: well that isn't even an option so

the detention center doesn't even update ever

Q: uuuhhhhgggg I hate being stuck like this where can I goooo

Q: still stuck >:( It's been almost an hour

quonit

just let me gooooo

03/24/2018 (Two days later)

Q: FINALLY I DID SOMETHING there was a note in the trunk but it seemed to have done nothing... don't even know if the two people I can talk to would react to it.

as i suspected it did nothing >:(

I think the phone is the key but the only thing it will let me examine is the trap!!!

03/24/2018

Q: I asked my brother to help and he FINALLY HELPED

He found another scroll bar on the examination thing that I never noticed and found it :D

Q: no cowboy pls i really worked hard to get this far

Q: phoenix has a phone? how come we can never use it?

...what do i do with the phone?

how did my brother turn it

= and -... where are those buttons?

Q: going to my brother

Q: why not press the button again???

Q: where do i gooo

Q: i give up I need to draw

BF: hahaaha

BF: aaaah sorry I've been busy unpacking boxes

I wouldn't have even thought to tell you about those double screen investigation rooms!

there are like...at least two of those in this case.

the car park area and the evidence room

Oh, and because this took me FOREVER to figure out when I played it the first time: when you dust for finger prints, you blow the powder away by blowing into the mic on the DS

Q: I don't expect anybody to be on while I send messages. Do not worry, I do not expect responses immediately. Also packing boxes??? did you move :O

double screen investigation rooms? tell me more. If you mean ones where you have to move the screen I did do that a lot... and yet I still can't find much. I finally got the phone in my inventory and tried to check the last call but it still won't do anything THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THAT IN ADVANCE I GARENTEE I WOULD'VE GOTTEN STUCK

Q: Where I am si that I think I have all of the items in my inventory. A full page and then the phone on the next... am I missing something? I heard that Ema is supposed to tell me that I have everything I need

BF: aaah if you are in the car park, one place you need to check is the muffler of the car

Q: muffler? I got the paper that was in the back, I'll examine the car more I guess

BF: and yeah, the game usually gives you some hint when you've found all the things

BF: I forget if you can get it now or not, but there's some cloth shoved into the tailpipe of the car

Q: dont' think i can thanks though

I'll tell you what I have in my inventory and you tell me what I'm missing for the first part

Q:badge, id card, knife, shield trophy thing, parking stub, blue badge pannel, goddman's autopsy report, note from the back of the car, and cell phone

BF: hmmm....and you've shown absolutely everything to everyone and poked at everything on every available screen?

Q: yeeeesssss

:( I'll try again

BF: (oh and to answer your earlier question, yes, I did move into my house today)

Q: yaaaaay

shouldn't there be a wiki or something for this that says what to do

BF: if you are absolutely stuck, I'd look up the Games FAQ walktrough

Q: :(

why does this game make me so stuck all of the time

BF: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ds/925589-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney/faqs/44304    here, this one is spoiler free, you just gotta get down to the right case

Q: :D thank youuuu

Q: :O HEY IT WORKED

HOW DID I NOT NOTICED THIS

Q: Lana why are you not on edgy's side

Q: of course you don't know everything going on here phoenix, if you did we would win but right now we don't win

this game but we know everything beforehand

Don't believe your client, just believe in them. got it.

Q: oh ya angle exists i forgot about her

BF: haha FIGURING OUT WHY LANA IS DOING WHAT SHE'S DOING IS A BIG PART OF THIS CASE

Q: BACK

I had to trim the grass in the front yard. We got an actual letter saying that we needed to so that was odd. It's done now though

angel will never stop talking, and Edge doesn't seem as annoyed as some of the others. huh.

oh my god judge can't you be a little more professional ARE YOU EVEN ALLOWED TO EAT RIGHT NOW

Q: you decline every offer phoenix until an impossible one pops up. Phoenix why

Q: If you hate prosecutors so much then maybe you could help me

please I'm begging

Q: wait you have more then one boyfriend

did i hear that wrong

ugh so she does

"care to join" If that is what I have to do to get information out of you!

BF: hahaha

yes, Angel and her many boyfriends

Q: Ema's notes are funny

BF: this boyfriend, that boyfriend, the other boyfriend

you know, as you do

Q: "the yet another boyfriend is still open"

I'd like to know who is who

Q: wait isn't B block for defense attorneys not visitors?

Q: how she names them reminds me of the chicken 'mine'

"That's mine, that one's also mine, that's another one of mine, that one is yours, and that one is not yours." we actually considered naming our chickens that haha

Q: Ema is learning my table-slamming technique.

Q: "my boyfriend worked in the photography division" WHICH boyfriend?

Q: "Prosecutors are, by nature, well-versed in the location of a man's vital organs" I already had to prove with twice Edgy did NOT murder anybody!

yes phoenix kill the egg

Q: okay so i learnt as much as I could while pressing, and there seems nothing wrong... I need to find the objection item

Q: THE LEFT-RIGHT HAND TRICK

ALWAYS WORKS

Q: EDGEWORTH

HOW COULD YOU SILENTLY SAY OBJECTION YOU HAVE BERTAYED ME

ALWAYS OBJECT

Q: of course it was planned! We already established whoever the killer is planned to do it in edgeworth's car

Q: "mommy, are prosecutors bad people?" hahaha oh my god

yes lets tell the audience how to commit murder

edgy that pun was terrible and you know it

Q: Ema what is that note

you can't smell his breath from over here what

I do have an objection!

Q: I'd like to know how she got into the food business

Ema you're on MY side

Q: remember?

Q: it's so rare when the thing I immediately think of and object with actually works and the characters see what i see

Edgy you look like you're on my side

Q: Ema do you hate me

Q: The person that seems most on my side in this case is f***ing edgeworth and he is actually the one pitted against me so you're all failures.

Q: >:(

I got so stuck at this part and had to retry a few times and I finally gave up and went to the tutorial and that isn't helping

FLOOR PLANS WHY DON'T YOU WORK

Q: :(

Q: Why can't I just gooooo none of the evidence I have works at all

Q: I PROGRESSED AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I PRESSED

UHHHH

Q: OHMYGOD THE FLOOR PLANS FINALLY WORKED

WHAT CHANGED

Q: she'd lie because as I said she has a grudge

Q: five minuets???

wow that's a long time

Q: if you have evidence please tell me

how was this judge hired

WHY THE SHOE WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS SHOE

what is this blood type it could also be common

Q: why does edgy continue to seem like he is on my side lol

Q: that brings in the question: how many lunches do you actually have in there

Q: if it does how come she was blee- oh ya the hand injury

Q: ohhh to wash away the bloood okaaaay

now to defeat you edgy

Q: Okay so more then one photo, I NEED MORE PHOTOS.

Q: Mia thank youuuuu

oooo the fun music started playing, im onto something

Q: "Yeah! (I'll think later" is the best line in the game

IT SUMS UP THE THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN I PLAY THE GAME

Q: Salmon swimming upstream in a river of quicksand

ya sounds like Phoenix

Q: the muffler in the muffler

Bad feeling about following advice given to you by Marshell??? What a silly thought!

Is something wrong edgy? why are you so upset?

what is bothing you Eedgy pls tell me

OH MY GOD ANOTHER SUPRISE CHARACTER HOW HOW IS HE IN ACE ATTOURNY WHAT ??????????????????????????????????????????????????

is he just gonna stand there or...?

Q: Udgey... that's a new one

afriad indeed, terrified I might say.

Wrighto... also new

Q: when i send my live reaction to the game should i have more context to what is going on

Q: rereading it i think i should

Q: I've been taking more pictures of art I wanna send you but it still isn't doing anything

Q: Alright so i opened the Ace Attorney save file and I have no idea where i am. I'm pretty sure this is right after the first trial

tiny village... where am i and why

i think this isn't my file??

BF: I was about to say...

Q: ruinion and turnabout?

what? something is wrong

BF: if you are in a tiny village, the only one I know of is Kurain. and you don't go there the first time until 2-2

yeah, you are in game 2 there

that's Maya's village.

Q: we fixed it!

My brother wanted to play and he mistook the game two save files as extra save files and he just decided "fuck it im not waiting for her to finish" and just started playing through

interesting :o

OH YA WE'RE TALKING WIT THIS GUY :D

swimming? why that specifically?

little worthy? is that a name?

DISTRICT OF THE POLICE UH NO I DON'T KNOW THIS GUY

aww so if he's number one he probably won't be on my side :(

damon gant, I like this guy

OH YA I forgot about edgeworth! Worthy haha didn't think of that nickname yet. I'll add it to the list. He must be very scared of this man

BF: hahah yesss Gant is great.

Q: so a muffler is a scarf? is that just another name for a scarf or is it a type of scarf?

he just keeps standing there and blinking

edgy back on this feet, finally stopped just sitting there silently in what I'm assuming is anger and fear

BF: it's a type of scarf. I can't tell you what exactly makes a muffler a muffler though. they just wanted to use the pun, though, I think

aaah the Gant stare.

Q: they seem to love naming puns, not just the people's names now.

"That's not fair!" There are a lot of things that aren't fair in this world, edgy.

Q: A WRITTEN APOLOGY

That kid from earlier in the audience: mommy is this how trials usually go? Mom: no. I am not even sure what is going on.

BF: hahah trust me, the pun names get more intense with each game.

Q: I feel bad for edgy haha

I can't wait

oh my god SOMEBODY JUST OPEN THE KNIFE

Q: THEY ADDED  A CLAPPING SOUND FOR HIM

I DID NOT EXPECT THIS

Q: ...the note may have something to do with this

but along with everything else i think of in this game it's probably wrong

nah okay

Q: time to look through my items another 20 minuets and hope the character see what I see

Q: when in doubt press on everything

Q: good job ema! I'll examine the knife!

Q: SL-2... something similar  that wasn't a tag. again was it the note

OH MY GOD IT WAS THE NOTE

Me and gant both love 'objection'. I'm still mad at Edgy for that. I will hold it against him forever.

BF: hahaha NEVER FORGIVE YOU EDGEWORTH

BF: you and your habit of updating the autopsy report

Q: "Do you have evidence?"

"yes! (I'll think later)" is still the best line in the entire game

a habit of mine? is that not something everybody does?

I feel so honored being told "I win, Wrighto!"

BF: heh

Q: :D He'll tell me about the knife now!!!

Q: I only get to hear bout one thing.... better choose wisely.

Where the victem was found could help, seems like it could work How the victim was killed could be a little more risky but all of these are pretty good When the victim died... it could also be 5:15, and I could find a way to show it was planned... but I'm not sure

there probably wont be any consequences though

I'll roll my di

Q: it's 1 so i guess we're going with that

Q: didn't we GO to the evidence room?

Q:

Gant: :long stare: Gant: You two make a great pair! I swear this is intentional. It's not even just that chapter.

Q:

Gant: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Gant: :long stare: Gant: Sure why not! well alright then! I'm learning about it unofficially :D This is already very casual so why not

Q: why is the victims gender there

that is unimportant WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HE MURDER

Q: Gumshoe won't die Phoenix he was in the credits!

Q: alright now not only is edgeworth being called worthy he's being called little worthy

do these two know eachother???

Q: that id is the same as the one we have here >:O

Q: :D the fun music is playing

Q: EDGY REMEMBER WHEN HE SAID HE COULDN'T TELL YOU WERE THE CORPS WAS FOUND

IT'S ALL ON YOU EDGY IT'S ALL ON YOU.

 Q:EDGY WHY DID YOU JUST SHOO OFF MEEKENS

IT'S STILL ALL ON YOU BUT MUCH MORE DIRECTLY YOU THIS TIME

Q: oh my god NOW WE'RE DOING NICKNAME PUNS

Q: hehehe FINALLY Edgy looks like the fool instead of me :D

Q: What i think happened is that they were killed, and their body was dragged through the back of their care, and brought here

oh boy angel's back

Q: Oh my god ANOTHER CASE

WE ALREADY DID DL-6 UGH THIS MUST AT LEAST HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY

Q: What I think happened: somebody killed the detective, put the body in the back of edgy's car, Edgy drove back to where he should, left, later the girl opened the back. something about her stabbing him.

Q: no that doesn't fit

screw this case

Q: oh no I'm defending Meekens now too???

Meekens just looks a lot more cartoony then everything else

Q: why did they let him bring a megaphone

Q: oh so goodman's the villain.

BF: uhhhh...nooot exactly, no

Q: i learnt that quickly

I found gant again! he has his own theme song. Sounds like a king.

Q: Honestly I still feel bad for Edgeworth, hope he gets out of this.

Q: uhhhggggg I just got stuck i really wanna figure this out fast instead of wandering around forever. Not sure if it's just with me or if this game just needs better... instructions maybe?

Q: In court when your stuck press everything. In over world when stuck talk to everyone again, present every piece of evidence again, and examine everything again. Then still find yourself stuck.

BF: this case is one of the worst for that sort of thing, I'll admit. I've played it multiple times and there are still places where I forget how to proceed

Q: I don't like using the tutorial at all but I've had to use it twice to proceed, at least I have that. When this game came out people would just be stuck and never get to f***ing leave, and when they did they would be like "THAT WAS IT THE WHOLE TIME I MUST BE DUMB". Are the later games better at this?

Gant: If somebody just walked up to me and asked for 50$, i'd give them 50$! in that case can i have 50$

Q: You know I want to get to the evidence room but why not let's just sit here and talk with Marshell for another 6 hours

Q: I can finally go the the evidence room yaaaay

Q: See, Gumshoe's got the right idea on those 50$

BF: it varies by case, I'm not going to lie!

Game 2 has some added trickiness because it introduces a new mechanic during investigation mode.

said method is a touch more refined in the third game.

Q: in your opinion what is the best game (random question)

general stuff happens, i didn't comment on it

Q: I'm sorry, the game wants me to go to the secret room, do all these things, get no sign that I found then all, and then go to edgeworth's office???

HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THAT OUT

Q: fine a little bit of a clue but this case really wants players to get stuck

Q: OH MY GOD WHY IS THE BELLBOY HERE DOESN'T HE WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE

Q: hahahaha I can see how you got stuck when the game told you the blow, It did NOT specify in the mic.

Q: non bloody prints???

I can't choose any of the fingers and all 5 are bloody! what do you want me to do im stuck on this sceen

Q: my brother helped :D

BF: heh

BF: Um...my favorite...well, tough to say.  Obviously, I'm particularly stuck on game 2, though on retrospect game 4 is pretty fascinating (both for what it is and what it could have been)

BF: Generally speaking, most people agree that game 3 is the best of the original trilogy, though (game 2 isn't hated, but it has this ONE CASE that is near universally hated)

BF: Of the spinoffs, I'm personally partial to the second Ace Investigations, though that one you can only play in English via  a fanpatch

I'm still playing game 6, so I don't know how I'd rank that one just yet

and there are two spin off titles that I have no way of playing in English at all right now, which is frustrating. No idea where I'd rank either of them. but the animation for those is PRETTY.

BF: Oh, but if you get a chance, one game I strongly recommend that was created by the original creator of Ace Attorney that isn't an Ace Attorney game (though it is allegedly set in the same universe) is a game called Ghost Trick.

Q: Interesting! I'll be sure to check out ghost trick. I wonder if I'll be able to tell what the hated case in 2 is when I get to it...

BF: hahah I'm willing to bet you'll figure it out. I personally liked the case, but it has some issues for sure

Q: alright. I was gonna start playing again if you still want me to send you the endless messages that give you no context to where i am or what im reacting to

BF: AMONG said issues is that it does what no other case had ever done before it, and it has a couple of cross examinations where you can get frigging penalized for a bad PRESS

Q: oh no D:

BF: It warns you when you get to it, but it's still really annoying

taking away my ability to badger the witness without repercussion!

but yeah no, feel free to ramble, I'm just here working and rewatching episodes of the Maxx

Q: >:(

I saw a post and thought of the judge from this game. "The judge could sentence you guilty for murder wearing hello kitty pajamas under their robe and you would never know” yaaaay

Q: About to go to the court thing. FINALLY lana is back it's been a while >:(

Q: oh yay lana gets to be a witness

nvm im a moron the cartoon guy i forgot his name gets to be

MEEKENS YOU'RE NOT THE KILLER

THAT IS NOT AN OCCUPATION RIGHT

Q: there seems to be a lot of talking down to kids in this game :(

Q: why do people let him bring his megaphone

same answer with the kid and his sword

Q: i mean i like the blue badger

Q: bet the tape won't help much

HEY ITS ANIMATED

well hey it was a little helpful

Q: 

Edge: :slams hand on desk: What the hell was that wriggling piece of plywood!?

my new second favorite line

Q: the problems was he was wearing gloves

probably not that's what first comes to mind though

Q: or the light was already on

Q: gloves were rubber? how did i not notice that

Q: why would he need the gloves in there if he was goodman

Q: he could've stolen the card

who is the 777... card at the top

Q: WHY IS THE KID STILL IN THE AUDIENCE

WHY TO PARENTS TAKE THEIR KIDS TO MURDER TRIALS I'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH THIS CHILD AND EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT MAYBE YOU SHOULD'VE ACTUALLY WENT TO THE TRIAL WHERE I DEFENDED EDGEWORTH IF YOU STILL THINK HE'S SO BAD

Q: :D I think edge just complimented me, it's probably going to turn into an insult though so ill just enjoy it while i can

Q: fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck youuuuuuuuu

Q: the fake killed goodman not lana

no that wouldn't work dammit screw you

Q: HEY GUMMY HOW ARE YOU

NO GUMMY STAY

HEYHEYHEYHEY HEY WHAT

awww lana's finally being useful

Q: Ema don't run it's just a serial killer

Gummy why >:(

saaave pooiiinnt

oh my god Marshell i forgot his personality

Q: please provide me with a reasonable explanation why there were bloody handprints of yours in the evidence room (and no ID saying you signed in but i think i just missed something on that)

Q: somebody actually messes up in grammer in court and one of them yells objection but its about the grammer and they keep fighting about i

Q: edgy don't worry just let me get to my menu my lack of experience means nothing

wait is he giving me advice? is he being nice???

Q: noooo just let him beeee

or not his reasoning was okay though

Q: At first i was sad to find out it was his brother now im just thinking COWBOY PROSECUTOR THAT WOULD BE FUN

Q: what do you think happened to your brother jake

Q: MY DEFENDANT DID NOT KILL HIM AND YOU KNOW IT

YOU JUST DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE IT FOR MONEY

you know i could put that anywhere in almost any case and it could still work (with a pronoun swap but aside from that)

Q: ARRRRRGGHHHHHH

Q: OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT YOU

YOU DO GET THIS IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL RIGHT

Q: edgy is being very nice to her yay

I MEAN EMA YOUR NOT USELESS YOU STOPPED HIM FROM GIVING THE VERDICT TWICE

THAT WAS SOMETHING NOT EVEN MIA COULD DO HE GAVE THE VERDICT AND I BEAT HIM ANYWAYS THOUGH SO :/

Edgy is used to me making claims with the idea "I'll think about it later" in mind of course hes going to scoff at everything i say

I PROBABLY WOULD

YA THREE WHILE PAGES OF EVIDENCE THAT'S A LOT

Q: hey hey jake's back i was wondering where he went

Q: "Just one moment! I will not let such far-fetched balderdash in my court room"

HAHA VERY FUNNY JUDGE. AS IF THIS IS THE MOST FAR FETCHED THING YOU'VE SEEN HERE.

YAAAY PHOENIX GOOD JOB

Q: why is everybody immediately blaming edgy again I already defended him from two murders WHEN A VERDICT WAS ALREADY GIVEN

Q: stop being so mean to edgy

Q: hi lana please help me

ocassionally what what i didn't understand what they said i need to know

awww how dare you now your going to get all three of us in trouble

Q: that kid in the audience actually as an adult took the weirdest trials hes been to and put his own characters in it and made it into a game

oh my god the noise of the crowed is so terrifying because it's on repeat i need to turn the sound off

Q: saaave

Q: good think ema isn't dead

Q: Ema it’s not yours its your sisters putting blame on yourself just leads to depression okay

Q: to lana. MAYBE SHE'LL FINALLY BE USEFUL

YAAAAY

Q: Deal with the devil as a minor so that when your older he doesn't have a legal claim to your soul.

that's unrelated and unhelpful but

Q: now to show you every single piece of f***ing evidence

Q: or not

HI MARSHELL

Q: do do do

do do ddoo dodo doo dodo do doooo ddo do dooo dooo doDOdodoooo

(Edit: do do doooo

do doooo

do doooo

(now go reread it from the top with those last two as the start) )

Q: no marshel come baaaaaack 

noooooo

Q: I just wanna get to 2-4

quonit

:D

Things are going well!

HE STARTED LUAGHING IM SCARED

LHIS LAUGHING IS TERRIFYING

Q: :D Thank you Jake!

Q: Well gant does make a good point

Also about you paying my rent Edgy

Q: I wonder if there are anymore choices or it it's just dialogue.

did I win??

Lana smiled at me :D

"stop it mah you're embaressing meeee" is how this dialogue feels like

Q: yaaaaay I win

Q: awww ema I she'll say she's proud of you too

Gummy you keep doing this

bring him back

Lana :D

Q: Maya will be very proud of me when she comes back

awww hugs!!!

wait edgy was hiding why is he angry

aww ty

Is Lana making you scared I'm pretty sure she was your boss at some point or something I forgot at this point

Q: oh nooo Gant make Edgy scared of who he might be in 10 years. Somebody teach him not to do that.

Q: Aww thanks Lana

the difference between you gant and vampire is that you have friends doesn't that makes you feel better

Q: bye edgyyyy

Edgeworth you keep saying that and it's wrong every time >:( please stop breaking promises

what a storybook ending

OH HI GUMMY

couldn't you make edgy do it instead i don't have money

BF: Did you notice you could do fingerprint powder on the bottom screen during the credits?

Q: ya! Can i blow it too?

BF: Make bonus images appear haha

Yep!

Q: :D

After this i need to sleep this is fun though!

time for game two :D

Q: will blue badger get to stay though is my question

Q: Hey so Angel will be on my side, it will just be in the next game!

Q: I really do think the judge it wearing hello kitty pajamas under that robe

Q: credits done! That was very satisfying :D