#just needed a little denouement

[psychotrenny]

While I don't think much of the overall USamerican population cares about the genocide in Gaza, the scale of the recent protests show that it's a pretty important issue for the more progressive and politically active segment*. A segment which assumes a disproportionate electoral importance in a nation like the USA with non-compulsory voting and generally low voter turnouts. Like your "average" Yank might not give a shit about Palestine, but said average Yank wasn't gonna vote anyway. And the people who actively support the Genocide are mostly gonna vote for Trump no matter what; Harris's stance on Gaza did a pretty good job of driving off people who might have voted for her without attracting new support.

It's not as though Trump is very popular; he just managed to maintain some sizeable base of supporters by doing the bare minimum job of a politician and "promising them things they want". Like Trump managed to win this election with fewer total votes than he had in his 2020 loss; you could say that he's "more popular" than Harris but that's really not a high bar. The electorate less voted for Trump and more didn't vote for Harris because why the hell would they? She had nothing worthwhile to offer so Trump more or less won by default. While Gaza wasn't necessarily decisive in this, it certainly fucking hurt especially among the demographics (i.e. Ethnic Minorities, Young People) that Harris was trying hardest to reach. At the very least, a more popular Gaza policy could have made her loss a lot less humiliating.

But the US DP doesn't seem that interested in victory anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter. They get paid for putting on a show, creating a nice distracting spectacle; actually winning seems secondary at best. I doubt they'll learn any lessons beyond "We need to get more Racist". And considering the recent surge in posts to the effect of "I can't wait for White Supremacists to brutalise you as punishment for not Voting Blue", it's a lesson their online supporters are already putting into practice with enthusiasm

*I must emphasise that I'm defining this "segment" very broadly; It's not as though you need an especially principled or coherent ideology to conclude "Explicit Genocide is bad and we should at least dissociate ourselves from it"

[osamucide]

NSFW—MDNI

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who loves horror movies.

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who doesn’t get a lot of time away from work—but when he does, of course he wants to be with you. there’s so little to this bleak existence that interests him outside of work. and of course, when you both settle in for your monthly movie night and it’s his turn to pick, he’s going to choose some terrible, fucked up, stomach-turning film.

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who, with regard to your tolerance for scary movies, still likes to push your limits with them. he’s found that there’s hardly anything he can’t endure with little more than a furrowed brow, and it makes him feel so needed and loved when you cling onto him, clutch his hand, or bury your face into him after a particularly startling jump scare.

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who gets unreasonably turned on during anything gory, anything shocking, anything poetic or allegorical involving flesh and blood and guts. he loves it if you yelp and squirm and maybe unintentionally grind against his hard-on when you’re wrapped around him and trying to hide from the terror.

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who loves it even more if you’re just as into it as he is—if you ghost your fingers along his waist as one half of the stupid couple trying to bang in the haunted house during the exposition ends up disemboweled, disfigured, decapitated, or otherwise mutilated. he’ll fight off his wicked grin and tease you back—bite you softly, fondle your chest, finger you too gently—until it gets really good.

thinking about boyfriend!Akutagawa who has you on your back or on your knees or in his lap by the denouement; of course he wants to know what happens (whether you do or not is up to you—bury your face in his shoulder or gag on his cock to distract yourself if you have to) but he’s so close to cumming that it’s difficult to stay focused on anything other than ruining you, and even if you want to know too and he’s fucking you too good for you to pay attention either, well, how is it his fault that watching messed up movies with his pretty partner gets him atrociously horny? ⊹

[poisonous-honey]

Just Unbuilt, Or Am I Unwanted?

As you try to improve Xiao's build for the 100th time, some of the others finally lose their patience

Who's Here! Amber, Aether, Lyney, Childe, and Paimon. The reader/player is off to the side with Xiao

Contains: Self Aware Genshin/SAGAU (Not The Cult), Childe being stupid (Childe slander), Angst if you squint but it's really just crack

Notes: Saw the idea from @devildomangel and kinda just ran with it. Because I took the idea from her Xiao is the player's main unit in this. Which is kinda unfortunate cause that means he's only talked about lol

---

Walking through Mondstadt, Amber is on her way to Good Hunter for her lunch break when she sees the traveller apparate before the fountain. His appearance usually means the player has logged on again so she swiftly abandons her lunch plans and rushes over to the traveller, waving her arms in greeting.

“Hey traveller! Welcome back to the land of the living!”

Aether turns in Amber’s direction before giving her a little smile and waving back. 

“Hey Amber. Good to be back.”

“Has the player finally logged on again?���

He sighs. It’s just his luck the first person he talks to wants to talk more about you than him. 

“Yeah.”

“What’re their plans today?”

And of course it’s just his luck he has to crush their spirits. What a wonderful way to start his day.

“... What do you think”

Amber pouts at that. You promised you’d build her sometime ago, but it feels like it’s been a year since you said that, and she’s still only level 60! She’s been sitting here off to the side for how long while your ‘darling’ is getting all your love and attention. There are so many characters that deserve some time, promises of stronger builds that need to be fulfilled, but you just won’t! Either you're willingly not doing it or you just forgot. She doesn’t know which one’s worse.

“A-are you sure? Maybe they’re going to work on someone else today! Maybe they’re going to work on Collei, or Lynette, o-or-”

“Amber please,” Aether sighs again and looks quite exasperated as he turns to Amber “... It’s Xiao again.”

As Amber is about to try and counter his claim, they hear the teleport waypoint activate and quickly hide out of view of the camera.

“Kathryn, expeditions, blacksmith, uhh I think I have to go to the Serenitea Pot today- wait what domain was I going to do again?”

Peaking around Marjorie’s shop, they watch as you hand in the daily commissions you didn’t do. Amber was hoping to hear you talk about anyone else to prove Aether wrong please prove him wrong while he wanted to make sure Amber didn’t do anything rash.

“Oh right I was going to farm Marechaussee Hunter today.”

Sparkles appeared in Amber’s eyes as she quickly turned to Aether, “Did you hear that? That’s the Denouncement of Sin domain-”

“It’s actually Denouement of Sin.”

“Oh! Thank you, but more importantly it’s not The Lost Valley! That means it’s not Vermillion Hereafter which means it’s not Xiao!”

Aether doesn’t know if he should be amused or sad for her. “Just give it a second.”

She tilts her head “Why would-”

“With Hunters Xiao basically has 60 CRT rate off hop. Paired with Jade Spear it’s 80… something. I’d barely need any CRT rate rolls and can stack so much CRT damage and ATK. It probably won’t be that much better than the sets I already have, but funny numbers win in the end time to farm for his fourth set!”

You teleport away, none the wiser to the despair you just put Amber in. All Aether does is pat her back before getting ready to teleport himself.

“I tried to warn you not to get your hopes up.”

Amber barely hears him as she drowns herself in self-pity. Looking like a husk of the person she is “... He’s getting a fourth. I don’t even have one.”

Aether winces, but can’t think of anything to say that might lift her spirits. He doesn’t think there is anything that can, so he teleports to Fontaine.

---

As he lands at the closest waypoint north of the domain and starts walking towards it, he notices a certain top hat individual staring in the direction of Denouement of Sin. As Aether gets closer he hastily turns around upon hearing his footsteps. Getting over his slight panic he brightly smiles.

“Oh ho if it isn’t the traveller! What brings you to this part of Fontaine during such a fine afternoon?’

“I’m here to keep an eye on our player Lyney. As usual. Seeing as you’re not making your way over to the domain I assume you’re not here to do the same?” Aether questions in a deadpan voice and crosses his arms, not up to deal with Lyney’s antics at the moment.

Lyney’s lips twitch downwards and a look of sadness crosses his face for a split second before he puts up his smile again. “Getting right to it, I see. Well I actually was here to watch our dear player, since they are technically farming for me as well today, but on my way over I happened to notice someone enter the side entrance to the domain. That’s not so suspicious on its own, but they were being awfully secretive about it.”

Aether’s eyes widen “Wait. Do you think they’re going to the backroom where the artifact codes are?”

“Bingo! I had stopped to ponder what my next course of action should be, leave and get help or spy on them by myself, when you just so happened to show up! Don’t you think we should go see what they’re up to?”

---

Aether and Lyney quietly enter the hidden side entrance in the mountain. Spawning on the outer regions of the domain they swiftly make their way to the backroom through the trees while trying not to slip on the wet grass into the water.

After a few close calls and one save from a floating jellyfish, they jump from the broken bridge into the backroom behind the Petrified Tree. There, standing in front of a clear screen with a heap of intelligible jargon and surrounded by machinery and wires is-

“Childe?” “Master Tartaglia?”

“Oh hello comrades!” He turns around and waves. Like he didn’t just enter territory that the Archons personally had restricted.

Seeing Childe standing over the console with the code open alarms both the other men at the scene.

Aether ignores him and sharply walks over to turn off the console when Childe blocks his path. Aether sends him the hardest glare he could.

“What do you think you’re doing Childe?”

“Hm? Oh, you mean the code! I’m just looking there’s no need for you two to worry!”

“With all due respect Master Tartaglia,” Lyney interjects as politely as he could to his superior while still being stern “That’s not exactly believable when barely anyone in Teyvat can even understand the player's written language.”

They all stand there in silence for a second before they hear Xiao’s plunge attacks and your laughs from the room over. This ticks off Childe more than he’d like to admit.

“Okay you got me I wasn’t initially here to just look, but, like you said, I can’t decipher what any of this means, so I was going to leave it alone anyway.”

Aether puts his hands on his hips with a disappointed look while Lyney crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow.

“So what were you going to do before?”

Childe turns back to the code “Well I was wondering if changing the rates to impossible odds would convince our dear player to finally see that they don’t need to work on some washed up warrior anymore and start building someone else for a change.”

In exasperation Aether pinches the bridge of his nose “Do you really not realize how stupid your plan is?”

“What no it’s great. After a little while they’d realize that continuing to build this guy is a waste of time when he’s been done for so long already. Maybe it’d get them to finally finish my own artifacts.”

“Doing this would cause the opposite effect of what you’re looking for. Just wait your turn.”

“It hasn’t been my turn in ages, comrade.”

Aether getting increasingly more done with this conversation pulls his sword out at Childe. “Step away from the console.”

Childe forms his hydro weaponry in retaliation and points one in Aether’s direction “Like you can get me to do anything by only pointing a sword in my direction.”

Lyney, realizing that starting a fight while the console is still on and the code still visible might not be the best idea, goes to step in between them. “Listen I don’t think-”

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!?”

“Paimon?”

The outburst from Paimon causes Lyney to instantly turn around, and he loses his footing, causing him to fall straight into Childe. Childe in turn quickly puts his hand onto the wall next to him to stabilize himself and keep Lyney from crashing into the floor.

Childe pushes himself off the wall and puts Lyney back into a standing position. 

“Thanks, I-” Lyney suddenly stops and stares in horror behind him.

“What? What is it?”

Childe turns around and sees the jagged hole in the screen and the machinery behind it. It stutters and flickers, scrambling the code before finally shutting down. He winces when he realizes he forgot to make his hydro weapons fade away. He tries to shrug it off, but can’t help the feeling this is the worst way his issue could’ve been solved.

“Well, I guess that’s one way to solve a problem?”

They all look at him in disbelief and soon Paimon is stomping in the air angrily.

“UGH! Paimon didn’t take you to be this big of an idiot! How did this happen? Why are you all even here??”

“We were following Master Tartaglia to see what he was up to. He wanted to change the artifact rates to be near impossible. He didn’t explain what about the rates he was even changing.”

Paimon backs in shock “WHAT? Why would you even do that. How does that solve any problem you could be having?”

For the second time Childe tries to get his opinion across. “Once the player sees they’re not getting anything good from this domain, surely they’ll pivot and work on someone else. Preferably me.”

“PAIMON CAN’T BELIEVE PAIMON’S OPINION OF YOU COULD GET ANY LOWER! That’s not what’s going to happen at all! All the player is going to think is that they’re getting really unlucky and will keep trying. Why would getting ‘unlucky’ make them try to build someone else when they think the artifact rates are the same everywhere. It’s just going to make building Xiao take even longer!”

It finally sinks into his head how bad this decision of his was and pure dread spreads across his face. 

He grabs Aether by his shoulder and swings his free arm in the general direction of the broken code “No wait surely we can fix this. It was just an accident I didn’t mean to actually go through with it.”

Aether sighs and crosses his arms “I’m sure the only beings capable of fixing this mess are the Archons.”

Hearing that the Archons might have to get involved stresses Lyney out of his mind.  “Are you sure? I can’t see the gods taking kindly to us even entering this room in the first place, let alone destroying the code.”

“I could ask if Albedo knows how. Though I doubt he’d fix it much faster than someone like the dendro Archon could.”

Paimon nods along with the traveller “Yeah! He’d also treat you way worse than the dendro Archon since it’s the player you’re upsetting. Nahida is probably your best option.”

“What do you mean ‘your’? This is partly your fault too Paimon.”

Paimon starts to argue with Aether that she was barely in the room, so there’s no way it could be her fault, while Lyney silently hopes Lynette is doing well. Childe wants to argue he could handle anything that either god or human would throw at him, before your voice suddenly rings throughout the room. 

“Damn nothing again? I guess I just started, but I’d like to get something with at least CRT damage. I just want to see some funny numbers game.”

Paimon leaves them to their frenzy, discretely slipping back to your side. The three hooligans all look at each other before hurriedly exiting the domain and rushing to Sumeru to get anyone to try and fix it.

You get nothing good out of that domain for the rest of the month.

[utilitycaster]

I’ve long noticed and previously commented on the odd fandom antipathy towards characters like Suvi of Worlds Beyond Number and Jonas Spahr from Midst; and simultaneously a far, far more generous approach to outright villains like Will Gallows, many of the witches, and Moc Weepe.

I’ve also commented on the favor and endless forgiveness shown villains before, and to get it out of the way, yes, a lot of this is due to horny reasons, and as someone who does not identify personally as a monsterfucker this might be part of my lack of interest. But I think it would be unwise to chalk this up entirely to people wanting to fuck the villains, and given that Suvi and Jonas are both extremely attractive as well it’s certainly not the whole picture.

Suvi and Jonas are born into and achieve positions of privilege - military/political no less - in imperial societies. They are both explicitly indoctrinated. They are not, in my opinion, brainwashed; but they are driven into who they become through competition.

I think a lot of people are really uncomfortable with characters shown to be complicit in and favored within this kind of society. I think Spahr and Suvi occupy a space that they find too close to home; too close to what they themselves are. A villain validates one’s beliefs: Weepe is ruthlessly self-interested, driven by profit, and terribly violent, and so it’s easier to be comfortable with him, ironically enough, because the story tells you he’s a bastard and you can feel good about clocking him as a bastard, and even like that this character is on a meta level telling you that you’re right in your beliefs.

Suvi and Jonas and those like them don’t permit you that validation. They participate in these harmful systems while believing it to be the right thing to do. They are also young people who grew up knowing little else, with unfathomably high expectations placed upon them. They are flawed, with no shortage of harsh edges, but they are also frequently kind and generous people who are incredibly important, as they currently are, to characters one might find more sympathetic. They are deeply human. And they are both the beneficiaries and the victims of a vast and complicated system. You cannot fit them into the box of a “stripped of choice” victim even though both have found themselves backed against a wall by their respective societies. You cannot avoid that the dissolution of their society would have devastating consequences, even if it might be right (which Midst directly explores; I suspect the Citadel might not be a thing to be dissolved). And while many people do so, one cannot in good faith and intelligent analysis treat them as nothing more than a shipping doll who needs to be programmed to become a mirror of the “correct” character of one’s choosing without ignoring who they are and what they bring to the table: a political savvy, a great deal of talent and intelligence, and a desire to embody the best parts of their respective flawed societies.

As Midst reaches its denouement, one of the core messages is that a harmful society is still one comprised of people: some upholding it, some actively furthering it, and some just living within it. While Worlds Beyond Number is nowhere near its end, Brennan Lee Mulligan’s body of work upholds a similar message; that one cannot lose sight of the personhood of people, even those involved in messy and damaging systems, and that people must be judged with that in mind. Suvi and Spahr are not cogs to be wrenched free and corrected, but characters to appreciate in their complexity. It is a shame that so many reject them in favor of those who consistently choose to do harm because it is less difficult and challenging to think in terms of Good Guy/Bad Guy.

[idontknowmyownmind]

Soukoku Fanfics Reccomendation

PREVIOUS

COMPLETED

[Series] Phantoms by Mxxnlit

[Series] In All Its Branches by writingfromtheshadows

illuminated happiness by setosdarkness

You Must Be This Tall To Ride by Lazchan

A Night To Remember by NoraNoooooo

The broken beauties. by DeadDrabble (MisakillDatMonkey)

Hair Tie by Lichtstrahl

Everything Comes Back To You by TheGreatCatsby

all my own by halfbloom (diphylleias)

castles out of couches by halfbloom (diphylleias)

The scent of flowers is sweet, but the scent of you is sweeter by LunaSolstice

Four masterplans to win Chuuya’s heart by holdinglucy

25 little domesticities by holdinglucy

What's Your Name? by Wellthathappened (Cataclysmic_Calamity)

Everything or Nothing by Wellthathappened (Cataclysmic_Calamity)

Drunken Storytelling in Yokohama! by StormDew2

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what Chuuya would have said by orphan_account

Tales from Yokohama by AnonLearnsToWrite

O Children (give my gun away when it's loaded) by iskendaris

Always Yours by orphan_account, Wellthathappened (Cataclysmic_Calamity)

Touch by borntoshine

And His Lips Were Chanel Red by the_most_happy

these days, you're fine by wondernoise

I found love (where it wasn't supposed to be) by giorassol

My Bisexual Ass Likes You so Why Not, lol by Vitya_Viktorie

Call of the Depth by Shadow_Arashi

set alight, we're afire love by kiroiimye

your honeyed words from a silver tongue (or am i the only one worthy of your honesty?) by scripted_suicide

His Lover by loukass

skip and kiss by triptychism

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My Beloved Doll by orphan_account

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His Prized Experiment by fauxtales

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until the pair of us are strangers (let's call it convenience) by jazzieshoes

Throwbacks and other things you don’t want to remember by tia_dreamer

Do No Harm by TheGreatCatsby

Hell Is Empty by Leonawriter

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Break It To Me Slowly by Leonawriter

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And The Answer Is Yes by Leonawriter

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Touch Starved by Badwolf36

when you wish upon a star by ackerlynx

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carpe diem by diamondsinthesky (stella_caerulea)

caught in between by universalblips

Puppy Love by writingfromtheshadows

Killer Couple by outromri

The Ship Is Sailing by orphan_account

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Switched by Yellow_Canna

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I'll Set Myself on Fire (Just to Keep You Warm) by Anonymous

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Sweetest Devotion by orphan_account, Wellthathappened (Cataclysmic_Calamity)

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darling, take me home by kiroiimye

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[writingquestionsanswered]

How many words is too many? I have written over 80,000 words already and don't have a computer to edit properly. I've already decided to split the story among multiple books. But how many should each be? I am aiming for a basic novel to a little bit longer, but as a first-time author, I don't want to write something too long and not get anyone to read it.

Finding Your Story's Target Word Count

"How many words is too many" depends on what you're writing. Every type of story and every genre has a different word count range, and the specific ranges vary depending on who you ask. Here are some general ranges you can target...

Story Type:

Short Stories - 1,000 - 5,000 words Novellas - 20,000 to 50,000 words Novels - 50,000 - 110,000 words Epic Novel - 110,000 words and up (though these are rare)

Age Category:

Middle Grade novels - 25,000 - 40,000 words Young Adult novels - 45,000 - 80,000 words New Adult novels - 60,000 - 85,000 words Adult novels - 65,000 - 110,000

Genre:

Literary novels - 80,000 to 110,000 words Romance novels - 50,000 to 80,000 words Fantasy novels - 90,000 to 110,000 words Mystery novels - 70,000 to 90,000 words

It's important to remember that a book series isn't one long novel chopped up into smaller books. Each book in a series needs to have its own story arc. In other words, a beginning/inciting incident, middle/rising action, and end/climax and denouement. That said, you will need to look at the completed story and identify the natural story arcs that exist within it to figure out where each book should end and the next book should begin.

Something else to consider is your publishing goal. If you plan on pursuing traditional publishing, you might look into writing an in-depth summary of the entire story and working with a developmental editor or book coach to figure out how to best divvy up the story between books. That way, you'll ensure that book one is as strong as it can be, which will increase the likelihood of getting a book deal. After that, if your book sells well enough to warrant the publishing of the next book, you will have some guidance on where to go from there.

If you're planning to self-publish, you can still look into working with an editor or book coach, or even a critique partner, or you can just make the best decision you're able to about how to divide each book. Again, what matters is that each part of the story centers on its own individual story arc.

Something else to consider: if you have a really long story that you want to chop up into pieces rather than individual books, you might look into posting it as a serial on a site like Wattpad, Kindle Vella, Ream, or similar services. Serialization allows you to take a long story and chop it up into sizeable pieces, such as "episodes," and then you don't have to worry so much about dividing it up into books with their own individual story arcs.

One final consideration: Not having the ability to edit properly is not an excuse to publish an unedited work of fiction. No one wants to read an unedited story, even if it's chopped up into pieces. If you want to publish this story, whether online, traditionally, or self-published, you need to find a way to edit it properly and make sure you're putting a tight and polished version of the story out into the world.

Here are some additional links:

Self-Editing Tips Editing Tips Ten Ways to Cut Your Word Count

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[beekeeperspicnic]

I actually changed the denouement of this comic as I was doodling it.

Originally, I had all of the lovely comments people have left saying that my work has brightened their day and that they enjoy it counteracting the negative self-talk.

And it does. I think my creative work is a kind of communication, and it brings me joy to know it's succeeding in communicating with people.

But will that ever satisfy me, if I rely on it as a source of happiness? If I please 10 people, I'll want to please 50. If I please 50, I'll want to please 100, 1000, 10000, 100000. How many people need to like my work to justify its existence? Worse - how many people need to like my work to justify MY existence?

I think it's actually ok just to BE and to DO. To dip your hand in ochre and make a handprint in a cave wall because you're a human being, and you want to see how it feels, and you want a way to externalize your complicated inner world.

Our capitalist society will tell you that you must use your resources, you must not squander gifts or opportunities, that you must rise, that you must produce, produce, produce.

But I made a little house in my computer and I found happiness in it.

If I say that's enough, it's enough.

[cinderfeather]

Short Story Writing Tips for Fanfic Authors

While Edgar Allen Poe has many pretentious things to say on the merits of the Short Story (‘a work of art should be able to achieve its effect in one sitting’), I want to talk about them from a fanfiction perspective.

As fic writers, we are doing this hobby for fun, and frequently find ourselves hopping between shiny new idea, to shiny new idea, to shiny new idea…

...which is totally fine. However: to reduce this, I want to impress this upon you:

Keep your fic short enough to write within the span of dopamine it generates.

So while it’s still easy to generate long plots, I usually like to keep my stories small and focused wherever possible, so I can feel proud about ✨finishing✨ it and then have more energy to work on the next idea. In addition, if I have an idea tha t I think is cool, but not something I can fathom spending an entire year writing a novel-length-fic about, I can still write the idea if I think carefully about how I can work it into a short story.

Often writers way things like: 'I have 30k words to write just to get to the fun bit 😭😭😭'

Just write the fun bit.

It might be one thing for me to say that, but learning a bit of craft about short stories can make this easier.

So: one of the hardest things in a story is the ending, and short stories (especially origific) can be very challenging to create a satisfying ending with so little to work with.

In short story craft, there is a lot of talk about things like Hemingway’s ‘Iceberg Theory’:

Hemingway said that only the tip of the iceberg showed in fiction—your reader will see only what is above the water—but the knowledge that you have about your character that never makes it into the story acts as the bulk of the iceberg. And that is what gives your story weight and gravitas. — Jenna Blum in The Author at Work, 2013 (Wikipedia Link)

Fanfic is great for this! You already have a ton of character and plot fleshed out, so you can already have your iceberg while putting very little effort in. Short stories are already much easier as fic because they already have the 'iceberg of canon' beneath them, so make the most of it!

The next trick is ✨Authors Notes✨!

You can just say the background info plainly to the reader, without having to worry about crafting it nicely for the reader.

However, if you feel that the background info might be served best by putting it into the story, then let me introduce you to the next trick: Telling!

Think about summary the you have in your AN, and expand it into slightly longer ‘pretty’ prose:

Months went by. Trees bloomed, and forsook their leaves. One day, Mina stepped outside again.

That covers a year of a character being stuck in their grief, without having to mire reader in being stuck like that too.

We’ve all had ‘Show, don’t tell’ beaten into us with a hammer. But if it’s not important or interesting for you or your story, then just Tell it, and move on to the next exciting thing! What you want to do is research ways to use prose to convey the passing of time, write summaries and transition sequences, and work out ways to cut down and remove ‘all that writing you have to do to get to the fun scene’.

So, let’s say you had an idea for an achingly beautiful Suparbat story that worked like a Shakespearean tragedy inspired by Othello. You start brainstorming and writing fragments of all these scenes where they meet, fall in love, then have all these gradual misunderstandings caused by Lex trying to meddle and break them apart.

They pile up super high, and then there is this devastating, heart-pounding finale where they fight, along with the tragic ending and denouement.

You take your notes and start trying to plan out what scenes you will need, and your face goes pale as you estimate the story will probably be about 80k words.

You can’t commit to that, and you sense another shiny idea might be lurking on the horizon soon (and besides, you have other fics to finish). You consider abandoning it, resigned to the beauty of the story haunting you forever.

Hold up.

The tragic fight scene. That’s the one that excites you the most. Start writing that.

Bam, bam bam.

Why are they fighting? The audience is now curious and hooked, sitting breathless on the edge of their seat.

Line of dialogue! Ultra specific accusation!

Now the reader is intellectually hooked. What event is this specific detail referring to?

Flashback to one of the scenes where they met and were tenderly in love, linked by the line of dialogue before.

Now the reader is emotionally hooked. What happened to make them hate each other so?

The fight scene continues! Dramatic moments of action interspersed with flashbacks of those snippets you wrote—

Now the reader has been enthralled by all this awesome action, and has a good grasp of emotional arc and events that brought them to this point, with the juxtaposition of the moments of love and hate creating a tremendous experience.

The fatal wound, juxtaposed by the fatal misunderstanding that set Batman on this path… Those painful words exchanged in the present, that have been stuck in your head for weeks: Why? I loved you! Lex (aka Iago) comes out, doing a slow clap, and revealing how he plotted and schemed to sow this discord between Batman and Superman, to make Batman kill Superman for him. The achingly haunting moment of looking into each others eyes and Superman forgiving and trying to absolve Batman of his guilt before he dies. Bruce swiftly disabling Lex’s failsafe (to stop him from taking revenge, but its useless because he’s Batman) and holding a batarang to Lex’s throat.

Now you’ve used 80% of your notes, and you have a decent first draft already!

So now, what will Batman do? Break his moral code about killing again (he already did with Superman) and kill Lex? Try to set Lex on a path of rehabilitation?

So then you get stuck. But Cinder, this doesn’t work for me! All I can think of is to end it the same way as Othello! Which I can’t bear to write.

Hold up.

Go back over your story and start tightening it up. The idea that Bruce is willing to kill someone is quite important. Go back and add flashbacks (or add context to the existing flashbacks) about Bruce developing, sticking to or explaining his no-kill rule.

Then you write an epilogue, where a reformed Lex starts making all kinds of structural changes in the world, alongside all the people who stepped up after being inspired by Superman’s life and determination to let everyone have a chance at forgiveness. After this, you realise that the last line Superman needs to say is to beg Bruce not to continue his murder-rampage and kill Lex.

Then you go back over your story again, fleshing out Lex’s character and some of the hints and lines of dialogue he drops to round out his arc as well. The story feels nice, but still a little off. The ending of Othello haunts you. Do you need to kill Batman after all?

You try writing the scene with the climax ending on: ‘Now, the only way: the Bat will die upon the light.’

Then, as you edit the last bit of the epilogue, you add at the end that Bruce is still alive, observing it all, having hung up his cape as Batman, (because how else could their love end after this but with ‘Batman’ dying with him?). With the transformation that happened for both Lex and Bruce when he honoured Clark’s last wish, this meant that world also grew into a place where Batman wasn’t needed anymore.

So there you have a beautiful short story about not just love and romance, but grief and betrayal and death and killing and absolution and forgiveness and a love that grows beyond a romantic entanglement into a love that changes the world— 🥰🥰🥰

And under 3000 words.

Now other people will be haunted by your story for the rest of their lives, instead of you.

You will have to edit harder if you try to write as concisely as this, but overall I think you’ll get more stories finished if you experiment with focusing on writing the exciting bits, then sprinkling just enough scene fragments to make it work.

I often write out an idea for a few thousand words, till I get stuck, then go back over it and start thinking about how I can reorder and tweak it to bring what I already have to a satisfying ending.

It requires fumbling and sitting and thinking and figuring it out as I’m revising (as you saw in the example) but if you keep focused on making things shorter you’ll be surprised at just how short you can make it.

And how many things you can finish!

[guardian-angle22]

I promised a book haul of all the exciting books I purchased on my travels to London and Edinburgh! y'all... I bought TEN books...

Here is the stack of books and also some cute bookmarks I got from various places!

Here is the breakdown of all the books with their official descriptions:

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

Rosemary meets Ash at the farmers’ market. Ash—precise, pretty, and practically perfect—sells bars of soap in delicate pastel colors, sprinkle-spackled cupcakes stacked on scalloped stands, beeswax candles, jelly jars of honey, and glossy green plants. Ro has never felt this way about another woman; with Ash, she wants to be her and have her in equal measure. But as her obsession with Ash consumes her, she may find she’s not the one doing the devouring…

Monsters: What Do We Do With Great Art By Bad People? by Claire Dederer

Pablo Picasso beat his partners. Richard Wagner was deeply antisemitic. David Bowie slept with an underage fan. But many of us still love Guernica and the Ring cycle and Ziggy Stardust. And what are we to do with that love? How are we, as fans, to reckon with the biographical choices of the artists whose work sustains us? Wildly smart and insightful, Monsters is an exhilarating attempt to understand our relationship with art and the artist in the twenty-first century.

Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

One weekend. The elite underbelly of a Nigerian city. A breakup that starts a spiral. A party that goes awry. A tangled web of sex and lies and corruption that leaves no one unscathed. Little Rot is a whirling journey through the city’s dark side, told through the eyes of five people, each determined to run from the twisted powers out to destroy them. Aima and Kalu are a longtime couple who have just split. When Kalu, reeling from his loss, visits a sex party hosted by his best friend, Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos, brutally upending their lives. Ola and Souraya, two Nigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, intersect with the three old friends as everything goes to hell. Sucked into the city’s corrupt underworld, they’re all looking for a way out of the trouble they’ve instigated, driven by loss and fueled by a desperate need to escape the dangerous threat that looms over them. They careen madly in the face of the poison of power, sexual violence, murder, betrayals. Little Rot tests how far these five will go to save each other—or themselves—when confronted by evil, culminating in a shattering denouement.

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

Vienna, 1938. Samuel Adler is five years old when his father disappears during Kristallnacht—the night his family loses everything. As her child’s safety becomes ever harder to guarantee, Samuel’s mother secures a spot for him on a Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to England. He boards alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes and his violin.

Arizona, 2019. Eight decades later, Anita Díaz and her mother board another train, fleeing looming danger in El Salvador and seeking refuge in the United States. But their arrival coincides with the new family separation policy, and seven-year-old Anita finds herself alone at a camp in Nogales. She escapes her tenuous reality through her trips to Azabahar, a magical world of the imagination. Meanwhile, Selena Durán, a young social worker, enlists the help of a successful lawyer in hopes of tracking down Anita’s mother.

Intertwining past and present, The Wind Knows My Name tells the tale of these two unforgettable characters, both in search of family and home. It is both a testament to the sacrifices that parents make and a love letter to the children who survive the most unfathomable dangers—and never stop dreaming.

Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks

Stitching together the threads of her girlhood memories, bell hooks shows us one strong-spirited child's journey toward becoming the pioneering writer we know. Along the way, hooks sheds light on the vulnerability of children, the special unfurling of female creativity and the imbalance of a society that confers marriage's joys upon men and its silences on women. In a world where daughters and fathers are strangers under the same roof, and crying children are often given something to cry about, hooks uncovers the solace to be found in solitude, the comfort to be had in the good company of books. Bone Black allows us to bear witness to the awakening of a legendary author's awareness that writing is her most vital breath.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman

Both seventeen. Both afraid. But both saying yes. It sounded like the perfect first date: canoeing across a chain of lakes, sandwiches and beer in the cooler. But teenagers Amelia and James discover something below the water’s surface that changes their lives forever. It’s got two stories. It’s got a garden. And the front door is open. It’s a house at the bottom of a lake. For the teens, there is only one rule: no questions. And yet, how could a place so spectacular come with no price tag? While the duo plays house beneath the waves, one reality remains: Just because a house is empty, doesn’t mean nobody’s home.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins. Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour. Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.

People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present by Dara Horn

Renowned and beloved as a prizewinning novelist, Dara Horn has also been publishing penetrating essays since she was a teenager. Often asked by major publications to write on subjects related to Jewish culture—and increasingly in response to a recent wave of deadly antisemitic attacks—Horn was troubled to realize what all of these assignments had in common: she was being asked to write about dead Jews, never about living ones. In these essays, Horn reflects on subjects as far-flung as the international veneration of Anne Frank, the mythology that Jewish family names were changed at Ellis Island, the blockbuster traveling exhibition Auschwitz, the marketing of the Jewish history of Harbin, China, and the little-known life of the "righteous Gentile" Varian Fry. Throughout, she challenges us to confront the reasons why there might be so much fascination with Jewish deaths, and so little respect for Jewish lives unfolding in the present. Horn draws upon her travels, her research, and also her own family life—trying to explain Shakespeare’s Shylock to a curious ten-year-old, her anger when swastikas are drawn on desks in her children’s school, the profound perspective offered by traditional religious practice and study—to assert the vitality, complexity, and depth of Jewish life against an antisemitism that, far from being disarmed by the mantra of "Never forget," is on the rise. As Horn explores the (not so) shocking attacks on the American Jewish community in recent years, she reveals the subtler dehumanization built into the public piety that surrounds the Jewish past—making the radical argument that the benign reverence we give to past horrors is itself a profound affront to human dignity.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

In 1949 Helene Hanff, a “poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books”, wrote to Marks & Co Booksellers of 84 Charing Cross Rd, in search of the rare editions she was unable to find in New York. Her books were dispatched with polite but brisk efficiency. But, seeking further treasures, Helene soon found herself in regular correspondence with bookseller Frank Doel, laying siege to his English reserve with her warmth and wit. And as letters, books and quips crossed the ocean, a friendship flourished that would endure for twenty years.

Rouge by Mona Awad

For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass. Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, Rouge holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath.

[beatricebidelaire]

Verse Flirtation Declaration

Bertrand and Dewey flirt, using the Verse Fluctuation Declaration code.

~1.7k. Bertrand Baudelaire / Dewey Denouement

rating: mature

happy birthday to the penultimate peril, my beloved favorite book from the series <3

___

It begins with the little poetry notes they leave each other, in the name of academic curiosity and studies.

Poems they've come across and found interesting and wanted to share with each other, neatly copied down into little notes, left on each other's desk or mailbox or cabinets or various other places. It's a longtime habit, a tradition of theirs.

Then they're taught the Verse Fluctuation Declaration, substituting words in a poem to pass along a message. Initially they use it just to relay simple messages to each other, necessary information that needs to be conveyed quickly but discreetly. And then they start using it more, and that became some kind of game between them. Finding increasingly obscure poems that'll take more time for the other to research and decode, as a challenge for each other.

The tones of the messages changed, too. From standard information, simple yet succinct, to increasingly flirtatious words. Gradually they started flirting, enjoying the thrill of this method of flirtation.

It's fun. Challenging. A secret between them, an inside joke.

[continue reading on ao3] [squidgeworld]

[blood-teeth]

hi! any tips for turning an idea into a plot / story?

hiiii sorry this took me so long!! tumblr doesn't tell me when i get an ask anymore for some reason???? idk idk but!

✨✨✨morgan's guide to turning ideas into a story✨✨✨

these may not work for you BUT if you're having a hard time piecing together something then i would give these a shot!

the first thing i do when i have an idea i write it down. USUALLY my ideas for me come in a sentence. For Tell Me If There's A Way Home, the sentence was "cowgirl that has to keep burying a body that pops up along her journey"

for This Grave Calls You Home it was "in the light of a dying star, the last astronaut wakes up"

BRAINSTORMING:

so anyway i immediately write this down somewhere, usually the notes app on my phone and i STOP WHAT IM DOING IMMEDIATELY

for me, i have hundreds of these sentences written down somewhere, but the ones that stick with me always stay in the back of my throat.

if its one that gets me really hot and bothered, then the seed is planted and it needs some water babes....

im RUNNING to find media that i feel fits with the idea ... on that netflix or spotify or library app STAT looking for anything that will help that seed grow inside my head. i need the VIBES and the MUSIC and ATMOSPHERE.

once that's on lock...i'm plotting with my little grimy hands rubbing together...

...and i buy...another....notebook... and i KNOW this sounds ridiculous but hear me out...writing in notebook vs on a computer has genuinely saved my life with writer's block so many times. ideas and thoughts and fragments just flow when i allow myself to write in a notebook. idk what it is. but this is just me, if computers or typewriters or what have you works then STICK WITH IT

by the time i'm done scribbling ideas in my notebook and acting unhinged, i have a decent idea about the atmosphere and the themes i'm looking to write about

IF AN IDEA CAME TO YOU, IT MEANS SOMETHING IMPORTANT. DON'T DISREGARD THIS

you need to figure out what it is about the idea that means so much to you - and whatever that reason is, that's gonna be the fundamental core of your story.

PLOTTING:

i have to admit something. i dont plot my stories. i dont know how to plot. i like to discover the story right alongside everyone else. what's gonna happen next? idk babes you and me are gonna find out together.

BUT i do try to have a general idea of where the story STARTS and ENDS. everything else is trial and error. and if u dont have any idea where the story ends, just know it'll come to you eventually. u have thousands and thousands of words to write before the end, so don't sweat this; it'll happen. even if its really simple!

using Tell Me If There's A Way Home as an example:

Start: a woman doesn't know who she is, only knows that she's looking for something

End: She's Found The Thing

think of it like a question and answer. (also! NOT answering the question is totally valid story telling too)

if u are really struggling, the number one thing i suggest is READING. you can glean so much information from reading its actually crazy. study your favorite books or movies or video games. almost always in western media there is the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. (this is super formulaic, so don't feel tied down by this! just a guide line.)

SETTING:

i think everyone gets really tied up in knots about setting. and it shouldn't be like that! this should be YOUR fun!!

setting has very little to do with story/plot itself. it affects the ATMOSPHERE of the story you're telling instead. (except, like, if you're telling an alice in wonderland story or a story about climate change ofc, there's exceptions to everything)

look the locked tomb for example. take out the space aspect, this story at its heart would be the exact same if it were set underwater inside decomissioned underwater research facilities. its just cool as fuck to have a space nun living on pluto.

Take twin peaks and put it in space. the heart of the show works anywhere, but the atmosphere and the mood is enhanced because its in a small, strange town.

you can write a story about generational trauma and put it into the world of jurassic park.

anyway, i hope that you are hearing me say have fun with your setting. it absolutely is a part of the story you're telling, but it is not the heart of it (sometimes)

MISC TIPS:

remember that this is YOUR work. you do whatever you want. it's not up to anyone else.

be obsessed with your own world and your characters!! i literally went to a craft store and made a rosary today for one of my characters and it has actually helped me write a ton today.

you are not stuck in this story. i feel like a pitfall i face often is like "ah man but this writing doesnt make sense in this genre i cant write this" and its like YEAH I CAN. why cANT I . do whatever you want with your story im so serious. you have no idea how many books are releasing now and the common feedback is "man this feels like a book ive read a million times before" and with movies its a remake or based off a book like the entertainment industry DESPERATELY needs new original ideas SO SO BAD. dont be scared to write that book that you're worried is too weird or doesn't make sense trust me.

make playlists! watch movies! play video games! these are all things that count as writing believe it or not.

and remember you are loved !

[ehlnofay]

Travelling with Martin the second time is more an ordeal than it was the first.

There’s the Blades tagging along with them, now, with their elaborate plans and zealous concern; every time any one of them takes a step they rattle like tin cans, so loudly that if any of the cult is trying to track them down it’s a wonder they’re not all gutted already. Then there’s all the extra bits the Blades insist on – like tents, which Pax is by no means opposed to but slows them down ridiculously, always needing to be set up at night and taken down first thing in the morning, or the horses, which speed them up but Pax resents, all the same. (They always need breaks to rest or eat or what have you, and riding for too long sets them aching to hell, their legs and hips and stomach all quavering with exertion. Pax rides the same horse they found halfway through their first journey with Martin, and she is getting more familiar than she ever wanted to be with its little snorts and stomping gestures. Martin keeps patting it on the nose whenever they’re down on the ground again. Martin rides the paint horse, too – it’s two to a steed, plus bags, which Pax knows would be enough to snap their spines like dried-out twigs but of course the Blades have spelled saddles. Feathered, Martin says, like Pax has any idea what that means.) They all spend as much of the day riding as they can without the horses withering away and dropping dead, unable to divert at all from the roads without riding face-first into a tree branch, the Blades getting all serious and severe at any passing glimpse of another traveller, or the edge of a town, or a suspicious-looking boulder. It’s fucking exhausting. Maybe if they’d dressed Martin in something less impractically fancy, and left their glittering armour behind, they wouldn’t all be so conspicuous. Pax is the only one here with any sense.

In Blackwood, the trees don’t sprawl so low down; you can ride horses well off the road as long as you’re careful of the muck. For the first leg of the first trip with Martin, they didn’t have horses at all – they both just walked, past razed fields and empty buildings, the span of land around Kvatch near entirely abandoned, scrounging what they could and sleeping wherever they wanted. They couldn’t proper restock on supplies until they hit Skingrad – certainly didn’t have tents or armour that reflects every whisper of starlight so bright it blazes, and they were fine. It all feels unnecessary. And annoying. This close to the end, all the little extra things to pay attention to make Pax want to jump out of his skin.

Because they are close to the end. They’re in the denouement, now.

The Blades set up a watch routine, too – everyone crawls into their superfluous tents and leave one person up to keep an eye out, until they wake the next person for their turn, and so forth. Pax hasn’t done watch shifts like this since he left Blackwood. (It doesn’t really work, when you’re alone. Besides, he wakes easy, and he goes to sleep quick. Martin’s bad at it, so swapping watch back and forth when they were together just would have left him confused or lethargic the next day. Not worth the bother.) Pax gets watch shifts, most nights, set in the dark hours just before the sun rises; Martin, though he asks, doesn’t get any. Pax usually wakes him up, instead of whoever else she’s supposed to. It isn’t like he has anything he needs to be especially well-rested for – just sitting on a horse in an enchanted double saddle, same as the rest of them, his too-long hair getting in his face, careful arms loops around Pax’s middle. He won’t even take a turn to direct the bloody thing, because he still hasn’t learned how – the fact that he’s never managed to fall off is a damned miracle, honestly.

So she wakes him up, if the Blades won’t – and she doesn’t usually go back to sleep, right after, because there doesn’t seem all that much point. They both stay up, around whatever burnt-down firepit was constructed in the night, the small tents arrayed around them; the leaves of the trees rustle, flickered through by some small animal, owl or bat or squirrel living in a hollow. Crickets chirp, loud and endless.  It would probably be peaceful, if it could be, but Pax is keyed up, taut as a bowstring ready to snap, and he can’t really remember how to feel peaceful anymore. They’re getting ever-closer to the capital and the temple and the end of this whole strange, terrifying thing, and he wants it over and done with instead of lurking in this strange in-between space. They’ve all done so much to fix this and none of it will feel like any kind of accomplishment until the fires are lit and the Gates closed and sealed beyond reopening. It’s almost, almost, almost done – but it’s not the end yet, and in the quiet night all there is to do is waiting, and Pax, antsy, irritable, is very, very bad at waiting.

Martin’s better at it. Which isn’t to say he’s not nervous – he’s all nerves, even more than normal, which is really saying something – but he’s patient, and doesn’t complain, even though Pax knows he wants it over just as much as they do. Probably more. (Definitely more.) He just sits, in the dark and the dew, all quiet and watchful in just his undershirt and warm wool trousers, and even those are fancy, all fine-sewn and slippery as water to the touch. They wear oddly on him. He keeps the Amulet tucked under his clothes, cold metal setting against bare skin, and the red gleam beneath his shirt makes it look, at certain angles, like his heart is glowing.

The fire is well out; no owls call. Pax lies, in their own much less swish sleeping-things, in the dirt and grass, all of it wet so thoroughly with dew that it soaks the back of their tunic. Through the silhouettes of leaves and branches, they can just make out the lustre of the stars.

The old Emperor talked an awful lot about stars, when Pax met him; she wonders, vaguely, what he’d make of these ones.

There’s a shifting, up nearer the firepit; and, “Pax?” Martin whispers, sound half-swallowed by the still, drifting night. “Are you awake?”

“It’s sopping wet,” Pax replies. He props himself up on his elbow and turns his head; Martin’s got a lantern lit, and it’s just enough to make out his face by. “Even I’ve got my limits.”

Martin exhales; Pax knows he’s smiling because they can see the dim white gleam of his teeth. It’s not too cold a night – they’ve travelled far enough from Bruma to be clear of its sodden snow and ice and winds – but it’s not warm, and the wet fabric plastered to their back is chill enough to make them shiver. The stars, up above, shine cold and clear.

“I was wondering,” Martin says, voice still hushed; his eyes flicker up to the snatches of sky between the tree branches, too. “What will you do, when all this is done?”

It’s a perfectly reasonable question; Pax realises, quite abruptly, that doesn’t have an answer. She sits up, shuffles awkwardly over the dewy grass. “I don’t know,” she says slowly; she shrugs. “Go back to the roads, I s’pose. Get some venturing work. Join a guild, maybe, if I get bored.”

(They haven’t thought about it; they’ve been busy. A part of them – quite a large part, if they’re being honest – kind of wishes the Crisis would never end, one way or the other. Wishes it would keep on in this sort of suspended state forever. But it won’t, and it can’t, and it would be ridiculous to say as much. Just – they’ve never done anything this exciting, before. And they don’t really know anything that could measure up, once it’s done.)

(Pax has never really been one to plan for the future. Back in Blackwood, he didn’t have to; he knew he’d just run with the same crew he always had, and he learned only from them. Learned letters and archery and what dregs of mage-craft he had any aptitude for – learned to scamp on the roads and crack locks reasonably well. And then he left, and became a hero, and that’s a good occupation in itself, but it’s not going to last forever. He’s not sure what his other options are – he could try to work square, but he doesn’t think it would last. He’s not one suited to an apprenticeship, or an honest job, or much of anything, really. The only thing he really knows is this.)

In the lanternlight, the shadows are so stark that Martin’s face looks creased with ink. “Oh? What guild? Fighters? Thieves?”

“Thieves’ Guild wouldn’t take me,” Pax tells him loftily; they wriggle a bit closer, goose-pimples rising on their shins. “They don’t like independent operators, and I’ve been one since I was born.”

Martin clucks his tongue. “You can’t say things like that around me, Pax. I’ll have to have you arrested.”

“Like you could,” Pax tells him, grinning, and leans over about as far as she can reach to elbow him. She has to lever herself back up, afterwards. The watery-pale stars are winking at her.

Martin is looking up at them again. “There’s always work for a hero, I’m sure,” he says, and waves a hand. “You’ll have endless people to save and feats of derring-do to perform. Perhaps you could write an autobiography.”

“Ha.” Martin’s received their letters, sent on longer stretches away from Cloud Ruler; he’s read their writing, their chicken-scratch hand and the less than delicate way they pick their words. Pax is fine enough as a communicator; they get to the point quickly and clearly. But metaphor and flowery prose is rather beyond them. And they’ve seen the speech Martin gave in Bruma, the endless editing of his drafts, debate over this word or that. “You know you’re the better writer of the two of us, Martin Priest. Reckon you should pen our book.”

Martin tips his head further back. “I wasn’t even there for most of the interesting parts,” he points out, “and I’m sure to be far too busy, besides.” His eyes are closed. Pax shunts themself another bit across the grass.

“Oh, I’m sure you can take a half-hour every evening to scribble out a few paragraphs in your four-poster bed and your kingliest pyjamas,” he says, unsympathetic, and flicks him in the shoulder. “With a silk canopy, and duckling-down blankets, and a pen nib of solid gold.”

“All right, all right.” Martin opens his eyes; they look grey, in the dim light, the orange lanternlight flickering off their whites. He reaches out an arm, and Pax rolls his eyes but shuffles damply into it all the same. “I suppose I have no choice.”

His arm, settled around their shoulders, is heavy-warm. Pax leans their shoulder into his ribs, under his armpit. This close, they can see the faint gleam of the Amulet through his undershirt. Quiet, they ask, “Still nervous?”

Without missing a beat, Martin replies, “Excruciatingly.”

He’s always nervous. But on this, Pax can’t even really make fun of him for it – if someone told her that she was the heir to the whole Empire, and tried to thrust her into court to take it all over, she’d tell them to eat shit. If the fate of the world depended on it, though, that wouldn’t really be an option anymore. And Martin’s too nice, most of the time, to tell anyone to eat shit. And Martin’s too nervous not to take every bit of it so painfully seriously. Not just the world-ending bit, but all the etiquette and legalese, too. Jauffre gave him some books to read to try to acquaint himself with it all; none of them seemed to help much.

“You’ll be fine,” Pax says, and leans their head on his shoulder, the post of their earring jabbing into the skin behind their ear. They gesture out at the silhouetted tents. “You’ve got all this lot, and the Elder Council – they’ll help you out. If they won’t let you take a piss by yourself they’ll definitely be there to assist with the stuff that’s actually important.” Martin exhales; it’s almost a laugh. The earring is beginning to hurt quite badly, so Pax lifts their head. “Besides, you’re trying. You want to get it all right. That’s more than some would do.”

“Thank you, Pax,” Martin says, and then they’re both quiet.

The stars above look watery-dim. The silhouettes of trees have slightly more dimension. Martin is pressing his palm, fingers splayed, to the smooth-cut bump of the Amulet under his shirt. Pax is still shivering, a bit – lying her whole back down in the dew was a bad idea. Now she’ll have to wear her one other tunic and hope this one dries out in time not to wet everything else in the bags.

“I hope,” Martin says, voice silver-soft in the dark, “that when you’re out roaming, shocking everyone with your valour and intrepidity, you’ll come to visit a great deal. You won’t have the excuse of being out saving the world anymore.”

Pax leans her shoulder harder into his ribs. “Only if you’re not boring when I’m there,” she replies. “You won’t have the excuse of saving the world either.”

“No,” Martin says. “I’ll be running it instead.”

Already, the stars are beginning to snuff themselves out, like candle-lights; in half an hour or so, the sky will start to lighten properly. The Blades will all wake, springing up like little clockwork puppets, and the tents will be packed up, and the horses saddled – they’re tied on slack ropes to trees down the other end of the clearing, and now, if Pax squints, he can just make them out – and then the day will begin, the timer trickling down.

Pax wets his lips. “Three more days,” he says. “Thereabouts.”

Then they’ll reach the city.

Martin breathes out, slow. “Then I’ll really be Martin Septim.”

The Amulet glows under his shirt, royal-red, rising and dimming like a heartbeat. If Pax hadn’t been arrested, that day – by chance, for one of the few robberies they actually didn’t commit – then they wouldn’t have been taken to the gaol, dribbling blood all over the floors, antagonising the guards trying to mark them down in the records, and they wouldn’t have ended up in that dust-coated cell with the shitty neighbour across the way, and the old Emperor would never have glanced at them twice, and the door never would have opened, and they wouldn’t be here.

Pax is not one for gratitude, generally, but they have never been so thankful to be falsely imprisoned in their life.

“My census name’s Camilla Patesco,” he says.

He’s looking at the first watery dregs of dawn in the sky, not at Martin’s face; but he can hear the smile in his voice when he replies, “I won’t tell anyone.”

[gofancyninjaworld]

There was a lot of complaints ant Saitama's breaking speech never making to the manga, but tbh even if the manga has a series of events that requires that to happen, I still don't want it to happen. Mostly bc what Saitama said is pretty hypocritical and doesn't make sense.

While I do give kudos that Saitama even admits he doesn't really have a concrete idea of what a "hero" should be... That doesn't give a vote of confidence considering he's um. Literally the most powerful hero alive. Kinda hard to believe in someone who doesn't even know if they're doing the right thing while wielding immeasurable power. He pretty much, well, dodged the question and never really bothered to shoulder the responsibility to figure out what kind of hero really wants to be.

Another is his "serious" hero hobby and Garou's "compromised" monster hobby, and the reason why he'll always win is bc he never half-assed his hobby. While he's right not to lower the hurdle before the goal... But the reason why opm more or less has a plot to begin with is because Saitama is half-assing his heroism. He barely takes anything seriously. Like, yes he never half-assed his training to be the strongest and while he's one of the more moral heroes out there he wasn't the best for a reason.

And tbh I'm really satisfied to how 166-169 played out. In the end, what the manga shows us is that they both have naive mindsets. Believing Absolute Evil would bring absolute world peace, believing heroes would always be on time and save the day — only to have reality crashing hard that for Garou to achieve Absolute Evil means people he cares about will in fact die and that Saitama's complacency and invulnerability means it's not him facing the consequences, but everyone else fatally paying that price. it just shows the perfect image that Garou and Saitama are not so different — Garou is a poor villain, Saitama is a poor hero, and it's bc of those flaws, despite them wielding incomprehensible, godly power, they both meet in the middle ground as humans. Which further reinforces ONE's intention to create Garou as the anti-Saitama.

An old, old comment that has aged like fine wine.

There's a question Garou asks Saitama in the webcomic that the latter never answers -- and really should. 'You're strong, but so what?' His questioning whether the mere fact of Saitama being stronger than anyone gave him any moral authority is one that desperately needs to be addressed in the webcomic. So far, so bad.

I really like that the manga has started to look at that question. The Japanese idiom Saitama used when looking at the carnage Cosmic Fear Garou had wrought was his being pierced by realisation (h/t @koumbaya). As if a spear had been thrown through his very soul.

It answered the question he'd been asking himself ever since the Superfight that he'd forgotten something important. In that moment, it came to him just how shallow he'd been for fretting over not learning new moves or finding tough fights. How irresponsible it'd been for him to forget that just because Garou was no threat to him, the same did not hold for others. He had become a hero so that when people were in trouble, he could be there to help them, and instead, little by little, he'd come to prioritise having a good time.

I love how the denouement of the arc has Garou and Saitama understand and enact what it is to be a hero. Garou puts aside his pride to ask for help and heroically sacrifices his life to teach Saitama how to go to the past, Saitama saves everyone who needs his help, *including* Garou.

I love how this fits into the structure of the bigger story, with King having challenged Saitama over this very notion. It's an important question. A hero may need to be strong, but how does that translate into morality? What gives a hero the right to say 'this is unacceptable and I must stop it?'

Of course, there's the small problem of Saitama having forgotten what happened. Which makes me think: whether he wants to or not, Genos has a responsibility to ensure Saitama learns those hard-won lessons without the rest of the world paying for it first.

Final thing: Garou not being left as a foil to Saitama is the best thing of all. He hasn't received a pat answer and been sent into exile to do no more evil. He's getting to struggle with his ideas, to try to forge them into a coherent and workable way forward, and it's good to see him being his own person.

[lurkingshan]

Did you go into I Feel You Linger In The Air with a lot of expectations? Personally I'm a huge fan of Nonkul so when the cast was announced I was quite livid and my expectations raised a lot when the pilot trailer was dropped but Dee Hup House followed that pilot trailer with Step By Step, Show Me Love and Hidden Agenda so by the time IFYLITA aired, I felt like I had to try minimizing my expectations as much as possible because it's Tee Bundit & co. I can't quite put into words but what about IFYLITA that makes each episode builds up so well and I never really feel like it lost its pace? plot? narrative? (except for maybe a few plot threads I could overlook). What do you think Shan? What do you think are the key elements that keeps IFYLITA's narrative so engaging even though this could have been like any other modern-guy-accidentally-time-traveled-to-the-past-to-fall-in-love-with-guy-from-the-past series?

My friends can attest, I went into I Feel You Linger in the Air with unreasonably high expectations, because I fucking love historicals and time travel romances and before this year we had precious little of either from Thailand. I was so hype for this project from the moment it was announced. And then Step by Step happened and I decided to willfully ignore the Dee Hup House and Tee Bundit parts of this project in order to stay hype. Surely, it would be fine!

And it has, mostly. I can't pretend we haven't seen some Tee Bundit hallmarks in this production. For the first half of the show, he seemed pretty uninterested in the romance, focusing most of the story time on building out the side characters and the politics of the period and leaving Jom and Yai's connection underdeveloped. He has given us almost no information on the time travel mythology, so the finale will either be jam packed with last minute exposition or leave Jom/us with no real understanding of the rules of this universe. He seemed unable to figure out how to make the romance and time travel and queer politics plots co-exist, so instead he kind of chunked them out, taking them one at a time and leading to some kinks in the pacing of each given plot. He spent a lot of time very carefully building serious conflicts only to hand wave them away in one very easy denouement.

But despite all that, this show just works, doesn't it? Usually when I am picking up this many structural issues in a show, I will lose my emotional connection to the story as my brain kicks into analytical mode. But that didn't happen here. The emotions of this story stuck with me throughout; I care about all the characters, I am invested in everyone getting what they deserve, and I was sobbing my little heart out last week as Jom and Yai said their long goodbye. It's been such a beautiful journey, if imperfect, and I credit that to a few things:

Writing aside, the other aspects of this production are all around phenomenal. The cinematography, the set and costume design, the lighting, the music. It's all working together to make this time and place feel so vivid and real. It's so gorgeous to look at and the show really makes you want to just sink into it and get immersed.

Bright and Nonkul were perfectly cast in this, and they have been absolutely killing it in these roles. Jom and Yai feel so real to me, both as individuals and as a pair. I really believe in their connection, which is no small thing given the aforementioned underwriting of its development. In a story like this the romance needs to be strong enough that you believe these two would seek each other out across time and space, and I do believe it for them. A lot of that can be credited to the remarkable chemistry these two performers have built together.

The non-romance aspects of the plot are actually compelling. It's always risky to add in a bunch of side stories to a simple romance; you risk distracting from the main story in a way that actually does some damage or leaves the audience bored or confused. But here, the choices about what to add made for a compelling cast of characters, a stronger tie to real history, and an all around more queer show. I love that we got a proper lesbian romance, that we got to see an oppressed woman come into her power, that we got a het dude learning how to be an ally, and that we got to see a queer community form around and bolster Yai and Jom. It's really special and the best of what Tee's interests can lead to when he marshals them well.

So yes, I do think this show stands apart from others in this genre for what it brought to the formula that feels new and fresh. I wish it was more widely accessible because it's truly one of the most beautiful dramas I have ever seen and easily one of the best Thai shows of the year.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 3 Tatarigoroshi pt. Final

I'm doing things slightly different here.

The following takes place between parts 17 and 18 of my playthrough. The interview with Keiichi is a post-credits scene, but because of the amount of screenshots I took during the credits and the typing I did for some of the stuff coming up I figured to treat it as a separate thing. A nice little denouement. I really hope tumblr doesn't murder the quality of the screenshots here. Italicized words are my own interjections and not what is written on screen. I tried my best with some of the later parts.

Basically during this part and the credits I kept mashing the screenshot key.

"I made him seem like a very good person. I'll need to make him into a terrible criminal in the end."

"Apparently you're supposed to call disasters like the Great Hanshin Earthquake severe disasters. Still it's a terrifying operation plan. Though I guess sterilization operations are like this. I need to think hard so it's realistic."

"Jirou Tomitake A mysterious old man with the role of an extra yet still popular. He won't be doing much for a while.

Miyo Takano I made this character seriously suspicious. Seems kind of like the last boss. Maybe she should be to one to take the punches in the end. I need to make her so bad even coach would punch her. Maybe a full transformation in the end is in order.

Kuraudo Ooishi A Completely enigmatic man, though I'll admit he's convenient. Maybe he'll turn trustworthy in the end after clearing up the misunderstandings?

Katsuya Kumatani A completely enigmatic man, though I'll admit he's convenient. Maybe he'll turn trustworthy in the end after clearing up the misunderstandings?

Why is Kumatani and Ooishi's the same?

Kyousuke Irie I made him seem like a very good person. I'll need to make him into a terrible criminal in the end.

Rika Furude A convenient character who can't help but garner popularity. If Satoko doesn't get more popular with this, then she might not be able to make a comeback. Speaking of suffering, maybe Mion has it worse (pained laugh). A mysterious girl, in a way. The incarnation of the curse theory?????"

"Hinamizawa Village Gas Disaster In Memoriam List Apparently you're supposed to call disasters like the Great Hanshin Earthquake severe disasters. Still it's a terrifying operation plan. Though I guess sterilization operations are like this. I need to think hard so it's realistic.

Reina Ryuugu (spelling?) Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace.

Mion Sonozaki Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace.

Oryou Sonozaki Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May she rest in peace

Satoko Houjou Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Teppei Houjou Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Ichirou Maebara, Aiko Maebara, Daiki Tomita, Suguru Okamura, and Kiichirou Kimiyoshi Passed away in the great Hinamizawa disaster. May he rest in peace. (I didn't feel like typing it out five times)

Rumiko Chie Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster???

Yukikazu Kameda Went missing during the great Hinamizawa disaster??? I have no recollection of who Kameda is whatsoever."

"Tatsuyoshi Kasai I wonder if he really has a thing for Shion, that would be so cute if he did, hau u.

Shion Sonozaki The more minor of the twins always gets more popular, but to think it would still hold true. Maybe it's fate, or maybe coincidence. You're okay to think of watanagashi considering the suicide, though."

"Keiichi Maebara Did he just end up going crazy in the end? My condolences I suppose. Keiichi really never dies in a good way. Am I not allowed to laugh?

Diagnosed with a severe mental disorder… Mental disorder, what!? But with so many terrible things happening, people will break. You must never forget that feeling. We all live because we have a heart to live with. If we forget that, we are just living puppets. Remember you're alive and have a soul.

The more minor of the twins always gets more popular, but to think it would still hold true. Maybe it's fate, or maybe coincidence. You're okay to think of watanagashi considering the suicide, though."

This is the end of the story related text. The rest is credits for the episode. I think this is written from the perspective of whatever is actually behind the Hinamizawa/Oyashiro curse. The first part, about making him a villain again was shown way back at the very start of the series before the title card of Onikakushi.

""Higurashi: When They Cry" Serial Murder Novel Number 3: Tatarigoroshi A mysterious old man with the role of an extra yet still popular. He won't be doing much for a while.

I'm a little sleepy. Maybe I haven't been getting enough sleeping and gaming with all my heart. Or maybe I just want to play ragnarok online Oh, puritan, hah, hah, moe!

Scenario: Ryukishi07 Hello, I'm ryukishi07. It was a fierce battle this time, like it always is.

Partner in Crime: Yatazakura You really did a good job this time!! Let's put out the best stuff brothers can manage! (I might be wrong on this one?)

Scirpting: Yatazakura Thanks for everything again!

4U You're another one I always rely on. Thank you for everything you do."

"BT Your kind encouragement encourages me. Thank you so much.

Scripting Language: Me finding this scripting language was how it began. I wouldn't be here today without it.

Still, I'm really sleepy. The fatigue of a thousand years as they say. I may be doing this for fun, it's hard on my body. But it's nothing as long as i can get your thoughts and reactions!

4U I took so much of your time, so I'm sorry I'm late again. Gotta go debug more"

"BT You're another one i always rely on. Thank you for everything you do.

Production Yat Looks like he's got the hang of it. He was very fast on the clean up this time.

Graphics: Ryukishi07 Part of me wants a good artist, but having to trust someone else with it scares me too much (I can completely empathize with the creative idea of "only I can do this!)

Background location: Kameya Without your generous help, Higurashi would not exist. All those beautiful backgrounds are yours.

Yato Sakura Without your generous help"

"Ryukishi07 Without your generous help

Tsubaki Hey, this is totally nepotism, isn't it? Well, let's put that off as a joke

LRRP: Kameya You are a god. Sorry fo the weird abbreviation LRRP. I look foward to working with you and Daisuke in the future.

Jika Thank you as always, to hru. ab it stuc kin ro, tho ugh if brother unit e we'll be invinicible! Let's do our best!"

"Amamizu/Scarlet Thank you as always to hru.ab itstuc kin (The same thing is written for Amamizu and Scarlet here, and I admit I kind of gave up trying to figure out what's written there. "Thank you as always tohru? a bit stuck in?)

Music and SFX The Music studio Without beautiful music the world wouldn't turn. The main theme is important. It's a vital factor.

Dream Island Development Room Being able to mess with things from my house is a pretty huge plus.

Escateli~na Being able to mess with things from my house is a pretty huge plus."

no love for Koji. Awww.

"Minigames: BT Thank you so much for alwasy submitting great minigames. Give me some advice when adjusting them. Personally, I'd rather tsubaki in a ruse(?) s picture not be excessive I wonder why he doesn't understand?"

I wonder if the original release way back in the day had minigames in it? Like the club activities are playable games maybe? I'm now envisioning a significantly worse version of this game existing because it has something like the fucking awful gambling minigames from a Leisure Suit Larry just crammed in there.

"Homepage 07th Storming Party Still, I'm really sleepy. The fatigue of a thousand years as they say. I may be doing this for fun but it's hard on my body. But it's nothing as long as I can get your thoughts and reactions! Me finding this scripting language was I began. I wouldn't be here today without it.

Created by: Pride is fighting under your own flag. So I hope you understant why i don't want to "use my flag to make something weird. if you don't like it then raise a flag or two of your own." I hope this becomes a work to be proud of for life."

"Directed by: I'm ryukishi07. The path here has been a long one. But we're only midway through! The real stuff is still to come! I'll work harder than ever!"

Trying to decipher these and making sure I had them correct was a surprisingly annoying process. No one else on the entire rest of the internet seems to have bothered trying to decode what it all said. The steam forums especially were less than helpful. Just a bunch of people arguing six years ago about the veracity of what it says, and whether it counts as spoilers or MangaGamer "screwing with the plot." I do apologize for some of the attempts on my part basically just falling apart, but try as I might I just couldn't think of a way to make the letters available make any sort of coherent sense.

I mentioned it before, but I'm fairly positive that everything before the game credits is the entity behind the events of Higurashi remarking on the pawns they have available to toy with. Everything at the credits until the end title card there I'm sure was just Ryukishi07 having fun with it.

Gonna be honest with you here, I liked it, but not quite as much as chapter two. A reddit post I saw while trying to decipher the credits bits summed it up best: "Keiichi is cringe."

Gotta work towards a good ending. Can't just give it to your audience.

Let the god child drink!

Yeah, you're gonna have to address the body count of a thousand people eventually.

*sad trombone* Although I must say I do like the idea of playing as a protagonist other than Keiichi. Let the lunkhead go do something else, it's Shion's time to shine.

Keiichi aside, I liked Chapter Three: Tatarigoroshi, it was a severly depressing read at points, but it did provide some interesting mysteries towards the end. Why don't the dead stay put in Hinamizawa, what is puppeting the bodies around, and for what purpose? Why in this particular go-around was there a deadly volcanic gas that killed everyone in the town shortly after Watanagashi? Who were the twenty that disappeared? Satoko and Teppei were certainly two of them, but who were the other eighteen? Is it the masterminds of the cult? What is the importance of the woman who died at the start of the chapter, and did she really have any importance to the plot? I know there was the implication she was involved with the Sonozaki crime syndicate, but overall her entire subplot just vanished towards the middle of this chapter. Who killed Rika and why did they do it in a way similar to the murdered woman at the start of the chapter?

This chapter does however lend greater strength to the supernatural killer angle. Deliberately so, I'd say, since Chapter Two: Watanagashi leaned more hevily on the human angle to justify the killings.

Also:

"The shortest scenario," bullshit. This was just as lengthy as chapter two! It might seem shorter in my playthrough/readthrough, but that's only because I didn't want to be posting a bunch of screenshots and discussions about domestic violence. I felt it would be tonally at odds with my often lighthearted comments about the VN.

[bagheerita]

finally finished DS9 and decided to post some thoughts in one big blob

I was honestly about to give up on season 7 and put the rest of this show to the side for a few months, but then Ezri and Worf have a 3 episode arc sorting out their relationship, only talking to each other because they're marooned/imprisoned, and I was so charmed by them being loud and messy that I managed to bull my way through to the end. I love the two of them as friends, they are adorable. 

I actually really like Damar and his arc, and it’s pretty rare I say that about a character who killed my favorite. 

I feel like the reason Section 31 exists, and they keep forcing episodes about it upon me, is because they wrote themselves into a corner with inventing the changeling disease to kneecap an unbeatable enemy and didn’t know how else to fix it/end the war except with secret secret spies. 

Ezri has this whole speech she gives to Worf about dismantling structures of power and I feel like they needed to end the show before anyone was like, hey the Federation kind of sucks and we should definitely do that. 

Garak’s mom showed up and everything was good in the world again.

Ezri and Julian are like “can’t deny the chemistry.” lol babes that's called being a young attractive allosexual. "Chemistry" is what Worf and O'Brien have in all the scenes where they're mocking you.

I’ve never felt the truth of the phrase “I support women’s wrongs” so intensely as I do with Kai Winn. I love her and I want to give her everything. I didn't love her getting assaulted by Dukat, but when she knows everything that's happening and chooses the pah-wraiths anyway, yes fuck it up. When she poisoned Dukat I was like, hot damn if this character dies as a footnote in someone else's quest for power I will forgive everything that this show has put me through because of him. But we can't have nice things. I did like that her last act was to choose to take their victory from them, and give Sisko the clue he needed to beat them.

I do love Martok but I feel like he’s going to be about as good a chancellor as Robert Baratheon was a king. 

Odo is The Last Unicorn, but with brain-melding: he’s going to share his experience of loving a mortal with the other immortals. I still don’t “get” him and Kira as a couple, their relationship literally went from -20 to 100% after a single all night conversation locked in Jadzia's bathroom and no actual onscreen development, but at least I believe that they believe they’re in love. 

Why the ever loving fuck is Julian so obsessed with the Alamo. Every time they bring it up I want to grab him and Miles and shake them. I get that it's supposed to be some sort of metaphor for fighting a hopeless war, but really? You want to go up to the fake room where you can do/be literally anything and you're going to repeatedly reenact a battle where you die to defend your right to have slaves and practice settler colonialism??? Even in the last episode they’ve won the real war and they’re still obsessed with reenacting this old battle. They also spend that one episode trying to figure out how to win the Alamo… babes, that actually happened: it’s called the Battle of San Jacinto- learn some actual fucking history, your side won the war. This isn’t about metaphors anymore, the metaphor has failed, now Julian just has a neurosis.

The Dominion War plot line goes on for way too long and there is so little internal emotional catharsis. (Maybe because for me the things that were supposed to be cathartic just induced more rage? 🤔) The ending was fine as far as character wrap ups but felt pretty rushed considering how long it took us to get to this point, and I really think they needed more time to handle the denouement. The overall pacing of the episodes/seasons is terrible: you wasted like a season and a half puttering around, with whole episodes where you forgot to mention the war; you added in mirror-verse episodes without bothering to use them for story or character development; Quark is one of my favorite characters but there are too many episodes about Ferengi shenanigans that do not impact the actual plot; there are whole scenes and arcs dedicated to a character who does not (within the internal logic of the show) exist. And then you slammed all the development into the last half of the last season. I'm not surprised now that I forgot this entire show after watching it while airing because it’s emotionally exhausting. I've compared DS9 to SGA in the past, but the Dominion remind me of the Ori: You've killed the enjoyment I found in this show and have made it a chore to watch.

I do like that what ends the war is Julian’s determination and Odo’s compassion. You've proven the Founders wrong, but this entire plot thread was so poorly handled that I don't know that anyone remembers one mention from four seasons ago about why this war even started and, honestly, standing on a planet where you just murdered millions of children it's kind of not enough. I like that they let Garak kill the last Weyoun, and I adore the scene where he lets Kira take the phaser, but honestly he deserved more. It wouldn't solve anything, and I think there's a nice parallel in Garak's fears inspiring him into attempting genocide being incredible grounded in reality and the Founder's similar fears being negated, but he deserves it, the head Founder deserves to be torn into tiny pieces by grieving Cardassians, and I deserve to watch it. (I also desperately want Garak to find out about Section 31 and the changeling disease just so he can be like, "Oh so when I try to commit genocide I get 6 months in jail, but when the Federation wants to commit genocide that's okay?")

I don’t know who on the production team is so invested in Mark Alaimo getting a paycheck, but by the end Dukat as a character has long outlived any interesting qualities he may have had at one point. The final battle shit with the pah-wraiths was pretty underwhelming; except for the deeper exploration of Winn's motives that this season has allowed for, "The Reckoning" was such a better structured episode. (At least at this point they've let Kira go off and be awesome without being forced into episodes with Dukat. The sheer amount of abusive old men sexually attracted to much younger women in this show is frankly unnecessary; I will never be able to unhear Curzon say he flunked Jadzia from the symbiont program because he wanted to bang her, and Dukat’s relentless pursuit of Kira especially/even after we learn he sexually assaulted her mother is disgusting.) 

I have mixed feelings about Sisko, and his character having a “white savior” role with the Bajorans. Like, I guess it’s a cool twist that he’s a black white savior, maybe that's the best the 90s can do, but also can we decide to not write stories where we give foreigners positions of power over recently subjugated peoples??  I was feeling pretty yikes about it especially after the beginning of this season and learning that he was basically genetically bred by the Prophets for the position, but… I dunno, I’m probably not someone who can or should have a deep opinion about this. I do like that arc for him as a character outside of what it means for the Bajorans, but his ending feels too open. I wish we got to know more about what he learns from hanging out with the Prophets, and I wish that the great "sorrow" he suffers from disregarding the visions felt more concrete. Kassidy is really the only one sad about this, Sisko seems excited to exist outside of time. (And I feel like a lot of the "yikes" of the character could have been fixed by making the character be Bajoran? You wouldn't need to invent a reason why he was chosen by the Prophets. He could even have been raised on Earth and still have those ties, and I think it would have made the pull between his duty as an officer and his duty as the Emissary more interesting. Also can you imagine if Jake and Ziyal were both half Bajoran and hanging out with each other??? But they don't pay me to write shows.)

Why do Miles and Julian have the gayest final montage? It's literally the first of the montages and they start it up over "The Way You Look Tonight" and I was just like... wtf did I accidentally put in a fan video? Miles is the only person in a relationship who has a montage without any mention of their significant other, though I guess Worf's does jump from his first meeting with Sisko straight to season 5 clips so they didn't mention Jadzia either. I love that Miles and Julian have such a deep friendship, and I feel like this show could use more interrogation of the concept of love and the fact that platonic love/friendship is just as important as romantic love, but the production has spent so much time "no homo"ing every relationship they can think of that it just comes off as bizarre. 

All the bts things I’ve read about this show pretty much amount to the production being like “we had no idea what we were doing with this character” which, when combined with the failure to manage season structure and some of the utterly bonkers episodes this show threw out there, leads me to believe that pretty much anything I enjoyed about this show comes from the actors. This is definitely a show I feel like I’m going to be “rewatching” through fanfiction and gif sets before I ever rewatch the entire show again.