#not happening this time lmao this scene needs to be cohesive

[thedeerman]

@ my DYWTK readers: i wanna be real with yall, this next chapter is turning out to be quite a bit longer than previously indicated. oops.

[fairypowerful]

The Ship That Was Endgame Since the Beginning (confirmed)

Narratively, Michaela and Zeke were always meant to find each other and be together.

Narratively, Jared and Mick were not meant to be.

From the very beginning – S01E01.

(Edit: The show’s creator, Jeff Rake, said this was always the ending, “just tightened up along the way.” You got that? Zekaela were planned since long before Matt Long got the role as Zeke – Matt said that his first phone call with Jeff in 2018 after getting the role was himself being told that Zekaela were soulmates! LMAO 😂 I didn’t need this double confirmation in order to know that, because in hindsight, the clues were there from the way everything led to them and when looking at their first two episodes together.)

The offscreen event that led to Mick being in a bad place mentally/emotionally (her BFF Evie’s death) had also led to her hesitation of Jared’s proposal, which led to her getting on Flight 828 because she didn’t wanna have to deal with that and her family pressuring her to accept. (“It’s not just about you. This family needs something to celebrate” / “And I know you love Jared” / “Why are you fighting this when all it’s gonna do is make you happy?”)

It was a domino effect. The plane disappearing led to Jared marrying Mick’s other BFF, Lourdes, four years later, and the plane reappeared a year after that.

Mick became the other woman in that marriage, which she deeply regretted; and she not only destroyed her now-ex BFF’s marriage, but also lost another lifelong friendship on top of being too wrought with guilt over Evie (which she forgives herself for in the final season). Jared didn’t really show any remorse, but Mick now had all of that weighing her down and didn’t want to continue with him. And Jared certainly didn’t make it easy on her.

Really, these two were not right for each other. Not to mention, Jared unnecessarily stirred up trouble and a lot of stress for Mick due to his possessiveness over her, and his immediate jealousy and rather extreme hostility towards Zeke upon first meeting. Very toxic. Just gross. Not right.

~~~

I think it’s important to remember, too, the original series order was 13 episodes – the “find her” Calling was in the tenth episode, Zeke appears in the twelfth episode, and the thirteenth ended with him and Mick in front of the petroglyph of two stick figures holding hands, outside under the stars.

Those episodes would’ve been written in cohesion with the preceding storylines, especially considering the nature of the show and its mythology needing to be mapped out instead of written on the spot – meaning that Zekaela was not shoehorned into the show. Keyword, “cohesion.”

Those episodes and the character would’ve been written long before the actor was even cast into the role. It was always planned.

🤭 It’s also confirmed.

Their soulmatism was sprinkled all over their story, starting in their first two episodes together.

“It’s all connected,” didn’t you know? 😉

The show’s been consistent about that.

Look at the acting choices in Season 1 from before Zeke’s introduction. In multiple scenes, Jared told Mick they were supposed to be together and she’d shake her head ‘no.’ Like her heart knew, but she consciously didn’t yet. When Jared told her she’s his soulmate, Mick said, “No, I’m not.”

Narratively, her heart always belonged elsewhere. After she met Zeke, she always chose him over Jared from that point onward. Everything that happened led her to him, including her conscious choices post-Pilot and pre-Vanishing Point, which basically worked in tandem with the universe. The cheating/ruining BFF’s marriage/losing her BFF was a major deciding factor for her in not getting back with Jared anytime soon … and then she finally meets Zeke whom the universe had also brought forward in time.

~~~

So, I want to put my thoughts to some of the things I’ve read by antis…

“The only thing Zeke and Mick had in common were the Callings”

That’s not true. You had to have watched the show with your eyes closed to come up with that.

A Calling brought them together, sure, but it didn’t make them connect and fall in love, or be happier around one another. A Calling isn’t a love potion or a magic spell.

Zekaela was a pretty peaceful relationship in a sea of turmoil (the government, the X-ers, the hatred and violence against 828ers), whereas Jachaela was an angsty teen drama amidst the external turmoil. 😶

I’m going to quote a character from a different story who chose his wife over someone else he had feelings with, because I think it applies very much with Mick choosing Zeke over and over again every single time. “Passion is … it’s fire. And fire is great, man. But we’re made of water. Water is how we keep living. Water is what we need to survive. My family was my water. I picked water. I’ll pick water every time.” And I’ll add another quote from the same character talking about his wife and what it was like in meeting her, replacing the name with Mick’s because it is very much in alignment with Zekaela’s story. “But when I met [Mick], it was something different altogether. She just … made the world make sense to me. She even made me like myself more. And there was a calmness to her that … nobody else had. It felt like when I was with her, I knew everything would be fine. It was like I was following the North Star.”

Mick being Zeke’s North Star is literally canon, by the way.

(S01E13 and S04E18).

~~~

“The only reason why Zeke and Mick got together was due to the time travel and the Callings”

Yeah, that’s how storytelling works.

Crying about this is like complaining that the only reason the Doctor regenerates is because he’s an alien from Gallifrey and the Doctor Who writers in 1966 came up with a way to replace the leading actor without getting rid of the main character. Or rather, it’s like complaining that the only reason Mary Margaret and David fell in love despite the Dark Curse amnesia is because they were Snow White and Charming in the Enchanted Forest.

Trying to belittle Mick and Zeke’s love by attacking the narrative, that’s pathetic.

“But it’s forced”

No, it’s not. The little things the writers added years later, like Afterlife!Zeke telling Mick about them having moments in their lives where they almost met, is not forced, because the audience (who don’t have blinders on during their story) already knew they were soulmates and it’s literally how storytelling works.

Heaven forbid TV writers foreshadow, expand, and give callbacks to scenes from previous seasons ever again! Heaven forbid we ever get flashbacks in later seasons! Heaven forbid you ever watch another TV show with more than 1 season because “they added this years later, so it’s forced”!

“But Mick and Jared knew each other the longest”

So? That doesn’t matter. Do you actually believe length is an indicator of whether or not someone is the love of your life? Just…wow! Heaven forbid anybody not get back together with an ex simply because they knew them longer. Heaven forbid anybody leave behind a former or current longterm relationship without getting told, “But it’s been years, so you belong with him forever/were meant to be with him.”

Mick wanted Zeke. She chose Zeke. I think that’s a good indicator of whom the love of her life is.

In S01E13, Mick tells him that she wished she could redo her re-entry into 2018 but wasn’t sure what she would’ve done to change the way her situation at home turned out.

In S02E01, Zeke tells Mick he wished he’d met her some other way in some other time. (Edit: With Jeff implicitly saying he always knew how he wanted the story to end, and explicitly confirming that Zekaela was always the plan from the very beginning, along with Matt implicitly saying they were written as soulmates since before he got the role, Zeke’s line is now major foreshadowing).

In S04E19, Mick tells Ben she doesn’t regret taking a later flight because it led her to Zeke.

It’s very telling. Ben’s heart belongs with Grace, and Mick’s heart belongs with Zeke.

“She would’ve married Jared if Flight 828 landed in its proper timeline in the Pilot episode”

There’d be no show to watch if the plane landed in 2013, for one thing.

Those 5 years gave Mick an experience where she learned what and whom she really wanted, without the enormous pressure of immediately accepting a proposal, and she also got the opportunity to meet her real soulmate. It’s okay to not want the same thing you wanted a few years ago. It’s called growth.

~~~

“Mick only stayed married to Zeke, after he survived his Death Date, out of pity and duty (because he survived, and she expected him to die)”

I remember seeing a remark like this, and you must dislike or hate Mick if you think she’s like that. Even as a joke, that’s just cruel.

Mick was so happy and relieved when Zeke survived his Death Date. She loves Zeke, or did you just close your eyes to their whole love story?

She told him she’d continue to choose him even if he had one day left, or ten thousand left. And with or without empath powers, Zeke knew she loved him too.

“But she still had feelings for Jared”

Okay, and? Even if the situation were reverse, she’d also still have feelings for Zeke. It works both ways.

And as Mick told him, she chose him instead of Jared. Sure, she loved Jared, but as Zeke told Mick in S04E02, her huge heart has room enough for anyone who’s lucky to be loved by her. Loving Zeke doesn’t mean she has to stop loving anyone else in her life. Love isn’t limited.

It’s canon that the only way she could choose Jared is if Zeke is dead. He didn’t look happy at all when he saw Zeke survived.

Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’re the one for you. She chose Zeke.

~~~

“The writers only made Drea pregnant to put her and Jared together”

Do I need to be petty and remind y’all that pregnancy happens when two people regularly have sex, and protection isn’t always a 100% guarantee? 😶

Jared and Drea match really well, that was quite clear when they first got together. Their relationship grew organically. Just take off your blinders. Even Mick could see that Drea is perfect for him.

It helped Mick to see that Jared was compromising his happiness by being with her. She didn’t want children, and she was confronted with the fact that they could never have a full life together, not without compromising her vision for her own life.

By the way, that breakup post-reset was made before she remembered Zeke telling her about one of their almost-meetups where he was a cab driver at the airport on the night Flight 828 was supposed to land. So, it was fully her choice to end things with Jared going forward and starting anew; Zeke didn’t even need to be alive for her to choose that for herself. But she was so happy when she remembered. If you truly like the character, her choice makes complete sense narratively and character-wise.

~~~

“But Jared and Mick have more chemistry”

If arguing and fighting is chemistry, then yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I do think JR and Melissa have chemistry outside of angst and volatile tension, but if you think “more chemistry” is a reason why a fictional couple should be endgame, you have a juvenile view of an adult romance. This ain’t a teen drama. So, congrats, what a way to reveal you don’t care about the story or a cohesive narrative! 👀

Zekaela have a calmer romantic chemistry, and their sweet love story is so much better than Jachaela’s constant tension-filled drama where Jared put on tantrums when she wouldn’t give in to him. Their story up until Season 4 was volatile in a bad way, which only went away when Jared stopped chasing after her and let her live peacefully married to Zeke. I’m glad his character got better, thank goodness!

~

And don’t even get me started with “We won in real-life because JR (Jared) and Melissa (Mick) are together,” because we’re here for the TV show, not real-life. It’s entertainment, so chill out.

~~~

I think that 2013-Jared calling off his proposal to Mick, because it was for the wrong reason (“to help you get past [Evie’s death]”), isn’t forced/lazy writing.

Consider for a minute that, in 2013, he’s not the character you were introduced to in Season 1 (the now-former 2018 timeline). He’s not unhealthily obsessed with her like the Joker is with Batman, or Eobard Thawne is with The Flash. And he never got the trauma from losing someone in a perceived airplane accident. As for his breakup, he got time to think, and ultimately he didn’t want to take advantage of her in a vulnerable state.

And consider for a moment, at the time, 2013-Mick was grieving and didn’t believe she deserved happiness – and it’s been a year since Evie’s death. I don’t imagine there were many smiles and laughter for the past year in their relationship, meaning it was dying. So, Jared not being heartbroken over 2024-Mick’s breakup kinda makes sense.

To him, Mick broke up with him because she wasn’t gonna heal any time soon, and wanted him to move on with someone who can give him what she can’t.

But to her, Mick grew in those 5 years since getting on Flight 828 the first time, and the life she thought she wanted back then isn’t the same anymore (and that’s okay, we’re not the same person we were half a decade ago) and she got to meet the real love of her life whom she can be with now. Zeke.

I don’t believe love is a choice, because you can’t force yourself to love or not to love someone. But I believe happiness is a choice, you can choose to walk towards it or away from it. Mick walked towards happiness by choosing Zeke. It’s really beautiful.

~~~

Credit for most of the Manifest screenshots and tweets go to @gracestone

[dickpuncher420]

writer's meme

thank u reikah @faux-fires for tagging me! <33

How many wips do you have currently?

only 2 that i can claim to be actively working on. one of them is a zukka yuri oneshot that i meant to finish for zukka week (oops! that did not happen), and the other is chapter 2 of my pacrim au.

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish?

i'd say my pacrim au, given that it's been over a year since i posted the first chapter LOL. truth be told i haven't worked on it all that much recently, and i'm still only on the first scene of chapter 2. i REALLY want to work on it again, but i have a hard time working on multiple projects at once, so hopefully once i finish my zukka yuri fic i can devote all my energy to pacrim <3

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

it almost always happens at night. either i can't fall asleep because i've been struck with inspiration for a new fic, or i wake up in the middle of the night and need to scrawl all my ideas down in my notes app as fast as possible before i forget.

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

lmao i have never in my life made a playlist for a fic. whenever i write i just put on whatever music helps me focus the best; most of the that's lofi hip hop or film/video game soundtracks

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organized?

depends! for short oneshots i tend to just go balls to the wall, and whatever happens happens. but for my pacrim au i meticulously planned everything out before i began writing—as a longer, more serious project, i really wanted the whole thing to be cohesive. my notes doc for it is 14k words long (LOL), and i have the whole thing divided into sections that i can easily jump between

tagging! @ofherlionheart @chitsangenthusiast @zukkababey @goldrushzukka @sokkalore

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

How fast would you say are you with writing chapters? Do you always plan ahead or know what's going to happen in that chapter or just improvise? Do you take breaks between writing a chapter? How would you prefer youre timing with updates?

How fast would you say are you with writing chapters?— Depends on my current energy/motivation/time trifecta, but at my fastest (which I have not achieved in a long time lmao) I can write a legacy!chapter in a week. However with Book 3 in particular I have to be really careful and particular with making sure certain details pop up when I need them to, so no rushing allowed!!!

Do you always plan ahead or know what's going to happen in that chapter or just improvise? - I have every "major" event and important character beat locked-in, even if I do have to shuffle around the order sometimes, but the ways in which I execute those events are almost always improvised. For example, Chapter 23 of Book 2 wasn't even supposed to be in Jesse's perspective (it started at Lloyd's, then Kai's), but doing it through Jesse's eyes allowed me to hit all the beats I needed to, and to keep it cohesive with the chapter before (the lesson with learning how powerful lies/rumors can be—relevant even in Book 3, heyo) and the chapter after (Jesse starting to join in on the ninja shenanigans).

For me, it works to have the broad sense of the direction I want to take to get me started and know where I need to go, but not down to the nitty gritty details where I then can't be flexible when need be (and with this story I have to be veeeery flexible, otherwise that's how writing youreslf into walls can happen). And in the spaces between the events/beats is when some of the funniest and/or wholesome moments happen :3

Do you take breaks between writing a chapter? - Technically yes, buuuut as soon as I post one chapter my brain is BUZZING with the adrenaline and eagerness for the next part so I instantly get to work blocking out the scenes/important dialogue for the next one. And then when the high dies I take my break XD

How would you prefer youre timing with updates? - Well back in the days before this sideblog existed, I had all the chapters pre-written and would update weekly (for B1) or bi-weekly (for the first half of B2). I do miss that, because I like giving the guarantee of an update and a little wiggle room for if I need to tweak something later (such as B2Ch21's ending), but nowadays there's no way I could get enough chapters queued up to do that, haha. So now I do try to aim for at least once a month. And if not, I don't sweat it—if it needs a little more time, so be it. And I'm not one to give up on a project easily, either ;P

[cobythinks]

I need to get inside your brain about your writing process. I’m new to this specific medium myself but I’m quickly falling in love with the pieces of it like pulling off a successful shock reveal (like what u were able to pull of in like every step of divided soul). Writing like yours and learning about every compounding element of Arcane or whatever else I get stuck on for a month is just so gripping, I need to learn how to emulate and embody it.

(Unrelated q but where can i get ur novel? I’m relatively new to both tumblr and ao3 lol)

For someone new to writing, I'm going to give you advice that a lot of people will give that will very quickly become annoying and repetitive: practice. I've been writing for 7+ years, and you damn better believe that my first works weren't anywhere CLOSE to Divided Soul and The Path of an Heir. So, write. Don't worry about being good, just write.

BEYOND THAT - Writing twists is somewhat of an art form, and it's one that I haven't fully perfected. Divided Soul is a great example of how I found a good way to do it, but even I'm not sure how I managed as much as I did! The biggest advice is for a first draft, if you're in a scene and you want a twist, just ask yourself "what would be the most surprising thing to happen here - without being completely out of character?" Then, once you decide your twist, GO BACK. Either after you finish the full draft, or right after you write the 'big reveal scene' and find other scenes where you can place the tiniest, smalllllest ever hints. That's what I did in Divided Soul, as well as The Path of an Heir!

Don't be obvious, but make it so that looking back a reader slaps their forehead and says 'I should have known' - even though they found out exactly when you wanted them to. (this is a hard balance to achieve, but SOOO satisfying as a writer and as a reader) give re-readers easter eggs, hints that on a first read are just one-off character moments that are secretly building toward the twist

And, something you're already doing: Read. Consume content. As I always say, you have to eat to shit.

you have to read to write. You read my works, you read other works (I assume) and you watch tv shows with cohesive plots and incredible character design. Take what you read, and use it like playdough until it's something that You Made. The more you change and tweak and adjust, the more You it'll be.

Forget the dream of an 'original idea'. The odds of 1 out of 8 billion people having an idea and being the ONLY person ever to have it? Impossible. But you're a different writer than everyone else, and tropes are beloved for a reason! Take well known tropes and put them in your own world, with your own characters, and you'll get a LONG LONG WAY.

Join writing comunities! Get other perspectives! Hop in the writers reddit, and don't even post or comment anything. Just read the advice that goes through. Find a group of friends in discord or in real life who love to write and read - these people will be your beta-readers someday, so pick good ones! lmao

Welcome to the writing medium! It's infuriating at times, but it's my biggest passion in life and I would never want to do anything else! Get some good playlists or podcasts, get a regular spot to write (I currently write while on my overnight job, but that's because I'm lucky to have a job where I can multitask!) <3

I'll repost my promo for the novel with the links, cuz ya boi was silly and forgot to add them! Enjoy this slab of advice! <3

[aysekira]

Being a cdrama fan is frankly exhausting, you can't just enjoy the creativity and stories bc there are a 100 behind the scenes considerations and changes happening all the time. I know most industries don't respect writers but chinese dramas take the cake, they're the least respected when their work is the most important, it's why so many dramas end up being horrible. And these new regulations are so frustrating because some shows need 50 or 60 or 70 episodes, nirvana in fire joy of life ming lan, already a lot of shows are cutting their episodes so they air at the same time instead of waiting 12 months, how the hell are you going to tell a 60 or 55 episode story in 40 or less episodes? They keep adding these insane rules as if they're trying to kill the industry outright, you can't make harem shows, you can't make queer shows even if they're sanitized to high heaven, lord forbid couples have sex or sometimes even kiss like normal people, you can't have reincarnation which is why we end up with so many shitty rushed xianxia endings they can't give us more. Sometimes you find something so great it makes all the mess worth it but the way they're going they're not going to leave room for even the tiny tiny slivers, the 0.01% of dramas that are great that somehow manage to make it through the cracks despite their best efforts. It's clear their is something very wrong with the industry when they make 400 dramas a year yet not even 40 of them are good, it's truly the wild west out there bc most of these dramas you'd watch them and think they're money laundering schemes bc no way this actually got made. They need to stop caring about pretty faces and paying them insane amounts of money and start hiring good writers but I'm not going to hold my breath... Sorry for the rant I just had to let this out lmao

let it all out anon: this is a safe space :) i wholly agree with everything you said since i'm a firm believer in that while you could aim for a very tight, cohesive&coherent writings (which i assume would be the aim of this rule); there's only so much you could tell before that compression ceiling hits& all hell broke loose in terms of story telling.

to add more to your examples, i cackled in imagining just how absurd it would be if NEF, rebel princess, secret advisors, three kingdoms cut down to those limits at it might result in qi heng being non existent (minglan), advisors being a singular advisor instead& more. and those, like your examples are the kind of dramas that (similar to the examples mentioned) needed the length to fully flesh out their dimensions.

i do not know what to say to make you feel better about it but my personal approach (esp recently) is just to have no hope about it, zero expectations-- then if it turns out to be good; it'll be a very nice surprise (personal example: currently airing LYF. i expected nothing&even side eyeing it a bit before it airs because well uh the casts&promos shown didn't tickle my fancy one bit back then-- and now it's practically my current obsession)& if it's not then it'll be just a passerby of a show and no investment (time/interest) was made whatsoever :)

or may i suggest venturing more to kdramaland as they have all sorts of good ones recently/currently airing (19th life, my dearest& lovely liar to name a few)& i heard from a very trusted source (@dangermousie) they have quite the stack waiting in line to air some of which you could see from the poll here: https://www.tumblr.com/dangermousie/725177465537003520/the-sageukcostume-kdrama-you-are-most-looking?source=share

you have a good day now anon :)

[heartfeltletters-written]

Hii! How about The Ghost Scar?

omg it’s been ages since i’ve spoke about that fic !!

my favorite scene: probably when Harry visits Grimmauld Place and goes to sirius room, it took me a long time to write it and i remember being very careful with Harry’s emotions during that whole scene. I wanted to display his grief, but also give him something to smile about while remembering sirius. at the same time i tried to show how often sirius thought of harry by keeping all his letters. it is a lovely scene in my opinion.

another scene i love is the ginny and luna conversation it happens in chapter 10, i love them dearly.

my favorite chapter: chapter 9 !!! i love love love what i have created between harry andrei and katrina it brought me so much joy to write that chapter. a close second would be chapter 10 the one and only ginny pov.

hardest scene to write: when harry first goes to the bank and talks properties. omg i hated writing that scene. i was still very much new to writing in english and my vocabulary on property has never been extensive so you can imagine the struggle it was. i had to google so many translations of words it was a nightmare but i ended up liking the scene.

favorite character to write in the fic: it has to be harry i just love that boy so much and having the opportunity to not only explore his grief but also his powers and his intelligence has been a delight. i also just love his humor.

favorite dynamic to write in the fic: ron and ginny !! they are so much fun and i think being the youngest really helps create a special type of bond between them and i love exploring that. i think we have such important moments of them in canon but unfortunately many times they get reduced to “ron is being an overprotective asshole” and i just don’t think that’s true. they’re siblings and siblings fight but they also understand each other so deeply.

why i chose that title: the fic is about grief, to put it simple. having gone through grief myself i know the pain is not always visible. so i think of these scars as ghosts, they’re there always watching but they don’t make themselves known most of the time, so they are “ghosts scars” and that’s where the name came from !! i hope this made sense lmao

a fun fact about the fic: i have most of it planned in a huge notion template, i just need to write it lmao. another fun fact is that i’ve thought about rewriting some chapters with a more cohesive english. i’ve grown a lot as a writer since i started writing the ghost scar so i think it would benefit from a rewrite/re-editing, maybe i’ll do it someday.

[n7punk]

Okay sooo I’m fully aware the answer to this might just be ‘my brain just works that way’ lol buttt: you post as you write, but surely this must have kicked you in the arse at some point. Like have you ever written anything and then later on realised it’s put you in a sticky situation plot wise but can’t change it bc it’s already posted? Or do you like extensively plan before you start to avoid that? And do you keep notes as you write to make sure you remember key details? My brain cannot comprehend how you can write a story without knowing for sure how it’s gonna end without having the flexibility of changing a few things that happen earlier in the story lol your brain is so impressive.

Lol thank you. So the answer for this actually depends on the project. Usually I know like 3/4th of the story's overall structure and what an end goal would look like it by the time I finish the first chapter. I say the first chapter because a lot of changes or ideas can come from actually stepping into a story/world for the first time. That said, sometimes I just have a few scenes (The Scene™️s) and I fill in between them as I go. It's very common for the end to be a little hazy because I need to write the scenes that will effect it first to truly understand what it needs to be.

As far as writing myself into a corner goes: yeah, GUTT lol. Still don't know what to do about that one. But usually it's only in small ways. In CotC I figured out a scene that would have made the 13th fic work better, but said scene needed to be in the 11th fic and I had already posted up through the 12th, so I just had to let that better idea go. I also added the entire visit home/Winter Fest storyline to AMLAIT after I was like 3-4 chapters in (my initial plan for that fic ended up being 20% of what its total was, with a bunch of ideas coming in the middle), so I realized that hey, Catra's birthday should have been Right at the start of the fic, and then had to condense the timeline in one or two places to make it so her birthday had Just Passed, and then I edited in a single line referencing it into the beginning to make the timeline seem more cohesive to future rereads.

I honestly prefer writing this way because it makes you get more creative (and I hate redrafting lmao), but I do typically have some kind of outline (even if it's just in my head) going into the story. If you look at the fic notes for Superzero, I put the entirety of the written outline for that fic in the Original Outline section at the bottom and it... wasn't much lol.

By contrast, Roses & Thorns I outlined extensively because I was really excited about the idea and basically infodumped it all on my friend in Discord lmao. I will say, though, from the four chapters posted so far that outline included: like three sentences describing Catra's arrival, Adora hyperfocusing on her, and Catra being catty (every single scene up until the confrontation was written off-the-cuff when I sat down to do the fic). Then I had the confrontation with Catra and the discussion in the garden heavily outlined, and then... oh yeah nothing until like chapter six lmao. All that I filled in once I started working on the fic, and in fact I wrote a couple chapters and then went back and filled in scenes to give more depth to the story and world. If I had been posting from the start I would have been really screwed when it came to adding those scenes to chapter 2 (I added stuff to 2, 4, and 5 because I had just reached five when I went back), but I kind of knew I needed that extra time with it so I held off on posting.

As far as notes: also really varies! This is my notes for R&T

the main Roses & Thorns document is a copy-pasted version of the outline I wrote for my friend with a few additional notes added in where later ideas came. The Fic Notes doc contains... the fic notes I'll post later, which I write as I go (the sub-documents there are just blank stubs for fic references or extras since this is from a template), and then this fic has a "special" notes file to keep track of all the girls on the show. It's normal for a fic to have some kind of special notes file like that, like in CotC I had one comparing different endings I could do since I had a lot of ideas. For 'the long way down' I had a special note including how I had described Eternia in previous fics so it wouldn't contradict (even though it didn't matter since none of those fics were canon). Often there will also be a separate file for some kind of detailed outline in a specific scene up ahead, but in this one it's all just in the main one. And then the cut scenes document eeeeeeeevverrryyy fic ends up with. If I decide I want to rewrite a scene, I'll save the original version there so I can go back to it if I decide it's better than my rewrite - or sometimes scenes I think might be better off going completely but aren't sure go there temporarily. I always delete those stubs at the end of a fic (or during, like after I post the chapter said scene was from or am certain the new version is better).

In general, another thing that keeps me from "needing" more notes is the fact I reread a Lot. Like right now I'm working on chapter 9, and when I sit down in the morning it's not uncommon for my to skim from the chapter before, or all the way back to the first thing I haven't posted yet (in this case, chapter five). And when I do edit something to post it (say, chapter four two days ago), I usually then read/skim through what's between there and where I need to continue writing (in that case, chapter 8) before setting off again. It helps with the flow.

Now, I'm unusually ahead on this fic because I was a decent ways into it before I started posting (I took a week off), but one thing that helps with writing into a corner is that my usual rule is still to always be a chapter ahead of what I'm posting. So if I just finished drafting chapter 3, then I'm editing and posting chapter 2. This helps me make sure the flow together, and also just lets me give my writing breathing room. Instead of immediately editing and posting three, I can take a step back from it by working on chapter two instead, go draft chapter four, and then return to chapter three for editing only after that's done so I have fresh eyes on it. I don't have a beta and this is the only way I'm able to catch as many typos as I do with my dyslexia.

That was long a kinda rambly, but hopefully that answers your question! Every fic is a little different, but this is my general idea when it comes to each project.

[writingofdungeonbat]

@mytardisisparked said this was open to anyone who wanted to sooooo here I am for Yap Time

1. Why do you write fanfic?

I usually say that my favorite stores and characters are the ones with 'space.' Characters with missing chunks of their backstory or arcs, places for me to run wild. My favorite Star Wars characters are Qui-Gon, Shmi, Hux, and Eli Vanto- characters that I feel like I can really chew on.

Also, it's just fun! I REALLY like when I write something that, when I send it to my friends, results in an 'OW WHAT THE FUCK.' That's like crack.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

Oh gosh, probably my codywan big bang In Our Bedroom After The War! It's not a 'longfic' by most standards, but it was my longest fic, and I think it really started me down the path for Casually Cruel, my magnum opus Thranto omegaverse.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

This is a hobby, it doesn't have to be perfect. Good enough is wonderful. Also- stop trying to make yourself write transitions that you like. Just start the next scene lmao.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

I wish desperately I could be an author who throws stuff into the void and never think about it again, but hooooooly shit I am a stats goblin. I've noticed trends and patterns, and keep track of the rankings of my fics for each year.

All this to say, I write for myself and my friends, but I post for community.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I want to write more about Luke and trans man Mara Jade! They're so fun to write because they are the definition of 'sunshine and snarling protector' and they are so sweet! Mostly I struggle with them because of the lack of response I usually get when I post fics where they're the main focus. I have a few in the works, though!

6. What motivates you to write?

You know the verse from Breathe-

'2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me Threatening the life it belongs to And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd 'Cause these words are my diary screaming out loud And I know that you'll use them however you want to' ?

That's why I write. I feel like stories are bursting at the seams of me and if I don't let them out I'll die. One of my friends jokes that something will strike me and then stories just fall out.

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

The Autism Creature, mostly. I write according to my special interests, but I also LOVE how active the Star Wars fandom is, after coming from Assassin's Creed Syndicate. I keep drifting closer to writing for Helluva Boss, but the Part of Me That Cringes won't stop ahh.

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

Walk away from it for a day or so, then make myself a cocktail, get in my comfy PJs, and see what happens. I also use my friends as rubber ducks!

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

You will NEVER bother me. I know you're thinking 'oh, except me. I'm annoying.' NO NO NO! I have gotten comments that I think about YEARS later, comments that have made me laugh out loud, and, for a lot of fics, comments that kept me writing the fic/premise in question. If I don't see a positive response, I'm more likely to either not write that thing again, or keep it in my private files (seriously, I have War and Peace levels of writing on my harddrive and google docs and notes app).

So please, if you see something, and want more of it, let us know!!

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

When's the next part of Casually Cruel and Balance in All Things coming?

.....soon?? Ish?? The next chapter of Casually Cruel is giving me hell because there's a lot of small things going on that I need to make cohesive. Balance in All Things will be longer, because the Brain Goblins decided that we needed a subplot about Palpatine trying to start a holy war and I have no idea what's going to happen with that.

I don't know who's been tagged before soooo @dirtbag-linecook-kyloren and anyone who wants to!

(also feed my ask box she's very hungry)

[found-sock]

I got reminded I finished this. So please take my own little tweaked designs on the coronation day Creepypasta.

Maybe I’ll work on turning this into some cohesive story, but for now here’s a general break down of my fanmade lore. There’s a ton of stuff I need to tweak… Maybe I’ll force myself to draw some specific scenes. :P

——————-

So Mario and Peach aren’t actually the real people that feel and are going through these things, they’re just the avatars they’re stuck with while inside the game.

Outside “Mario” and “Peach” are real lovers, they just kind of hang out and play video games, they have an apartment together, things are looking up for them. However “Peach” is kidnapped one night by a local cult that are attempting to summon a god in the forest. “Mario” is somewhat knowledgeable of the cult since he grew up in it before escaping. He was deemed a perfect vessel for their god, so him leaving angered them. “Peach” was deemed even better and taken, then had the ritual performed on her. The God of the forest overtakes her body, causing the horrific changes. The branches coming out only happen once the area has blackened with ash, then eventually bursts open with a flame that ignites the area to allow room for the branches to come through.

“Mario” finds the ritual site eventually, only to see he’s way too late. As he’s watching “Peach” destroy and kill these people he reaches into his pocket out of desperation for anything to stop her, and pulls out one of the Mario games that they had been playing together. In an act of desperation, he uses this game to challenge the king.

The king of the forest loves games, and despite its better judgement it accepts the game and allows themselves to be brought into its’ world.

The in game Mario’s task is now to find any way to save Princess Peach, with some strict rules set in place by the king of the forest. Mario functions just like a game character. He can reset when he dies, as many times as he’d like; Which is why the entire forest he is looking for Peach in is always bloodied and filled with bodies of himself. He only truly looses the game when he gives up his pointless search.

So he does so, and as he finally gets beside Peach again he realizes that there was never going to be any saving her. Even if Peach and “Peach” aren’t possessed anymore, the changes to her body and mind are permanent. So Mario and “Mario” do the only thing they want to and take her hand as the forest burns down with them.

Hope you like my cringe lmao.

[raitobie]

Follow up question lol

You said, and I quote, "my presence in the Death Note universe just shifts where and when the note drops and Light isn’t the one to see it and pick it up or something", so does that mean the Death Note still exists in your AU? And if it's a yes, does that influence your story? Like, I don't know, if maybe Light takes an interest into the whole thing or if it's just a background matter, because you said you fell first for his humanity, so I suppose he still possess a care for human beings as whole.

P.S. About the other question, you basically answered to that, because I wanted to know if Light finds the Death Note, and if he does, if he tells you or if you find out on your own and if you try to change his mind lmao

But now that I think about it, hypothetically, if that happened, how would that go down?

Sorry if I'm being too nosy and I'll soon stop asking too many questions, so that you can work on the outline in peace lmao

LMAO don’t feel bad about asking me, it makes me happy that you care enough to enquire because then I get an excuse to ramble without my character profile and introduction being done 💀

The death note and shinigami do still exist in my AU mostly because it leaves the possibility of Light being able to take on an alternate death note murder case as an aspiring or established detective, but to how it actually impacts our relationship and story, I have nothing but vague what ifs💀 I’ve liked the idea of Misa still getting her death note and murders being rampant in the industry she’s in because my s/i is a musician and could work adjacently to her being a pop idol (she’s not necessarily the main killer or catalysis for these murders taking place, but it would still be cool and probably simpler if she was).

Light may or may not have the same inner conflict of considering that killing people is a good thing for society depending on who is dying (maybe gross people in the industry who pray on or abuse younger talent or involved in rings and crimes behind the scenes) or how I influence his shift in mentality. But in a story like that, I would love to explore Light’s own sense of self and idea that he’s perfectly upright. Any story with me in it, I want Light to grow up and realize his shit stinks but he can learn and grow as a person always and THAT’S a better measurement of his worth and value.

I just could never be the one to pull this story off because I’m not a writer at all 😭 I can’t even begin to dream of starting it let alone making it cohesive and interesting lmao any “lore” serves as a foundation to my drawings which are the main content of raitobie as a ship.

Onto your other question about what a more canon compliant version would look like, I had initially figured that I feel like what Light needed most in the moments he killed his first two victims was simply comfort and external sound reasoning that he was worthy of forgiveness up to that point from a voice he trusted. And it didn’t have to define his whole character or morality because it’s just such a bizarre and improbable event to begin with.

I had thought about it being possible that I could comfort and reassure him if I pulled off the timing of how I could know and confront him about it. It has to happen before he’s resolved on killing more people though, because then there’s not much coming back from that deliberateness and it would be much more of a challenge to get him to back down. I ended up deciding against this path though, because him writing in the death note at all assures that Ryuk is obligated to kill him and I just don’t want that lmao.

In more lightheartedness, I have joked with @in-love-with-ryuk before about convincing Ryuk to let Light live out his original lifespan if she can entertain Ryuk for the rest of her life as a bargain and giving the death note to her instead after talking to Light and getting him to agree 😂 she is with Ryuk in my AU at all times now that I mention her haha so maybe that’s what it’d look like after all. She just picks it up instead and we become friends, and that’s how we all know about the death note and shinigami. It’s all just fun and imagining things to draw rather than me intending to actually write anything in full!

[shakapuffin]

^Alert 1x06 promo “Tim and Andy”

Alert 1x05 “Miguel” Review

here’s my thoughts for this past weeks episode, 1x05 “Miguel”

- okay sooo…. i wasn’t that impressed… sorry y’all i really thought it would be better but idk it just wasn’t for me! after last weeks episode i had high hopes but i guess not now. and it’s the 5th episode… we’re literally half way through the whole pilot season!

- to start off, the whole case this week was just so… so… weird? idk if that’s the right word but it was very peculiar for a network procedural! it was kinda giving midsummer vibes… just a little bit… but those vibes shouldn’t be happening on network tv! like what’s the point of capturing women and forcing them to have kids all to save a tribe or a community? idk but that’s just a bit odd for me. maybe it’s based on a tru story.. i have no idea, hopefully it’s not tho, that would be horrific and they shouldn’t make an episode about something as serious and messed up as that.

- i don’t know how much more i can take of nikki calling everyone baby… haha idk if it’s just me but it’s definitely getting on my nerves! also everyone seemed a bit off tonight, even scott sorry to say. like he wasn’t bad by any means, i still think he’s the best on the show, he’s literally carrying it (i may be a bit bias haha) but it almost seems like the cast is tired and overworked… which i totally understand, they’ve probably been working 5-7 weeks nonstop by this point. but everyone was just a bit bland, it didn’t seem cohesive, it was like every actor seemed to have their own interpretation of the scene but it didn’t come together at the end. that may also be a fault of the director and how he’s giving direction on how to act and shoot the scene. idk it might’ve been just me tho. i did like ryan broussard this week tho, i enjoyed his acting… but the character mike was kinda annoying this episode haha!

- i really didn’t think there was a need for kemi’s father and that whole weird ass storyline to come into play. it was like when we got introduced to C’s grandfather (or father? i forget) and saw him for 2 more scenes and never again, which wasn’t even needed in the first place. i mean i get it… this plot line will probably last longer than that but still. like we already have SO MUCH going on in this show, we don’t need another freaking storyline if we haven’t already figured out the whole keith situation. idk it added nothing to the episode except for kemi getting distracted and nikki continuously reminding her to focus… i stg nikki told kemi to focus like 5 times even when nikki herself is almost never focused on the cases!!

- as i said before mike lowkey got on my nerves this week. he just kept insisting on being by the book and following the rules, and i totally get it, he does seem to be the person who follows the rules the most on that task force, but like come on man… you literally hooked up with nikki in a closet at headquarters in the middle of a case! he can’t say anything! also i really don’t think jason is that unhinged, like ya he doesn’t follow all of the rules but he isn’t going completely insane like mike is insinuating.

- also the nikki/mike relationship/drama either needs to come to a close or find a resolution… they just keep rehashing the same exact argument every single week and it’s kinda getting old. i wish they could just break up or get back together! make a choice lmao!

- so we didn’t learn too too much this week about keith… we now know that there was a body in the lake and it was a male between the ages of 10-14. so maybe that the real keith idk? then we have sidney spying on keith getting a gun… i totally understand her concern, that gun did seem real or at least not a pellet gun. i thought the end was interesting when keith was sleeping in the basement… i think this is the point where jason and nikki have to put him into therapy or something. idk how they didn’t before… that’s absolutely insane to me but if they don’t this week then i might just have to boycott. lol! no i won’t but i can’t believe this type of series wouldn’t show the importance of therapy and mental health… like the kid just got kidnapped and he is just basically living life and being forced to readjust on his own with his parents being literal cops who see kidnapping victims every single day!! makes no sense to me!! ahhh!

- “C” was okay… he was just okay. there’s always something quirky with him, which can either be a good or bad thing, but idk i just don’t really understand the whole “talking to bones or dead people.” idk what exactly is being accomplished by doing that… it just kinda makes him a bit of a weirder character. i never know if his character is there for comic relief or if he actually has a purpose on the show… he does very minimal tasks that could easily be done by kemi, she’s a very intelligent woman!

- i really want an episode that’s not case related just to see how different it would be and how character driven they would make it. i’m assuming that has to be coming up soon… at least for the season finale! but i get it, it’s a procedural cop show and the case to case stuff is what brings a lot of the audience in.

- for some reason i have a weird feeling that the show is going to be picked up for a season 2… just because of jaimie foxx, not because it’s actually good. again it’s kinda sad because i want to see scott in something good, because he really is a good actor, but i just don’t think this is doing it for him.

anyways i’ve rambled on for much too long, per usual, haha! those are just my opinions, i’m probably looking way too deep into this show ngl! i hope next week is better! let me know what you guys think! i luv talking!

[winecupwars]

progress report: it's 2023!!!

happy new year!!

it's nine days into the new year and already two big things have happened:

i broke up with my girlfriend, because she's the kind of downer that drags you down even when you're trying to uplift them, and i don't have the energy to deal with that shit all the time

my 15 year old dog died :( which we were bracing ourselves for, since she has been in pain for a while now due to the tumor on her neck and a multitude of other issues. i miss her so much. she was our first inside dog and we spoiled her just like you'll spoil the youngest baby of the family. here she is, enjoying the sun:

listened. in preparation for their upcoming album, i decided to listen to paramore's "after laughter" (2017) in full for the first time in my life. i don't know why it's taken me this long to listen to it - i was obssessed with "hard times" when it came out - but the whole album is good! the energy and vibes from the first song flows through each song, making everything sound cohesive. i think, though, that i would have enjoyed and appreciated this much more if i had listened to it when it came out in 2017; that's when i was just starting therapy and taking medication for depression (which turned out to be bipolar disorder lmao). my favorite song has got to be "rose-colored boy" by a mile

watched. i've seen two movies already! "banshees of inisherin" (2022) and "deleter" (2022)

banshees of inisherin - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ i fully enjoyed every minute. it's laugh-out-loud funny, quietly sad, very bleak. this is a movie about two very repressed irish men in 1923 and the one-sided fracture of their friendship. i sympathize with pádraic because the end of friendship always hurts especially when it's so abrupt, but to be honest i related more to colm because if someone i broke it off with kept bothering me like pádraic kept bothering him, i'll also [SPOILERS] cut off all my fingers and throw them at their door. please watch this!!

deleter - ⭐⭐⭐ i just keep thinking of what this movie could have been. the potential that it had!! there is already horror inherent in lyra's content moderation job - having to watch violent and disturbing imagery for eight hours a night, decide which ones are too much and should be deleted, which ones should be let slide; the subsequent desenzitation to such things; the dehumanization of that line of work - and the movie could have shown that horror without resorting to your typical ghost revenge story. also there were elements that weren't really needed and just added bloat to the movie, like jace's character, lyra's "missing" mom, the rape scene. all that being said, i did like it. there was just so much that it could have done different to be a better movie. nadine lustre, as always, was amazing though. deserved the best actress win :)

misc. people always say, "run free!" to their dead dogs in their social media posts, but that doesn't apply to my bubba, because she never ran. she charged, she trotted, she sauntered. she walked leisurely. but she never ran. so walk free, my bubba. i will love you forever!!!

[jamieanovels]

Writer Tag Game !!

tagged by the lovely @mjjune <3

soft tagging: @kaiusvnoir @muddshadow @thetruearchmagos and anyone else who would like to do this :)

answers under the cut!

Do you write in order?

Yes. I have to, lmao, or else my brain goes NOPE and gives up on the entire book lol. I can do some heavy scene work on the last few scenes I wrote (2-3, give or take), but apart from that, I save any heavy-duty editing for after I've finished my first draft.

Do you start with something in particular?

Ideas wise? No, it can be anything. Usually, though, it's a theme or message of some kind and then I built around that.

In terms of the actual draft, though, yes. I always want to start with a strong line that tells the reader as much as I can about the character/plot/theme. Back in college, I had a professor for a Jane Austen class who had us memorize the first lines of every book we read for the course. She said that the first line of any book should always tell you as much as possible about the book itself, and that's always stuck with me.

How fully formed does your writing come out the first try?

This has changed over the years, haha. I used to say probably 90%, simply because I wouldn't do much with my finished draft and just move on to the next thing lol.

Now, as I'm trying to seriously move toward actually publishing, I think I probably land around 60-70%? I'm an overwriter, so for tea cow, I expect that once I finish my draft, most of my editing process will be cutting unnecessary words and making things a lot more concise. But the story beats are there already.

How many drafts do you go through?

2-3 before beta readers. I've never gotten past that stage, though, so no idea after that lol.

Tell me about your process?

My writing process is split into four phases: brainstorming/worldbuilding, outlining, writing, and editing.

During the brainstorming/worldbuilding phase, I create a document and just start putting ideas in there. For fantasy, I make sure to spend extra time on the magic system, setting, and any other salient details specific to that world. This process can range from a few days to months, depending on how complex the story is.

In the outlining phase, I take what I liked from the brainstorming phase and put it together into an actual cohesive story. Usually, I summarize what I want to happen in each section of the story, and then I bullet point "milestones," or things that need to happen/be foreshadowed, for each section. Depending on how good of a job I did during the brainstorming phase, this usually takes a day to a few days.

Once I have an outline, I start writing. Each chapter should feature at least one milestone. I also leave myself a Little wiggle room to change things if I feel like they fit the plot better. I've added a few scenes into tea cow that weren't in its outline, but overall, I've stuck to all of its original story beats. The writing phase can take me months to years because I am Lazy. Tea cow is going fairly fast, landing at around 6 months since I started writing, and that's mostly because of procrastination lol

When I'm finished drafting, I go back to the beginning and start line editing. Based on what I've done in the past, I usually do a full line edit all the way through (proofreading and just editing for general readability). Once I'm done with the line-edit, I make any consistency edits and/or heavier scene changes based on anything I've noted while line-editing. Line editing doesn't take me too long, usually a week at most, but scene changes take longer.

After this full process, I'll start looking for beta readers, and then make any adjustments that I feel would make the story better based on their feedback. I haven't gotten to this phase in so damn long that idk if I would still approach it the same, but we shall see ;)

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Red Velvet - Chill Kill

I’m kind of disappointed at the sheer lack of red on this album, but I didn’t exactly get my hopes up either (just look at how much red vs black is on the cover art lmao). I was hoping for something like I Just on Perfect Velvet - a song that’s particularly bright and synthy to contrast with all the moodiness, but we didn’t really get that. Regardless, Red Velvet do velvet incredibly well. If Shinvi had done this album then all of the 7’s would be 5’s, which is a testament to how Red Velvet have really improved on the SM sound. No single song stuck out to me – I remember saying that Underwater is probably my favorite, but Underwater doesn’t stick out from the album so much as it’s just my favorite song out of the songs on the album. The album is sonically cohesive in the same way that Twicetagram is sonically cohesive, except unlike Twicetagram I felt like this album didn’t do enough to set certain songs apart. Regardless, I do like Red Velvet, and if you like Red Velvet then you’ll like this album. Average of 7.2 which feels about right. It’s good, it’s not Perfect Velvet, at least not for me. Which is ironic because this album is way more velvet than Perfect Velvet!

Edit: I don’t usually add an edit, but I was listening to Underwater just now with earbuds, and it sounded wayyy worse. So definitely listen to this album with good headphones or speakers, the details matter.

Chill Kill

Did I stay up until 4am to watch this MV as soon as it dropped? No. But did I happen to be awake until 4am on accident, perhaps subconsciously because I wanted to watch this MV? Yes.

This is actually my second time watching the MV and third time hearing the song but oh well it still counts

Super bright clothes in a muted color scene is very RV

The intro might as well be something out of one of the first gen groups, but when that bass hits it’s SO modern

I’m still not totally sure what’s going on in this MV. I guess the implication is that they’ve just murdered someone?

This bass is just so good

The timbres feel very … contrasty. We’ve got such pretty fun synths alongside that Bass.

The bridge is cute

And now they’re on a bus? And now they’re burning down a house?

And now they’re dancing in front of the cops!

I need to check out the lyrics

7/10, I really don’t know what to think about this song. I think I like it, but it’s really weird, even by Red Velvet standards. I’m sure it’ll grow on me.

Knock Knock (Who’s There?)

This bass is the same bass, or very similar. Reminds me of Illusion.

Are those like, distorted strings in the background of the pre-chorus?

This chorus hits though

This song feels like the sequel to Chill Kill, which I guess happens often on albums

It isn’t particularly catchy, but I do love the way that it sounds

There’s the obligatory high note. I did just listen to Isak N Jiyoon earlier, but I can totally hear the resemblance

7/10, pretty much the same as Chill Kill, idk what to think

Underwater

There are a certain set of sounds that sound like underwater, and the intro contains those

The first verse hits like a truck

This whole album is Bassy, at least so far

I do love how Red Velvet’s vocals are mixed. It’s completely different from the first gens, maybe with the exception of INJ

This chorus is really fun

This song is very velvet. Maybe the first songs were Red Velvet, but this song is velvet in its purest form, maybe like Kingdom Come but darker and bassier

I love how breathy they are

Now in the outro that’s contrasted with a couple of pretty high notes

8/10, I liked this a lot, so far out of the first three this is the one that I’ll be streaming the most

Will I Ever See You Again?

Here we are, this is my style

That intro synth was so great

Actually this kind of reminds me of modern Twice so far?

No wait oh my god this sounds exactly like something but I cannot place it

Empty chorus – will they add to it or keep it empty?

I totally buy the samples used here, this shit is anthemic

Dude imagine them singing along to the synth in the chorus like Peek A Boo or I Just

The bridge also feels very modern Twice

No? They’re not gonna sing along to the synth? Missed opportunity

Yeah, the outro too, very Twice to me

7/10

Nightmare

Well my first thoughts when this came on were in fact “Nightmare before Christmas” so that part is working

Actually, what’s the deal with Red Velvet releasing Halloween songs in November? Like c’mon SM, if you’re gonna make Halloween concepts, make them for Halloween

The same bass lmao, did they tell the producers that they had to use this bass in every song?

This rap is so cool wtf

Lol the chorus is actually so upbeat for a song called “Nightmare,” that’s very Red Velvet

Also this is in 6/8 or 3/4 which is cool

I just wish these songs were redder. I feel like they’re all leaning hard velvet with hints of red, but give me some red with hints of velvet

7/10

Iced Coffee

Plink plonk

Okay, this is mixing it up a bit, quiet and reflective

There it is

Another 6/8 song, is 6/8 a velvet trope that I’m not aware of?

“Yeah you got me like iced coffee”

“I don’t need the sugar and don’t need the caffeine” yeah that stuff is bad for you

I do appreciate food- and drink-themed songs

I wish the vocals were a bit higher in the mix

The strings feel so excessive to me, and its a slow jam, meh

6/10

One Kiss

Okay so completely unrelated but earlier today I heard Dua Lipa’s One Kiss in public for the first time in ages, so it’s funny that now I’m hearing a different One Kiss for the first time ever

I’m getting massive Zoom vibes from this

“Oh my god he’s a really bad boy”

Yeah lol this song feels very Red Velvet purely because it reminds me of other Red Velvet songs

The kiss sample is funny

Honestly this chorus is cute, I could get on board with this

Fun, upbeat r&b, this is good

8/10, very creative

Bulldozer

A red velvet song opening with a rap? That doesn’t happen often

This beat is so fun, the humming alongside the bass

And then it just drops out completely

Wow that prechorus was cool

The chorus didn’t live up to the prechorus haha

I do love “lalalalala” sections because they’re easy to sing along to as someone who doesn’t speak Korean

“Vroom vroom vroom vroom vroom hahahaha” omg that was hilarious

I really don’t know what to give this song?

8/10 I guess?

Wings

Well let’s see them do this intro on Killing Voice lmao

I think I heard that the last song is gonna be a ballad, so I guess we aren’t getting any Red on this album. But that’s fair enough, the name “Chill Kill” makes it pretty obvious the styles that it’s gonna contain

I just realized I haven’t typed a word about this song yet and I’m halfway through

It feels just like the rest of the album to me, maybe a bit more upbeat. Par for the course for album design I guess

Judging by the english lyrics, it’s probably a happy song though which is nice

Oooh, these ad libs at the end, these are fun, yeah let’s 100% hear this on Killing Voice please

7/10

Scenery

The guitar here is cute

I’m actually kind of getting Jaljayo Goodnight vibes from that initial section

Definitely not now

The vocal effects on the “lalala” feel a bit too strong for me, a bit out of place for the clean guitar

These vocals are actually so pretty though. You know the part.

Wait this song is also in three lmao

The outro is incredibly pretty, I expected nothing less

7/10

[oh-three]

Your favorite member of TBB is: Tech

Because: I don't even know how to explain it lmao

You identify the most with: Tech & Crosshair

Because: I feel like I repress my emotions a lot- and when I'm not, I'm like Tech and infodump.

Your favorite minor character from the show: Mayday.

Because: His personality was amazing. Like, he'd given up hope of getting off of that planet, but he hadn't given up on living- he was still trying even though he knew there was no future. And he still had it in him to have a bit of cynical humor.

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of: Hold Your Breath, Give Your Strength

Because: It's honestly just pure angst and whump (and cameos) and I love it so much. It was my NaNoWriMo project a couple years back, and I don't think I've written such a cohesive, long thing in that little time before.

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why): All of @echojedis and @lightspringrain's works.

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why): Drifting On The Winds by @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius. I enjoyed that episode way too much, and you wrote a fic about the one scene I couldn't stop thinking about. You captured Tech's personality perfectlyyyyyy.

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you: Wrecker as the oldest or second eldest batcher (of the OG four). It just fits.

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor: Some sort of gray/black camo variant, maybe with a could dashes of red to honor his background with the Batch. No way he moves to lighter colors, though.

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3: Tech lives + full Batch reunion. AND A FIVES MENTION.

NPT: @sinisterexaggerator

Fellow Zealots of The Bad Batch, Unite!

Please share your answers to these questions and pass them on to some of your Bad Batch-loving buds!

Your favorite member of TBB is:

Because:

You identify the most with:

Because:

Your favorite minor character from the show:

Because:

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of:

Because:

Link so that we can appreciate it:

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you:

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor:

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3:

@wwheeljack @wrenkenstein @floundrickthewayfarer @raevulsix @enigmatist17 @slenderboo @echojedis @nika6q @zaana @wiseowl18 @toastyrobos @eclec-tech @jigget @destril @niobiumao3