#these asks helped me concretize a few aspects of these characters

[electro-scorpion-moving]

17, 37, 42 for the OC ask game 👀

I’m doing Xyrus and Rachel, because while they’re from separate stories, these two have been the ones occupying my brain rent free as of late. (Also they’re currently the only ones with a semi permanent name rn lol)

17: Does your character have any irrational fears?

Xyrus (he/him)- deathly afraid of snakes being in the toilet, he always has to check for any snakes before he uses the toilet

Rachel (they/them) - scared of butterflies :(. The universe is conspiring against them because both their ex gfs ex friends loved butterflies, and one of them even had a special interest in em

37: Do people have justified grudges against your character?

Xyrus (he/him) - Nah, he’s a kinda forgettable dude who keeps his head down.

The exception is his sister, cause he was a shitty ass sibling to her, both actively bullying her and being uninvolved in her life as best he could be at the time, and then he became even more uninvolved when he ✌️ out of her and her family’s life going complete no contact for several years.

Rachel (they/them) - Oh, so so many. They and her ex friends were the mean girls of their school, + just generally kind of shitty people, and obviously that isn’t very conducive to making sure people don’t have a grudge against you.

And then Rachel went and became a bit of a transphobic internet troll for a good while so like 🤷

For specific people it’d be those two former mean girls, ex friends of hers, because not only was the friendship toxic as hell, they lowkey had a gay thing going on that none of them would acknowledge, even to their own selves

42: What would be your character’s dream career?

Xyrus (he/him) - Wanted to be an architect but his family cut him off and disowned him for being trans, and he couldn’t afford it on his own so ☹️.

Rachel (they/them) - They wanted to be a pastor as a kid but then they had their dreams crushed hard by their parents for reasons (misogyny.) They started pursuing writing as a career of some sorts in highschool, and mybe in college a bit but then quickly realized their heart wasn’t in it enough to make it their job instead of just a hobby.

Now they’re just kinda aimless and don’t really know what they want

[cyb3rtarot]

Asking the Right Question for the Best Personal Readings—Part 1

Phrasing questions well is important whether you're a reader or querent. Confusion often goes back to the question. To avoid lack of clarity and be extra kind to your reader, keep these in mind!:

Ask exactly, specifically what you want to know; Ask from the most productive angle.

You may get “noise” or irrelevant info if you’re not precise. Many people get readings on feelings or the most changeable, abstract parts of a situation, when there's concrete things you can ask about. Here's a common example:

Querent A asks how their crush feels about them. It seems like their crush likes them and wants to make a move, but there’s mixed signals. Querent A just want to know if they’re planning on taking this farther. Ding ding ding, we have the issue. Querent A is interested in what their crush is DOING; the thing weighing on them is lack of movement and clarity. But, they asked how their crush feels. Someone can feel all sorts of things, but feelings and action are different questions. Reading into feelings does not necessarily provide insight on reality, especially if you're only getting a few cards pulled. Querent A could discover their crush has strong feelings for them, but with no further insight into the actual issue, this could be confusing. A better question would be something like, “what do I need to know about moving my relationship forward with my crush?” This addresses the root of their concern and also applies the wisdom of point 2.

When in doubt or if you can't make your question specific, asking what advice you need to hear about the situation is good. This brings in overall helpful messages as opposed to limiting yourself to one aspect. It's also great when you want a topic read but don't have specific questions.

You are not powerless

Your question should not remove agency from your life!! Questions that frame life as something completely out of your control or provide an answer you can't take action on can be mentally harmful. It's helpful to ask about things we can affect, remaining grounded in reality and responsibility. These questions also fall into the trap of point 1; asking something from an unhelpful angle. Notice how the revised question in example 1 puts the querent in a place to take action if possible. Example:

Querent B has been insecure about many different things, from work to relationship. They're getting 2 questions read, "will my girlfriend and I break up?" and "will I ever get my dream job?" Both of these treat fate like a yes/no scenario instead of something you co-create. If the querent doesn't hear what they'd like, they'll feel worse off. These questions are also not specific— if the answers are yes, that could be tomorrow or in 65 years. Questions like, "what do I need to pay attention to in my relationship?" or, "what can I do to improve my chances for my dream job?" support the querent in working on their life.

It's important to think about what answers you may get. Questions you're not prepared to hear tough answers for are best left for when you're ready or rephrased. If we focus on ourselves as the writer instead of a character in a story, we get better readings and better outcomes in all things.

Don’t ask the same thing over and over in a short span of time.

"Some of y’all bout to be real mad at me, but it must be said-" Asking the same question repeatedly is a recipe for disaster! Put the cards down 💥💥🔫!

Tarot is an introspective tool; it works best when we look within ourselves and the symbolism for meaning. The more reflection, the more learned. When we repeatedly read the same question in a short time, we get hungry for answers but not learning. It’s like reading a book and never stopping to think about it.

Often, we redo readings in two main cases. One, we're confused. The nature of tarot is any card can offer a truth about anything. Sit with the cards, research their meanings within your topic. Break it down into elements or numerology, which you can look up. Sometimes we need refreshers or clarifiers, but this is more reasonable for say a second reading after digesting the first, and not 4+ in a couple weeks (assuming this is not a routine, like daily pulls). Doing a lot of readings can be great for learning tarot—when varied.

The second common case is not liking what the cards said. Some say their cards never refer to the question asked. They don't believe the cards pulled can be their answer, or they're new readers and don't know how to relate the cards to the topic. Some try and try again for positive answers like slot machines.

Overdoing readings is draining to mental health. As a buyer, it also makes you susceptible to scammers who tailor messages to what you want to hear. So, approach with an open mind and sit with answers before asking again. As a querent, ask your reader if they could explain some of their card interpretation if you're confused! You can post in tarot communities and ask for opinions or education. Every reader has their own style, so different interpretations are normal as long as you can trace a thought process! If you feel your deck is hard to personally interpret as a reader, you may need to try other decks or readings that connect with your intuition, but don't forget to learn basics as well!

Thank you for reading!—Tip Link  |  Paid Reading Info in Pinned Post!

[cosmicjoke]

Levi and the importance of staying true to ones heart:

I'm gonna' talk about another aspect of Levi's choice in Shinganshina, but first, I want to dedicate this post to all the little bitch eruri shippers out there who are too scared to come off anon, who now can't send me hate messages over it since I turned anon asks off and ya'll are a bunch of cowards. Hope you enjoy this one, because it's for you.

I was thinking about an ask I got a few days ago, about why Erwin chose Hange over Levi to take over as commander, and why in turn Hange chose Armin, and I answered that I thought it had a lot to do with Levi's own philosophy of "no regrets", that is, Levi's insistence on always following ones heart, doing what one feels is the right thing in any, given situation. Not necessarily right in terms of what the outcome will be, but right in terms of how your choice will sit with your conscience.

I think obviously, this aspect of Levi's character, his belief in always doing what your heart tells you to do, is evidenced by his choice in Shinganshina, to give Armin the serum and to let Erwin die.

Putting aside all arguments regarding whether it was the right thing to do "for humanity", I think what maybe people don't focus on enough when it comes to this moment is whether it was the right thing to do morally.

I've talked before about how Levi's choice was really an act of compassion over ideology, here: https://www.tumblr.com/cosmicjoke/737207612761915392/the-importance-of-compassion-over-ideology-levis?source=share And I think it's worth revisiting this aspect of his choice again.

I think people get so caught up in the concept of "the greater good" when discussing "Attack on Titan", and this moment in particular, that they miss one of the main overarching themes of the story, which is that the "greater good", particularly, things done in the name of the greater good, can actually lead to horrific atrocities and cruelty, and that the idea of the "greater good" itself is based in subjectivity, and never absolute. It isn't something we should ever prioritize over the tangible and concrete reality before us. That tangible and concrete reality being the things we can do to alleviate the suffering of others now, rather than hoping for and pursuing some idyllic utopian future where nobody ever has to suffer, and, ironically, causing people to suffer in the pursuit of that goal.

I talk a lot too about how I don't think Levi has ever held any great faith in the concept of a better world. I think Levi is a realist. Someone who understands and accepts the bleak reality of life on this planet, someone who accepts human nature, who knows that a utopian existence isn't really possible because of that reality, but who, despite that, still maintains a great depth of kindness and compassion toward others, still values life and the right of others to live.

His support of his comrades in the Survey Corps has more to do with his wish to fight for them, to support their own, personal dream of a better world, than it does his own belief in that better world. He thinks of Erwin as a "greater existence" than himself, to quote Isayama, because he believes Erwin is able to conceptualize and believe in a better world, to see that possibility, while Levi himself can't.

What Levi is fighting for is people, not a concept. That's always been true of Levi, I think. We see that manifest in multiple ways, multiple times throughout the story. In Levi's first appearance, when he holds that dying soldier's hand and promises him that his sacrifice will give Levi the strength to keep fighting. When he gives Petra's patch to that grieving soldier. When he goes out of his way to help the people of Trost. When he saves Ramzi, endangering their mission to rescue a single child. When he refuses to accept right away that Eren has gone rogue, to turn on him, because so many of his comrades died for him and Levi can't bear the thought of them having sacrificed their lives for nothing. And we see it manifest in his choice to let Erwin die. He prioritizes a person over a concept. And I think that fact emphasizes the great morality of Levi's choice, and ultimately, the rightness of it. Concepts are just that. They aren't real. They're ideas. But people are real. People exist. People matter.

Armin talks early on about the need to abandon ones humanity in order to achieve victory. Erwin's entire character revolves around this premise. He's seen as a great and visionary leader because of his ability to detach himself from human emotion and make tough decisions and sacrifices. Basically, for his ability to engage the concept of the ends justifying the means. Whatever it takes to "win".

But then, what does winning even mean, what does salvation for humanity mean, if in the pursuit of it, we lose our humanity?

Levi talks about being willing to take on the role of a "monster" if it means nobody else having to. He understands that, if people are forced to lose their humanity in pursuit of freedom, then freedom itself is rendered meaningless. There is no salvation for humanity if we ourselves lose sight of what it means to be human. Levi says he's willing to become a monster, that he's willing to lose his humanity, as long as no one else has to. He's willing to make that sacrifice.

But what Levi's choice in Shinganshina shows us is that he actually wasn't able to abandon his humanity at all. He never was a monster, and never actually could be. Because he couldn't, in the end, look upon the suffering of another human being, and ignore it.

That goes back to what I said about why Erwin chose Hange, and why Hange chose Armin. To be an effective leader, in order to achieve "victory" of some abstract goal, one has to be able to abandon their humanity. And Levi can't.

Levi is the most compassionate and empathetic character in AoT. And part of the reason for that is because of the inherent nature of that compassion. He isn't able to give up his humanity, he isn't able to lose it, because it's too much a part of him, too deeply rooted in who he actually is. It's the driving force behind everything he is and does. The beating, bleeding heart and soul of the Survey Corps. His presence, his role within the story, in many ways, functions as the moral compass by which both the audience and the other characters are guided.

Even in the face of violence, war, atrocity, and prejudice, even in pursuit of some concept of "the greater good", Levi can't bring himself to actual cruelty. Because that's what it would have been, to give Erwin the serum. It would have been an act of cruelty, against a man who didn't deserve it. And, again, if in the pursuit of a better tomorrow, we ourselves become cruel, pitiless, unempathetic, merciless, how can a better tomorrow actually be achieved? What salvation is there for humanity if, by the end, we have no humanity left in ourselves?

Erwin was able to abandon his humanity in pursuit of a personal dream, and we saw where it ultimately lead him. Into a state of such utter depression, and so wracked by guilt, that he became ineffectual, needing Levi to do the right thing for him. Erwin had strayed down a path that went against his heart.

That's something Levi was never able to do. Go against his heart. Go against what he felt was right. The only time we really see Levi do something that doesn't sit right with him is when he helps Hange to torture Sannes, under Erwin's orders and as a favor to Hange. Levi is noticeably less enthused about the whole affair than Hange, taking no actual pleasure in the exercise, even visibly distraught over Hange's level of cruelty. And still we see after how heavily that weighs on him. He completely forgets to inform Historia of the information they tortured Sannes for in the first place, and then explodes on her when she refuses out of self-pity to take on the role of queen, threatening to render the whole thing pointless. Do what your heart tells you, this is something Levi emphasizes to others again and again, which is what I mean when I say he acts as the moral compass of the story. Do the best you can, make the choice you won't regret. That doesn't mean the choice that will have the best outcome. That means the choice which will sit well with your conscience.

And I think in order to understand Levi's choice in Shinganshina, one needs to understand what sort of choice it was. Levi's choice, in its purist form, was a choice of the heart. It was a moral choice, decided upon through conscience, through the understanding, at an intrinsic level, what was right, rather than some ideological pursuit with an intangible endpoint.

He knew it was wrong to bring Erwin back into the world, and to put the same expectations on him to be the great leader he had been. He knew, in its way, that to do so would be to betray his own declaration, of taking on the role of a monster for himself so long as it spared anyone else from having to do the same. Erwin was corrupted by his dream. The threat of that corruption promised to make him into a monster. And Levi wasn't going to let that happen, just like he said. He wasn't going to allow Erwin to lose his humanity, even if it meant condemning himself.

Whether one wants to argue over Levi's choice being the right choice for humanity's salvation or not, what I don't think is up for discussion is that Levi's choice was, in the end, the right choice morally. And no, that doesn't mean Levi chose Erwin over humanity, or that he sacrificed humanity for Erwin because he loved him. It means he chose compassion over an idea. He chose humanity over a concept. He chose a person over an ideal. Because it was the choice that rejected the ideology and the dogmatism of "the greater good" in favor of something real, which was kindness and mercy for another human being. It was a rejection of cruelty and barbarism in pursuit of some evanescent and ultimately meaningless concept.

There is no greater good without morality. There is no salvation for humanity without mercy or compassion.

[tearsoftime0086]

Zero-Sum Escape: A Close Reading of Code Veronica’s Steve Burnside

Introduction + Disclaimers

If you’re a friend/mutual/unfortunate witness to my discovery of Steve Burnside, you might’ve seen this coming. I’ve become an avid enjoyer of the character, which has led to some interesting discussions about him with friends! I’ve decided to write a small (edit: it was supposed to be small) piece on what makes him so interesting, using quotes and cutscenes from the original Code Veronica game. A lot of online discourse around Steve has historically been negative, so I hope this can be a positive primer for folks who want to learn more about him, or even an interesting curio for folks wondering why someone would do such an in-depth read for a one-off character.

This reading will focus strictly on Code Veronica (and not any of the Darkside Chronicles material) – with the full understanding that many aspects of the game are a product of their time, good and bad. I’ll try to cite my evidence as much as possible, but this will obviously be coming from a subjective and modern perspective as a fan of his character! I’m also a fairly new Resident Evil fan, so if anything’s incorrect, please forgive me and let me know! I’d be happy to make edits.

Anyway, this is all in good fun – and to anyone who even reads a single sentence of this, I appreciate your time!

Reference

As a way to “cite” dialogue and cutscenes, I’ll be including rough timestamps to this great video of Code Veronica cutscenes: https://youtu.be/ym46RPHqaSY?si=a6ItTpdOn3rCZq-U. Feel free to follow along, but the text should make sense without the video too.

So, who is this guy, anyway?

Let’s start with the basics. In the game Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (taking place shortly after RE:2), you start as Claire Redfield, recent prisoner of Rockfort Island. Unfortunately, Claire finds herself in the midst of another biohazard outbreak. And what’s worse is that during her escape, a stranger in a watchtower starts shooting at her indiscriminately! (0:05)

When the dust settles, Claire comes face to face with an abrasive teenager named Steve Burnside, a fellow prisoner on the island.

“Uh, sorry about that little misunderstanding…” (0:43)

This, alongside his attempts to be “smooth” – (I mean, who says “Relax beautiful…” unironically?) doesn’t do him any favors for most players. Not to mention his active derision of Claire’s skills – he leaves her with a few choice “tsks” and a “I don’t want you following me, lady. You’ll only slow me down.” (1:30).

This opening scene sets up a few key characteristics for Steve, which I’ll be referencing throughout this piece.

Steve is someone who makes numerous mistakes, ranging from purely accidental to sheer negligence.

Steve puts a heavy emphasis on reliability/dependability. He leaves Claire because he thinks she will “slow [him] down”. We’ll see more examples of his complex with “relying on others” later on.

Where do these traits leave us? A character that ends up being deeply paradoxical, and in my opinion, super fascinating because of it.

“You’ll just end up disappointed if you rely on others”

Claire finds Steve somewhat quickly afterwards, perusing information about her brother, Chris. I think it’s important to recognize Steve’s intent here. If he was purely focused on escaping (and leaving Claire behind), he wouldn’t have bothered looking for any records relating to her. Some folks may argue that he has a crush on Claire already, and is just following teenage impulses. But trust me, there’s more concrete evidence of teenage impulses later. For now, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he was trying to help her out – it ties well with point 2.

Steve’s snooping reveals that Chris is being monitored by Umbrella. Claire immediately takes action, contacting Leon about it. At this point, Steve sarcastically tells her,

“That file shows latitude and longitude of this place. Tch, why don’t you send your brother the coordinates and ask him to come help?” (2:20)

When Claire takes him completely seriously, he becomes prickly.

S: “Hey? I was just kidding? There’s no way he could get here, even if he is your brother.” C: “Yes he can; I’m sure of it.” S: “No way. He won’t come. You’ll just end up disappointed if you rely on others. Believe me, I know!”

Steve’s sudden anger and exit demonstrate how much this topic of “reliability” affects him. He’s vocal about his need for self-reliance – and yet, if we take his investigation in a positive light, it’s not like he’s completely selfish in his attempt to escape Rockfort.

Steve is someone who desperately wants to believe in human reliability, and yet has been spurned due to the circumstances of his imprisonment. We’ll see that he tries to emulate it himself, but unfortunately (and perhaps realistically) falls short.

Yet, what really nurtures this desire is Claire – someone who he can finally depend on. The pair’s next encounter comes when Steve is in trouble (if you’ve seen the “Steve is suffering” memes, it’s from this scene). The player hears him yell a pitiful “Help me!” as he bangs against a locked door – so much for relying on yourself.

If Claire solves the puzzle fast enough, Steve escapes and tells her, “That was too close. But I found something. Thanks to… you.” (3:44).

Thus begins the two’s shaky partnership – and believe me, it’s shaky. Steve runs off yet again, only agreeing to give Claire the essential golden lugers if she trades him something “fully automatic”. But Steve’s obviously on better terms with her now, as seen when he emphatically tells her, “See? This is why you need me. I got your back,” later (5:10). Quite cooperative for someone who was crowing about not relying on others.

In the midst of these scenes is a growing desire to look good to Claire – to be someone she can count on.

The knight fantasy – and bitter reality

Steve ends up describing his own motivation pretty well. Claire finds herself stuck with a nasty Bandersnatch, before Steve dramatically comes to her rescue (more on this in the next section). Afterwards, he eagerly proclaims the following:

S: “Oh yeah, that felt good! Don’t worry Claire, your knight in shining armor is here!” C: “You wish – but thanks for the help.” S: “See? This is why you need me. I got your back.” (4:54)

Steve wants Claire to see him as someone she can rely on – as a self-proclaimed knight to save her from the influx of zombies. It’s why he tells her to wait as he clears out the following area with his “new toy” (6:35). He wants to be the hero who saves the day – Claire might not be able to count on others, but she can sure count on him. He even states it outright afterwards:

“See? You can depend on me.” (6:58)

But maybe this is too blatant of a turn even for him, because he immediately backs off and instead mentions his guns instead:

“You see? This thing is a lot more reliable than any person.” (6:59)

Claire takes immediate suspicion of this, however, and starts to ask questions.

C: “Than people?” S: “…” C: “Steve, what were you doing here? Who brought you here, and where’s your family?” S: “Shut up – I don’t want to talk about it!” *shoots his gun at the wall* C: “Steve…” S: “Never mind. Let’s get going.” (7:04)

Note that he punctures this conversation with an angsty emptying of his gun magazine at the wall. This is no knight – this is volatile, teenage behavior. Claire can tell there’s something on his mind, but Steve doesn’t seem to be in the condition to explain anything.

Steve does the same thing four times – aka, analyzing entrances

As a brief interruption (but it ties into the rest, I promise), let’s take a chance to look at the different ways Steve barges into a cutscene. Humor aside, Steve’s physical actions vary across the four different times he comes to Claire’s “rescue”.

Bandersnatch (4:30)

The first rescue is all cliches and edge. Claire’s “knight in shining armor” breaks through a window dramatically. He shoots at the Bandersnatch without even directly aiming at him, walking forward as he shoots with his dual wielded lugers. It’s almost comical as he walks straight up to the Bandersnatch, delivering a kick and single killing shot for good measure.

It’s all impractical – Steve’s incessant wish to dual wield would hardly be effective in real life, let alone everything else here.  But this scene, cliche as it may be, reflects what Steve wants to be in front of Claire. He’s the action hero, the knight – the one who can be counted on to swoop in and save the day.

The Infamous Father Scene (8:13)

These heroics fail him once the two encounter his father. No longer is this a fantasy but bitter reality – and Steve can’t find it in him to shoot his infected dad. It’s only when Claire is in peril that he takes action – and this time, it’s impulsive and rough. He unloads all his ammo in a single, shaking shot, continuing to press the trigger even when it’s all gone.

It’s now that Steve tells Claire the full story – his father was caught trying to sell confidential Umbrella information, leaving his mother dead and the two of them locked up here. He morosely tells Claire, “He was a fool to do something so reckless! So stupid…” (10:15). We can see how much his father’s actions have impacted him – his desire for consistency comes from having his familial life ripped apart by the actions of someone he trusted dearly. And now, at the end of it, he is truly alone – the last one left in his family.

Alfred (11:07)

The next time we find Steve, we see a little bit of the Bandersnatch energy back in him – there’s the same aim, the same kick (to open the door) – but it’s less dramatic this time. There’s no slow-motion focus on shattered glass, no cocky final shot. In fact, this encounter leaves Steve visibly hurt – a crack in his armor. Steve’s still trying to be Claire’s dependable rescuer, and yet this encounter shows that he’s not the infallible knight he wishes to be. Far from it, considering the mistakes he'll make later on.

Alfred in Antarctica (21:30)

This cutscene skips forward a little, but it’s a nice final reminder that Steve does genuinely try his best to protect Claire, and succeeds! We see him take two stylish leaps and then shoot a quick few bullets to rescue her from Alfred. He’s still trying to emulate that knight image, but it’s more efficient than his Bandersnatch moment.

The Flight (and THAT SCENE)

After numerous troubles, Claire and Steve are finally able to escape the island. Needless to say, they’re elated and exhausted. Now that the coast is clear, Steve decides to get honest with Claire and apologize:

S: “Claire, I’m sorry. I know I caused a lot of trouble for you.” C: “No; it’s okay. It was hard for both of us.” S: “Well, I really hope you find your brother. I… I know what it’s like to be alone.” C: “Oh Steve…” S: *coughs awkwardly* “So, where should we go now? I can take you anywhere you want to go, Claire.” C: *laughs* “I hear Hawaii’s nice this time of year.” S: “You got it!” (14:20)

(On a personal note, isn’t this scene so cute? If only this was how it all ended…)

It’s here that Steve bares his heart to Claire. It’s clear that his mishaps and snarky remarks have been weighing on him too – he genuinely wants the best for her. When Claire is all too accepting and sympathetic, however, Steve begins to reveal his feelings (in… controversial ways).

After they find out that the plane is out of their control, the two of them take an uneasy rest. In the cutscene at 16:12, we find Claire leaning on Steve – a physical sign of how she relies on him. As if to follow his teenage impulses, Steve leans in for a kiss – only to startle as Claire begins to wake. His notion is thwarted immediately. Steve stands up,leans on the glass, slams the window and sighs.It shows signs of a “what was I thinking?” moment of clarity.

After all, kissing princesses in their sleep is something knights do in fairy tales. And Steve? Well, he’s no knight. He’s someone who’s almost hindered Claire’s escape as much as he’s helped, and he knows that. This thought is only exacerbated with his actions upon their arrival in Antarctica.

Antarctica, where more mistakes ensue

The plane decides to violently crashes into the side of the Umbrella Antarctica base. Steve kicks the door down and jumps first, reaching his arms out to catch Claire. She lands after, only to stumble and leave them both on the ground. Steve pulls her into a hug, which Claire doesn’t quite reciprocate. As she stands up, Steve lays back flat on the floor, sighing. It’s clear he’s jumped the gun, and it leaves him embarrassed. He doesn’t take Claire’s hand back up and tells her that they should split up to try and find a way out (18:55).

Steve’s love causes another mistake shortly after. The two of them try to break through the base wall with a digging vehicle, only for Steve to get distracted by Claire midway through. This causes a toxic gas pipe to burst – interestingly Steve tries to correct it through the controls – perhaps a reflection of his desires and fantasies for an “undo”. But in reality, he can’t undo his mistakes, and Claire is forced to grab him and leave the area.

This last mistake hits Steve particularly hard:

S: “It’s all my fault…” C: “Don’t say that. Listen to me – we’ll escape from here, together.” C: “Come on, we’ve got to shut off the gas. If we split up, we’ll have a better chance of stopping it.” S: *sighs* “…Okay.” C: “Steve. Don’t forget. We’ll get out of here. Together.” (20:45)

It’s not as if Steve is blind to his own faults – he knows that he’s been the one hindering their escape and takes it particularly hard. Claire has to reassure him multiple times that they’re working as a team to get out of here.

As a further blow to his ego, Steve is completely useless when the two exit the base and encounter Nosferatu, previous Alexander Ashford. Claire notices Nosferatu first, but Steve forces himself ahead of her soon after. He’s still clinging to the need to protect her.

However, Nosferatu easily knocks him off the platform, leaving him clinging to the side. Steve’s at his lowest here, and urges Claire to just leave him behind. If he can’t protect her, then what use is he?”

C: “Hold on, I’ll waste that monster and come back.” S: “Claire, forget about me. Run!” (23:50)

Claire’s resourcefulness and skill allow her to defeat Nosferatu and come back to Steve, still weakly hanging on. She pulls him back up, and Steve is left apologizing again for his rash behavior:

S: “I’m sorry. I failed you.” C: “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.” *she leaves* S: “I swear I’ll protect you next time, Claire.” (25:15)

At this point, Steve’s all too aware of how his mistakes have left both of them in peril. It’s something that he deeply dislikes – as someone who wants to be dependable, he’s being a poor show of it. Claire’s been the one helping him out through most of this, both emotionally and physically. And so he makes himself a promise that next time, he’ll repay the favor.

It’s with this personal promise that the two climb aboard a snowmobile, hoping that they can make it to the Australia base. Unfortunately, this escape is a dead-end for them as well.

Sleep, weary knight

After Alexia awakens and destroys the snowmobile, Claire is rescued by Chris, who managed to find a way to Antarctica. She’s insistent that they must rescue Steve. She finds him cuffed to a chair in a long hallway, with an axe against his throat.

To Claire’s dismay, it seems she’s too late. Alexia has injected Steve with the t-Veronica virus. Steve’s last words before his transformation are a desperate plea for help. At this point, he’s actively asking for help from the one he loves, but fate has it that Claire is powerless. He begs Claire to save him, but she can only watch in despair as he morphs and chases after her.

In what seems to be a miracle of love, Steve manages to snap out of it just before he lands the killing blow. He instead slashes through Alexia’s entrapping vines, sparking her ire and a fatal blow to his chest. He dies in Claire’s arms, once again in human form, lamenting how he couldn’t protect her – how he couldn’t be her knight:

C: “Oh Steve…” S: *brings Claire’s hand to his cheek* “You’re… warm…” C: “Steve, you’ve got to hang in there, okay? My brother’s come to save us. We’re getting out of here!” S: “Your brother kept his promise. I’m sorry I cannot…” C: “What? What are you saying?” S: “I’m glad that I met you… I…. I love you… Claire…” C: “Steve? Steve?! Steve!” (34:15)

To players who dislike Steve, this may be a cheesy ending to a tedious character. And yet – we see Steve’s character arc complete fully in this final scene. No longer is he a volatile teenager, or a “cool” hero, or a self-perceived deadweight. He’s just Steve – utterly human Steve, who couldn’t keep his promise, and yet saved Claire in his own way. And it’s in these final, human, moments that he can confess his true feelings – only for everything – his façades, his love, everything – to all vanish.

The arm theory

As a somewhat lighter ending to this post, I’d like to discuss a little theory of mine.

People who have been following along with all the cutscenes might have noticed Steve’s right arm getting injured during the fight with Alfred. There’s no visual effect on his model, and Steve even claims, “I’m fine; it’s just a scratch” (11:30). And yet I’m convinced that it was quite a serious wound.

Note that he continues clinging to the platform in the Nosferatu battle with his left hand (24:40), not his right. Yet he keeps clutching his right arm in the cutscene after (25:44). And more importantly, Claire is the one driving the snowmobile during their escape attempt, after Steve had taken the wheel so many times prior (25:59). My theory is that the deterioration of his right arm is also why the arm is significantly skinnier upon his final transformation. If you look super closely at the bottom of the screen, you can actually see his right hand convulse as he mutates! Does this imply anything? Not really. But it would be cool to see this brought back somehow in a hypothetical remake, especially as Darkside Chronicles skipped these parts entirely. Kind of reminds me of another Resident Evil character who had arm injuries…

Anyway, if anyone made it this far, thank you! I hope this was a little insight into why I appreciate Steve so much as a character – and maybe in my wildest dreams, made you potentially enjoy him too.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

any thoughts on "Yuu got isekai'd by death" theory? the evidence ive seen people on twitter bring up is 1) the coffins symbolizing parting with your former world and rebirth into a new one 2) the way in Savanaclaw manga's Yuuka runs into the traffic trying to save a cat and then instead of a car we see the carriage. (it also would make sense that yuuken would ..get hit by some wild driver while he was waiting at a bus stop) someone also said that it would add more reasons to why crowley is avoiding the topic of going home.

Personally, I feel like the theory is lacking in concrete evidence 🤔 and what has been presented so far has been very circumstantial or could easily be interpreted in other ways (especially because of how vague Crowley’s intentions are). I can see where people are going with in regards to Yuuken, Yuuka, and even Yuuya (from the light novel) all suspiciously being transported to Twisted Wonderland at a crosswalk, but... I don't know, the pragmatic part of me is going, "Doesn't it make sense for them to see a carriage at a crosswalk??? That doesn't necessarily mean the Yuus all got ran over and reincarnated, even if that's what is typically associated with a lot of other isekai". (Also note that game Yuu doesn't give an explanation of what their most recent memory was before waking up in a new world, although this could just be the product of making game Yuu more readily self-insertable for the players.) The coffins are just something I see as an overall aesthetic thing (ie all students arrive at NRC in coffins and/or the carriage), so it doesn't make Yuu's arrival particularly special other than the being from another world aspect of them. I also think there's tons of possible explanations for why Crowley may be avoiding the subject of bringing Yuu home or not putting forth a lot of effort to return them. It doesn't necessarily have to include "Yuu is actually dead". For example, it’s been mentioned in the prologue itself that Crowley wants (even “needs”) Yuu to help his students get along, so there’s an inherent benefit to himself and the school. That is already plenty of incentive for Crowley to get Yuu to stay.

This wasn’t mentioned in the ask, but I recall also seeing a few on Twitter suggest that since Yuu and Grim live in Ramshackle with ghosts (ie the dead unable to move on), this may imply that Yuu (and maybe even Grim) are also dead?? Again, this is something that I feel could easily be explained away by the dorm just being abandoned and being convenient housing for misfits; ghosts usually lay claim to unoccupied spaces with a lot of magical energy (ie Ghost Marriage) and Ramshackle just happened to fit the parameters? The idea just brings up more questions than it answers, such as Twisted Wonderland as the (pseudo)afterlife (?), what are the implications for the other characters that already exist in this world (are they also all dead, or is it only Yuu?), why don't other Earthlings that die in accidents also isekai'd to Twisted Wonderland; does it require outside intervention/a spell? (like... Yuu has yet to meet anyone who is also from another world??? Statistically speaking, wouldn't there be more than just Yuu??), did Crowley kill a kid just to transport them to Twisted Wonderland (if he, in fact, did intentionally summon Yuu and only Yuu there)???? Or was that death coincidental and Crowley just happened to whisk them away after that? What would the issue be with telling Yuu they’re dead right away do they’re more willing and ready to adapt to a new life at NRC if Crowley wants their help with making his students get along? Why play the long haul and lie about it?

Overall, I think that it's a cool concept! Maybe something to explore for angst fics or fanart. I also confess that it’s a veeeery convenient excuse to keep Yuu forever in Twisted Wonderland and never actually return home (meaning the game can go on for longer and make more money). Still, it’s just not something I find myself completely sold on, especially when the evidence for it is very vague and has more immediate explanations offered for them. It also seems like it would actually explain very little as opposed to clearing things up 😅 so for now, I’m highly skeptical.

I feel like if TWST really wanted to foreshadow the “Yuu is dead” thing it could have been done in a much less obscure way (ie the game doesn’t outright tell us that Ortho died, but we get plenty of dialogue that hints that something is off with Ortho; something similar could have been done with Yuu, even if they aren’t the one overtly speaking. Maybe other characters can comment about their abnormalities, I don’t know.)

[mable-stitchpunk]

So hi, big fan of your work. Too few fics touch on like the whole possession aspect of FNAF, imo. Seriously I swear I’ve seen more time travel fix it fics than like ones that actually attempt to cover the whole ghost aspects of FNAF, which admittedly cannon is not helping.

Anyway, tangent aside, I wanna ask an odd question, both in fic(s) and or generally.

Remember how in like sister location where there was like those two technicians that were hung for no good reason? You know those very important characters that uhhh… got an all of an ‘ok’ from the fandom. Thoughts?

seriously can’t believe how much death matters so little in this franchise, where the main villain is like a mad scientist two kills people over remnant or whatever and yet we get absolutely nothing about his crimes. not even like a concrete number??? like c’mon? it’s like William someone Saturday morning cartoon villian and not an actual horror game villain, thou I suppose that would require Scott to you know write a character that isn’t like rambling about at this point arguably ‘supernatural’ gloop. Like c’mon, can we get more than like ‘I am so evil and smart’ out of William, please.

Sorry about the ramble I have thoughts

Oh, thank you so much! And glad to hear it! 8D I can get it though. Possession can be a whole lot to get into. I got lucky enough making a really insanely long fic, but if I would've stuck to only twelve chapters it would've been much harder to handle it.

Though I do LOVE handling it. My favorite part being able to deconstruct where characters end and where the person they used to be starts. There's just so many layers to it! Not to mention the supernatural aspect of how far you can push it.

I will... admit that I haven't thought much about those technicians, but largely because they weren't really given much to think on. XD SL was a pretty short game, but if it HAD been longer, it might've been cool to have more moments where you could overhear the technicians talking. It could've added more context to the situation in the facility and shown the distance and dissonance between Michael and his other workers- I.E. contextually show he's a loner or showing that he is purposefully distancing himself from his co-workers. Or just showing how poorly the whole thing is being managed.

Heck, there could've been a segment where Michael has a conversation over the radio with one of them- a one-sided conversation or recording- that could've also added story context.

I suppose that wasn't required, but it could've given then a little more.

However, I definitely feel there should've been at least one line from Baby that explained why they couldn't use their bodies. Because I've seen people questioning this, and while it could be as simple as 'they wouldn't fit' or more likely 'Baby was targeting who she thought was Afton', the game doesn't specify either.

Really a line such as "It can only be you" or "You are the only one who fits" could've gone a long way.

As for in Home, at least, I actually played around with the idea of bringing the technicians back as animatronics in the future... but then I thought it would be too much of a reach. So instead, we must settle on Michael Afton and that Body we found in the Vent.

...

...

...

And yeah, the death thing bothers me too. >.< BUT the death thing bothers me a lot more with the addition of Remnant not just being metal infused with souls, but also a God material that reanimates and replaces flesh and brings back the dead.

Death willy-nilly causes it to lose impact (Walking Dead lol), but introducing something that ERASES death is hands down the biggest way to lose all stakes in a story. It is a crime against writing, lol.

This might seem weird to say because of how death is treated in Home- where someone may die and become an animatronic- but there's both an absolute death, where one cannot return, AND when someone 'dies' and becomes an animatronic they still have to deal with very serious consequences. Their life is now completely changed; in a way, they have still lost that old life.

But with remnant, there is no drawbacks. There isn't a Death Becomes Her twist where the body still breaks down. As long as you're not made of scrap metal- in which case you just have to carry remnant (a material without a shelf life) around with you- it basically fixes you up like brand-new.

And the fact that it also erases the need for death to explain animatronic creation makes the whole system very wibbly-wobbly. Though I suppose we can take consolation in the fact that so far, remnants application in the games isn't nearly as severe.

...Err, sorry about the length of that. XD

[anxiety-banana]

(in relation to the contemporary fiction post) HOW DO YOU WRITE REALISTIC CRIME PLS AND THANK YOU I'M STRUGGLING SO HARD

Tysm for the ask!! This is referencing this post on writing realistic/contemporary fiction.

As for crime! I'm not primarily a crime author, though I've written quite a bit of it, and would be happy to help where I can :)

Writing realistic fiction in relation to the crime genre grants you a couple very good things, including higher stakes, and a concrete arc/plot.

Among the downsides, however, there are many. You have to figure out the main relationships. Is the MC the detective, the victim, a bystander, etc? Are they romantically involved with anyone? Are they going to become romantically involved? Are they a loner?

My best piece of advice for character related problems is this: pick a main relationship to focus on, and pick at least one problem that will arise because of it. This gives you a driven motive to continue the story (the relationship), and added tension when things inevitably go wrong. For example!

MC is the detective on a case about an unidentified stalker. The victim is someone they knew from high school or college, and they are forced to get close to each other to help unpack why the victim is being stalked (perfect time for enemies to lovers!). The main relationship is the budding friendship/romance between the old friends, and one problem that can arise is the detective becoming reckless in order to help/save the victim. Another may be that the victim turning out to be manipulative in some way, trying to coerce the detective into denying their moral standpoint, or disobeying direct orders from a superior, making them question both their devotion to their job and the victim.

Boom! Crime novel outline. By having one main relationship and one main conflict arising from it, you ensure that the relationship has tension, and the story continues chugging along.

Another big problem with writing crime is realism.

Overall, there are a few big facts you should know: how a private detective agency/government funded police and detective branch works, the laws involving how officers act, a day-to-day schedule for them, and protocol for solving whatever crime you're writing. There will be various other facts you'll need to know along the way, but by familiarizing yourself with these major aspects will get you the furthest.

Next, and this is a pretty big one for crime, this genre is probably one of the most important ones to plot out in some way. Not knowing how your story will end, who will have committed the crime, etc. etc. will leave you high and dry and with a lot of drafts. By brainstorming either before or while you write, you're ensuring you know where you're going and you won't have to fix ten thousand plot holes by the end of the first draft. I know, it sucks. I hate it too. But believe me, from a pantser through and through, it helps.

Lastly (and this is kind of another general writing tip), utilize Reddit (and other social question-asking platforms). I never realized how helpful Reddit is for writers. Find a few major subreddits that are adjacent to what you write (also r/AskReddit is a great one for general questions), and ask away! Just be sure to mind the community rules. People are surprisingly willing to answer all sorts of questions on Reddit, and often really swiftly.

Keep in mind that none of these are rules, simply suggestions! If you want multiple main relationships, or two overarching plots, please ignore me! I want you to do what feels best for your writing.

Once again, if you have writing questions, feel free to hit me up! I'd love to help where I can <3

[bthump]

I am using a translator. I hope he translated everything correctly. Good day to you! I wanted to ask a few questions if you don't mind.

1) I wanted to know your opinion about Schierke. Personally, I don't like the fact that she is in love with Guts and fanservic moments with her (I guess you know what I mean)

2) What do you think of Sonia?

3) Are there any plot holes in Berserk?

Thank you in advance! <3

Thanks for the ask! I'll try to be clear and straightforward for the sake of translation <3

1 - I agree with you, I don't really like her as a character at all, and the way she's occasionally used for fanservice, as well as the way her crush on Guts is often written, really makes me wish she didn't exist in the story. She's useful in a plot way, being the only skilled magic user in the group, but I find that the addition of magic like hers makes fights less interesting, so I don't even enjoy that aspect. And just in general I don't often like child characters in media.

2 - I do like Sonia just fine. It helps that she gets less page-time than Schierke so I find her less annoying automatically. I also really like her conversation about loneliness with Irvine - I find it very thematically significant, and I think her relationship with Schierke is a good parallel to Guts and Griffith, and the way they're both lonely without each other. Plus she has a few genuinely very funny moments, like the cake scene in chapter 250:

3 - I think there are definitely some minor contradictions in Berserk, but mostly thematic. Indications that Miura hadn't had the exact direction of the story planned out early on, but not things that most people would generally pick up on as flaws. For one example, I'm thinking of the role of the fetus in the Black Swordsman arc vs after the Eclipse. First it was a symbolic reminder of Guts' own weakness and vulnerability and potential to succumb to the temptation of becoming a monster. Later it took on a very different role in the story, as Guts and Casca's demon child.

That said, there are probably a few minor actual plot holes here and there, but it's honestly hard to think of any. Miura was actually pretty good at not contradicting himself in terms of pure factual details of the plot.

Something like Guts telling Casca he was only okay with her touching him when we know he was also okay with Griffith touching him might count, but then again it might be intentional character bias at work. I can't really think of anything totally concrete, like worldbuilding details that change.

[destinygoldenstar]

So, we're about down to the one month time mark for the audition deadline.

First off, I would have NEVER expected ANYONE to care for this project, especially from my experience that I've been honest about. So thank you all so, so much for your auditions. I've loved what I've heard.

Okay, so, as we are approaching this deadline I am going to continue to be as honest as possible going in.

I have been working on the scripts while these auditions are going on, as well as a few storyboards for artists and promotional art. I wanted to get ahead of that so I have some of it ready to go when people are officially casted.

So far, I have a draft for the Prologue script done. And Chapter 1 is in progress of writing. (Outline for the entire fangan is done) This doesn't mean the scripts are done, as they will be edited and revised, (co-writer will help with this), but I do have a narrative plan.

And yes, before you ask, the death order is also locked in. I decided NOT to reveal what each character's role was (Victim, Killer, Survivor, etc.) aside from the non-spoiler stuff, and people who do get chosen are just gonna have to find out in the scripts when they come.

So, VA's, if you get chosen as a character that is an early death or something, I tried my best to make every character relevant to the plot in some way, so... you get what you get.

Speaking of VA's, I actually have written down in my phone notes who I am considering picking for each role. And when I'm in a more comfortable position, I'll DM my choices on Casting Call to see if they are still interested in the role I'm considering, or if they want to drop out.

That said, NONE of these are official lock ins on casting choices. Someone could come in and be a better fit in my eyes. And I do NOT have a voice I am 100% sure about for all of the characters.

Rose Nicholas and Kiyoshi Aiko (Maybe Katie Sharma & Miki Peridot as well) are definitely characters I don't have a concrete voice for yet. So if anyone comes in to this late looking for the best chances at getting a VA role, there you go.

Animators are DEFINATLEY a major interest for anyone still willing to try. I can work with one animator if there's truly no one else that tries and help with that aspect, but uh... my animations kinda suck. XD

Everyone else (Artists, Editors, Composers), I'm very happy with what I am seeing so far. Y'all are talented. And I'm going to factor these choices on what exactly I am looking for. So none of it is personal.

Seriously, I know absolutely none of you, so you can't accuse me of such even if you try.

Okay, now the biggest thing and by far my biggest concern for this entire project:

Money.

So... I'm not exactly the richest person in the world. I've said that multiple times by now. As of right now, I am officially starting up a new semester of college classes, so I'm doing this project as my spare time.

That and my parents recently took advantage of my bank and cut my savings in half. So yeah, I'm actually with even less money than I did before when I started this because of them.

I won't be surprised if someone in my family, who is not supportive of stuff like this btw, find out about this project and force me to cancel it. But that has not happened yet.

Right now, and I KNOW this is not how it works in most industries, but I wanted to make it concrete and clear:

This is NOT meant to be a full time job. PLEASE do not treat it as such. If you do, and are in it for big bucks, you are in the wrong place. That is the truth. You can't get mad at me if I am telling the truth and explaining the exact situation before you even get in it.

This was designed to be a reputation booster for myself and others for people trying to make an art-centric career in the future. And if this project worked and people liked it, I could safely move on to other projects with original ties and could potentially be monetized.

But this project will absolutely NOT be monetized in any way. So I am going off my own finances for this entire thing.

For EVERYONE that has a role, of ANY kind, I am paying $10 to everyone per-chapter. What I mean by that is the Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 would mean a VA would get $70 total if they are a surviving character. (There are Interludes. That counts as it's own whole chapter in terms of payment) For artists of any kind, this would guarantee at least $70. Same with animators. Same with composers. Any promotional scripts or bonus episodes are unpaid. (As in VA Trailers, Trailers in general, and Free Time centric episodes that, while canon, aren't necessary for the main story)

That is what payment looks like. You can do the math like I did.

I wish it could be different. But it just can't be.

That is why I am being as honest as possible before anyone goes into this blindly and then gets upset with me.

All I ask is that no one is treating this like a full time gig to bank from. That's not what this is.

Okay. Now that all of this is said, July 31st is still the deadline where casting will be official. Thank you all for your auditions so far.

[silver-heller]

I am super curious. If you could write another Silver x Mordecai fic, would you? What would it be like?

No promises but I probably will. Don't expect anything big, the last fic taught me to be aa lot more focused with my efforts in the future, but, fanfic writing really helps inspire me for original writing projects, as it just gets my fingers moving and encourages me to consume content that gives me creative juices. And there's still a lot of aspects and angles of Silver and Mordecai's relationship I still want to explore.

I am in no way done with them or Lackadaisy content after the main fic is complete. So, in the spirit of being more organized, here's a rough rambling of what that might look like.

I'll be honest, when I wrote the main fic I was more in love with the comics than the pilot, with the comic leaving a lot of blank spaces to be filled in and being a bit more out there with it's content style. While the characters are still very well written, I do think a big part of the appeal is the situations they are put in, feeling as if they're all a part of something much bigger, more so than them, hence why the main fic is so "this happens and then this happens" and "big themes" based. I have also noticed the comics have a theme of playing around with how contemporary the world really is.

I still adore the comics, but, I've grown to love the direction the pilot has gone as well, which, overall, feels more down to Earth and like it will give a lot of opportunities to explore the characters. I feel like the characters will probably drive the show seeing as we're already getting hints of some of their pasts with the plot being a playground for them to do so. So far the pilot, in comparison, has shown a ghost but it's most clearly symbolic and connected to memory, in my opinion.

This is a direction I'd love to take Silver and Mordecai. I'd love to be able to show Mordecai as being the terrifying and ruthless Marigold worker he is, and Silver as the "crazed woman of St. Louis" and finding an oddly wholesome connection in how cold and murderous they both are. I think the dynamic of the two gaining strength and excitement through being one of the very few people the other is vulnerable with, even if it makes them look less intimidating than usual, is a really fun one and something I've done on my "spicy blog". But I'd also like to explore it in terms of romantic dynamics.

So, overall I'd love to explore a colder Mordecai, though not purposefully mean, having to navigate working with a sensitive coworker, while Silver catches feelings and has to learn to be brave in the face of someone so intimidating.

Content-wise, I would love the symbolism to also be more down to Earth and concrete. I'd love to spend more time describing the city and other locations in ways that point to meaning or really set the scene. I'd love to just focus on Mordecai and Silver. I love the polycule, but, it does sometimes take attention off those two who I really adore.

But, this isn't a list of regrets. If I got the chance to rewrite the main fic, I'd still put Mordecai through The Horrors to make him oddly soft, and I'd still make it feel ethereal and dream-like, because it was fun and worked for that telling of their story.

But for another telling, this would be a very fun angle.

Thank you for the asks lovely! /p

[cacodaemonia]

okay but. when the vast majority of the "antis" are poc asking you to take a moment to consider the often racist tendencies behind your actions, have you considered that you /might/ be in the wrong here?

if you're doubling down on this stance because you feel you've been harassed, there are some really helpful and well worded posts i can send you if you're interested that explain some of the issues facing the tcw fandom at large! as a white person, they've been very helpful showing me some of the harmful aspects of fan engagement that i didn't have the words for

Ah yes, another anon with concrete proof of their claims.

Anyway, this is a good example of a whataboutism, where anon is trying to take my stance that sending death threats to real people over fictional ships is shitty, and turn it into me being racist.

It's a super common tactic in political arguments, and is often successful at burying the original point in layers of other, usually unrelated topics or accusations.

As I've said before, I'm not going to argue or try to change people's minds, because that's an exercise in futility.

The rest of this post, under the cut, is not directed at the fandom police (who, by not just blocking me, show how devoted they are to being angry over harmless internet content), but to others who might be at risk of being manipulated by their gaslighting.

So first, I apparently need to point out that shipping doesn't inherently have anything to do with race or racism. It can, for certain individuals, and there are obviously a plethora of nasty aspects of fandom that are racist and awful. But antis muddy the waters by crying wolf about others enjoying fictional space people who do not in any way represent a real world group and have no equivalent because they're millions of literal clones.

When they make such a fuss about something that is not harming anyone, they drown out the voices of those addressing actual problems. I know of several poc who have been driven out of fandom because they disagreed with the antis and were then shouted down and harassed for not caving to the arbitrary demands (much like religious extremists, who harm others if they don't conform to their religious creed).

As someone who has been heavily involved in political activism (not keyboard activism) for anti-racist causes and various other progressive issues for many years, it's easy to see through the attempts by antis to hide their obsession with policing fandom experiences of others behind the claim of 'speaking for poc.' Elevating the voices of those who have been historically marginalized is extremely important, but when they simply use that as an excuse to be hateful, they're not doing anyone any good.

Ask yourself: by harassing individuals (about whom they truly know nothing) online, how are the antis helping marginalized or disenfranchised groups? If they really wanted to create positive change, they could put their excessive energy toward fighting systemic racism and inequity by holding mass media and lawmakers accountable, rather than bullying fans who have no power and just happen to have slightly different views on fictional characters.

It's a way to get attention and feel powerful, plain and simple. They drag others down in order to feel superior—or whatever motivates people who enjoy harming others, idk.

I'm glad that the internet preserves this stuff, because maybe some antis will look back in a few years, after they've had enough life experience to understand that real world issues aren't black and white and can't be solved by screaming on the internet. Maybe some of them will realize how needlessly cruel they've been, and how much harm they've caused to real people who just want to share something they like with others.

I won't be responding to any other similar asks. I'm on Tumblr to have fun with fandom stuff, not to engage in the dumpster fire that is the real world or listen to poorly constructed arguments for why everything is 'problematic.'

[inactive-luv]

The Absence of Rain

The Absence of Rain

"the absence of rain is when good things are most present."

the absence of rain

Summary: Y/N Y/L/N meets a stranger in the rain

Pairing: (Spencer Reid x Autistic!Fem!Reader)

Details: I hope I did my best to convey proper Autistic traits; my ASD is not the same as the readers' character, the same way no one's ASD or Autism is the same.

Category: fluff

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Autism

A/N: I decided to make the reader Autistic. This was originally just a short story I made in English lit class my senior year, but upon rereading it, I decided to use the same prompt to write this fic

...

It's two in the morning. The Virginian rain drizzles as it has for the past two days without stop. She loved the rain, even if it was a sign of sadness or sorrow. She misunderstood it when people said the absence of rain was when good things happened. Until tonight when the theory was proven very, very true.

...

She walked from her job down to the bus stop at two in the morning when it started to rain harder than the usual drizzle from earlier in the evening. She spent time analyzing the splashing of droplets, echoing in her head after a long day. Her head raised to watch the water slap against the glass roof above her.

She stayed like that for a while, soothed after a stressful day by the calming aspects of the rain. She was watching and waiting, sitting in her bus stop seat. Her hands folded in each other to scratch lightly at her fingers, bundles of nerves across her skin aching to be touched.

She wants to stay here forever and quietly wishes for a late bus before her peace is interrupted when she sees a dark figure move across the station bridge. Her face turns puzzled, trying to analyze the new person in her space.

He looks tall from a distance. That's the first thing she notices about his body before she investigates further. She thinks about his satchel bag and his converse shoes, how he holds his umbrella in his right hand, and a book in his left. She can't make out the cover, but it must be pretty slim from how fast he blows through it.

She thinks about what would happen if he would walk over to her. She's seen him only a few seconds, yet she feels drawn or compelled to wonder further. He steps to his side, adjusting his stance, and his face falls under the light of the bus station for a second.

His jawline, eyes, lips, and everything about him leaps out immediately, catching even more of her attention. He must have felt her gaze over him, like an ocean wave crashing over a beach. A certain persistence to discover makes her eyes stay glued to the dark figure.

He swallows his lips before turning to see if she was maybe looking at someone else. He expected it. He expected not to be expected of. So when her eyes stayed fixated on him, he was a little curious. And during this time, all she can think about is if he came closer. Suppose he could turn to her so she could find the thing. The thing about him that made him so compelling.

And he does it. He starts to walk over with his book in one hand and the other in his pocket. The sounds she once found comfort in faded as he walked up to her, and everything turned to silence. The soft patter of the rain, once saturated and abstract ringing through her head, turned pale and hushed.

He watches how her eyes still stay attached to him, almost obsessively. A silence fills the space between the two before he breaks it so haphazardly, she can't help but shudder a little.

"Excuse me?" So she turns her head and is met looking up to the dark figure. He's much taller now that he's closer to her, and his hair is long. Long hair so obviously stretched under the rain, with soft curls ever so innocently framing his face.

He doesn't know what to say after that. He couldn't make out exactly who she was or who he was even expecting but, she was beautiful. He finally took notice of the more calming features about her rather than the creepy stare. He saw how her skin glowed, and her lips parted slightly as if in deep thought.

During this time, he notices the silence forming again, and he breaks it once more before he can hear her voice. "Uhm, can I sit?" He murmurs as an excuse he perhaps too eagerly came up with, taking notice of her puzzled expression. "Yeah, here, let me move my bag." Her voice dribbles out of her mouth, laced with an extensive kindness that intrigued him incredibly.

He mumbles a small 'thank you' back while he undoes his umbrella and takes a seat next to her. His head is facing the street now, but he still feels her eyes on him. It takes him a minute to swallow the lump in his throat before he turns to her again, craning his neck to meet her eye-line looking up at him.

His eyes meeting hers makes her pause for a moment before hastily averting her attention from him to anything in her way. The grass peeking through the concrete or the way the rain filled the puddles on the sidewalk.

And just like that, the silence, as well as it faded out, fades back in. The soft sounds of rain climb back through her ears to fill her brain again. Easily and slowly, she listens to the buckling of the stranger's bag, as if he was trying to make an as little sound as possible not to annoy her. But the sound doesn't upset her. It calms her.

It intertwines with the rain in a calming way. Everything blends smoother than she expected. She expected sounds to scare her as much as they usually do meeting a stranger, but the sound of his skin against the leather, and the pitter-patter of the rain, calm her.

So she's at peace when he breaks the silence once more. Although now, his words don't break the silence as much as they seep into the silent sounds, merging to form a tranquil melody. She realizes she could get used to his voice.

"Where are you coming from at," He looks down at his watch, over his sleeve for convenience, a trick she notices because she does the same thing, "two in the morning?" His tone acts as if he made most of his living in the night; the calmness, even in such an abundant presence of darkness, leads her to believe he'd done this a million times.

"I lost track of time in the library." He smiles again, "I thought only I did that." She smiles back at him and feels her cheeks start to swell and pink. He listens to her words; there weren't any libraries open this late at night he of all people should have known that.

He contemplates asking; further, he really wants to. He wants to listen to her voice again and again over and over because, unlike anyone else's, he thinks he'll never get tired of it. But he doesn't pester; he waits, hoping she'd further the conversation herself.

Little does he know she's thinking the same thing. She was thinking about every question he's asked and every question she wants to ask him. But he was a stranger even if she hoped he wasn't for much longer.

It takes a lot of strength for her to continue the conversation but noticing his peaked interest, her tone of voice heightens, "I was working at the university, that's why I was out so late." His questions are answered and followed by more, "Really? What do you do?" he wanted to know everything about the mysterious girl at the bus stop, and she was willing to answer every one of his asks.

"I help my friend who's a professor there, but I'm a medical examiner." His eyes light up, "Really? That's cool." He tries to keep his voice calm, but it trickles out so quickly, and this time she can catch his investment, and it gets easier to talk to him as if she'd known him a hundred years.

"I look at dead bodies all day. You think that's cool?"

"Well, to be fair, so do I,"

"Oh! Are you a serial killer?" Her best shot at sarcasm was successful, he laughed.

Like a modern orchestra erupting into its triumphant climax, the rain, the air, his laugh soothes her ears until she's blessing the world for her ability to hear. It's a kind of sound that reverberates in her mind and stores itself to her happiest emotion.

A type of sound she wants to hear for the rest of her life, but sadly, all of this excitement at once becomes too much too quickly, and her smile slightly fades while his head is turned.

She didn't have too much trouble with sound, so her anxiety heightened slightly when she became overwhelmed. A type of overwhelmed he could sense before he tried to lighten her mood. "No, I just catch them," He turns to reach into his bag, swiftly pulling his federal badge out and showing it to her.

She reads his badge quietly, "Doctor Spencer Reid." That's the first time she learns his name. A doctor working with the FBI. She reciprocates his actions and reaches into her pocket to pull out a card. On it, her name and medical license. "Doctor Y/N Y/L/N." A doctor working in a hospital.

"I'm in medicine. What about you?" Spencer clears his throat and holds up three fingers in one hand, clutching the card tightly in his other. "Chemistry, mathematics, and engineering." Her eyes widen, and her mouth forms a small 'o'; he just twists his face as if he was used to that answer.

And then, abnormally sudden, the rain started to let up, proving good things do happen in the absence of rain.

...

[heavenbarnes]

PLEASE STAND BY: She’s not heavy, she’s my lover

Wanda Maximoff x female reader

Warning/Contains: spoilers for “WandaVision”, aspects of mind-control meaning reader isn’t truly consenting, parts of this don’t make sense and are designed to make you feel strange, cheating, pregnancy, fingering, riding,

Word Count: 2.2k

it’s the 70s now and we’re a lot more liberal w our love, we’re also starting to form some kind of idea as to what might be going on hmm...enjoy x

MASTERLIST

Things just were positively brighter these days, and you couldn’t put your finger on why. Each morning the sun shone a little stronger through the curtains, the birds chirped just that bit louder, your morning coffee just a bit sweeter.

Picking the fluff off your husband’s blazer, you moved to adjust his tie slightly, admiring the way the red stood out on his chest. “You really are so handsome.”

James’ cheeks pulled up in a smile, dipping in to press a kiss to your cheek as you beamed for him. “I’ve got to be, to keep up with my gorgeous wife!”

You giggled, a cherry sweet girlish lilt that made your eyes twinkle. Enjoying those last few moments before he left for work, you lent further into his woolen sweater as you felt the firm hold of his prosthetic hand.

“Do you really have to leave-”

“Oop, sorry, Wanda calling!” 

Both your heads turned up, looking to the front door to find your lovely little neighbor and her bright eyes. That sadness of seeing James’ off seemed to fade as you saw your friend, she seemed to replace the warmth that would’ve followed him out the door.

“Great timing, you can keep the missus company whilst I’m earning us money!” He gave you another kiss, before heading off to wherever he spent his time during the days.

Welcoming Wanda into your home, you couldn’t help but notice the thick woolen coat she had wrapped over her front. She looked like a cutie, you couldn’t doubt that, she actually looked like Paddington Bear. But the sun was beaming out there.

Narrowing your eyes you stepped around the couch towards her. “Whattya’ stashing, toots?”

“I’m only telling you cause I love you, and I know you love me, and you-”

“Spill the beans, chick.”

Rather than come out with it, she instead...well...came out with it. She flipped the sides of the coat back off her front and you were met with the round bump of her belly. Your eyes flew wide and mouth dropped a tad.

“Baby!” You cried, hands flying up around your head. “You’re having a baby!”

-

“Run me through what we have so far.”

“Approximately a week ago, Agent 19 entered the energy field surrounding the town of Westview, accompanied by Bucky Barnes. Since then, they have been cast as characters in a TV show created and seemingly controlled by Wanda Maximoff.”

“They went in with a mission, to find Maximoff and stop her, have they even made any progress?”

“From the looks of things, they’ve abandoned mission, whether they realize it or not.”

“So what are they doing in there?”

“Bucky spends most of his time ‘working’, Agent 19 isn’t normally seen without Wanda at her side. They spend a lot of time talking, sometimes dancing, not a whole lot else.”

“So she’s got her right there, but isn’t even doing the one thing we sent her in there for?”

“Sir, I don’t think she has a choice.”

-

Wanda’s hips rolled against yours as she sat perched in your lap, soft lips moving gently against your own as her hands found their way under your shirt. “You sure I don’t look too round?”

Giggling into her mouth, your hands came to grasp her breasts, resting their weight in your hands as she sighed for you. “I think you look positively radiant, like a stone cold fox.”

Pulling back gently, she caught you as you winked for her, still kneading the sensitive flesh in your fingers. Bracing her hands on your knees, she arched her back and pushed her chest further into your touch.

“I didn’t know you and Vision were trying for a baby, and I feel like I only saw you yester-”

‘I know, I know, it all happened so quickly.” She hurried you, shutting you up completely by lifting her shirt over her head and flinging it onto your bedroom floor.

It worked a treat, your mouth falling agape at the sight of her pert chest bared to you in all her glory. You immediately closed your lips around one of her nipples, the hard bud fitting nicely against your tongue as you sucked it further into your mouth.

Those sounds, those beautiful sounds that only she could make, they nearly drove you doggone wild. She felt apart to wonderfully in your hands, she fit so nicely against you making you truly believe that your souls were always meant to cross paths.

Your mind told you, looking at her glowing and luscious and so incredibly perfect, that there was never any other woman but her. It was in the way that it didn’t feel like you existed, until she was thinking about you. Like your day started when she needed you and ended once she’d fallen asleep.

The needy roll of her bare hips drew your eyes down to where she was leaving a wet patch on your flares, you drew your fingers down over the ridge of her belly and underneath where she was softest.

“Please, let me ride your fingers, I need it.”

A wild grin sparked in your eyes as you smiled up at her, more than willing to make her wish your command. Running two of your fingers along where she was parted, you collected the candy-sweet wetness that was pooling in her.

Bringing it up to her clit, you circled around it as her head tipped back with a wanton moan escaping her chest and parting the thick air that’d gathered around you. Slow and easy, you sunk those two fingers into her as she continued to roll her hips for you.

“You always feel better than I ever imagined,” Wanda cried out, fingers gripping your shoulders as she bounced against you. “All I could’ve hoped for.”

You let the kindness and passion of her words wash over you as you kept working your fingers inside her, stretching them out slightly and pulling forward with every motion of her hips. 

Moving your thumb around, you pressed it to her clit and slowly rolled it around as she continued to buck in your fingers. She looked monumental above you, the bedroom light glowing around her like an aura she exuded. Her long hair brushed down her back as she swayed into you.

She looked like your entire world, and at that moment, she was.

You felt her gripping your digits, hugging tight and sweet as she got herself off against you. Never before had you been so pleased to be a vessel for someone’s pleasure, you’d lay there flat on the bed and let her grind against you for hours if it made her happy and wet.

“Yes, I’m so close,” The whine that whistled through her teeth shocked you to the core. “You’re gonna’ make me lose it.”

And as if that was your plan, you sped up the roll of your thumb and the movement of your fingers until her nails were digging into the flesh of your shoulders and pulling your flush between her breasts.

Lips pursing and teeth nipping gently at the taught skin, you left kisses in your wake as she rode through the highs of pleasure centered between her thighs. Hand wrapped around your wrist, she drew your own hand from below and placed the two soaked fingers between your lips.

You smiled, humming in content as you tasted the most unforgettable sweetness, like something from dream state. “You’re everything, pretty girl.”

-

Spying it draped across the back of the couch as you greeted your husband, James’ eyes followed it as he hung his blazer on the coat rack. “Wanda leave that here?”

“Hmm, yes,” You picked it up and draped it over your arm. “I better go return it.”

“I’ll come with you, been meaning to ask Vision if I can borrow his hedge trimmer.”

Hand in hand you bridged the short gap down to their home, knocking a couple times on the door before you heard a soft “come in” from just inside. Slowly pushing open the door, your eyes immediately fixed on the two beautiful bundles in the living room.

“Twins!” You beamed, keeping your voice hushed as James’ followed you inside.

“Aren’t they sweet.” Wanda cast the most enamored gaze upon them, like life had never been better.

“Just the bees knees!”

Whilst your husband had gone to find the man of the house, you turned to the young lady who had also obviously come to offer best wishes to the new parents. “Hi there, I’m one of Wanda’s friends.”

Rather than return your smile, the girl went stark faced, eyes wide and brow just slightly furrowed. A tinge of confusion crossed your features, shrugging your shoulders in an attempt to get her to speak.

Shaking her head, a smile started to work up on her face. “I’m Geraldine, also one of Wanda’s friends.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“It- It sure is.”

She was odd, maybe she was shy? Nevertheless, you turned back to Wanda and placed a hand on her arm. “Let me find my husband and get out of your hair, leave you to enjoy your gorgeous babies.”

Geraldine followed you across the lounge room as you called out for James. She caught one of your wrists in her hand, making you twist your head back towards her. Expecting her to say something, you stood in wait with a signature kind smile across your lips.

Strange girl didn’t say a word, she just looked at you again with those worrisome eyes that you couldn’t quite place. “Sorry Geraldine, is there something I can-”

“She’s just new here, looking to make more friends, aren’t you?” Wanda filled you in from her place by her twins.

Nodding in understanding, you felt James’ presence as he came up behind you, hand on your arm to turn you away from the new guest. Reluctantly, she released your grip as you moved by, causing you to shoot your man a slightly perplexed glance.

He just shrugged his shoulders, closing the front door behind you both as you walked back up to your home. Herb was outside, using his own hedge trimmer as you both waved to him. He waved back, shouting a quick “hello” as the blade of his hedge trimmer started to slowly descend through the concrete wall.

Looping your arm through James’ prosthetic elbow you motioned towards the sight. “Pretty powerful motor, better be careful with that one of Vision’s.”

As you served your better-half his plate of meatloaf, he greatly accepted it, cutlery poised in his hands as he waited for you to sit with your own. Making a cheers with your wine glasses, you both took your bites of dinner before crossing knives and forks across your plates.

“That lass at the Vision’s place today was an oddball.” James’ remarked, leaning back in his chair.

“Hmm, I just think she was shy, though I wish she’d told me whatever she was thinking.”

James’ scrunched his nose slightly but nodded in agreement, nonetheless. You thought back to the young lady, how she’d seemingly looked frightened, they way she’d grabbed you. Letting it tick over in your mind, you saw the same kind of look on your husband’s face that you felt you were making.

“My love,” He started, pushing some broccoli around his plate. “Why do we never eat more than one bite of our dinner.”

Your eyes dropped from his to the plate in front of you, pushed slightly up the table and signaled as finished. Gently lifting your head, you let your eyes flicker around your dining room. To the window sills that never got dusty, the clock that never struck 12, the lightbulbs you’d never replaced.

“Where do you go in a day, when you go to work, what do you do?”

James’ smile faltered, eyes seeming to nearly well as it became harder for you to cheek the apples of your cheeks up. “I leave our front door and I- I feel like I wake up as I come back through it.”

Nodding in understanding, you felt the tear before you even knew it’d slipped onto your cheek. Bucky lent across the table and wiped it with his right thumb, the feel of his skin against yours grounding you for a moment.

“We haven’t got long, this means she’s thinking of us, she’ll know that we’re-”

“Hey, hey, I know,” He cooed, getting out of his seat and rounding the table to crouch beside you. “We’ll find our moment, but you just have to be strong, we cant show our fear-”

As you served your better-half his plate of meatloaf, he greatly accepted it, cutlery poised in his hands as he waited for you to sit with your own. Making a cheers with your wine glasses, you both took your bites of dinner before crossing knives and forks across your plates.

“Darling!” James sighed as he pushed his plate up the table. “Your meatloaf is my favorite!”

-

“God! They always get so close, I know they must be trying so hard.”

The television broadcast wavered slightly, seemingly weakening for a moment but still producing the bright technicolor.

“They’re two of the strongest and smartest we have, Wanda must be doing a number on them to reduce them to this.”

The electrical whirring of the old-fashioned set still sounded in the background as they got the same message.

“PLEASE STAND BY.”

[duckprintspress]

What is an Alpha Reader?

Stories don’t exist without writers - that much is a given. But the best stories are never a solo effort, even if they have only a single author. Other people will contribute, in big ways and small, and potentially fill many roles to help the author see the work through to completion. Three of the most prominent of these roles are:

Alpha readers

Editors

Beta readers

Each does something different, but often in fandom-based writing spaces they’re used interchangeably in ways that can lead to confusion and a mismatch of expectation and performance between the author and the person helping them. As such, Duck Prints Press will be doing a series of three posts over the next few weeks that discusses each of these roles in detail. The purpose of these posts is

to provide a definition of each role (alpha, editor, and beta)

list examples of services a person in each role might provide for an author, 

provide insight into some appropriate ways for an author to interact with their helper, and

to suggest some points that an author and their selected feedback provider should discuss before the alpha/editor/beta begins work, to ensure that both individuals have a positive experience and that the helper is providing the kind of information that the author is seeking.

Two things of note before we proceed:

There is no single definition of these terms. We’re not claiming to be an authority or to say, “these are the correct definitions and all others are invalid.” Instead, our goal with these posts is to provide a common framework to help authors and individuals interested in helping them communicate about the nature of the roles to be undertaken, and to give information to help both writers and people who want to help writers understand what help is desired and how they can support each other.

If an author hasn’t said “I’m looking for an alpha/editor/beta,” then it doesn’t matter what form of feedback you provide - unsolicited alphaing, editing or betaing is generally unwelcome and often unhelpful. Yes, some authors DO like and appreciate it. However, most don’t. Never use these posts as, “now that I know what alphaing is, I’ve read your story and now I’m alphaing for you!” That’s not how this works. Alphaing, betaing, and editing are always collaborative, undertaken between an author and feedback provider that they’ve entrusted to help them. If you’d like to give feedback to an author about something of theirs you’ve read...ask them if they want it! And respect their response! It’s really, truly that simple.

What is an Alpha Reader?

Alpha readers are generally one of the first “outsiders” brought in to support an author, and, depending on how the author approaches their process, may be sought before the story has been written. The primary roles of an alpha reader are to brainstorm with an author, flesh out the plot, fill plot holes, solve conundrums and issues that arise, and help the author get their vision of the story put down in concrete words. Alpha readers may be recruited short term, to help an author work through a specific issue, or they may accompany the author from conceptual inception through the entire first draft or beyond - some may even end up credited as co-authors, depending on how many ideas they end up contributing! In fandom spaces especially, alphas are often described as cheerleaders, and in many cases, they are explicitly asked not to provide extensive criticism and editing - alphas work with the understanding that they have been brought in to help an author complete a first draft, and so the issues they help with are those more relevant to a work at an early stage of development.

Many people short-hand alphas by jokingly refer to them as “rubber duck debuggers,” inspired by the habit many computer programmers have of talking out a problem to an inanimate object until they figure out the solution. The idea is that alpha readers often don’t have to do anything - they just have to listen to the author until the author figures out the solution themselves! Sometimes, that’s truly all that an alpha will need to do, but don’t assume that’s all an alpha will do, and don’t play down the critical role that many alphas have played in the development of stories by giving timely, insightful feedback. An alpha can be invaluable in solving issues, seeing through thorny challenges, resolving points of uncertainty and confusion, and providing the author with the motivation, support and encouragement they need to see a first draft through to the end. Alphas are great, and are definitely not interchangeable with a rubber duck (however much we at Duck Prints Press love our rubber ducks).

Services/Responsibilities/Activities Associated with Alpha Reading:

Meet with the author to establish the scope of help the author would like. This post includes a thorough list of tasks often undertaken by an alpha reader, but it’s unlikely that an alpha reader will do all of these tasks. 

Listen to and incorporate world building and character information provided by the author, and work to provide feedback that fits with what they’ve established.

Read an author’s notes or outlines to get a general idea of what the author is trying to accomplish

Discuss story elements with the author to whatever degree of detail and specificity the author requests.

Offer insight and ideas to help solve problems that the author approaches you about, within the scope of what the author has said they’re willing to change or modify about their story.

Cheerlead, praise, and support the author as they write their first draft.

Indicate sentences, passages, and/or chapters that work especially well, and those that lacked adequate explication for the alpha to understand what took place.

Point out issues with representation, areas where the author might need to do more research, use of racist or sexist tropes, and other aspects of the story that may be problematic. (Please remember to be careful of the difference between “this story contains problematic elements” and “this author is problematic.” Many authors intentionally playing with these elements. Also remember that alphas are not the same as sensitivity readers!)

Make sure to offer feedback on what is good and what you like!!

If given a full first draft manuscript to review, post-reading you may be given a list of questions the author would like you to answer, indicating specific areas that the author would like more information about and/or help with.

Very rarely, an author may ask for an alpha to edit for grammar, structure, word choice, and other technical elements. However, in “standard” definitions of alpha reading, these roles would be excluded.

Be honest and objective! Don’t say something is good if you don’t think it is, and don’t say something is bad just because you didn’t like it.

Understand that an author is never obligated to take an alpha’s advice!

Services/Responsibilities/Activities Associated with being an Author Working with an Alpha Reader:

Have a clear idea of what an alpha reader will be asked to do before recruiting one - ideally, any request for an alpha should include this information! Don’t just say, “I’m looking for an alpha reader” and assume that anyone who responds will understand that to mean the same thing as you do. Instead, say, “I’m looking for an alpha reader to help me with…” and indicate the specific area(s) that you’re requesting support for.

Don’t ask for feedback if you’re not prepared to be given feedback. Understand that requesting an alpha may mean opening yourself up to criticism; never forget that you invited them, so respect them and appreciate them. Don’t ask someone to alpha for you if you don’t respect their opinions and assessments.

Communicate your expectations and needs clearly.

Listen to the alpha reader and take their advice under consideration.

Indicate when you’ve reached a decision, so the alpha reader doesn’t continue to focus on a point that has been resolved.

Be kind and polite, even if ultimately you reject the alpha’s recommendations.

Ask clear questions directly related to what you’re trying to find out about what works and doesn’t work in your manuscript. Don’t try to be vague or passive to try to “get at” if something worked; it’s better to be honest and straightforward.

Employ multiple alphas to get different viewpoints.

Do not take criticism of the work as criticism of you as an author and person.

Respect the alpha reader’s boundaries.

Understand that the alpha is never required to agree with you, and may ultimately dislike your work.

Communication is critical! If both parties aren’t clear about their expectations and responsibilities, how can they effectively work together? It’s also critical to set and maintain boundaries. An alpha doesn’t agree to be “on call” 24/7. An author doesn’t agree to hear endless criticism of their ideas. An alpha should never be subjected to material that they’ve indicated may trigger them. An author should never be subjected to an alpha harping on a pet idea that the author has already indicated they don’t wish to use. If the relationship isn’t working for both individuals, it should be terminated. Furthermore, just because the relationship doesn’t work, that doesn’t mean either individual is “bad” at fulfilling their role; often, it’s simply a mismatch in communication and work styles. And that’s okay! Don’t bad mouth someone you failed to work effectively with...but also, don’t feel you need to keep working with them!

Suggested Questions an Alpha Reader and Author Should Discuss Before Working Together:

Not all of these will be relevant to every author/alpha relationship, but they’re worth being aware of!

Will the alpha reader be paid for their help? This is generally not relevant in fan spaces, but may be if the alpha is working on an original work destined for publication.

Will the alpha reader be credited when the final product is made public?

Will the alpha reader be expected to keep silent about what they’ve read, or perhaps even sign a Non-Disclosure agreement or other form of contract?

When is the alpha usually available? When is the author usually available? Will meetings be held regularly on a schedule, as-needed, or elsewise?

What software and/or accounts will the alpha be expected to use? For example: a specific word program, a gmail account, Discord, etc.

How will the author and alpha communicate primarily? For example, by chat program, by e-mail, by telephone, etc.

Is the alpha required to be familiar with other works in the author’s oeuvre?

Is there any potentially triggering material in the work that the alpha should be made aware of?

Does the alpha have any unusual triggers or squicks that the author should be aware of?

At what stage of the project is the alpha reader being invited in - conceptualization? Writing? Completed first draft?

What specific aspect(s) of the book is the author looking for feedback on? The plot? The characters? The pacing? If a specific line landed as intended? Is the dialog catchy? Is the world-building thorough? 

Will the alpha reader be providing long-term help (eg, for the entire time an author is writing the first draft of a novel) or short-term help (eg, an author has gotten stuck at a specific point and wants to discuss only  that with someone else)?

Is the author looking for someone to primarily listen to them and let them work it out on their own?

What are the main themes/tropes/elements/etc. the author hopes to communicate? It’s often best to discuss this after the alpha has read the work, so the author can see if they’ve succeeded, but it depends on when in the process the alpha has been brought on. If the alpha is helping develop plot and concept, it will be important for the alpha to understand upfront what the author is trying to accomplish.

Is the alpha familiar with areas relevant to what the author is writing? For example, if the story is fanfiction, is the alpha familiar with the franchise? If the story is in a specific genre, is the alpha acquainted with the tropes of that genre? If the story is in a specific setting - especially if it’s a setting with a high degree of technical specificity - is the alpha able to offer insight and knowledge to support accurately portraying that setting?

Does the author want criticism at this stage? (Usually, inviting an alpha implies the answer to this is yes, but don’t assume!)

Does the author want editing done? (Usually, inviting an alpha implies the answer to this is no, but don’t assume!)

Are there aspects of the story the author feels are “set in stone?” Are there aspects the author doesn’t mind changing, or would even prefer to change?

Is the alpha welcome to provide suggestions for developments outside the framework of storyline and world building provided by the author? For example, would the author be open to having the alpha say, “maybe you should create a new character to fill this role,” or, “maybe you should change the entire ending,” or would they prefer that the alpha work with the plot, characters, pacing, etc., elements that the author has already created?

Check in throughout the process - Is the way I’m doing this working for you? Is this feedback helpful? Are my responses as the author enabling you to do your work as an alpha? Do we need to change anything to ensure that this is providing the kinds of support that the author has requested? Talk to each other! You’re in this together. It’s okay if things need to be changed (in the story, in the relationship, in the communication style, you name it) - change them until you find a way to collaborate that works best for both parties.

You’ll see the common theme in all this advice is that the key to a successful alpha/author relationship is communication. Authors: be clear and honest about your project and your needs. Alphas: be clear and honest about your assessments and suggestions. Work together, not in opposition. Now, go forth and write things, and read things, and make amazing stories!

We’ll be doing two more entries in this series - What is an Editor? and What is a Beta? in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

[luxwritesfanfic]

Definitely Not Your Color

In true Sherlock fashion, he shows you exactly why green isn’t his color. Or, the one where reader can read auras and Sherlock is going through it at the sight of her new friend. AU!Bucky makes an appearance because I can’t live without him. Enjoy!

Sherlock Holmes/Reader

You were stood off to the side of the crime scene recounting your conversation with the last witness of the night. There had been yet another murder and Lestrade had requested Sherlock’s help for what seemed to be a serial killer in the making. Two murders in less than a week and Sherlock was thrilled and it was easy to tell. An array of yellows and subtle oranges surrounded him, engulfed him, as he explained how vacant Scotland Yard truly could be and how quickly he had figured out the killer’s M.O. He shined like the sun, and you swore you saw tendrils of sunlight shoot off of his fingers as he analyzed every aspect of the scene before him. All confidence, he paraded around the crime scene in a way you knew so well, pointing out things that even after working with him for months that you wouldn’t of picked up on. He was happy to be working again, to be playing, no, winning the game once more. 

You were thankful no one else saw his colors like you did. Because as sure as you were that he was what they meant when they said, “let there be light!”, you were sure that others would gravitate towards him even more until it got to a point that there was so much in between the two of you that you would only be able to see his shine from between the cracks of other people.

Pulling you out of your thoughts of Sherlock and things that you couldn’t control, you turned your head at the sound of someone’s throat clearing.

“He’s seriously brilliant.” An officer who you hadn’t recognized before stood behind you, holding his cap in his hands and drumming his fingers along the rim. He looked past you to where Sherlock and John were, a laugh slipped out from under his breath. “Makes it look so easy.”

Your lips twitched at the statement, a warmth you knew too well for your liking spreading around you. If anyone else could see you, really see you, you’d surely be figured out. Sherlock Holmes was a great man, you were sure of it. He was as intelligent as they came and as handsome as the devil, and sure— sometimes he could be rude, and maybe a little ignorant, and sometimes you really wanted to slap the smirk off of his face when playing Cluedo (Because, Sherlock, it can’t be the victim!) but you wouldn’t change him. 

They told you not to stare at the sun but you couldn’t help it. You needed to see what was really there because you refused to believe that a man who couldn’t feel a thing made the world look that vivid. You were the moth and he was the flame and if that meant dying a painful death just to bask in everything that he was, so be it. Evidently, there were worse ways to die.

Stealing one last glance like you couldn’t help yourself, you shoved your notebook and pen in your purse and made your way back to your conversation.

“He really is. You’re new, right? Lestrade mentioned he had some new guys joining the force. Can’t say you didn’t have an interesting first week.” You wanted to lighten the mood as much as you could because you knew this wasn’t an easy crime to see. You still couldn’t look at the body too long yourself without feeling the black sit heavy in your stomach.

“Don’t worry ma’am, I can handle it.” As if he read your mind, he gave you a warm smile and nodded. “My father, he, uh, he was an officer as well. Started me with the bad stuff early. Said it would give me a little more character and a lot more advantage. There’s not too much that can scare me away, I don’t think.”

You returned his smile. He was a cool blue, and it matched his eyes perfectly. It looked good on him, you decided. “Good. London needs all the help that we can get. Oh- I’m Y/N, by the way! I work with Sherlock and John sometimes. I’m not a genius or a doctor but I can take damn good notes.” And at that you both laughed, as he reassured you that the boys would have nothing to study from if it wasn’t for you. In turn it made you laugh even harder when you realized he hadn’t got the chance to see Sherlock visit his Mind Palace yet, where everything you could offer him he already had.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m James, but I hardly ever use my government if I don’t have to. Please, call me Bucky.” He reached his hand out to you and shook yours, that boyish smile never leaving his lips. From behind you, you could tell subconsciously that it had gotten significantly darker. Like a light had went out. You didn’t think enough of it to turn around and investigate it.

---

You found it was easy to talk to Bucky and you had more things in common than you could have expected. He was polite and seemed to have seriously believed that you were an integral part of the team that he needed to get to know. You appreciated his kindness and how friendly he was, and it seemed like more than anything he was grateful you were giving him a chance to belong. You couldn’t figure out why.

It just so happens that from the angle you were looking, you saw Sherlock’s shoes before you saw his face. It looked like moss had grown through the concrete and saturated him so thoroughly that you thought he wouldn’t soon be able to move. It made you uneasy how sickly the green made him look. You had never seen this color on him before.

“If I knew all you were going to do was stand around and disregard everything I say, I would have brought Molly instead. She listens. Intently.” Sherlock spat and cut his eyes at you before looking to Bucky and giving him a once over before digging in. 

“Generally, they say to try again and again if you fail. I would think that wouldn’t apply to something like the police academy. Third, no... fourth times the charm as they say?” The green fog spilled out of Sherlock’s mouth and continued to cover him, wrapping so tightly around his body that you thought he might have trouble breathing. Even though you were standing a few good feet away from him, you could feel how heavy the fog had made you, and you worried for Sherlock as it encompassed him. You almost made to reach for him because you were afraid you’d lose him under all the smoke.  

“You’re a favored drop out who still lives with his mother, no, father. That’s where the drinking problem comes from I assume? One failed relationship too many and now suddenly your calling is keeping the streets clean of the people you used to run them with. Now, I know Lestrade has horrible taste when it comes to putting together a team but tell me, how did he get so lucky as to stumble across you? It can’t be the... no wait, it is because of-“

“Sherlock!” You say exasperatedly, looking at him like he’s he’s got three heads when you can’t even see the one he’s got as it is. He is solid and dark and lost in this feeling that you can’t name and he’s not him. Well, he is him, but weighed down so much by whatever he’s trying to carry through that you can’t imagine he’s acting this hateful for no reason. You refuse to believe it.

Bucky sighed and somehow still managed to twitch his lips upwards, a ghost of the grin he wore before. “Well, Mr. Holmes, you are what they say you are. Brilliant for sure. Hell, you haven’t even spoken a word to me prior and you know my life.” You were shocked to see Bucky’s reaction, most people would of blacked out on Sherlock for an outburst like that and this one definitely warranted it. “You’re right, about all of those things. I guess I’m just trying to play the best game I can with the hand I was dealt. I’m not one for feeling sorry for myself.” He straightened up and fastened his cap back on as he caught eyes with Lestrade and returned a knowing nod. 

Turning to you, Bucky grinned as if it never phased him, like he had grown used to being talked down on. The blue never left him and that made you happy. You didn’t want him to feel bad.

“Goodnight, Y/N. I look forward to speaking with you again. Mr. Holmes.” With that, he bid you both a good night and headed towards his team.

“Sherlock,” you murmured when you turned back to face him. The fog was so dark that you couldn’t make out his features anymore. You felt the fear creeping up your neck while you were trying to figure out what was so wrong with him. “What’s wrong with you? I figured you’d be happy that you practically solved the case...?” 

You saw it, he had been happy. And then you remembered his earlier comment about Molly. Maybe he wished she was here instead to celebrate his win with him.

“Listen... if this is about Molly, you know you can always ask her to tag along instead. I don’t want you to feel... obligated to invite me. She’s probably more useful in a situation like this anyway.” 

You felt yourself internally deflate as you spoke, but you were able to make out Sherlock’s face once more under the city lights. The green began to thin out. He must’ve been relieved at your confession, you thought.

Sherlock visibly tensed for a second before quickly masking it under an air of nonchalance.

“I could care less about Molly or what she’s good for. All I care about is the work and that it gets done. You know that.”

You watched as time passed and you could start seeing more of him. You realized you’d been holding your breath for some time waiting for the green to dissipate and set your detective free. Sherlock was back with you, and whatever feeling tried to take him away from you was lost now. That’s all that mattered.

And, of course, because there were still pressing matters to finish attending to, your moment with Sherlock didn’t last long. You swore something had changed within him. Something you couldn’t name just yet.

You weren’t totally quite convinced that whatever had happened between you two back there wasn’t about Molly, or some strange feeling that Sherlock was having that he’d surely never talk about. Even still you continued to follow after him wherever he asked you to go, as he still always asked you to go. 

And if he happened to stand a little closer to you the next time you worked alongside Scotland Yard, you were none the wiser.

[kmclaude]

Forgive me Father, I have no awful headcanons for you, only a general question on comic making. How do you do it, writing-wise/how do you decide what points go where, how do you plot it out (or do you have any resources on the writing aspect that you find useful?) Not to get too bogged down in details, but I attended a writer’s workshop and the author in residence suggested I transfer my wordy sci-fi WIP into graphic novel script, as it might work better. (I do draw, but I don’t know if I have it in me to draw a whole comic—characters in motion? Doing things? With backgrounds? How dare, why can’t everyone just stand around looking pretty)

I was interested but it quickly turned into a lot of internal screaming as I tried to figure out how to compress the hell out of it, since novels are free to do a lot more internal monologuing and such compared to a comic format (to say nothing of trying to write a script without seeing how the panels lay out—just for my own sake, I might have to do both concurrently.)

As an aside, to get a feel for graphic novels I was rereading 99RM and was reminded of how great it was—tightly plotted, intriguing, and anything to do with Ashmedai was just beautifully drawn. I need more Monsignor Tiefer and something something there are parallels between Jehan and Daniel in my head and I don’t know if they make sense but it works for me. (As an aside, I liked the emphasis on atonement being more than just the word sorry, but acknowledgment you did wrong and an attempt to remedy it—I don’t know why that spoke to me the way that it did.)

I thought Tumblr had a word count limit for asks but so far it has offered zero resistance, oh well. I don’t have much else to say but on the topic of 99RM, Adam getting under Monsignor’s skin is amazing, 10/10 (about the Pride picture earlier)

wow tumblr got rid of the markdown editor! or at least in asks which means the new editor probably has no markdown....god i hate this site! anyway...

Totally! So first, giant thank you for the compliments! Second, I have a few questions in turn for you before I dive into a sort of answer, since I can give some advice to your questions in general but it also sounds like you have a specific conundrum on your hands.

My questions to your specific situation are:

did the author give any reason for recommending a, in your words, "wordy" story be turned into a graphic novel?

is the story you're writing more, like you said, "internal monologuing"? action packed? where do the visuals come from?

do you WANT it to be a comic? furthermore, do you want it to be a comic you then must turn around and draw? or would you be interested in writing for comics as a comic writer to have your words turned into art?

With those questions in mind, let me jump into the questions you posed me!

Let me start with a confession...

I've said this before but let me say it again: Ninety-Nine Righteous Men was not originally a comic — it was a feature-length screenplay! And furthermore, it was written for a class so it got workshopped again and again to tighten the plot by a classroom of other nerds — so as kind as your compliments are, I'm giving credit where credit is due as that was not just a solo ship sailing on the sea. On top of that, it got adapted (by me) into a comic for my thesis, so my advisor also helped me make it translate or "read" well given I was director, actor, set designer, writer, editor, SFX guy, etc. all in one. And it was a huge help to have someone say "there is no way you can go blow by blow from script to comic: you need to make edits!" For instance, two scenes got compressed to simple dialogue overlaid on the splashpage of Ashmedai raping Caleb (with an insert panel of Adam and Daniel talking the next day.) What had been probably at least 5 pages became 1.

Additionally, I don't consider myself a strong plotter. That said, I found learning to write for film made the plotting process finally make some damn sense since the old plot diagram we all got taught in grammar school English never made sense as a reader and definitely made 0 sense as a writer — for me, for some reason, the breakdown of 25-50-25 (approx. 25 pages for act 1, 50 for act 2 split into 2 parts of 25 each, 25 pages for act 3) and the breaking down of the beats (the act turning points, the mid points, the low point) helped give me a structure that just "draw a mountain, rising action, climax is there, figure it out" never did. Maybe the plot diagram is visually too linear when stories have ebb and flow? I don't know. But it never clicked until screenwriting. So that's where I am coming from. YMMV.

I should also state that there's Official Ways To Write Comic Scripts to Be Drawn By An Artist (Especially If You Work For A Real Publisher As a Writer) and there's What Works For You/Your Team. I don't give a rat's ass about the former (and as an artist, I kind of hate panel by panel breakdowns like you see there) so I'm pretty much entirely writing on the latter here. I don't give a good god damn about official ways of doing anything: what works for you to get it done is what matters.

What Goes Where?

Like I said, 99RM was a screenplay so it follows, beat-wise, the 3-act screenplay structure (hell, it's probably more accurate to say it follows the act 1/act 2A/act 2B/act 3 structure.) So there was the story idea or concept that then got applied to those story beats associated with the structure, and from there came the Scene-by-scene Breakdown (or Expanded Scene Breakdown) which basically is an outline of beats broken down into individual scenes in short prose form so you get an overview of what happens, can see pacing, etc. In the resources at the end I put some links that give information on the whole story beat thing.

(As an aside: for all my short comics, I don't bother with all that, frankly. I usually have an image or a concept or a bit of writing — usually dialogue or monologue, sometimes a concrete scene — that I pick at and pick at in a little sketchbook, going back and forth between writing and thumbnail sketches of the page. Or I just go by the seat of my pants and bullshit my way through. Either or. Those in many ways are a bit more like poems, in my mind: they are images, they are snapshots, they are feelings that I'm capturing in a few panels. Think doing mental math rather than writing out geometric proofs, yanno?)

Personally, I tend to lean on dialogue as it comes easier for me (it's probably why I'm so drawn to screenwriting!) so for me, if I were to do another longform GN, I'd probably take my general "uhhhhhh I have an idea and some beats maybe so I guess this should happen this way?" outline and start breaking it down scene by scene (I tend to write down scenes or scene sketches in that "uhhhh?" outline anyway LOL) and then figure out basic dialogue and action beats — in short, I'd kind of do the work of writing a screenplay without necessarily going full screenplay format (though I did find the format gave me an idea of timing/pacing, as 1 page of formatted script is about equal to 1 minute of screentime, and gave me room to sketch thumbnails or make edits on the large margins!) If you're not a monologue/soliloque/dialogue/speech person and more an image and description person, you may lean more into visuals and scenes that cut to each other.

Either way this of course introduces the elephant in the panel: art! How do you choose what to draw?

The answer is, well, it depends! The freedom of comics is if you can imagine it, you can make it happen. You have the freedoms (and audio limitations) of a truly silent film with none of the physical limitations. Your words can move in real time with the images or they can be a narrative related to the scene or they could be nonsequitors entirely! The better question is how do you think? Do you need all the words and action written first before you break down the visuals? Do you need a panel by panel breakdown to be happy, or can you freewheel and translate from word and general outlines to thumbnails? What suits you? I really cannot answer this because I think when it comes to what goes where with regard to art, it's a bit of "how do you process visuals" and also a bit of "who's drawing this?" — effectively, who is the interpreter for the exact thing you are writing? Is it you or someone else? If it's you, would you benefit from a barebones script alongside thumbnailed paneling? Would you be served by a barebones script, then thumbnails, then a new script that includes panel and page breakdowns? What frees you up to do what you need to do to tell your story?

If I'm being honest, I don't necessarily worry about panels or what something will look like necessarily until I'm done writing. I may have an image that I clearly state needs to happen. I may even have a sequence of panels that I want to see and I do indeed sketch that out and make note of it in my script. But exactly how things will be laid out, paneled, situated? That could change up until I've sketched my final pencils in CSP (but I am writer and artist so admittedly I get that luxury.)

How do I compress from novel to comic?

Honest answer? You don't. Not really. You adapt from one to another. It's more a translation. Something that would take forever to write may take 1 page in a comic or may take a whole issue.

I'm going to pick on Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo spent a whole-ass book in Notre-Dame de Paris talking about a bird's eye view of Paris and other medieval architecture boring stuff, with I guess some foreshadowing with Montfaucon. Who cares. Not me. I like story. Anyway. When we translate that book to a movie any of the billion times someone's done that, we don't spend a billion years talking at length about medieval Paris. There's no great monologuing about the gibbet or whatever: you get to have some establishing shots, maybe a musical number, and then you move tf on. Because it's a movie, right? Your visuals are right there. We can see medieval Paris. We can see the cathedral. We can see the gibbet. We don't need a whole book: it's visually right there. Same with a comic: you may need many paragraphs to describe, say, a space station off of Sirius and one panel to show it.

On the flip side, you may take one line, maybe two, to say a character keyed in the special code to activate the holodeck; depending on the visual pacing, that could be a whole page of panels (are we trying to stretch time? slow it down? what are we emphasizing?) A character gives a sigh of relief — one line of text, yeah? That could be a frozen panel while a conversation continues on or that could be two (or more!) panels, similar to the direction [a beat] in screenwriting.

Sorry there's not a super easy answer there to the question of compression: it's a lot more of a tug, a push-pull, that depends on what you're conveying.

So Do I Have It In Me to Write & Draw a GN?

The only way you'll know is by doing. Scary, right? The thing is, you don't necessarily need to be an animation king or God's gift to background artists to draw a comic.

Hell, I hate backgrounds. I still remember sitting across from my friend who said "Claude you really need to draw an establishing exterior of the church at some point" and me being like "why do you hate me specifically" because drawing architecture? Again? I already drew the interior of the church altar ONCE, that should be enough, right? But I did draw an exterior of the church. Sorta. More like the top steeple. Enough to suggest what I needed to suggest to give the audience a better sense of place without me absolutely losing my gourd trying to render something out of my wheelhouse at the time.

And that's kinda the ticket, I think. Not everyone's a master draftsman. Not everyone has all the skills in every area. And regardless, from page one to page one hundred, your skills will improve. That's all part of it — and in the meantime, you should lean into your strengths and cheat where you can.

Do you need to lovingly render a background every single panel? Christ no! Does every little detail need to be drawn out? Sure if you want your hand to fall off. Cheat! Use Sketchup to build models! Use Blender to sculpt forms to paint over! Use CSP Assets for prebuilt models and brushes if you use CSP! Take photographs and manip them! Cheat! Do what you need to do to convey what you need to convey!

For instance, a tip/axiom/"rule" I've seen is one establishing shot per scene minimum and a corollary to that has been include a background once per page minimum as grounding (no we cannot all have eternal floating heads and characters in the void. Unless your comic is set in the void. In which case, you do you.) People ain't out here drawing hyper detailed backgrounds per each tiny panel. The people who DO do that are insane. Or stupid. Or both. Or have no deadline? Either way, someone's gonna have a repetitive stress injury... Save yourself the pain and the headache. Take shortcuts. Save your punches for the big K.O. moments.

Start small. Make an 8-page zine. Tell a beginning, a middle, an end in comic form. Bring a scene to life in a few pages. See what you're comfortable drawing and where you struggle. See where you can lean heavily into your comfort zones. Learn how to lean out of your comfort zone. Learn when it's worth it to do the latter.

Or start large. Technically my first finished comic (that wasn't "a dumb pencil thing I drew in elementary school" or "that 13 volume manga I outlined and only penciled, what, 7 pages of in sixth grade" or "random one page things I draw about my characters on throw up on the interwebz") was 99RM so what do I know. I'm just some guy on the internet.

(That's not self-deprecating, I literally am some guy on the internet talking about my path. A lot of this is gonna come down to you and what vibes with you.)

Resources on writing

Some of these are things that help me and some are things that I crowd-sourced from others. Some of these are going to be screenwriting based, some will be comic based.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud: I think everyone recommends this but I think it is a useful book if you're like "ahh!!! christ!! where do I start!!!???" It very much breaks down the elements of comics and the world they exist in and the principles involved, with the caveat that there are no rules! In fact, I need to re-read it.

Comic Book Design: I picked this up at B&N on a whim and in terms of just getting a bird's eye view of varied ways to tackle layout and paneling? It's such a great resource and reference! I personally recommend it as a way to really get a feel for what can be done.

the screenwriter's bible: this is a book that was used in my class. we also used another book that's escaping me but to be honest, I never read anything in school and that's why I'm so stupid. anyway, I'd say check it out if you want, especially if you start googling screenwriting stuff and it's like 20 billion pieces of advice that make 0 sense -- get the core advice from one place and then go from there.

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: many people I know recommended this. I think I have it? It may be in storage. So frankly, I'd already read a bunch of books on comics before grabbing this that it kind of felt like a rehash. Which isn't shade on the authors — I personally was just a sort of "girl, I don't need comics 101!!!"

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate: this has been recommended so many times to me. I cannot personally speak on it but I can say I do trust those who rec'd it to me so I am passing it along

the story circle: this is pretty much the hero's journey. a useful way to think of journeys! a homie pretty much swears by it

a primer on beats: quick google search got me this that outlines storybeats

save the cat!: what the above refers to, this gives a more genre-specific breakdown. also wants to sell you on the software but you don't need that.

I hope this helps and please feel free to touch base with more info about your specific situation and hopefully I'll have more applicable answers.