Okay, so what's up, Mother Nature? Just because Labor Day is over doesn't mean it HAS to be fall now! We're supposed to have a couple more weeks of summer still! Now, granted, autumn IS my favorite season, but I'm not a fan of waking up with cold feet this morning. It's 9:45am as I write this, and I'm STILL hiding under a blanket in my living room instead of enjoying my front porch because it's still a touch cold out there without me unpacking my fall/winter clothes already....
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(okay, so I might be exaggerating a touch...)
Well, now that my whining for more heat is out of the way....
It kept me a touch longer than I would have wanted, but I did manage to get that Gabriel and Emilie Agreste story up this past week. With all of my errands I needed to do last Tuesday, I was still writing/editing the story by the time I sprinted off to my writing group. I warned everyone that it was kind of an abrupt opening, and I still needed to go back and add a proper one. After my reading, I had the usual of mostly no one responding, possibly because they don't really know what to say when critiquing a fanfic.
I did get my usual praise from Jack, and my fellow fanfic writer Skarabrae-stone both praised me and brought up a few questions/critiques. So, yay for that.
Ska's main question was "why does Emilie even like this guy enough to sort of chase him!?" Valid question. I paint Emilie in a light that everyone who reads/hears the story seems to find her fantastic, but I purposely painted Gabriel as reserved and a touch boring. He's a recluse so anti-social he barely even spends time with his SON. He's laser focused on Emilie. There should be a reason for that, and those personality traits should always be there.
However, I do understand the question. While I have Gabriel as a sort of diluted version of himself in my story, there's still nothing really for the average person to grab a hold of and say "Okay, I get it; I get the attraction." In truth, I don't even wholly know. I just know that they DO get together, they seemed to have a good relationship before Emilie "vanished", and that most of Adrien's positive traits seem to have been inherited/learned from his mother. She had to be the outgoing one.
Regardless of how I came up with the dynamic that they have, I DO have Emilie as the one who is seeking out Gabriel and kind of dragging him out of his hide-a-hole. So Ska was right to question me as to WHY she does it. What is it about Gabriel that draws her to him?
At the time, my only response was "I'll let you know once she lets me know."
It kept me most of Wednesday to ponder it out. In the meantime, I tried to extend their interactions, as Ska suggested, in order to showcase more of Gabriel's personality. Show the reader why Emilie is attracted to this guy. Nothing I did felt organic. It read like I was trying to figure out their dynamic, instead of letting it naturally unfold.
So back to my original write I went - which is why you don't delete anything - and tried again. I simply reread "Stranger in a White Dress", looking at the narrative through Emilie's eyes. What brought her to the club in the first place? Why did she pull Gabriel out onto the balcony instead of just waving him off and fading back into the crowd? What did he say that made her impulsively kiss him? What was she feeling at the time? Why did she wander off with his phone number instead of spending more of the night with him? Why didn't she call him?
I then reread what I had so far of my current story, again looking at it from her perspective. What was Emilie doing at the party? Who did she know there? Did she know Gabriel was there? Was she actively looking for him? What was her thought when she spotted him? Why did she use the opening line she did? Was it a rehearsed line while walking up to him, or was it spontaneous? Did she mentally kick herself for it, or think it was a solid opener?
I think I have most of those questions answered, and while those answers never really showed up in the story, it helped me better understand Emilie a touch more.
It's rough writing a canon character as if she's an original since we literally know nothing about her outside of "married to Gabriel, loving mother to Adrien, was a leading actress for an indie movie, wears an off-white pants suit with a black blouse and star-shaped brooch, has blonde hair and green eyes, went to Tibet with Gabriel just before she 'went missing', and most likely used the Peacock Miraculous before falling ill." She's basically a MacGuffin that is paraded out now and again whenever the writers feel Gabriel needs more sympathy points and/or more motivation to keep being the villain. Even Adrien doesn't really mention or grieve her all that much, unless his grief is needed for his own character progression or a reason for him and Marinette to get closer.
So, I'm trying to do Emilie some justice by building her into an actual character. Hopefully show my thoughts on what she was like, and why Gabriel would go to such extremes to bring her back. As well as how much Adrien is now isolated and abandoned now that she's no longer around.
It will be a slow go, since I've decided to truly use this story as a sort of palate cleanser for whenever I hit a roadblock in my main writing - such as with OatS.
I mean, writing a fluffy romance to help refocus the brain seemed to work wonders for the comic book writer and artist Linda Sejic. Her main comic is a series called Blood Stain. It's a comedic slice-of-life playing with the "mad scientist" trope. You can read it for free on WebToon - which I linked to.
Anyway, while stuck figuring out what to do for her next volume, Linda Sejic read some Greek mythology and was inspired by the relationship between Hades and Persephone. Despite him "stealing her" from her mother, and "forcing her" to stay with him six months of the year because of eating pomegranate while in the underworld, the Hades and Persephone relationship was so revered that the ancient Greeks would pray to THEM for a happy marriage. Hades never strayed from Persephone in any of the myths that she could find. She began wondering "what if Hades didn't kidnap her, what if she willingly went to him and it was Demeter who claimed it was kidnapping because she wasn't on board with her daughter being with anyone; let alone the ruler of the underworld?"
The romance that Linda has teased via random Hades and Persephone posts she's shared over the past year or two is just so sweet. She even named the series of Hades and Persephone artwork Punderworld... because her Hades enjoys puns, it's a pun in and of itself, plus it's nice shorthand for Persephone's Underworld. After seeing the love for her Punderworld work, and how much she enjoyed creating the story, she decided to go ahead and make it an official comic book series alongside Blood Stain. Punderworld is set to come out next month!
Okay, back to my point. Linda said she felt re-inspired for Blood Stain, and that writing the next few bits of that comic has gone smoother since she had this "side project" to redirect towards whenever Blood Stain became troublesome for her. Perhaps my Gabriel and Emilie story "I Don't Care" will be the same way for me; my Punderworld with "One and the Same" being my Blood Stain.
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After taking Ska's critiques into consideration, and "soul searching" what it is about Gabriel that Emilie could be attracted to, I added the opening I felt the chapter need. Mostly it was setting up why Gabriel was there in the first place. I also gave his flatmate a name, as requested by Ska.
Hubby's been playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as I mentioned two weeks ago. One of the characters is a bit... over-the-top, flirtatious, and a typical "skirt chaser" who claims he just "falls in love too easily".
Character Portrait from Fire Emblem: Three Houses
For whatever reason, this character Sylvain ended up matching up fairly well with how I pictured Gabriel's flatmate. I'm not entirely sure how Gabriel ended up living with such a character, but I like the foil he creates. So, Sylvain officially is Gabriel's roommate... to some extent. I named the flatmate after Sylvain, and I sort of picture him looking the same; and being just as flirtatious. However, I think MY Sylvain will be even more exaggerated; an exhausting, constantly-needs-stimulation, extrovert.
Maybe that's how Gabriel manages to survive living with him. Sylvain is almost never in the apartment as he's out and about in Paris most of the day, and crashed asleep in his room the few times he's home....
It's fun when characters evolve for me as I complain in this blog about not really knowing the answers to key questions.
Hacker Boy Facebook sticker
by Birdman, Inc
So.... yeah. I had the chapter done on Thursday, but with Omnibladestrike's weekly visits, I didn't have the downtime to polish and post. We ended up meeting up with Hubby while my man was on his lunch break... about an hour before his shift ended...
So, for the half-hour left of Hubby's shift post-lunch-break, Omni and I chatted a touch about tropes and plot twists - now that I could FINALLY watch the Overly Sarcastic Productions' Trope Talk about plot twists - and how he could work plot twists into his story via the standard fantasy tropes.
Friday I was able to FINALLY get my story up, and then Omni "invaded" for a couple hours again. We chatted a bit more about his writing and his world build before he headed off to his gaming event.
I then spent the weekend cleaning my apartment and prepping for a mini viewing party for the Steven Universe movie on Cartoon Network yesterday. It was fun having a couple friends over so the four of us - Hubby included - could enjoy it together.
Huge shout out to all of my friends who kept bugging me to watch this show, and a special shout out to Rozsavaria, who provided me with a means to watch the series. It's so good, and the concepts are awesome! YAY!
Well, now that the hype of Steven Universe: The Movie is over, and I've gotten the Emilie and Gabriel fluff out of my system for the time being, I guess next thing on my To Do list is get back to OatS.
If it helps, I DID go back to my outlines yet again to try to tighten things up. I also started researching the 4-Act story structure vs the standard 3-Act. I had randomly grabbed some articles on the topic to help Cyhyr out with her own story last month, but I didn't really absorb the articles myself prior to this past week. Perhaps switching up the story structure formula can help me figure out this story... We'll see as I tackle it some more this week.
While I'm doing that, feel free to check out my new story: "I Don't Care".
As I've mentioned, I don't have much from the show's canon to work with, so it's going to be mostly original content. There may be nods to the show itself - such as Emilie telling Gabriel he'd look good in royal purple; the color of his Hawk Moth costume, or that Emilie wears Lavender perfume, and butterflies are attracted to lavender - but they're more added easter eggs than elements you need to "fully get" in order to understand the story.
I'm going mostly on my own imagination with this. It's probably on par with my X-Future stuff in terms of "mostly original content, although I'm using someone else's world, and possibly borrowing their characters."
Point is, most of IDC will be original content, so if you wanted to check out my fanfiction, but were afraid in the past that you'd get lost since you don't know the show, perhaps this is the story for you.
Also... it's "only" 5000 words long. Yes, ChibiSunnie has already playfully teased that 5000-words, even spread across 2 chapters, is still fairly large compared to a lot of other fanfiction. Still... it's small for MY writing.... Point is, it should be fairly manageable to read.
As per usual, you can check out my story in my normal spots.
Okay, I spent too much time reading through Blood Stain and that pilot of Punderworld when I looked up the links to them, so now it's after noon, so I'll have to wrap this up.
No stats for IDC for this week, but I'll try to remember to share them for next week. I will say though, that I shared IDC on Tumblr both via the AO3 link and then again as I normally do; physically inserting a link into a normal Tumblr post. I still don't have any notes on the AO3 share, but I am now up to 3 notes - 2 likes and 1 reblog - on that second promotion; the one I have linked here. So I think I'm going to continue the way I always have with my story promotions.
Although I JUST remembered that I didn't promote on Twitter again.... I keep forgetting that exists.
Knives from the Scott Pilgrim comic books
by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Either way, it's getting love, and people seem to like seeing Gabriel "as a human" so there's that.
In truth, I'm not entirely sure what I did this past week. I haven't been feeling well, which means I've been neglecting my time audits. Always when I need them the most to figure out what the heck I did with my life is when I'm too "bleh" to remember to do them.
Awesome.
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I'm so good at this whole "Adulting" thing, guys.
Out of what I DO remember, this was my week:
Go to work for the past six days straight
Attempt to write and fail more often than not
Power through the second half of the final season of Steven Universe
Overwhelm ChibiSunnie with walls of text about Fruits Basket Another and Steven Universe
Responding to a week's worth of Chibi's replies and own gushing about mangas she's into
FINALLY getting back to messaging TLOS21 after I accidentally ghosted the poor dear MONTHS ago
None of that is necessarily in order.
I think the big thing was the Steven Universe bit. Hubby and I had a couple of binge nights throughout the week, even though we still would have had this week to finish the show off before the TV movie premiered. That last day, though?
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We started the show up as a way to wind down our evening. The timing was near-perfect for us to stop at midnight. It would have been like 12:06 or something random like that by the time the episode ended.
Except, it was a precursor to an episode I knew was going to happen, and one that was kind of major for the fans, from what I gathered via Tumblr posts and talking with Chibi. It was also the episode where the the show's creator Rebecca Sugar went a bit passive-aggressive. See, the show has a strong focus on lesbian relationships, among other key things. While some of those relationships could be reworked to be presented as "really close friends" or "family" - basically the same treatment Sailor Moon got State-side in the 90s - there was one couple where you couldn't deny that they were together. They kiss and hug and swing each other around... they were clearly a couple. Some countries, trying to rework this fact to hide a lesbian relationship, reworked one of the characters as male since she had a more masculine personality and style. Rebecca was NOT happy with this decision, and decided to throw a monkey wrench into those re-works.
I won't say more because of spoilers, but it was a glorious show of passive-aggressiveness, and I assumed it would be the next episode in the line-up. They are only 10min long episodes, so Hubby and I decided "Meh, one more." Except there was actually a sort of interlude episode. The NEXT episode would be the one I was waiting for.
"One more?"
"One more."
Buuuuuut, the one I was waiting for turned out to be a double episode: 20minutes. Okay. No big. So we go to bed at 12:30. Lots of adults do that.
Except I didn't know the episode I was waiting for would be the one that also flung us into the final act of the series. I should have seen that coming, in hindsight...
Cliffhanger after cliffhanger after cliffhanger... next thing I know, we're finishing up the 40min finale episode and going to bed at like 2am!
Sheesh!
But, hey, I enjoyed an awesome show finally. I got to watch the most epic portions of it with my hubby. He was annoying and called all the major "twists" the show concluded with. Darn his masterful observation and deduction powers!
Also, guys! GUYS! There is a BEHEMOTH of a character in that finale called Obsidian, and I LOVE her!
If Lia were a Steven Universe Gem instead of an X-Men mutant, then I could TOTALLY see this as her design... maybe with fewer arms... but... yeah! Maybe I'll rethink Lia's hair so it's more like hot smoke. I mean, Te Ka from Moana had a similar look.
Another good reference for Lia in her Obsidian form. In my reworking of Lia for Glitches I DO have her has half-Hawaiian, so maybe an homage art styling to Disney's Te Ka would be appropriate.
It might also help me make her seem less like the X-Men canonical character Magma - who, in X-Future, is Lia's mom - if I made Lia look more like a human volcano and less like the female version of the Human Torch.
Johnny "Human Torch" Storm from Fantastic Four
Amara "Magma" Aquilla from X-Men
Now, I tried making Lia look less like her mom by having her cover her magma form with a "skin" of obsidian; hence the codename. However, Lia still has her hair turn into flames when she powers up. I'm not much of an artist, so these are the best renderings I have of my vision.
Left Design: mostly artwork from ChaZie doll
designers, and then doctored in Photoshop Right Design: Completely done in X-Girl
doll maker by Candy's World
After seeing the design of the Steven Universe Obsidian, and comparing her to Te Ka, I'm thinking the smoke-cloud hair could actually work better for Lia. Especially since the comic book versions of both Johnny Storm and Amara Aquilla are blondes. It just seems natural for light colored hair to become flame-like. Meanwhile, Te Ka is part of Hawaiian culture, and most Hawaiians have brunette hair. It seems just as natural for brunette hair to become smoke-like. Lia happens to be brunette....
I'm going to have to re-think Lia's Obsidan Form art design for Glitches....
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Back on topic. So I completed my watch of Steven Universe. That means I was also able to finally get to the Overly Sarcastic Productions' Trope Talk about Plot Twists. I have to say, while I was fairly certain I knew MOST of the spoilers for SU already, I'm glad I didn't chance watching the Trope Talk before finishing the series.
It was a kind of major twist, and while said twist now entices me to go though a second viewing of the whole series - as long as that is - in order to see the clues sprinkled throughout, at the same time I'm glad THAT twist wasn't spoiled for me. After having an emotional investment in the series, to have THAT rug pulled outside of the narrative would have pissed me off.
Sure, there's the argument - one that Red brings up in her Trope Talk - that if a story is ruined by being spoiled, then it was a poorly written story. This was a big talking point around the spoilers embargo for "Avengers: Endgame". Like, people were literally beaten up for announcing spoilers for the movie. So the critique became: "if you find out a spoiler and decide the story's no longer worth consuming, then it was probably a poorly written story in the first place." Mainly because it means knowing that twist takes away the enjoyment of the story; detracting from any form of second viewing.
HOWEVER, there are twists that ADD to the second viewing because it gives you something to look out for. Red states that these are "well done" plot twists; the kind that enhances the story. I argue that it sucks to have THOSE spoiled for you just as much as the "bad writing" plot twists; the ones in there just for the initial shock value.
Red explains that being spoiled something that is a good plot twist will just sort of launch you into the "second viewing" mindset of "I already know this twist but..." as you still enjoy the suspense - or the suspense is kicked up a notch due to your knowledge - or as you pick up the breadcrumbs leading to the twist.
For instance, there are a LOT of these "retroactive" plot twists in the show Futurama. Two major ones are actually revealed in the 4th season, even though there were hints about it all throughout the series. One reveal was so ingrained in the overarching story of the show - even though it was never even HINTED that there was a deeper meaning to it - that if you go back to the VERY FIRST EPISODE, and know what you're looking for, the reveal is there! It wasn't something that was retroactively added in for a flashback sequence to explain this random plot twist, IT WAS THERE IN THE FIRST EPISODE, JUST WAITING TO BE REVEALED!
FOUR SEASONS LATER!
Likewise, the second reveal also had breadcrumbs from at LEAST the second season, if you knew what to look for. That's another three years of dropping hints before the reveal. The best part is, while both reveals did kinda-sorta change characters' outlooks on their lives, it didn't change the overall story of the show. It wasn't a "trajectory" twist that drastically redirects the show plot for the rest of the series; or the rest of the movie....
Knowing those reveals actually makes the story more fun as you try to pick up on those clues upon your watch. So, in that regard, I think I agree that finding out a spoiler shouldn't ruin the overall experience. Instead, it tweaks it to a potentially better one as it forces you into that "second viewing" mindset.
HOWEVER, my counter-argument is that it only really works with those retroactive-twist spoilers, but not trajectory-twist spoilers.
Sure, a trajectory twist - or the "character reveal" twists that are usually both retroactive twists and trajectory twists - should still be done well enough that knowing it doesn't ruin the whole story, otherwise, what is the point of re-watching/re-reading/re-playing the story?
Most of the examples I can think of off the top of my head are character reveal twists, but we'll go with it.
Knowing who Keyser Soze is won't ruin the re-watch value of "The Usual Suspects."
Knowing who the titular "Twilight Princess" is won't ruin the video game.
Knowing the full story about the Crystal Gems rebellion against Pink Diamond - the Steven Universe spoiler Red had used - doesn't ruin the re-watch value of the series.
Knowing who is the masked leader of the terrorist group in "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel" or, similarly, the masked leader of the terrorist group in "Fire Emblem: Three Houses" - Hubby has a thing for RPGs with masked terrorist group leaders, apparently - doesn't ruin the re-play value of those games.
Knowing who Darth Vader is in "Star Wars" doesn't ruin any of the re-watches of it.
Knowing the truth about what the world of Psyren is - in the same named manga series - doesn't stop you from wanting to re-read it.
Knowing the truth about what the Assassin's Creed games are about doesn't ruin the re-play value, nor does it detract from future games in the franchise.
HOWEVER. While these are all well-written trajectory plot twists, I would STILL hate to have known them ahead of time. I still would have HATED having them spoiled - which is why I'm so glad I waited before watching that Trope Talk.
Because, while the story isn't ruined by knowing, and it may actually be ENHANCED with the knowledge of those twists, getting those twists spoiled still ruins the EXPERIENCE of going in blind. You don't feel that initial reaction that the writer wanted for you. That shock. That awe. That gut-punch. That "wait! what!?"
Being spoiled on a well written plot twist - usually a trajectory twist - takes something from you, and that's why I'm trying harder to either avoid posting spoilers on this blog, or at least marking/hiding them. I know, I've been accidentally spoiled on a lot of things that took away that initial impact, and I'm super bummed about it.
Speaking of: pro-tip for anyone watching "Miraculous Ladybug" and either haven't gotten to season 3 yet, or just started it. Avoid watching the episode "Party Crasher". It aired terribly out of order and spoils new Miraculous wielders.
So... anyway.... those were my rambling thoughts about spoilers and why I'll continue to want spoiler tags for things.
Let's move along to the real reason you guys are here: my writing.
In that regard, I kinda sorta have good news?
I don't have anything posted yet. I still need to finish and polish. And this might be one of the few times I read something to my writing group before publishing it. I use the limited critiques I get from them for future writing; a means to grow and adapt. However, it's rare that I use the critiques for the actual story I've read, because said story has already been posted online. In some occasions, the story has been up for months before I get to read it at group.
We'll see how it goes. First, I have to finish writing/editing the story before group tonight. That is the trick, considering it kept me until I had a night alone at home on Friday - I just haven't been able to really focus at work this week - to finally got some words on paper; so to speak.
About two hours and five pages worth of writing.
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I had finally gotten around to working on my Gabriel and Emilie story.
Originally, it was going to be a one-shot in the same universe as Stranger in a White Dress, and set it up as a series, like I did with the It's You universe. Then I thought I'd do something similar to What Is Truly Meant To Be, and create a love story where each chapter relates to a different song. The first chapter would be "Play Me Like A Violin" by Stephen and the second chapter - the writing I did on Friday, and continued a little bit yesterday - would be based on "I Don't Care (acoustic)" by Ed Sheeran. However, the more I wrote, the slower the progress got with the relationship. I was perfectly okay with that, but it meant I barely covered even the first verse of "I Don't Care" within my story. I mean, that's fine too, since "Stranger in a White Dress" is more of the FEELING of "Play Me Like a Violin" as opposed to a narration of the story told in the song.
Still. The more I wrote "I Don't Care" and the more I got into the slow build of their relationship, the more I realized how much the song didn't just talk about this ONE MOMENT in their romance. The feel of "Play Me Like a Violin" very much encompasses the initial attraction the two had for each other, in my mind. However, it's a story about a whirlwind romance, of physical attraction without truly getting to know each other. The story told in "I Don't Care" - the song, not my writing - is about a strong connection with someone; being able to do things otherwise thought impossible or uncomfortable, simply because the love of your life is beside you.
That's not just a chapter in Gabriel and Emilie's life. That is their whole romance.
So, I'll have to rework and retweak a few things, and I want to alter a part in "Stranger in a White Dress" before officially posting it as "chapter 1" of this story. As of right now, the overall story will be called "I Don't Care" which works as a nod to both the song that inspired it, and to the couple's attitude towards hardships while they're together, as well as a painful reminder of Gabriel's thoughts after Emilie is taken from him.
Really, the only hesitation I have with posting this new story as a chapter instead of a short story within the same universe as SiaWD, is that if it's a multi-chapter story, then people will be expecting updates on it. I know I will post more chapters as I become inspired to talk more about the couple's doomed relationship. However, I have no clue how frequently those inspirations will strike. I mean, it's been over a year since I wrote SiaWD.
Also... I still have OatS to work on, so switching focus to this new story, instead of letting new chapters pop up whenever, seems like a disservice to OatS and the readers waiting for it. Especially since I'm not the type of person who can split focus on a massive project like these in order to progress them simultaneously. I just don't want my readers to see me posting a new multi-chapter story, and have it not be OatS AGAIN. I already did that to them twice with "Woven Heartstrings" and "Prescription for Love." I feel like I'm just teasing them now.
On the flipside, maybe they'll just appreciating having SOMETHING new from me to read. Plus, using this Gabriel/Emilie story as sort of a palate cleanser whenever OatS is running me into a wall might be just what I need to finally finish that massive work.
So, here's to adaptability, and hope it helps get me back on track with my writing.
And I don't mean it like I did a week or two ago, where it wasn't a productive week, but ironically was at the same time.
I mean this was NOT a productive week for me. This was a VERY chill, I don't feel like thinking, kind of week for me.
It was a week of catching up on reading and on shows. I mean, I guess that's still sort of productive, because I'm absorbing other stories, which is always beneficial for a writer so they can then draw from that pool later on. So there's that. As for my own writing though? Meh...
Early-ish in the week, I realized I wanted to continue "Painfully Close" to also include Plagg's POV on the events of "the cringe episode" Puppeteer 2. However, I also hadn't seen the episode in a little bit at that point, so I figured I'd rewatch the episode. Somehow, that turned into me transcribing the episode so I could use the transcription as a reference while I was at work and couldn't watch the episode.
I don't have the full thing transcribed, since my focus was on what Plagg would witness, but still, Adrien does take up at least a third of the episode. Also, due to the means I was trying to transcribe, and the fact that I was frequently interrupted during my attempt, it did keep me two days - Thursday and Friday - to accomplish this task. I think collectively I spent about 4hrs or so trying to transcribe this episode? I used to be so much better at this. I used to transcribe commercials as part of my job when I worked in production. I'm out of practice. My ears aren't quite as attuned as they once were. I can't hold full sentences in my head anymore; not without my mind paraphrasing them. I have to go a few words at a time, and then re-listen while I re-read my transcription about 4x to make sure I did indeed write what was said, and not what I THOUGHT was said.
It's tedious. So, to all those transcribers out in the world, especially court stenographers who can't ask for things to be repeated, and even fan-transcribers (like I was those two days) who do this simply for the sake of doing it:
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Lord knows my life would have been easier if someone else had already transcribed the episode. However, I don't know if anyone wants to re-live the cringe enough to actually transcribe it. Perhaps I'll finish my transcription so it can be posted online; save another fan.
Especially since "the cringe" doesn't seem to really hit me; nor does the second-hand embarrassment. In fact, I actually enjoy this episode. It's rage-inducing, sure, and leaves you wondering "what the heck am I even watching right now!?" but those things are oddly fun for me....
Anyway... that was probably the most productive I was all week: those transcriptions.
I THOUGHT, once I went back through the episode continuously, especially while trying to get into Plagg's head the whole time, that I'd be ready to write. On Saturday I tried. I got a couple paragraphs in, but it just didn't feel authentic. I wasn't in Plagg's head for whatever reason. It was less of an episode reaction - like with Tikki - and more of an episode recap. I just wasn't feeling it. So that project is on the backburner, and "Painfully Close" remains a one-shot for now.
Instead, the past two days have had me mentally planning out a sequel to one of my Tumblr Exclusive stories: Stranger in a White Dress
For whatever reason, I already had Gabemilie feels running around my head lately, but it all seemed to form into some semblance of a narrative after hearing an Ed Sheeran song on the radio. Seriously, I need to just listen to this man's albums on repeat whenever I have writers block, because his songs always seem to inspire SOMETHING.
Anyway, the song in question this time is "I Don't Care." It was originally a collab with Justin Bieber - and, honestly, the poppy version with Bieber is actually fun and the video is delightfully kooky - but the version I love more, and the one that inspired me, is the Sheeran-only acoustic.
Aside from the line "And I don't ever wear a suit and tie" I feel this song is VERY much a Gabriel Agreste song. If I had any form of reliable editing equipment, and if there was ANY footage from the show of Gabriel and Emilie together, you KNOW I'd be throwing those scenes together as an AMV for this song.
The best alternative I have is to write it out as a fanfic. Darn.
The basic story idea I have brewing is Emilie meeting up with Gabriel for the second time after their initial meet-cute in "Stranger in a White Dress." Gabriel was dragged outside of his apartment by his roommate who thinks Gabe needs to socialize more. Except the roommate quickly abandons Gabe in order to dance with some cuties. Emilie sees Gabe - who hasn't started wearing his suit and ascot yet; preferring a cable-knit sweater over a button-down shirt - and asks him to dance. They actually have more than a few minutes together, and it's very reminiscent of Disney's Cinderella; either the original animated or the live-action. They finally get to know each other, instead of just succumbing to their initial attraction to each other.
It's the true start of their love story; one with a tragic ending, even if Emilie does get revived.
So, there's that... We'll see if I actually motivate myself to write it.
Ironic that THIS is the week that I'm all sorts of "nope" with my writing, since I was interviewed about being a writer last Tuesday. However, by now you should know what I say about me and Irony...
Who would have thought I'd be
using this graphic so frequently?
Anyway, a local reporter is trying to help promote the local libraries, and specifically the writing groups that meet up at them. He did a video recording of our interview so he can also create a video to post online. For anyone who was willing to go on camera, the reporter brought us into a separate room for a short one-on-one interview while the rest of the group continued their normal reads and commentary.
One of his questions was "why do you write?" Frankly, I wasn't sure how to answer that. I write because I write. Eventually I came up with the answer "I write because I don't know what else to do with these characters talking to me in my head, or the stories I think of that wouldn't be experienced by anyone else if I DIDN'T write them." He seemed intrigued by that answer.
So... yeah... then this week happened....
I tried, but I couldn't find the origin of this quote.
If you know, please tell me in the comments so
I might properly credit them.
Instead of writing, as I mentioned at the top of the blog, I focused on absorbing other stories.
Hubby has been playing the latest game in his favorite franchise: Fire Emblem. The story of "Three Houses" is so heartbreaking as these former classmates and students end up going to war with each other. There's also mysteries to solve. Also also, there is an adorable lead to one of the three houses: Claude.
He's tall, dark, and handsome. He's witty and playful. He's thoughtful and sarcastic. He's seemingly care-free, but also is a great strategist. He also tries to be as unbiased a mediator as possible, knowing the best strategy is to get into the mind of his opponent. That way he can figure out his opponent's end-goal and either defeat them before they can reach it, or find a way to peacefully help them reach it in order to spare lives.
I would have been sorely disappointed if Hubby had started off with any house other than Claude's Golden Deer, because I would cry if I had to watch him battle against Claude. I probably will have to ignore any future re-plays Hubby does.
Another character from Golden Deer I would have been sore to watch Hubby battle against? This friggen human puppy:
Raphael is the Gentle Giant type. A bit simple-minded, and focuses mostly on 3 things: 1) food; any and all, 2) his little sister and her protection, and 3) being as strong as possible in order to help protect his sister. We find out in one of the support cut-scenes that Raphael knows his sister is smarter than him, and wants her to have the best life she can, so he sends her his textbooks and the study notes people gift to him. That way she gets the education he's at the monastery for. He knows he won't quite understand most of it, but she seems to be picking up on it fairly easily. He's just too adorable, and reminds me of the X-Future character Hubby came up with years ago: Zeke "Warbash" Barclay.
There's actually a whole slew of characters in Three Houses that I love, including shut-in Bernadetta, elitist noble Lorenz, meek Ignatz, introverted Marianne, scheming Hilda - especially when she's higher level, can be put into different melee/brawler classes, and still holds onto her catch phrase "I'm still a delicate flower, ya know!" - foreigner Petra, playboy Sylvain, stoic swordsman Felix, assassin Shamir, and the broken Ashe. There are more characters that are also enjoyable to watch and interact with, but those I named above all usually had me going "OMG, I love them!" whenever they were on-screen. There's also so many adorable support interactions to fill a shipper's heart. I personally love the idea of Claude and Hilda together, and Marianne either with Raphael or Ignatz.
There's also the character Annette who likes to sing to herself when she's alone and/or doing chores, and a lot of the support interactions she has with Felix involves him stumbling upon her while she's singing these silly songs. She gets embarrassed that she was "caught," regardless of how much Felix tells her he likes them. However, he's so stoic and one-note that she usually reads his sincerity as teasing. Once you get them a high enough ranking, however, she actually becomes less nervous about his hearing her goofy songs, and even teaches him some. It's flippin adorable! This game and its feels, man!
This is two games in a row for my hubby: Three Houses and Trails of Cold Steel.
RPGs sure know how to pull at the heart strings, huh?
I've also have been yearning to re-play "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and "Majora's Mask." I have both for the 3DS, so I don't even have to unbury and hook up Hubby's N64. However, as I went to switch out the game I already had in my 3DS, I realized I never actually completed "Professor Layton and the Unwound Future." So I spent about an hour or two this past weekend finishing that game. I haven't started up OoT yet, but it's on the docket.
Layton is another game where there's a lovely cast of characters. However, unlike with the RPGs Hubby plays, I tend to play puzzle-themed games. So the cast of characters are lovely and quirky, but they don't really stick with you quite the same way. For this game, the emotional pull is the friendship between Layton and his apprentice Luke - think Batman and Robin without the GrimDark grit and fighting; just the detective work - as well as Layton reminiscing about his lost love Claire. Both are so bittersweet. I'm tempted to forego Zelda, since I've played both games, and instead play the next Layton game in the line-up. I'm pretty sure I have "Professor Layton and the Last Specter" around here somewhere. I'm fairly certain Hubby bought it for me when he got me Unwound Future.
I'm torn! If only I played games more consistently, it wouldn't be such a problem for me. However, I do so many other things, it's actually become quite rare for ME to be the player - as opposed to me casually watching Hubby play while I do something else; like fold laundry. While I only played Unwound Future for roughly 37hrs, according to the play clock on my save file, it probably kept me over a year to actually complete the game. Thankfully, when you start up a save file in the Professor Layton games they give you a recap of the "Story so far..." to remind you what happened, precisely for those of us that go MONTHS between sessions.
I've wanted to play Zelda for a while now, and I don't precisely know where Last Specter is, so I'm probably going with OoT, but still....
Other story I've consumed: Hubby and I rented and watched "Shazam!" finally. It might be my favorite DC movie yet, although "Wonder Woman" is still up there, and "Aquaman" is actually decent as well. Seems the DCEU has finally figured out that going GrimDark with their stories isn't what audiences necessarily want. I really enjoy the characterization of everyone, but then again, I only really know Shazam via the Justice League cartoons and the like, so I'm not sure how comic-book accurate it is. At the very least, however, the casual viewer should enjoy it. Also, yeah, Billy's bestie Freddy is great, but can we just pause a moment to reflect on how amazing little Darla is!? She's adorable, and the actress's comedic timing is fantastic! While I still don't quite understand the internet term 'stan' enough to use it in a sentence myself, I get the word's meaning enough to now completely understand all the "Darla Stan" posts I saw on my Tumblr dash in April.
This weekend I also tried to plow through more "Steven Universe" episodes. At first, I didn't get the appeal of the show. It looked like another dumb Cartoon Network show with sloppy, over-exaggerated Western animation styling. In fact, that was precisely the point! To make it look and feel like any other CN show to draw kids in. Then it evolved to this amazing story that I 100% get the hype about. It tackles genderization, LGB relationships, slavery, caste systems, PTSD, anxiety, self-worth, colonization, healthy vs abusive relationships, and there's even veiled sexual consent discussions in the story via the use of gem fusion practices. I'm sure there's more life-lesson themes throughout that I'm missing or forgetting - such as the importance of open communication between guardians and wards/parents and kids - but that list seemed substantial enough anyway.
I had tons of friends tell me to watch this show, and finally one of them gave me a way to watch the series - since CN wasn't airing reruns of it, and it wasn't OnDemand. I got a few episodes in, casually made my way through the first season and about half of the second. I kept thinking I needed to go through a few more episodes here and there. Then the latest Overly Sarcastic Productions Trope Talk came up, discussing Plot Twists. Which included this disclaimer because, well... plot twists...
The font may be a touch difficult for some people to read, but the stories that have major spoilers discussed in the video include:
Game of Thrones (ALL SEASONS)
Steven Universe (season 5)
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Captain America: Civil War
Avengers: Endgame
A looooot of MCU content there... I'm sure Red discussed that trivia as well, but I wouldn't know right now, seeing as I haven't watched the video. Why? Well, because I've seen all of the spoiled content... EXCEPT for Steven Universe.
So, I figured I needed to put my butt in gear so I can finish the series and go back to watch this Trope Talk. I'm going painfully slow for Omnibladestrike. I got him hooked on Overly Sarcastic Productions, specifically Red's Trope Talks, and he loves talking about the Trope Talks with me. He's been dying to discuss this one, I'm sure, seeing as he brings it up every time we see each other. Also, Steven Universe episodes are only 10 minutes long, and yet it has been THREE WEEKS since that Trope Talk was uploaded, and I STILL have season 5 - and most of season 4 - to get through.
I did spend HOURS plowing through season 3 and the start of season 4 this past weekend. The power on just our block went out on Saturday. Because of the storm going on, it was too dark to see the house well enough to clean it - folding is hard when the table has to be used for candles, candle light isn't bright enough for me to feel like I can make sure my dishes are clean, no electricity means no vacuuming, etc - and there wasn't much Hubby and I could do to entertain ourselves after chatting for a while. We used our phones for a bit, knowing I could just go out to my car to recharge them before bed. We couldn't really read though... candle light and all. How did people read by candle light? They must have had better candles to utilize... I just had little tea-lights and Yankee candles.
We also couldn't play cards or a table top game because Hubby didn't like the idea of them being so close to the candles. That and the lack of table space, as previously mentioned. Finally, later in the evening, knowing my laptop still was at full battery, I brought up Steven Universe, and we watched that until my laptop nearly died. Got Hubby drawn into the story, I think.
Also, I don't know if I have a favorite Gem, but Peridot's attempts to fight the Crystal Gems and get back off Earth are adorable and hilarious, and I love her! Her bravado is fantastic, and I actually really like her graveled voice as well. If it were a deeper tone; more of a growl to it, then I could see that as Trish's voice.
I'm getting off topic. My point was that I started watching SU again after that Trope Talk went up, but then I started seeing promos on Cartoon Network for a Steven Universe TV movie premiering on September 2nd. So now I'm trying to race through the episodes so I'm set for the movie in a couple of weeks. And it seems I'm helping Hubby get caught up for the movie as well.
The trick though is that I still have 48 episodes to watch - two of which are 2-parters. While each episode is only 10 minutes long, that's still EIGHT HOURS WORTH of SU to finish in about 12 days! I do need to pick up the pace on these episodes!
Generated by Bitmoji
But hold on, because we're not through yet! A few weeks ago, ChibiSunnie gave me a heads up on a manga sale. Chibi and I had discussed for a while now how we needed to get our hands on the "Fruits Basket" sequel "Fruits Basket Another," especially now that it's finally getting translated. The third and final manga in the series is supposed to come out October 29th. So, Chibi and I both took advantage of the sale, and ordered all three mangas. She's waiting for the third to publish before getting her shipment, but I got the first two in the series in the mail over the weekend. I also bought Hubby the next omnibus for "Air Gear," and I bought both of us the next two volumes of "Psyren." Mangas all around!
Yes, I did already devour the FBA mangas. It's a short series that focuses on the children of the original cast. You don't get to see the original cast, but they're alluded to, which is nice, because you get a sense of what they're up to now that they're in their late-30s/40s/early-50s. It's also fun to see what traits passed down to the kids. There's even one page that just cracked me up so much. It's literally the end of the second volume. Nothing really by way of spoilers, but if you want to go in cold, I'll drop it into a spoiler box.
First of all, this is while the group is discussing the Sohma family lake-side cottage. The original cast went there during Golden Week the first year Tohru lived with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo. The joke is that, while at the cottage, Shigure teased "A summer home like this by the lake, you half-expect Jason to show up." - referencing the "Friday the 13th" villain. Kyo - and Tohru, to be completely fair - didn't catch the American Pop Culture reference, and so Shigure teased further by claiming Jason was a type of vicious bear. Later that day, as Kyo, Tohru, and Yuki were walking through the woods, Kyo slipped on a bear print on the trail. He and Tohru then freaked out that it was "Jason." Yuki then informed them that Jason isn't a breed of bear, but was a horror movie villain, to which Kyo replied "DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE SO SMART!! Who gives a damn if some bear shows up in a horror movie?"
Also, for those who don't read mangas, you're going to read the below text right to left.
Clearly this has now become a tradition whenever someone new is brought to the Sohma summer home: tell them to watch out for the bear species Jason.
For those who don't want the spoiler, it's basically a one-time tease turned into a long-running family inside-joke. It's nice to have tie-ins like that. Even so, knowledge of the original manga isn't necessarily needed to enjoy FBA. The sequel series IS certainly set up to be read second, however, as one would expect. The main reason is the obvious spoilers as to how "Fruits Basket" ended. Although, aside from Haru and Ayame, I don't think any of the original cast of characters are ever referenced by name; more referenced by their careers and/or their relationships with the other parents/adults.
For instance, within the first few pages of the series, you met the principal of the high school the new cast attends. Readers of "Fruits Basket" will instantly know him as the former class president who was practically begging Yuki to be his successor. Well, apparently he was more fixated on Yuki than we originally thought, because he's constantly giving one character preferential treatment out of respect and admiration for the kid's father: Yuki. You also figure out another character's mother based on the character explaining her mother being the president of the Prince Yuki fanclub. It's also fairly easy to figure out the parentage based on character design. The kids look a LOT like their parents. Near carbon-copies of the same-gender parent.
The reviews on the first manga weren't great, but I think it's because I suspect the readers that reviewed were expecting a more in-depth story. One that was a 26-volume tome like "Fruits Basket" was. The main conflicts are over now, however, and it was supposed to be a quick check-in with the world of Furuba, and so it's a short and sweet 3 volume series. It still has drama, but it's mostly focused on the main character Mitoma Sawa learning to see her self-worth and learn to interact with people instead of shutting herself out from the world. It's a cute story, but it's not "Fruits Basket." Just like how "Rugrats: All Grown Up" wasn't "Rugrats" or "Girl Meets World" wasn't "Boy Meets World" or "Fuller House" wasn't "Full House" or "Raven's Home" isn't "That's So Raven." So on and so forth.
Still, I'm enjoying it, and I'll be sad to see it end with that last manga in October.
I was also pleasantly surprised this past week to see that Taurus Pixie had updated "Chat Vert." So you KNOW I had to go and read that latest chapter!
So... yeah... a lot of video game story absorption, TV show watching, and story reading - both fanfic and manga. Maybe all of this, plus that Ed Sheeran song, can re-inspire me to get pen to paper myself, as it were.
