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pixiedust-poppers · 17 days

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you know funny enough, I feel like Jake and the neverland pirates would actually do really well as a Disney channel show for older kids (like say Gravity falls) instead of a preschool show. You’d be able to get more into lore and emotional stuff. Maybe even plot?

I don’t know, if they ever did decide to reboot the show it’s a neat idea.

*grabs your shoulders and shakes you excitedly*

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!! LIKE!!!!

Ok, I think there is something to be done with Jake and his crew and his dynamic with Peter and Hook. Like for example how do the kids feel that Peter is only here for a day or a few hours, just enough to help with their issue? I'm sure the kids have a bit of an unhealthy attachment to him as he's really the only guardian figure they know, and as shown in Peter Pan's return, they all crave his attention so bad that they fuck up the mission trying to impress him! Like sure they can call him to bring him back to Neverland, but they don't perhaps he implemented a rule that they can only call him for emergencies. Which is also kinda hm. But you know he doesn't completely neglect them.

Word vomit incoming

Now let's take this a step deeper; what about Peter's relationship with them individually, it's clear he has a favorite, and it's Jake like that isn't a contest. Even if the show tries not to portray it in that manner it's obvious (I mean for fuck sake his name is in the title lol). His item(s)? A wooden sword personally hand-carved by Peter himself. After completing the Forever Quest, a golden sword called the Destiny Sword (towards the end of season 3) turns him into Captain Jake after giving the others a rousing speech about teamwork and how they can all get together to defeat Fathom with it. So it's clear he's the chosen (I'll touch more on that pressure later) by Neverland. But what does that mean for Izzy and Cubby? I mean sure they got items from him and he does care about them, but they're not as special as Jake. And they're never going to be, I mean god, Disney didn't even bother to make them Birthday episodes yet gave Jake two, then gave Skully and a minor character one. So it could develop into them realizing that while they are well-liked they aren't loved by Peter, Cubby is in denial about this revelation as he has gotten more gifts than Izzy. Izzy, the only girl in the main cast, is grated by this knowledge, she KNOWS and she has known for a long time. Enough to the point where perhaps she deserves a villain arc (then a redeemed villain arc) with the help of Captain Hook, who sees this opportunity to manipulate her for his gain.

Ok so jumping, let's go back to that Captain Jake issue. I personally didn't like Season 4, I thought it was shit BUT this new Captain Jake in a reboot could bring up an interesting little angst point called, "The pressure of being forced to be THE responsible one when you're only still a child." You might have all these other well-established Captains around you but, they depend on you to think of ideas, and come up with solutions to save the day, if you fail then it's on you but you're only 8 or 10 years old!!! A user mentioned this before but Jake could develop an entirely new personality as a Captain to make himself seem smarter and more capable than he actually is! This can go two ways A) he burns out and he burns out REAL bad and rather fast. B) The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and the realization of how much power he holds makes him realize he can almost do whatever he wants because he IS the 2nd most powerful person after Peter. This then comes his Power-tripping arc and the consequences of Peter not dividing this power between the trio, and being gassed up everyone, which raises his ego through the roof. This can only end badly obv and it does, how? idk but just know it does.

As for Captain Hook, because this is New Disney he can't be 100% back to his OG self but he can absolutely be raised to be more of an asshole in a Disney channel show and probably a bit fucked up. But you also would have to thread carefully on how you do these things, because one wrong move and Disney will have you rewrite the whole thing and tone it down more than need be. I also think there would be more to explore with the kids and their dynamic with him, since they also would have more nuance to them. They could have more stakes with him, and could honestly do more messed up shit with them he could make them have an inner conflict, he could manipulate one to join his side temporarily. Put the kids in more life-threatening situations that they don't come out unscathed from. Hell, you know what, I want him to win some episodes and get his way with Jake and his crew being powerless to stop it. It would teach a lesson that some days, you just can't win, someone who is nasty will win and get away with it and you have to be ok with that! (if you have resourced all your options first) Life will not always go your way. As for him and Red Jessica, show a toxic relationship, I mean come on do you REALLY think she has a thing for hook lol, it was shoehorned Hetero-shipping bait and it worked now can we do something else with it? As for smee, sharky and bones? I guess they can be less friendly to the sea pups, it would be more of a loyalty thing rather than a personal thing.

Also, the show could bring back the lost boys, to make the island seem less empty than it is, and maybe a different set of kids to replace the Native Americans.

Finally, to end this word vomit, the relationship between the kids. I really beg it be explored more. Now don't get me wrong they can have a wholesome and loving bond but not everything has to be peachy-keen. Like sure Jake is their captain but do they, not envy or resent him in some way? For example, they're all bright but Izzy is shown to be the brightest she has more knowledge about Neverland and its artifacts, so why is she not captain? Is it because she isn't naive enough? She isn't as nice or forgiving as Jake? She has no issue snapping at you when she's fed up? Then there's cubby, does he even have the real guts to be cut up for this type of thing? The classic "why him and not me?" type of deal. Then there's Cubby, does he hate being just stuck as coconut boy by his peers and other pirates? Will he ever break out of his shell, does he have a breaking point with his friends? Then Jake gets annoyed that they're not as in sync as they once were, he kinda hates that they're developing on their own and steadily gaining more and more independence. They're willing to talk back to him, be rude, and do less trio activities. Which leads to more conflicting ideas, possibly fights, and less "what I say goes!". He is scared of them changing and becoming their own individuals, he's scared that they might be growing up.

Sorry this is so so so long and rambly, I just have a lot to say about a reboot for this show that I cannot help myself.

#I also think it could be a bit more horror adjacent. specifically cosmic-eldritch horror #*monster too!#but as you can see I’m v passionate about a reboot for this show #it has potential if Disney is willing to experiment and be unsafe!#will it? maaaaybe..?#jake and the neverland pirates #jatnp #ask #also I will get your other post I promise!!

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amphiptere-art · 8 months

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Remember asks are open.

RBB. travels of the cube.

This ask series has been modified slightly. It is now simply a collection of sporadic travel events with a couple of asks afterwards or perhaps before to flush out the in-between. The current event is stop ya silly siren. Where after Blue Moon was saved from drowning in the sea has now latched onto the main mast terrified. Captain Eclipse and Sun were able to figure out a way to calm down Blue Moon and allow him to help by being their wind. You're currently going down into the ship with the mysterious navigator moon.

Cruel copy.

This is a Lord Moon world. Where everyone has technically die but been brought back from the dead without their memories. Or at least fragmented memories. Causing confusion and stress. The latest events that happened were Wizard went with gladiator to return werewolf to Butler by going to Witch. Gladiator left soon after while Wizard stayed behind and tried to talk with Butler. The conversation was going okay before it wasn't and Wizard left. Butler is now having a crisis.

Empty cup ask

This is the world of Honey and Cider. A Lord Lunar universe with the added twist that the servant eclipse isn't pretending. They are very much sentient but are very broken due to trauma. The wither storm has dragged you into the fray because he is bored. Right now everyone is attempting to figure out how to entertain honey and cider. While also entertaining the guests that the void has dragged in. The current guests being a pod of Mers.

Blue Moon and black star show

This is the main storyline ask Tumblr. And is the only Tumblr where I might be selective with asks, and will update with actual written story.

This takes place sometime in the future. Approximately probably about a week after RBB-earth finally came to the daycare. You can ask all characters in red blue and black. Although I'm going to mainly focus on Black Star Blue Moon and RBB Earth. Currently you guys have convinced a black star to leave and try and get help. Blue Moon has been talking to some of the asker's about their new strange behavior.

Sulky star cluster

This has reblog conversations. Which makes it so that character in that conversation is unavailable for asks. Although they will have conversations as long as it is set up properly.

This is a star holder Glam Rock Freddy world that has been taken over by black Star. Who has made it a refuge for Eclipses. There is the ones black Star directly took into the Plex, and then others who came along and set up a city outside of the Plex. Currently Cygnus is talking about repairs in a reblog conversation. Rigel is getting his bike repaired with sundown eclipse and those that live with him. Antares is at the library with Honey, Cider, and chapter trying to enjoy himself.

Stardust arcade

Completely unattached to tsams. It is a unique cast of characters trying to figure out how to be nice to everyone. The world is split between new AI and old AI. Robot rights have just started to get settled. But the new AI are making it a struggle for the old AI. Making it a struggle of verses with only you asker's and blood moon the therapist in works.

Ask the amph greater universe.

This also includes all role plays I make. Meaning that reblog conversations happen more often.

I decided to change up this thing to just be a general area to ask any of my characters. Whether they be DCA, Tsams, or fantasy. This is a place for you to ask whoever you want in an environment where they are in their universe. There's nothing to update because I just made this. This ask blog is not timeline sensitive. hopefully. I do like to consider the asks before. This ask blog can also be crossover sensitive. Meaning that to some extent, All crossovers are cannon within this ask blog.

In many of my asks your physical. The only difference is that in most it is your avatar, while an RBB it is the cube.

Also I will note some of these asks blogs are semi-story. Meaning that the previous ask is taken into consideration. This includes RBB-TfTC, CC, Empty cup, And maybe atAGU. There's only one ask blog that is selective. That being BS&BM ask. And that's mostly for a plot purposes.

#red blue and black #ask red blue and black #cruel copy au #ask cruel copy au #sams #tsams au #tsams #sams au #Blue Moon and Black Star show #ask the Blue Moon and Black Star show #empty cup ask #empty cup #ask the amph greater universe.#crossover story

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aimportantdragoncollector · 1 year

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Hello, I am here for the application to be Yoichi's younger sibling.

Hates bank vaults - Sadly, we're not off to a great start as I have several vaults where I put some shiny treasures such the souls of the people who wandered too close to me and sometimes, a fellow owl (who is probably vacationning there because of the chocolate fountain). However, I would never dirty my vaults with an actual human being.

Prefers Captain Hero to the Demon King - Never read this manga but I am 100% wiling to claim in front of AFO that Captain Hero is the most compelling character of the story and to make fun of the Demon King.

Villains need not apply - While I am above good and evil, I am more of an eldritch being and not a villain.

Yoichi would like someone younger than him so that he can be an older brother, but this is not a strict requirement - I am ageless so I don't know who would be the oldest but I am willing to claim the youngest sibling position. Also, I can have whatever appearance I wish for and I am okay with being shorter than Yoichi, if he wants. However, I cannot do anything to hide my incredible beauty so of not being the most beautiful sibling is a deal breaker, I'm afraid it's not worth continuing.

Must have a tolerance for PDA - Kissing with moderation and cuddling is fine but I trust Yoichi and Second and maybe Third to know how to behave themselves and not to something like making out inside a teenager's mind. Because that would be weird.

Yoichi's hair care products are not to be borrowed under any circumstances - This is fair and I would do the same but good sibling must share the names of good brands.

You must be able to defeat All for One in combat. This is very important because All for One will certainly try to murder you for replacing him. - Let's be real, I would obliterate him. I might however turn AFO into a cat or into something ridiculous first because his main amuses me.

However, I must inform Yoichi that I get bored easily so I will probably drop out of the family registry soon enough but I shall take care of AFO right before leaving, for I understand that a good sibling doesn't leave AFO the occasion to say "I told you so."

I also have several conditions, such as Yoichi calling me "The best sibling one could ever hope for" every time AFO is within earshot.

Hmmm you're certainly making it difficult for Yoichi to decide, aren't you? On the one hand:

Vaults are a flat no.

Yoichi is suspicious of people with fae-like names due to his bad experiences with the Fae AFO AUs.

He's also suspicious of people who are "above good and evil." AFO claimed to be above morality despite there being no lower he could sink.

Yoichi must always be the most beautiful sibling. It's written into the very fabric of reality.

On the other hand:

If you're fae then you can't be lying when you say that you wouldn't put a human in your vaults.

Your ideas on tormenting AFO are too good, you're a natural younger sibling. Yoichi would very much love to see AFO as a cat. Perhaps a hairless cat so he can still be bald.

If you're an owl then you can't have better hair than Yoichi, which would have been an unsurmountable obstacle.

You promised to kill AFO.

Thus Yoichi is willing to let you become his new sibling under the condition that you always wear a bag over your head when around him. This will stop you from upstaging his looks, and also prevent you from seeing him making out with his boyfriends while inside a teenager's head. Win-win.

Yoichi will even call you best sibling around AFO, but it's important to him that you know @pocketramblr is best sibling for giving him hair care tips.

#Fair warning Yoichi is plotting to steal your beauty if you become his sibling #Yoichi leached away at AFO's looks while AFO was faceless in canon #His true hidden quirk is stealing all the good looks in his family #He's eager to use fae beauty to perfect his hair

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t-he-art-of-beauty · 2 years

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Season 1 is actually so good? Flint’s character development in it is stellar? The first few episodes are a bit cryptic, they show us the vibes, the major players, the environment, the setting, they set the plot into motion and establish the first main goal, the Urca de Lima, as a step stone to the larger end goal of a safe and stable Nassau independent from England, but Episode 7 is when we really get going. Some extremely fundamental things happen for Flint which set him on a path to so many of his later decisions and to the central and extremely important Flint-Silver relationship.

There are three essential and amazing scenes happening in rapid succession: 1. Hal confronting Flint about Billy and the letter. 2. Flint confronting Miranda about the letter. 3. Eleanor finding Flint drinking in the tavern.

All these three scenes are in some way about Flint’s desperation throughout his entire journey to find someone who loves him not despite what he believes, not despite his ambitions to change the world by sheer willpower, but for them. Who shares them, who shares his obsession. To feel the rush of what he had with Thomas again. Because that was when he learned to love and be loved like that and that love is what has kept him alive so far and while he likes to pretend (probably also to himself) that his ambitions are just for the better of everyone, deep down he is also just scrambling to keep Thomas’ memory alive.

Now Hal breaks their partnership off by expressing disbelief that Flint is actually interested in the common good of the pirates. He twists his finger into the wound that Thomas’ plan and by extension Flint’s ideals never considered: Should they even be the arbiter of others’ fates, are the people he wishes to govern over so unable to choose their own path in a constructive way? Do they really know better? Hal realizes Flint has never truly seen him or the pirates of Nassau in general as his equals and the rush of being caught up in the captain’s grandeur (and I mean… attractiveness all around) just doesn’t outweigh the energy it takes to uphold the cognitive dissonance anymore.

“Is that what you are to us now. A sovereign. Levying a tax.”

Next is Miranda. She comes right for the underlying drive of grief, revenge and the desperate attempt to keep a memory alive by building a “safe, righteous, self-determined home” for the now fractured and incomplete Hamilton-McGraw triad, wrapped in it Flint’s identity as a queer man. At this point Flint assumes that she is the one to understand this, to truly grasp what this means to Flint and share this (given the Maria Aleyne history it’s understandable that he has held onto this assumption). But she denies sharing the vision, expresses her frustration and loneliness and goes for the final punch by sharing how she remembers and interprets Thomas’ perspective on the situation.

“This path you’re on. It doesn’t lead to what you think it does. If he were here, he’d agree with me!”

At this point Flint, for the first time in the show, is shown actually doubting himself. The two people he has been closest to and trusted the most in his time in Nassau so far have drawn back their support, have attacked two core tenets of his ambition. The scene with Eleanor merely puts a band-aid on the situation. Her blessing, her understanding of his drive is important structurally, because she is a vital political partner, but I do not believe it means as much to him. There is a really interesting moment full of actual (sexual? romantic?) tension or rather potential there, but it ends with a forehead kiss. Flint appreciates the partnership and deeply respects her, but probably more from a parental perspective, she isn’t truly an equal, based on life experience and age alone. But things are already in motion, the show must go on, the band-aid will have to suffice.

“Perhaps a little doubt in me is called for.” “What happened out there?” “Tell me, we’re not crazy you and I?” “Crazy?” “To put ourselves through all of this when the outcome is so uncertain?” “The outcome is only uncertain for those who disbelieve.”

The hole ripped in Episode 7 is essential for all further developments, it opens space for Silver to become an important person in his life, it opens space for him to reconsider trying a path involving pardons, as in season 2. It also foreshadows or mirrors or just resonates with how all these relationships around Flint ultimately end: Eleanor scraps her ambitions for love, Silver scraps Flint’s and Madi’s ambitions for love, even if he is reunited with Thomas in the end he is never truly reunited with the feeling he chased the entire time: Being loved for his ambition, by somebody who shares it, facing the world and shaking his fist at it, believing change is possible and yet not having to be alone.

What a lonely place to be in.

[image descriptions

image 1: Close-Up/Over the Shoulder Screenshot of Hal Gates in conversation with Flint. A bald pirate looking down with a somber and concerned expression.

image 2: Close-Up screenshot on Captain Flint, glinting eyes, in the midst of his desperate plea to Hal. He’s a red-haired & bearded man with a desperate, pleading expression.

image 3: Miranda Hamilton and Captain Flint in their house on Nassau, both are seen from behind, Flint is about to leave through the front door, Miranda is leaning towards him in the foreground, calling after him.

image 4: over the shoulder screenshot on Flint, looking at Eleanor Guthrie with a somber expression, pinched eyebrows, slightly opened mouth, almost considering.]

#flint #black sails #meta #bs #i might have to share my more detailed ramblings on each separate scenes at a later point...#arghhhhhhhh #eleanor #miranda #pirate media #hal gates #me

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thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 1 year

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Penny for your thoughts about Nozel?

Oh boy, this'll probably be a long one ^^'

Let's start with this one: I didn't like Nozel when I first saw him. But then again I don't think that's... uncommon in the fandom, granted that I only got into the show some 30+ episodes into the anime, because my fiance was watching it and I saw bits and pieces from here and there while passing by in the living room. But anyways. I did not like him.

However, as the show went on and I kept seeing more and more little things about him, and what he said and when, I thought that there's a lot more to his character than what first meets the eye. Or I was expecting there to be a lot more, which ended up being true, and I think that he has formed into being, do I dare say one of the most, complex and layered characters in the show aside of the main cast. And though it's because Noelle is a part of that main cast, and the story of the Silvas is thus greatly tied to the main plot, I think that Nozel has a place in in-depth character analysis.

Nozel is a very ...stiff character, which probably has a lot to do with him being the first born son of a royal House and an heir to the title as the Head of House Silva, which he inherited far too early on (though canon doesn't really explain who was the stand-in captain between Acier and Nozel, since Rill is said to be the youngest captain at the age of 19, and thus, the 15 year old Nozel would have had at least 5 years of being a part of the squad before becoming the Captain, without beating the title). But in any case, too much was placed onto his shoulders from far too early on. And though he assumed a lot of it on his own, since he has a great sense of pride in being the oldest of the Silva siblings, it wasn't only because of it. The collateral damage of Megicula's spell that kept him from being able to say anything, also restricted him to a great extent. But there are elements of not evoking panic among the knights, as well as probably pressure from Papa Silva, and with the final arc revealing what it did, perhaps even influence from Lucius(/Julius).

In any case, he was, for a good part of his life, unable to, or at least not-encourage to open up about his personal thoughts and feelings, which is why he is the kind of a person he is today. Along with all other aspects of his story. He is not a man who is good with words. Though he can function well in an official setting, where there are "rules" as to what to say, and guidelines to abide, but when it comes to more interpersonal "saying the right thing", he is at a loss. So, I think that he is, when he actually does say something about his feelings/emotions, the kind of a person who 110% means what he says.

In any case, I don't think anyone thinks that what he did to Noelle was right. I certainly don't. But I do think that Nozel is a victim of the generations and events that came before as well. He is misguided, and he chose very very poorly, but at the age of 15, in the state of being that he was in, with a father who guided (most likely) him into the direction that we've seen, he was really short of options. Actually, the most hurtful thing we've seen being said to Noelle (aside of maybe Solid throwing a temper tantrum), is Papa Silva calling Noelle as a "shame on the Silva family". So, I think that it was Papa Silva, not Nozel, who directed the family into the form in which we see it in canon. The Silva siblings are just acting out the roles and learned behaviours that were set by their father.

And Nozel, along with Nebra and Solid, are trying to own up to it. There is still a lot to be done on that front, but they are trying. I think that they are trying as a family.

Nozel does give validation to Noelle, and sees that she can grow to be strong, most likely even stronger than their mother, and he is afraid for her, like any caring sibling would be. But he doesn't try to stop her, after he sees what she can do in the right environment (which is with the Bulls.) He recognizes that he's been doing harm onto her, even if it was out of the wish and will to keep her safe, because Noelle is the baby sister of the family. And Nozel has grown to think, again because of their father spewing things like "she's weak", "she's a spot of shame" etc etc, that she really can't fend for herself. Plus, because she struggled with mana control for a long time, it kinda reinforced that thought process that he had learned. So, it was a matter of a fact of him seeing, for himself, that their father was wrong.

I think that Nozel is a complex character. And I think that he is an awkward person, aside of what he knows to do as a captain and royal. But I do think that his heart is in the right place.

I think that he has issues with letting people close, as well as a great deal of fear of abandonment, which he does not want to show, but it's there regardless. Because he's afraid of caring so, so much, only to lose said person. And I think that once someone manages to break down those barriers and get close to him, he will be more than devoted, more than loyal. He will be 120% committed. That's how I feel.

That being said, I think that him opening up to Dorothy, is more about the need to get some things off of his chest. And, if my memory serves me correctly, Dorothy said something along the lines of "he was afraid of talking about Megicula spreading the curse", which wasn't true. Now, this could be about Nozel still not being, somehow, fully able to explain things to Dorothy, or him not fully confiding in her, despite going as far as he did. So, he had reservations about it, but he just needed to get some of it off if his chest. This, to me, speaks about the feeling of guilt and shame that Nozel must be feeling due to what happened to Noelle in the House of Silva. But I do see these two, Nozel and Dorothy, more as friends than anything else.

I also don't think that Nozel will ever forgive himself for the wrongs he has done. Not fully.

Nozel is just a very tragic man.

Thank you for the ask ^^

#penny for your thoughts #nozel silva

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batrogers · 16 days

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for In the Shadow of Death, with the fic asks: (spoilers for anyone who hasn't read it yet) in chapter 4, what if someone else had died first instead of Outset?

Answer under a cut bc obviously LOL, but the brief answer is that there's really only two characters in question who might've changed anything.

For the most part, nothing about Outset made him the specific first target over anyone else (except for emotional impact of shooting a 14 year old first.) There might've been minor changes, if the person who died wasn't near their Zelda or not, but for the most part the knowledge of whether dying took them home or not wouldn't have made a huge difference.

(For all Ordon did die and stay dead later in the story, that decision was -- in part -- made by the surrounding realization he had in the moments before it happened. Had he stayed dead, things definitely would've changed but it's possible it could've gone the other way.)

The only two with really specific roles in the group at the time were Kokiri and Captain. Kokiri had knowledge of where the cherry tree was, and the ability to work with the Lord of the Mountain on a level the others didn't match. Not unmanageably unmatched, but possible.

Captain was perhaps more influential. His main benefit, while brief, was in getting the others left at the camp in order and giving them some kind of structure. WIthin that particular group, very few have any experience working with others and giving orders; things probably would've been significantly more disruptive and upsetting without him getting everyone focused on tasks instead of the trauma that just happened. IIRC it's actually pretty well-studied that, in the aftermath of a traumatic event, aid and order of that kind matters.

So in brief, not much and everything could've changed LOL. Likely killing Ordon or killing Captain would've changed the rest of the story significantly in a few ways (higher chaos, less people to help, a lack of the wolf's tracking ability.)

Would they have failed without it? Perhaps I'll chew it out more another time, but I doubt it. The boys are resourceful and so am I.

#asked and answered #In the Shadow of Death #Fanfic meta #my writing

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rjcopeseethemald · 22 days

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WIP Questionnaire ±1

To be honest, I keep looking for these as an excuse to talk about my work

This one I got from @illarian-rambling, I wasn't tagged in her post but I accepted the open invitation However, since this is how my mind works, I'll turn this into a game. Updated Rules: 1. Answer as few or as many of the following questions as you'd like! 2. In passing the tag along to others, you can add one question of your own, or replace an existing question.

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

The magic system. It took years for the idea to finally click in my head, too. It started when I watched the Terrible Writing Advice on Myths, Legends, and Gods; JP just had to challenge me with "A pantheon of the Periodic Table would be way too big". So I said "Alright, bet", but the idea still wasn't there. Then, I finally began watching ATLA and Breaking Bad (very late to both parties), and then my brain went: "What if... chemistrybending?"

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Probably a more light-hearted version of "Can You Hear The Music" from Oppenheimer.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Hydrogen, Admiral Wright, and Miilo Saba. Hydrogen is the Elemental of their namesake atom, and I attempted to write them as wholesome and eccentric. I would liken them to a much older and wiser version of the Collector from The Owl House. They also wield a flaming shortsword, and can turn invisible (since hydrogen gas is invisible by default). Admiral Wright is the main antagonist of volume one. She was the first woman (and still only one of two) to be fully commissioned in the Lodinican Republic Navy, and is otherwise known as its toughest commander. Her backstory is a commentary on how simply letting marginalized people into unchanged power structures doesn't change their marginalizing nature. Miilo Saba is the older cousin of the twins Lia and Lioko, and he's the captain of an anarchist smuggler ship. He's mostly light-hearted and laid-back, except in a situation where there's no messing around, in which case he can become deadly serious. Why? To be honest, I picked these three because they were the most engaging for me to write.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Likely the animated ones I've mentioned before: ATLA (Legend of Korra included) and The Owl House, plus other animated shows like Steven Universe. The book will include illustrations a la The Chronicles of Narnia, except in an art style that would easily translate to 2-D animation.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Holding myself to the standards of good writing. In particular, character writing and depth of worldbuilding.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

I have sea wyverns, which are about twice as big as an albatross; landback tortoises, which are somewhat of a grounded take on the mythological giant turtle/tortoise trope; and more minor appearances like torpedo-fish (fish that can swim up to 80 knots in short bursts) and taransis, cat-sized Lucas-the-Spiders.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

The equivalent era to our world is the 1910s-early 1920s. There are ocean liners, trains, and horses, and the occasional airship, while cars are still rather new.

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

I am almost done, thank God. I'm planning to take spring quarter off from community college to finish it.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

The novelty of its magical premises and take on the fantasy genre. Perhaps its politics, too, but those are more of a background thing.

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

I hope it's as original as I claim it to be! A pipe dream of mine is that the complete series financially sustains me, but I'll just retire to a commune upstate if that doesn't happen.

I will add a question 11: What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP? Passing this along to @serotoninshift, @kaylinalexanderbooks, and @she-who-fights-and-writes if any of you all are interested!

Blanks below:

What was the first part of your wip that you created?

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

What part of your wip are you working on rn?

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

What are your hopes for your wip?

What pieces of media have been the most inspiring to you for this WIP?

#writing #writerscommunity #writeblr #my writing #writers on tumblr #writers #author #writblr #writerblr

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anghraine · 1 year

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I was tagged by @ladytharen in a cool fic meme! The idea is to post the first lines of your ten most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, that's fine, just go with what you have (if you want to do it; no pressure if you don't!).

Tagging: @ncfan-1, @hoidn, @kareenvorbarra, @elwing, @heckofabecca, @irresistible-revolution, @kazaera, @lantur, @melyzard, @steinbecks

Love, Pride & Delicacy | Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth/f!Darcy, WIP

When Mr Wickham first arrived in Hertfordshire, Elizabeth was as ready as anyone to admire him, and perhaps readier to be admired in return.

The original draft of this fic was on hold for nearly ten years until it struck me that I could begin much earlier in the story, at the first point where Catherine Darcy was likely to come up—Wickham's tale of how Miss Darcy had horribly mistreated him. This has meant more Wickham content than I ever anticipated, but it also propelled the fic forwards.

2. Untitled | Guild Wars 2, AU of pro patria, Gwen Velazquez (Ascalonian human female PC w/ street origin and a missing sister) and Deborah Velazquez gen, WIP

Gwen always knew the Seraph would hunt her down one day.

I told myself I wasn't going to write fic for this, and then, well. I am what I am.

3. Untitled redux | Guild Wars 2, same universe as #2, Gwen Velazquez/Althea Fairchild, WIP

Gwen Velazquez regretted many things about her time among the Bloodcrow bandits. Robbing nobles was not one of them.

I then told myself the main part of the 'verse would be a one-shot, lol, so I didn't end up with a pro patria-sized monster. It's not a one-shot. It's been an interesting balance between trying to lean into GW2 feelings while also staying relatively accessible. We'll see! Someday.

4. the captain and the hero | Guild Wars 2, side-story to pro patria, Althea Fairchild (human female PC w/ noble origin) and Logan Thackeray gen, on hiatus

Even by Logan’s usual standards, the battle at Shaemoor was ugly.

This fic floated around my head for a long time and finally would not be contained, and this seemed the right place to jump in. It probably will never go very far, but I'm still fond of it.

5. and the sun shone | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), Faramir/Éowyn, WIP

The Steward Faramir was, Éowyn swiftly concluded, a strange man.

Fun fact: in my drafts, this was just called "F/É telepathy fic".

6. Untitled | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir/Éowyn, WIP

Even in Gondor, Éowyn was cold. She had always supposed it would be warm, if she ever came here. And after Aragorn’s arrival in Edoras, she had very often imagined herself in Minas Tirith, for all the obstacles in his way. Someday, she had let herself hope, perhaps—and she had come after all, but not at all in the way she anticipated. And she was still cold.

The document for this one is "Fíriel mingling". Guess what it's about! :D

7. pro patria | Guild Wars 2, slight AU of canon following Althea Fairchild (a noble, Ascalonian, human female version of the PC), WIP

I always thought of myself as Ascalonian first, and Krytan second.

It's a weirdly-structured fic that mostly was a depository for my GW2 feelings, with a bitter main character who continually vacillates between hauteur, adaptable personas, and hovering on the edge of violence. Lots of fun and it couldn't have begun any other way.

8. the voices of the sea | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir and Boromir, ft. Tar-Míriel

The dream always began the same way.

I was thinking about how a female, non-military Faramir would get news of Boromir via the water, and then had the idea of linking it to the dream of Númenor for extra pain. The true goal of fanfic!

9. The Jedi and the Sith Lord | Star Wars (films only), f!Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

If Darth Vader did not avoid the sight of his daughter in carbonite, he certainly did not seek it out. Solo’s features had been frozen in lines of shock and pain. Lucy, however, did not look surprised, but resigned, her upturned face hardened into a look of hopeless dread. After his first inspection in Cloud City, he felt no need or desire to examine her unchanging features any more closely.

The previous fic in this series ended with Lucy in carbonite for Reasons. This fic is all about how their relationship develops from there and was definitely the most purely enjoyable to write of the whole series. This opening was one of the oldest part of it, written years before I got the rest out.

The overall story, however, begins more simply:

Padmé screamed.

10. we also are daughters of the great | Lord of the Rings (bookverse), f!Faramir/Éowyn

“Is there no deed to do? Who commands in this City?”

The Warden looked uncertain.

The same universe as #6! I don't usually begin with dialogue, but it can be especially helpful (for me) with AUs, to signal the ways in which it's splitting off or which scene is being played with.

#anghraine babbles #meme #meme prattle #fic talk #fic talk: love pride and delicacy #fic talk: gwen redux #fic talk: lucy skywalker #i. uh. am not tagging them all #long post #genderbending

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silveragelovechild · 1 year

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CAPTAIN MARVEL AND THE FURY IF THE GODS

I have been feeling a little stir crazy. Since yesterday was $6 day at the movie theater I usually attend, I ventured out. The dilemma of course was that of the movies available, I’d already seen those I was interested in, and the rest did not draw my attention. So I settled for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”.

Well… it was OKAY… not terrible but not great. In my rating scale I’d give it 2.5 out of 5 (which means “see it at a bargain matinee or free on streaming”). Coincidentally the rotten tomatoes score is 50%.

The best part of the movie is Jack Dylan Grazer who plays Freddie Freeman. He’s charming and funny. Frankly, he steals the movie from under Zachary Levi.

Levi on the other hand plays Captain Marvel like an idiot. His human version is suppose to be just shy of 18, yet Levi comes across as a 10 year old. Asher Angel who plays Billy Batson would never behave as moronic as Levi.

The villains are played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu. I’m pretty sure no one has ever said “I want to see Helen Mirren in a superhero movie!” Has Mirren ever played an evil character? I’m not sure, and she hasn’t in Shazam2 either, as her character has a change of heart and helps Levi at the end.

Liu, on the other hand, probably has played many villains. Unfortunately here, she’s evil only because she was written that way. There’s no subtlety in her performance.

The special effects are better than the first movie (those 7 deadly sins monster looked terrible). Here, there’s a giant dragon and some black unicorns that look good. But that spoiled by a dozen mythological monsters that appear towards the climax (and remind you of those “sins” in terms of quality).

For most of Captain Marvel’s 80+ history he’s had 2 sidekicks - Freddie and Mary. But in a 2013, 3 more sidekicks were added. As the first Shazam movie was made in 2019, the producers decided to include this Half-Baker’s Dozen team in the films. This draws important story time and character development away from the main star - Shazam (aka Captain Marvel). Ultimately all these heroes just clutter the story. Perhaps Levi’s Shazam is the boy who never grew up because he had to share all that screen time.

I think the franchise would have been far better of without all the extra sidekicks. In fact Freddie and Mary would have been perfect for a spin-off TV series.

#dc comics #dc studios #Warner brothers #shazam fury of the gods #the original Captain marvel #zachary levi #jack dylan grazer #just okay #too many side kicks #Helen Mirren and Lucy Lui

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idril-la-wiccan · 11 months

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Mermay 2023 - 4th Week and last three days

Day 22 - Zodiac

Well, with a prompt like this one, it was a little too easy to go with the Aquarius for Mermay. But... the thing is I have a certain attachement for this astrological sign in particular.

Day 23 - Tradition

And here is "Mahu", the dumbo octopus merfolk from day 21, once more ! I had vaguely alluded to it, but "Mahu" won't be their name, even if this is what I had planned initially. I'll explain why.

You've probably noticed that all of the merfolks I made for Out of the Abyss are strongly inspired by polynesian cultures, the most obvious ones being Hawaiian and Maori. And "Mahu" is in itself a concept of the Hawaiian culture : a third gender of which the name translates litteraly to "in the middle". Mahu people had an important role in Hawaiian society. They taught spiritual and social traditions, which included, among other things, teaching the hula.

And so, for me to have the idea of naming them "Mahu" to begin with, you've probably figured out that it's because this is what they are, traditionally speaking. But as I thought about it, I realised naming them by what they are would be like naming a cat, well, "Cat". It's a bit dumb.

Basically, I want to give them a new name. I'll certainly keep a two syllables name to at least keep things simple.

Hmm... In fact, maybe I could find them a name that has something to do with traditions ?

Day 24 - Zaddy

I made this character on the spot as I wasn't really inspired by the prompt. But I think I managed well with it nonetheless.

Day 25 - Food

No matter his form, Humphrey will always be a big glutton. (Even if, thankfully, he doesn't have the same voracity as when he used to be an actual whale.)

Day 26 - Jewel

"Shiny... For me... ?"

Day 27 - Halle Bailey

Ok, I'm not gonna speak on the matter of the Disney remakes as I believe everybody knows and that everybody roughly agrees about it.

No, here, the subject is Miss Bailey. I think no one can deny it, her voice is magnificent. And no matter the state of the movie, if she took pleasure in playing Ariel's role, then I am gald for her. And I also wish her a good continuation in her career.

Day 28 - Sailor

Alright, I might be cheating a bit with this prompt here. But the idea had been floating in my head for a while now and I finally had an excuse to put it on paper.

I don't know if I was the only one to have this idea, but I saw no one imagine the Captain Caviar ending up with a merman form as a result from being cursed by Black Pearl.

And yet, I saw many people draw him as a merman, so I'm surprised I haven't already seen this idea roam around...

Day 29 - Barbie

I loved the Barbie movies when I was a kid, especially the Fairytopia series. Here, I drew Elina, main character of this movie series, who takes on a mermaid form for a good part of the movie "Mermaidia".

Day 30 - Blue

I had mentionned this on day 21, but I'll have to reiterate it for this prompt. Leviathan is a blue whale merman.

It's in fact for this same reason he's the tallest amongst his peers : blue whales are the biggest mammals known in the world. Even Humphrey, a little humpback whale merman in comparison, is no match.

Well, perhaps that under his original form, Humphrey could have surpassed Leviathan.

Day 31 - Good night

I never would have guessed that I needed to see Dino-sour be a father figure to a half dinosaur baby cookie in my life.

Yes, the previous sentence makes no sense out of context.

I no longer play Ovenbreak ever since... well, ever since even before what happened with Yogurca (the less we talk about it, the better), but I'm still trying to follow the stories on YouTube. And honestly, I think that Pond Dino is the best thing to have happened to the "Rise of the Blue Dragon" update. I get how their design bothers some (it's rather overloaded, let's admit it), but... Just...

Baby... <3

Baby that sleeps like an otter. <3

*****

*~ Third week ||

Like my art ? You can commission me !

Buy me a coffee ?

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biolizardboils · 2 years

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Crumpled Up Pages: Old Captain Underpants WIPs #5-9

🎵So they’re FINALLY HERE, performing for YOU🎵—

It’s been a while, huh? I won’t waste as much space above the readmore this time. All the ground rules from the first post still apply, so go read them again if you need to—I know I did!

Again, most of these WIPs deal with the twelfth and final book in some way. If you haven’t read it, this post won’t make a single lick of sense. Any summarizing I do will be very sparse, cus this thing’s already super long. Seriously, just go read it (and the rest of the series, too)!

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So how about that Book 12, huh? In many ways, it’s a fitting finale for the whole series. It talks more explicitly about ADHD than ever, gives a glimpse of George and Harold’s future, segues into Dog Man, and doesn’t end with the usual “here we go again”. Not to mention, after years as just a running gag, the villain is the gym teacher.

Like, yeah, it’s pretty decidedly the final book. And it seems the general consensus is that it satisfies that role in all aspects… except for one.

George and Harold get a happy ending—two, in fact—but a certain superhero does not. In fact, he barely gets an ending at all.

Now, he was never truly the series’ main character, and the book gets very busy tackling a more serious subject. With those facts in mind, such an oversight is forgivable. Personally, I can forgive it. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell to see.

The book just… declares him “dead” posthumously. It’s just... you know what, screw the formalities: I adore the Captain and I miss him and I wish he'd had a better sendoff.

I’d been warned, but reading Book 12 was still very bittersweet for me. In mid-to-late 2017, when I wanted to get at least one fanfic out, I wrote down some ideas to express that pain. Casual cruelty to neurodivergent kids was a daunting subject, so I mostly focused on the Captain’s “death”. I started thinking: how could I make his last moments more meaningful without contradicting canon, or downplaying what makes the rest of the book so important?

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WIP #5: Sendoff (aka Chapter 33 1/2)

Soon they knew everything, from the chemical makeup of their arch-enemy to the events that lead to the destruction of Smart Earth... to the presence of one more consciousness among their combined particles. [Book!Verse, Book 12. CW: Major character death.]

This was by far the hardest WIP to summarize. I remember how it goes pretty well, but its concept is really tough to put into words… which, uh, might explain why I gave up on it 5 years ago. Welp, here goes nothing.

So after showing that snapping doesn’t affect Krupp anymore, the book offers two explanations: “Perhaps it was the electromagnetic pulse [when Sir Stinks-A-Lot blew up] that erased the hypnotic spell from Mr. Krupp's brain. Or maybe it happened during the Super-Power-Juice-ectomy.” This fic runs with the second option: basically when Sir Stinks-A-Lot absorbed Captain’s powers from Krupp’s body, he absorbed Captain himself as well.

After sending their distress signal, Old!George and Harold realize he’s there and talk with him telepathically. (I noted here that George should mostly use words, and Harold mostly pictures. Captain would’ve used both, crudely at first, but improving as the conversation went on.)

The following exchange of thoughts took place for only a millisecond. For its participants, however, it was as if time itself had stopped so they could speak once more.

[...] He knew they were adults, and yet they appeared in his mind’s eye as the children he’d come to know.

The dialogue would’ve opened with Captain feeling very conflicted. Since Stinks-A-Lot and the Old!Boys could access each other’s memories and intelligence while merged, it would stand to reason that Captain could, too.

You can probably see where I was going with this.

I imagined that learning the truth instantly, and in a way that he can’t possibly misunderstand or deny, would hit Captain hard. Unfortunately, I barely wrote any dialogue for this fic, and none of it was for this segment. This is the third time I’ve had to say “oops, 2017!me didn’t write this part,” but this is the one I’m kicking myself the hardest for.

So, while I can’t say what I had in mind back then, I can at least describe how I’d write it out today. I think… I think Captain would try to apologize for all the ways Krupp hurt the Boys as kids. Then the Boys would assure him that Krupp’s actions weren’t his, that they don’t hold them against him, and apologize for never telling him the truth. Captain would admit that he probably wouldn’t have believed them. After some more back-and-forth, he’d conclude that as much as it hurt to learn he isn’t “real”, he was grateful it had never kept him from making a real difference.

Eventually the Hamsterdactyls appear on the horizon. George explains what’s about to happen, and Captain realizes what it means for him.

“Don’t worry. The explosion will send all the Zygo-Gogozizzle 24 back into space, but the elements that make up our original bodies should stay behind and reconstitute. At least, that’s what I’m gathering.”

His body had ran away screaming. What would happen to him when...?

This is where, I imagine, the three would’ve said their goodbyes.

Cheff Goal-d’ BLOOOM!

Sir Stinks-A-Lot explodes, and Captain’s mind ends up in the Super-Power-Juice-soaked Zygo-Gogozizzle 24 that gets launched into space. As it solidifies back into rock form, he finds himself watching the Earth grow smaller and smaller.

But the rock starts to crack from the force of the blast, and his vision flickers as it falls apart. He accepts that this is it and decides that, after fighting so hard to ensure the world could sleep peacefully, he’s ready to enjoy some sleep himself.

So he slept, as the remains of Smart Earth splintered into millions of glowing fragments, glittering stars to remain forever in the night sky.

This is the only WIP where I thought ahead and wrote the final sentence, and I’m honestly still proud of it. Because I loved quoting Superman and passing it off as hypotext, it’s a near word-for-word reference to the original radio show’s first episode. The original line is about Krypton exploding, which makes for a nice allusion to both Underpantyworld and Smart Earth. It also just felt poetic to pair Superman’s beginning with Captain’s end.

I cared a lot about adhering closely to canon, but I did notice a continuity error while skimming Book 12 for this post: on the same page as the Krupp-snapping thing, Old!George says he has “no idea how [it] happened.” Maybe I just ignored that at the time, but now I’m imagining him lying so their younger selves wouldn’t be too sad, and now I’m sad. Well, sadder than I already was from typing all this. Oh God, there's still 5 WIPs to go.

So some of these documents have a “Mood Reference” segment at the bottom, where I pasted links to songs with the tone or atmosphere I was aiming for. I often forgot to label those links. So you can imagine the whiplash I felt when I found one in this fic, clicked on it, and heard this. I vaguely remember hearing it for the first time in mid-2017, and thinking of it when I first read Book 12. Sir Stinks-A-Lot threatened to wipe out the concept of childhood itself; in a series about celebrating the adult-offending things that make childhood great, that basically is the end of the world. Him blowing up brought to mind the song's explosive bass drop. And the vocals breaking down until it flatlines… yeah. I never shook off the resulting mental correlation, and I later chose a cover of it to represent this book’s events in Usually Responsible.

Sendoff was always a placeholder title, and I had some better ones lined up: Whatever Happened to the Waistband Warrior?, O Captain, Our Captain, and Up, Up, and Away. If I had to pick one today, it’d be the last one: it's short, it relies the least on hypotext, and it foreshadows where Captain ends up going.

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WIP #6: Untitled Rid-O-Kid One-shot

And together, the two friends wrote and drew and laughed all afternoon.

They didn’t notice how nauseous they were until dinnertime. [Book!Verse, post-Book 12. CW: discussion of overmedicating children.]

You know the part where the Boys’ parents say they like how they’re acting under Rid-O-Kid? The last four books all have their sad moments, but god, this one just hit different. They had no clue their sons were drugged, though, and I liked to think they’re genuinely good parents who would make up for it if they found out. Thus, this fic about them finding out.

This one never got further than a summary, some scattered notes, and a list of Ritalin withdrawal symptoms. I remember some details I never wrote down, too, so I’ll combine them all to paint a fuller picture.

This fic starts immediately after Book 12. The Boys go home for dinner, but realize they can't finish their food. Then they get bad headaches, and their parents get worried, give them the classic childhood check-up, and tuck them in early.

The parents call each other and make plans to ask other parents if a bug's going around. One of them sees the Rid-O-Kid ad on TV (the local network was slow to take them down idk). Meanwhile, the Boys whisper through Walkie Talkies and realize how blurry their memories are of yesterday—specifically after seeing Mr. Meaner in his office.

The next morning, the parents learn the truth from their friend circles and the local news: every kid at Jerome Horwitz is going through withdrawal after getting dosed with an untested drug. Along with them dealing with that bombshell, this segment would have expanded on the incident's aftermath: Mr. Meaner is in jail again, Mr. Krupp has fired him (possibly just to avoid bad press), and the school is closed until its whole student body recovers.

One of the families they call is the Sneedlys. Melvin's parents mention that he's shaken from being used as a guinea pig by a teacher after sucking up to them so much. They also suggest that the withdrawal might hit neurodivergent kids the hardest. This prompts Mr. Beard to dig up the ADHD book he'd read to the Boys years ago.

The Boys themselves wake up very late and very groggy. After breakfast, one family invites the other over for a meeting. There, the parents share what they’ve learned, apologize to their sons for not noticing, and ask what being on Rid-O-Kid had felt like.

The Boys admit that they’d felt a drive to compensate for all the little ways they’d disappointed their parents before, like forgetting chores and wandering off when they talk. Voicing it makes them cry, and hearing it breaks their parents’ hearts. They comfort their sons, assuring them that they’d rather keep those little disappointments than force something like Rid-O-Kid on them.

All three parents call in sick to their jobs, hit the store for bubblegum and cooking supplies, and spend the afternoon baking chocolate chip cookies with their kids. :)

Nothing else to say about this one, except that I mentioned its basic plot in this post.

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WIP #7: Coda

In which George and Harold realize they forgot to say ‘thank you’. [Book!Verse, post-Book 12.]

This one takes place a little bit after Untitled Rid-O-Kid Oneshot. The Yesterday!Boys have recovered enough to keep working on their Dog Man reboot. They discuss their fuzzy memories again, and wonder if their doubles and pets vanishing might be connected.

They make a safe bet that their doubles had gotten Captain to help fix things, and make a note to ask him what happened (and also thank him) when school reopens. One of them suggests going to Krupp’s house and asking him now, and the other says to remind him after they work a little more.

Cut to Monday afternoon. The first full school day since the events of Book 12 has just ended, and the Boys are selling Dog Man #1 on the playground. It’s an instant hit, but a few kids ask about their Captain Underpants series; the last issue ended on a cliffhanger, and they want to know if their hero made it out okay. *wink wink*

The Boys realize they’d hyperfixated so hard that they’d forgotten to see Captain, so they close up shop and run to the principal’s office. They find Krupp reading some resumes and snap their fingers.

I never wrote the dialogue here, but the Boys give a long spiel that’s all “sorry for not checking in with you sooner” and “thank you for saving the day without us” and “have you seen Tony, Orlando, and Dawn?”

They don’t notice Krupp trying to butt in and clutching his head until he suddenly screams at them to shut up. It’s so loud even for him that Ms. Anthrope comes in to see what’s going on.

The Boys snap again, but he just gets angrier; he’s had a constant headache for days now, and their snapping and nonsense talk are making it worse. Any other day he’d gladly trap them here for a stern talking-to, but now he begs them to leave and let him get back to finding a new gym teacher.

The shock of hearing him beg gives the Boys pause. They look him over—no goofy smile, no puffed-out chest—but they still don’t quite believe what they see. Harold breaks the silence with a whisper:

“Captain…?”

But that whisper pounds at Krupp’s skull, and he orders Ms. Anthrope to get them out of his office. They snap even more as she drags them away, but he covers his ears until they’re gone.

Outside, the Boys' denial finally runs out. They tear up at the thought that whatever Captain had done to save the day, he had laid down his life to do so. They salute to him at the office door before walking out of the school. Some kids ask them what’s wrong on the way out; they keep walking, suddenly hyper-aware that they have no one to confide their grief to but each other.

After enjoying the peace and quiet for a while, Krupp thinks about the name Harold called him. The fic ends with him opening his drawer to stare at the Captain Underpants comics inside.

The Mood Ref section for this one contains two songs: Separation Anxiety from the movie, and… this. Like, wow, 2017!me was going through it. (If it helps at all, I just imagined Mr. Meaner in Scar’s place and chuckled. …Yeah, that probably doesn’t help.)

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WIP #8: Letter Column

20 years later, George and Harold still deny everything… even if it hurts. [Book!Verse, pre- or post-Book 12.]

This one was gonna be a Log Fic, made of mock-up screenshots from various sources. The setup is that Old!George and Old!Harold have an official website like Dav’s, including a page dedicated to fanmail. Kids send in questions (with their parents’ permission), and the Old!Boys post their answers for all to see.

The fic would’ve opened with a screenshot of this page, with two Q&A’s visible to show how it works. The next screenshot would be of a third question waiting in the Boys’ inbox:

So I notised this one guy shows up in crowds a lot. I checked every Dog Man book I own and hes in every single one! Whats up with that?

– Curie Yuss, age 10

Attached to the email are close-up photos of different Dog Man pages (drawn anime-style like the one shown in Book 12). Each page has a crowd shot, and a bald man in underwear and a red cape can be seen in each crowd.

Cut to a series of texts between the Old!Boys. Harold opens with a screencap of the email.

H: oh man

H: i REALLY shuldve seen this coming

G: Its okay dude

H: u were right one in each book was too many

G: Calm down its okay! I can take this one solo if you want, Ill draft it tonight

G: [a few hours later] Done! If you like it go ahead and press publish

H: its up now. thx dude

G: 👍🏾 I get why youre worried but hey, its not like we have to lie

George’s response is then shown on the site:

Dear Curie,

I see you’ve spotted Captain Underpants! Harold and I came up with him when we were your age. He thought it would be funny to sneak him into every Dog Man book, and so did I!

Thanks for writing in!

– George Beard

And that's the end of it… until it isn’t. A few weeks later, six new emails sit in the inbox, all asking the Boys if they’ll ever make a Captain Underpants novel.

Now they’re both worried. If they say no and don’t give a reason why, more kids might write in to ask. If they say “maybe someday,” they’d be setting up false expectations. On top of that, they’re upset at themselves for getting worked up over kids asking an innocent question.

G: We probably shouldve put a ToS on the page before we launched it

G: Like “we reserve the right to leave your fanmail unanswered for any reason”

H: yeah we probably shuldve

G: Its too late to add one now right?

H: oh for sure. some kid will def notice. i know we wuld

Then a new email comes in from one Perry Graff and his mom, Artie. She’d gone to Jerome Horwitz with the Boys, and seeing Curie’s Q&A had jogged her memory. She’d dug her old CU comics out of her attic to share with her son, and strangely, one of them had seemingly been signed by the Captain himself. Artie admits to remembering having met a very real Captain Underpants, and asks the Boys how on earth they’d pulled that off.

Attached is a photo of the signature. The cursive lettering is too thin to have been stamped on, and too neat to have been forged by a kid.

If the Boys felt cornered before, now they’re mortified.

H: u know what

G: Trying to think

G: Oh god Lisa just asked what im looking angry at my phone for

H: maybe we shuldve ignored Curie

G: ??And just leave her hanging?

H: better 1 kid than 7

H: also we never heard back from weird Al and we came out just fine

G: We checked the mailbox for like a month!

H: yeah but we moved on. we figured it got lost in the mail or he was too busy or smthn. and then we forgot about it

H: …..why cant we move on from him george

G: Al??

G: Oh

H: why is this still so hard

G: I dont know man. I just dont know

…And that’s as far as I got. I couldn’t come up with an ending—or at least, one that didn’t leave me mad at the Boys—which might be why I scrapped it. Well, besides the whole “designing a fake website” thing. I never started the designing part, but I did leave screenshots of Pilkey.com in the doc for inspo (specifically from the mid-2000’s cus that was the site’s golden age, don’t @ me).

I love George and Harold so much, but I also think they should feel bad for, you know, making an entire person and hiding his existence. Yes, they were 9, and no, I didn’t quite expect Dav to touch on it. Still, it’s interesting to imagine the guilt they might deal with when they grow up and think back on it all.

Trivia time! The Log Fic format stems from an event I almost did at @treehouseblogsinc. The plan was for some space-time shenanigans to change the blog into the Old!Boys’ modern-day site for a little while. It never happened cus I was scared of changing the HTML too much, and its days were numbered at that point anyway.

The main conflict draws from something Dav said happened early in his career. He would draw Captain at school visits, and kids would often ask him to make a full book about him (“Becoming a writer”, fourth paragraph).

Finally, Artie Graff is meant to be that one girl from that one song. I thought it’d be fun to show she got that autograph after all and use it for drama lol.

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WIP #9: Recall

One moment, Mr. Krupp finally had those two delinquents cornered. The next, he was having the strangest dream. [Either Verse, but borrows imagery from the Movie.]

Tired of all this talk about Captain’s “death”? Me too! Let’s dial it back and talk about his “birth” instead!

This fic was a first-person look at what went on in Krupp's head when he got hypnotized. It played out in four acts—the start of the trance, Chicken, Monkey, and Superhero—with the last one having the most Story Meat. (You'll see why I didn't just name it Captain in a bit.)

I remember researching how hypnosis works and what it feels like before starting on this. Most of the real-life “rules” don’t apply here, of course, but I took note of aspects that made sense anyway. For example, trance can help loosen up even the strictest, most habitual thought patterns, which is why it's used to stop smoking; maybe all the years of bitter adult-ing and principal-ing melted away, allowing Krupp to look further inside himself than he had in ages. And maybe he just welcomed an excuse to take a nap during a workday lmao

That research also inspired me to experiment with this fic’s “voice”. Nearly every sentence in here is short, simple, and has a whole paragraph space to itself, as if that’s all the thought Krupp can muster at a time. The sentences get longer near the end, but take on a strange, lilting flow and break into new paragraphs where commas should be.

But enough explaining, let’s get to the actual text already. Act 1 was fleshed out a surprising amount, but given the format, that's not saying much.

I can’t move.

Correction: I can move if I want to. I just… don’t.

I can think of some good reasons to move.

My office’s linoleum flooring is nipping at my back, for instance.

I’m pretty sure my toupee’s fallen off again, too.

But everything is so heavy, and deciding which need to address makes me realize something.

My mind is so… quiet. I forgot it could be this quiet.

I can think… I think. I still have a few thoughts. They're just not pouring in constantly and bouncing off the walls of my skull anymore.

It’s like those walls are lined with cotton. It’s… weird, but not uncomfortable.

… I could get used to this, actually.

Not right now, though. I’ve got paperwork to sort, kids to keep in line.

For ten straight hours… for the next five days.

…A few more minutes here couldn’t hurt.

Captain is associated with cotton, so its mention here was probably intentional. Anyway, this segment ends with two bullet points that just say “SNAP Chicken” and “SNAP Monkey”. Those two Acts never got written (Library of Alexandria-scale loss, I know), but here’s a bit about them from what I think was an early summary:

The night after he gives the tape to Mr. Meaner, Krupp has a very strange dream. First he's a chicken in a coop, plucking at an oddly-shaped pile of grain. Then he's a monkey, swinging on branches that glow and throwing strange white leaves.

Then, all of a sudden, he's a child again.

Surprise—we're in Kernel Theory territory.

Krupp is about 10, lying on a red towel, looking up at some trees and an overcast sky. Something flat lies on his chest; he holds it up and sees that it's a comic book. The cover is blurry, like a half-forgotten impression. All he remembers is that he desperately wants to keep it.

There’s a note here to leave it unclear if this is a memory or just a dream. Either way, Krupp’s thoughts on it might be my favorite excerpt out of all 10 documents:

I squeeze it to my chest and the paper crinkles in my ears.

I don't want to lose it.

I don't want to lose this.

I’m going to lose this.

I won't even remember what it is I've lost.

After a long moment, he loosens his grip on the comic… only for a sudden gust to send it flying. He grabs his towel and gives chase, down a hill and past his childhood home. When he catches it, he feels the wind still tugging at it.

He looks up and sees the source of the wind: a wormhole floating at his height a few feet in front of him. Its rim “glows a searing red [...] swirling endlessly into the deep blue void within.”

Somehow, Kid!Krupp knows where it leads. Somehow, he knows he’s been “stuck” here for decades, and that this wormhole will set him free.

Somehow, he knows it won’t be open for long.

When it closes… I’ll be stuck here again.

All the everything will rush back in and bury me, like nothing happened.

Not this time.

Not while I still have this.

Benny holds his comic up to the wormhole. Its pages fly out one-by-one and form a barrier around the wormhole’s rim, as if holding it open for him.

He looks back at his home, as if for the last time. Then he ties the towel around his neck and charges into the wormhole.

It closes behind him, and the pages start swirling around his floating form. He feels himself change both physically and mentally; he realizes he can choose what to “take with him,” and decides that the “this” he’s reclaimed is all he wants for now. A powerful sense of valiance sweeps away everything else, leaving him unburdened and unbelievably happy.

The void starts to dissolve, beams of sunlight pouring through. He recalls a song about letting the sun shine in, facing it with a grin.

Smilers never lose and frowners never win.

But frowners still want to win

even long after they forget how

and now that I remember

I’ll protect smilers from frowners

until the frowners remember too

and the world is safe and happy.

The outline ends just as he perceives a floor beneath his feet and a battle cry in his throat.

How happy they’ll all be

to know they're being protected

by the greatest superhero of all time.

Man.

There’s a crossed-out bullet point down here about why Kid!Krupp feels “stuck” and is so eager to leave the dream-memory. I won’t go into what it says exactly, and I think leaving it ambiguous instead was a good call. I remember other creatives at the time positing that his Krupp-iness might stem from... well, let’s just say it’s a topic I don’t trust myself to explore at length, even now. This way it can be whatever the reader’s most comfortable with attributing it to.

In the same vein, I hoped to find a note here explaining what his precious “this” was, but there isn’t any. I dunno if I deleted it or just never wrote it down, but maybe not spelling it out is better. If I had to guess, though, I think I was drawing from the Great “woah, I used to love these books!” Movement earlier that year. Sorry to bring it up again, but I can’t overstate how it helped me regain my personal “this”; something nameless that I’d lost growing up, but was drifting aimlessly without.

Recall’s Mood Ref section also has two songs: the first was Interlude by Dunderpatrullen. Words fail me here too, but I put it on SIDE A: The Warden to mark the playlist’s shift from Krupp’s life before Captain to after.

The second song was this. Hardee har har, 2017!me.

——————————————————————————————————

So what’s this WIP based on Book 1 doing among all this talk of Book 12? Well, I tried to expand on the Baby Benny idea with my next and final WIP...

...which I’ll go into in its own post. I know, I know, listen—I’ve been writing all this up in a Google Doc, and WIP #10 alone takes up one-third of it. I REALLY don’t wanna put it off, especially cus it’s nearly finished, but this is already the longest post I’ve probably ever written and I’m scared of invoking this hellsite’s glitchy wrath.

Now, WIP #10 isn’t taking longer because it’s finished or anything—it’s probably the least finished out of all 10, actually—so please curb your enthusiasm there. I just have a lot more to say about it because, unlike the others, it wasn’t a fanfic. It was meant to be something a little...bigger. I’ll leave its description here so you can guess what that means. See you in Part 3!

They created the greatest superhero in the history of their elementary school… but that was all in the past future!

Time travelers George and Harold make a pit stop in 1950-something, a peculiar time when strangers filled your gas tank for you and every band sounded like The Beach Boys. They don’t plan on staying very long, but that changes when they meet a kid who’s familiar and different all at once. Can they safely leave the past without preventing the future? And how will their new friend change how they view their greatest enemy...?

Have you read your UNDERPANTS today? [Book!Verse, post-Book 12.]

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