Shift Comments Thread

[Andromeda]

Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today to give final rest and peace to the departed. They were always there for us keeping things from going too far. They always made sure there was a clear line between reality and fiction. Without you we would all be lost in the myriad of illusions. We put you to rest good friend to all, The Fourth Wall.

Yeah, I sort of didn't just lean on it or put a hole in it this time. I kind of blew the thing to kingdom come and back again. Poor thing is never going to be the same again. Still it was a fun introduction to the chapter and very much in the spirit of Yuki. Considering that is has actually been 50 chapters, still don't feel like it though. I totally didn't plan on it for that long. I spent an entire year writing the rescue, crazy, huh? Well it is over and we're back to Team Yuki! Chapter 175 is now available! RIP Fourth Wall!

So yeah, this chapter starts out with a bang on the comedy. I felt with everything that was so serious I really needed to light the mood a little. Yuki is always good for that, as he has a tendency to break the fourth wall more times than anyone else, not that the others do not have their moments. But with him being pretty genre savvy, it only makes sense. However, it doesn't really last for long does it?

Vangelis is already at the cliffhanger and we'll be getting back to some fighting again. I did promise it. And since there is only five of them and four of the Yuki's group it won't last for a long time like the rescue. I'm planning probably 2 or 3 chapters per fight and it'll be over. It is important, but not so important that I'm going to drop a lot of time into the fights. There are some necessary things to happen here to move forward some plot elements to the next stage, but then I'll be ending the fights and moving on to some plot developments and character developments. The primary being the development of Ayumi. I'll be getting to her story in this chunk of chapters with Yuki before I jump back to Yumi. I'm hoping, but I doubt it will work out like it, but the plan is to get the sub-arc finished in the next 50 chapters and move on to the next sub-arc. The next sub-arc is going to be largely fighting and Ayumi related stuff. So I don't believe it'll be as long as the current sub-arc. I'm guessing the next sub-arc will probably be like 70-80 chapters in length. The current sub-arc is already in that range and probably won't conclude until it is like 130-140 chapters. Then I'll finish up the aftermath sub-arc and the second arc will be over. So if I'm good at predicting, which for writing I'm not, then in about 140-150 chapters the second arc will be over. It is fortunate that the third arc is not as long, probably half the length or less.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

A little earlier today, but not as much fighting this chapter. Chapter 176 is now available. It continues to bring the lighter tone for the moment, but it is clear that things are changing. I thought I was going to get to the fighting this chapter, but I was having a little too much fun with Yuki and company. I haven't had Yuki in a while and he is so much fun. It is very easy to get into some fun banter when I have him involved.

There is not a lot of reveals going on, but it is more about the building tension in spite of the lighter tone. Yuki sets a good mood with Vangelis, even though he is clearly a very bad person, Yuki can still manage to have a fun conversation with him. As long as the opponent isn't too serious, Yuki is likely going to have some pretty lively banter. It is just in his nature due to his delinquent days combined with his genre savvy nature, two really bad combinations.

I do get more chances to show off Yuki's intelligence though. This is something I continue to look for chances to do, to show him as being someone that is different from the usual head strong main characters. He ends up leaving those aspects to others. Though Yuki can be head strong about some things, he tends to be a more intelligent fighter.

I get to have Ayumi admit to things that were already known by the other group. This is the ground for pushing forward on her back story in the future. So I'm getting the pieces setup now so that I can roll into it later.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

Got a little distracted by looking at other Shift stuff, but anyway, Chapter 177 is now available. This chapter finally makes good on actually delivering some action and setting things up for the rest of the chapters to come. It also addresses the same issue I always have to address when I'm dealing with Saki, not to mention the more practical aspects of just ignoring the fight.

Because Saki is the most pragmatic of the group, she does not want to deal with any unnecessary fighting. Which makes her even worse for me as a writer, since I gave her powers that make it very easy for her to actually carry out what she wants. And I tend to let her do that to an extent. However, I had to have a proper fight this time with everyone so I had to make sure to put her in her place. So I did the cheapest thing someone with said powers could do. Remove the air so that she could not breath and completely take her out. It is a pretty powerful statement, considering she has been one shotting everyone up to this point. But I've already been explore the flaws that exist in their powers and how people with real powers and people with reality bending powers interact in terrible and complicated manners.

I do manage to end the chapter on some good cliffhangers to cleanly put the bad guys on the side of being worthy opponents for those that they fighting. Plus I put Yuki back in the serious mode, so I'm going to be doing some fun things with him making look really cool in the fight. He's got too much power and he can take advantage of that to look very impressive.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

Running a little late on this, but you can blame it on Zero Escape. >.> Such an addicting game. Anyway, Chapter 178 is now available. This one focuses on Saki, I already decided in the previous chapter that the stuff I set up I wanted to look at her first. There are a few things I want to play with her. So I went with her first.

Saki as always is a difficult one to motivate and deal with. She'll be easier in future arcs, because I'm not dealing with the same issues here. But Saki as I repeatedly said it a little broken when fighting against the MPs. So I've had to do specific things to make it so that she is not so broken. All of her scenes are very deliberately planned and set up to restrict the power she wields.

Kallias ended up being a little darker than I planned, but it still is good. Because I'm working on Saki and character development for her. So having these moments will be good for her. I believe I showed it off before, but I did end up showcasing more specifically, another aspect of their powers. Which is always good to do when I get the chance. I did have to remember a couple functions about the field though, since I almost let narrative style take priority over reality. I remembered that all of the water on Saki was part of his field. So when she left the field, she was dry again. It's a weird thing. In this specific chapter she is actually wet because of what I reveal. The last chapter she blew so far past him though, she would be dry.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

I ran afoul a few things. It delayed me quite a bit, but I was able to finish at least. Chapter 179 is now up. Saki's fight with Kallias continues to run its course. This one is the fight I planned to be a little on the longer said as I came up with something for Saki. Plus, she's been needing a real fight for quite some time. The last time she actually fought for real was over 150 chapters ago against the Plant Assassin. So she is overdue for a good fight, especially since her nature is to pummel things quickly.

Saki certainly makes things difficult. She is a lot like Seiji in many ways, though don't let her hear me saying that. However, unlike Seiji, where he will thrive in a fight and want to enjoy it, Saki does not care about any of that. Seiji has a sort of gentlemanly fair sportsmanship about fighting. He wants to enjoy it, he hates to lose, but he hates cheaters more than that. Saki only wants to end the fighting quickly. Her nature is to see the conflict ended before it can get out of hand. This comes from her nature of wanting to protect Yuki after he protected her so many times. So she makes sure things don't get crazy by ending things quickly. She also just doesn't have any enjoyment for fighting. She only learned to defend herself so that she didn't need Yuki to protect her. She didn't do it to actually win any fights. However, because of her nature she ended up learning quite well how to do just that.

I am doing a slow ramp on up the intensity for this fight because it is longer battle. So there is no need to jump into the thick of it immediately. Plus Kallias, like the others, really wants something that they'll remember. They have been stuck unable to use their powers in any real capacity for their whole lives. The only time that they can do anything with them is in capture people that won't put up much of a fight anyway. So this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to actually have a fight and truly test themselves. He ends up looking more evil than he actually is about the whole thing. The reality is a little different.

But I have started to hint and build up to more developments on Saki. The next chapter will end up expanding on what I started here. So you'll get to see a young Saki once again. And I'm going to guess the fight will conclude in another two or three chapters.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

I hit the seven page for the thread on the story! Means that I hit chapter 180 now, it is up and available. I'm a little behind, but it is still Sunday, so I'm all good. This chapter remains Saki focused, but I started going into her flashback. It ended up staying around one area longer than I thought, but it seemed worth the time. It worked on the relationship between her and her mother, which was often viewed as something closer to being antagonistic at times considering that most of the time with Saki's mother is after the rift developed between the two families.

So being able to show Saki's mother in a little kinder light is welcome. The whole flashback is certainly overly dramatic, but hey drama is fun. ^^ I make a pretty big deal out of Saki's hair cutting, which before was considered more of a footnote in the last flashback. But it was used as her resolve and considering this fight is about showing Saki's resolve it was rather important to come back to it. Saki has a pretty hard iron will about doing things in her current state, but I needed to show how she got there. This is the first steps she takes. Where she is still wavering and hasn't changed. It is the last signs of the old Saki and the door opening on the new Saki. So it was a very important moment in her life. Dramatic, yup, important even more so.

I do still manage to keep the fight going during the flashback as it help to cover up a little bit of something redundant. I'll be continuing the flashback into the next chapter as well. Since I still have to reach the points I brought up in the previous chapter. Those will be just as important as they show the character that Saki became. Plus it will show the adversity she faced in reaching her goals.

For those that remember, I did actually pull up the old lines from the previous chapters in the My Brother's Keeper Sub-Arc for the start of this flashback. So it is in a way a continuation of that old flashback while expanding on it greatly. So it is a fun little continuity nod for those paying attention.

Enjoy!

[Andromeda]

Chapter 181 is now up for reading. The chapter continues as promised Saki's little flashback tale. It ended up changing a little while I wrote it. I realized by the end the point I wanted to make and so I changed things to fit with that rather than force something else. It made more sense this way.

The whole fight with Saki has been her struggling both with her unwillingness to actually indulge in the sort of fight that Kallias wishes, but resisting him. And showing the strength of her resolve to do what she wants when you sets out to do something. The next coming chapter will bring all of that to a head. Saki will have to face it and find a way to deal with Kallias. I've dealt a bit with the back story of Saki. Her commonality ends up being that she suffers from heavy prejudice as a child for being Japanese-American. It is an important part of who she is and the strength she created to stand on her own. She puts on a brave face while internally dealing with all of the hate directed at her. So she ends up being far more complicated. I would have like more time to fully flesh it out, but the flashback was getting too long anyway.

I'm going to be working to resolve the fight in the next chapter. I've got some stuff in sort of Saki and the whole fight should be pretty heavy on the action all around. So things will go out with a pretty big bang.

Enjoy!