Erin Ptah

I make webcomics! This blog is mostly fanart. Follow for the fandom we share right now, stay for whatever I get into next.

[erinptah]

Can You Find This Fandom, post #2

Sequel to the first post of this hot new internet game: “Someone has posted a fic on AO3 with this New Fandom Tag. Can we figure out what fandom it’s referring to?” Recap: To get a fandom approved for a canonical tag on AO3 — especially a fandom for a series that should be online in the first place — it helps if you have links to sources. As in “here’s the website, here’s the creator’s social…

[erinptah]

With Walpurgisnacht Rising maybe coming for real this time??, I felt moved to redraw some old art of Madoka in Kyubey's color palette. This time, using an actual reference photo of "a girl standing, as seen from the back."

[erinptah]

Erin Reads: Pet Shop of Horrors, Collector’s Edition (volume 5, chapters 25-26)

I’m at the start of PSOH volume 5 in the SS re-release, which is the start of volume 7 in the TP original. There’s a bonus story at the end of TP v6 that we skipped, because SS doesn’t have it at the start of v5, but in the middle. More on that later. As usual, originally threaded on Mastodon / Bluesky. Having a weird situation where my phone gave me reply notifications for Bsky posts, but I…

Erin Reads: Pet Shop of Horrors, Collector’s Edition (volume 5, chapters 25-26)

[erinptah]

In writing the Reaction Posts of Dust, one idea I came up for "how would I fix the Book of Dust trilogy?" is "instead of putting Lyra through a weird character arc that doesn't flow naturally from her HDM experiences...give that arc to a new character Lyra can be narrative foils with."

I'm calling the new girl Bonita, so Lyra's two closest friends can be Bon and Mal. She's from High Brazil, because the place comes up a couple times in passing, and this would be a good setup to give some actual worldbuilding about what it's like.

We need more non-mammal daemon rep, so Bonita's is a caiman lizard: semi-aquatic, and native to South America. His name is Potameides. Like Pantalaimon, it's Greek (it's a kind of river nymph)...and it means their nicknames can be Pot and Pan.

Contrasts. Book Lyra has short blonde hair, so Bonita's is long and dark. Red-brown mammal daemon vs. green reptile daemon. Lyra goes by Silvertongue, so Bonita's family name is Eldorado, "the golden one."

All the random things Pan accuses Lyra of in TBoD, that we never see on-page? Bonita actually does them. Dismisses and ignores her daemon. Sneers at art and beauty, saying they're irrational. Finds out about Lyra's field of study, and scoffs that the alethiometer symbols are so open-ended, you can read anything you want into them.

On the other hand...Bonita is very into this book about a daemonless hero who kills God. Lyra's first great love was a daemonless hero who killed God! She's gone for so many years without a single person in her life who isn't dismissive and/or scared to discuss that subject.

Turns out, Bonita is the only student besides Lyra who isn't intimidated by the Magisterium in general. And Lyra is the only student who isn't intimidated by Bonita. So they end up forming a weird-but-genuine bond.

Then one night, Pot and Pan cross paths while they're both out wandering, and get a massive mutual shock: neither of their humans are in sight...

[erinptah]

Prospective MCU version of Frenchie's boyfriend (and eventual husband), Rob Silverman.

Physical therapist! Superhero enthusiast! Possible superhero(ine) drag queen?? Definitely would buy a Moon Knight lunch box.

(I used actor Fred Hechinger as visual inspiration. Pretend he's closer to Marc and Frenchie's age, just baby-faced.)

[erinptah]

in COK, you always seem very well-researched. i'm pretty lazy on my fic research, so i'm wondering if you do massive deep-dives, or if it's just natural confidence?

in a more specific manner - how do you work in other languages like french so naturally? i'm trying to write frenchie but it takes me forever to be confident in the french i'm using.

Well, hey, thanks <3

Some topics, yeah, I do deep-dives on. "Psychology in general" and "MPD/DID/etc in particular", for example, have been an interest of mine for a long time. So I've read a ton about them that wasn't (or, wasn't originally) for fic research at all.

Sometimes I get outside help. (Shoutout to the Jewish beta who's been looking over all my Elias-POV works, making sure I get the Judaism details right!)

For details about Marvel canon specifically, the MCU Wiki and the Marvel Database are invaluable. With the fun bonus that, if you include obscure details from rare comics, you can come across like a well-read expert on obscure details from rare comics, even if "this one detail you found on the wiki page" is the only thing you actually know about that run.

That works on other topics, too. If I'm writing a chapter set in a city I've never been to, I try to toss in specific details like "the roof tiles are shaped like this" or "this subway station has a skylight." It makes the whole thing feel more grounded and authentic -- and I can do it with as little research as "poking around on Google Street View for a bit."

...which leads nicely into my advice on Naturally Working Other Languages Into Your Fic (under a readmore, because this is long):

Mostly, don't do it.

Translation Convention is your friend. Write in the language you're comfortably fluent in. When that's not the language the characters are using, just explain that in the narration:

"Here's an example of how to do it," said Duchamp in French.

Translation Punctuation is your other friend. Especially if you need to help your readers keep up with something complicated:

"Say, if the characters tend to [switch languages in the middle of a sentence]," he added.

If you try to write too much of the dialogue in a second language, it's an extra hurdle for readers who don't know the language. Especially if they have other accessibility issues too. (Somebody using a screen readers, for instance, can't easily skip to the endnotes for a translation and then scroll back to the original line.)

And if you're not fluent in the second language, readers who are fluent are probably just going to be annoyed! Because they'll notice "this is too stiff to sound natural, this is not the jargon he would use, this is the wrong familiarity level for the person he's talking to" -- all the subtle ways of being Weird and Out-Of-Character that you, as a non-speaker, won't even realize you're putting in.

When I put non-English dialogue in my fics, a lot of it is single words or short expressions, which softens the "hurdle for readers" problem. Here's a genuine bit of Frenchie's dialogue that shows up in my fic:

"Desolé, mademoiselle." Duchamp raises his own coffee to her in a friendly toast. "I am afraid my making-out proclivities run to 'hot guys' exclusivement."

And here's some Jeanne-Marie, from the same chapter:

"No more of ze Dust!" snaps the Canadian ex-Widow. "Je n'ai pas besoin d'aide. I am in my right mind now! More zan she ever is!"

The French parts have translations in the endnotes. But it's not like you'll be completely thrown out of the fic if you don't already know what they mean. You can pick up the overall idea of "Duchamp is politely rejecting a woman flirting" or "Jeanne-Marie is angrily refusing help" from context.

Short phrases also make it easier to find the in-character nuance you need, not just the literal meaning. There's existing info online about "how formal/rude/personal/slang-y/etc is this?" for common expressions, in a way that there isn't for full lines of fic-specific text.

I check WordReference a lot for Spanish and French -- especially in the forums, where users will have thoughtful discussions about "can I use term X in context Y, or are the vibes off?"

One of the perks of fandom is, if you reach out for help, you can explain it in terms of the canon you're all already fans of. At some point I directly asked in a Moon Knight Discord, "what's a good derisive phrase Jake could use to refer to Elias, that means something like enabler or bystander?" A couple Spanish-speaking fans suggested buena para nada, and I've been putting that in fics ever since.

So, yeah, that's my advice about "naturally working other languages into your writing."

TL;DR Do it very little! Focus your research on getting the little bits right.

(...There are a few fics where, in spite of all this, I've used long passages of not-English anyway. In retrospect, the ones I'm happy with are the ones where I had a specific reason -- where it had a benefit for that particular scene, something good enough to outweigh the drawbacks.)

[erinptah]

"Human man, you are so much fun / I hadn't planned on finding you quite this entertaining..."

Rereading Chris's intro chapter in Pet Shop of Horrors, there's a scene where "What Can I Do (For You)" started playing in my head, and, well.

[erinptah]

Moon Knight rewatchalong + related links

A couple FFA anons mentioned watching Moon Knight for the first time, so somebody started an anniversary rewatch! …Interest dropped off pretty hard after the first few episodes, sigh. (I didn’t start it. I did end up finishing it.) But at least a couple nice observations came out of it. Episode 1 thread Episode 2 thread Episode 2 follow-up talk Episode 3 thread Episode 3 follow-up…

Moon Knight rewatchalong + related links

[erinptah]

From the big team-up finale of Travels by Knight.

These days, when there's a news-making Avengers battle...Elias gets a check-in afterward, so he knows Marc made it through.

[erinptah]

From the big team-up finale of Travels by Knight.

Madisynn King, Stephen Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Yehya Badr, and Clea applaud a dramatic win. Wade is busy cracking up at some irony that nobody else in the fic understands. (Ohhh, but they will. They will.)

[erinptah]

What do you mean, this isn't a direct quote from Moon Knight episode 2…?

[erinptah]

Steven: Oi! / Jake: Eyyy! / Marc: Oy...

[erinptah]

i haven't touched cover of knight since "no one could blame you" on account of not watching any of the new marvel stuff, from thunderbolts to the new captain america and etc.

I miss the boys, though. I miss them a lot.

How spoiled would I be if i went back to reading the series? or more accurately how much do i actually need to know about what went down?

Listen, if I can brag a little...a regular comment I get on CoK is "I never saw [insert whatever Marvel property here] and I still got really into this."

So in general, you're probably good!

The only thing you arguably need to know is "who Rio is." Most of the time, if Canon Plot Stuff is relevant, the POV characters will discover/explain it as it comes up. But Rio has a couple cameos without anybody figuring out her deal, and they'll be more meaningful if you know her deal.

Under the cut: Running down the list of specific Phase 5 things released after Deadpool & Wolverine, here's what the post-DP&W fics of Cover of Knight phase 5B will spoil you for...

Agatha All Along: General character details/backstories (except for Agatha and Teen, who only appear in flashback/dream/haunting-the-narrative ways). This is the one show where I've almost completely averted the original plot, so you won't find out their canon fates, or the worldbuilding from the Witches' Road

What If...? Season 3: Basically nothing, unless you count "there is a universe where [characters] had a team-up" as a spoiler

Captain America 4: Brave New World: Most of the biggest reveals. The canon plot still happens, and while the POV characters aren't around for it, they hear things about it after-the-fact

Daredevil: Born Again season 1: Basically nothing, unless you count "what Fisk is doing" as a spoiler

Thunderbolts*: Almost everything. Character details, backstories, secret machinations, hidden powers, the dramatic climax, all of it. The AU version of this movie is a whole fic. It's more divergent than Cap 4, but not nearly as much as AAA -- so the characters mostly learn the same reveals by the end, they just take different paths to get there

Ironheart: A few reveals, including how it ends. The POV characters aren't around for this either, but they'll meet at least one of the Ironheart cast at some point, so you'll find out their post-season fate

[erinptah]

Can You Find This Fandom, post #1

Gonna start* a hot new internet game: “Someone has posted a fic on AO3 with this New Fandom Tag. Can we figure out what fandom it’s referring to?” *(No guarantee when/if I’ll continue…but I’m titling this “post #1” in an effort to be optimistic) When I see a fandom (okay, mostly the webcomics) on AO3 that’s been lingering for a while without getting a canonical tag, sometimes I’ll put in a…

[erinptah]

Marc/Jake kabedon. (Two palette variations…I was trying to do a color study based on another artist, neither of them really succeeded.)

[erinptah]

"Even if the journey gets lonely, the memories of happier times will light your way and guide your path...I want to make this a memory you will never forget."

So, hey, Cosmic Princess Kaguya is one of those movies that really rewards a rewatch.

[erinptah]

Hey there! If you have no objection, I'd be willing to post the Cover of Knight reading guide on my PillowFort so that the previous Asker and anyone else with similar difficulties can read it there. I copied and pasted it into the post editor (but didn't post without your permission, of course) and it *looks* like it copied. Okay. Just let me know if I have your permission! :)

Sure, go ahead!