#taofw

[roseofithaca]

"We need to make the next Game of Thrones"

Reboot Animals of Farthing Wood.

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE, SECTIONS SIX & SEVEN

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

a not so sunny world (prequel) by @pixelchills on AO3

(intro) (one) (two) (three) (four/five) (THIS PART)

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

spoilers under the cut!!!!

CHAPTERS SIX-SEVEN: FIRST DAY OF TRAINING/THE LITTLE DEVICE

THESE. CHAPTERS. WERE. SMART. 

Chapter six let us know that Sun and Moon would be, for the most part, training together. This chapter was a LOT of establishing dialogue, and I loved how the entire conversation seemed to flow much like a normal one would, and I was able to follow along for the whole thing. We end up figuring out some pretty important details, including that Sun is afraid of the dark.

The hug at the beginning was BEAUTIFUL, especially since Pixel managed to describe how Moon smelled good in a.. non-creepy way. Overall the hurt/comfort in the beginning section made me wanna cry. 

The end of chapter six ended up leading with Sun and Moon eating lunch together, and I honest-to-god have to shout out Pixel for thinking of the mini-origin of Sun’s gap tooth (or at least I think that’s what they were going for, I’m not sure); Sun ate a minty candy that’s meant for Animutants with sharp teeth and accidentally chipped a bit of his tooth off. I absolutely ADORE how Moon was willing to share his boiled egg with Sun. I hate boiled eggs, but I can honestly see him loving them for their funny texture. 

Chapter seven as a bit of a ride. The beginning of the chapter threw us right in with another panic attack (again, very well done, UGH?!) and had Sun all but CLINGING onto Moon. 

At this point, these little devices have him so spooked and the writing is done in such a way that I just want to hold the little guy. Thankfully, there’s Moon for that :)

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THESE CHAPTERS:

Sunrise lifted his hand and touched Moondrop's face. He just... wanted to make sure it was really him.

Moondrop's face was warm, and soft. He was, indeed, right there. Holding him tight. Stroking his rays. So close, so close.

Sunrise could feel something inside of him twist, almost uncomfortably, but somehow, it was also very comforting. What was this feeling?

Moondrop's face was turning redder at every passing second. He burrowed his eyebrows again, and his small gentle smile slowly turned upside down. Suddenly, he looked very angry.

"Does your tummy hurt again?" Sunrise asked him.

Moondrop's lips twitched back upwards for a moment, and he nodded slowly.

Sunrise placed his cheek against Moondrop's belly, and wrapped his arms gently around his torso.

"Oh, why are you hurting him, tummy? That's not very nice of you," he spoke to the fabric of Moon's shirt.

This section had so many good fucking moments, but I had to pick the one where Sun and Moon were being fluffy boys together. ALWAYS will this interaction be SO SWEET to me just because of how they’re discovering their feelings for each other, and I’m always such a sucker for Moon being a little bit of a crushing mess.

[vulpes-blue-vulpes]

I debated for an age whether or not to assume this background character was Russet or not, but with my reboot plot I’m deciding she’s not and instead I’m calling her Lavender. This is only a quick and rough edit.

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE, SECTION THREE:

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

a not so sunny world (prequel) by @pixelchills on AO3

MASTERLIST

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

spoilers under the cut!!!!

THIRD CHAPTER: THE ONE WHO WOKE UP 9 DAYS AGO

This chapter is ALL about Sun and Moon’s first meeting, and it feels appropriate not to condense my analysis on this one (i’ll do it for later chapters where the themes overlap or where it feels appropriate to paraphrase, since this is gonna be way too long already)!!!! 

When Sun and Moon first met in the food court, their interaction was SO SWEET and the description of Moon looking ‘angry’ when he got butterflies threw me off a second, but I got it and ultimately proved to be a VERY smart way of describing his feelings. I like how Moon’s a bit of a blushy baby instead of a closed-off sucker like in most things I read. It’s very refreshing to see humanity pumped into him like he deserves. 

There was a LOT of dialogue in this one, and while in most situations that would make me a little bored without more filler or foundation details (their internal thoughts/feelings, surroundings changing) I was happy to find that the dialogue kept me on my toes and I was really invested overall in the two of them having a pretty mutual gay-panic moment. 

We do find out that Dr. Angela isn’t too happy about Sun wandering off, though.. I liked how that whole ‘Sun knew he was in trouble’ setting played out. It wasn’t too strained. 

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THIS CHAPTER: 

"No, I wasn't! I was... In pain?" The intonation of the last statement was rising like he was not sure about it himself.

"In pain?" Sunrise repeated and quickly glanced at Moondrop from every possible angle.

"Where? Where does it hurt?"

Moondrop puffed his cheeks and lowered his head.

"It was, h-here..." he pointed at the top of his tummy.

"I...I don't know why, but after I saw you I just started feeling weird... and then the pain hit my stomach..."

Sunrise scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little."

THE DESCRIPTION OF MOON GETTING BUTTERFLIES. It felt so domestic and PERFECTLY done, especially since I was able to envision the actual feeling and empathise with what Moon was feeling. 

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE, SECTIONS FOUR & FIVE:

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

a not so sunny world (prequel) by @pixelchills on AO3

(intro) (one) (two) (three) (THIS PART)

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

spoilers under the cut!!!!

CHAPTERS FOUR-FIVE: THE PUNISHMENT, PARTS 1-2

This chapter went through what happens when an Animutant breaks the rules, and it ended up being so long that Pixel had to split it into two chapters just to get through all of the detail they had in regards to it, which I appreciate!!!! 

Chapter four involved the punishment itself, which also brought into play a bit of Dr. Angela’s fear of making the same mistakes she did with Solar (who we still don’t know very much about at this point, but we do know that whoever this character is or was affects how she interacts with Sun quite a bit). This chapter made me hurt for Sun a lot, but it was all in good heart in terms of the story. I LOVED how the whole ‘punishment’ itself played out, without sounding twisted in any way I can *CRIES*. 

I thought that the play-out of Sun’s pain and his accident (WHICH– THANK YOU FOR LETTING IT GET UGLY. in the prospect of people going TOO FAR or NOT FAR ENOUGH, you’ve hit this one on the HEAD) was really smart.

Given how we were able to have a little glimpse into Dr. Angela’s previous attempt at creating a Daycare Attendant (Solar) we can easily put into perspective why she felt it so appropriate for her to punish Sun so severely– it was only because she was afraid of disappointing others - and herself - again by making the same mistakes she did last time. Whatever happened to Solar is left pretty vague but it’s still set up in such a way that makes for a pretty easy bridge between the topics. 

Chapter five involved the aftermath of said punishment, and the establishment of Sun’s acute anxiety around things such as A) the dark, and B) being alone. He has a panic attack (which, as someone that has those I feel well-represented) and ends up getting pretty terrified by these little red dots on the ceiling. 

We later learn that these are Moon’s eyes, which.. SOMEHOW? I DIDN’T SEE COMING. That reveal actually got me!?

These chapters made me want to put Dr. Angela into a chokehold and make her swear at gunpoint to not hurt my baby again. 

She did. 

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THESE CHAPTERS: 

A shock of sharp, twisting pain run through his body from the back of his head, to every single ray, to every single limb, finger, toe.

He screamed, shrieked, cried.

It hurt, it hurt, it hurt!

Every possible cell of his body was being stabbed, twisted, punched. He collapsed to the floor. His whole body was twitching, he felt like he was being ripped apart. He was in agony. It hurt so much!

He was crying, tears pouring down from his eyes, as he was trying to reach his fingers to grab onto something, anything! But he had lost control of his body completely, his hands didn't work, his throat felt like it was closing, and he thought his bones were breaking. He felt his bladder give in, and he wet his underwear. He was in so much pain. He couldn't take it.

Out of both of these chapters, this was my favourite moment solely out of admiration for how it was written. It wasn’t over-explained or given too little time to sink in. It was. PERFECT.

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE, SECTION TWO:

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

A NOT SO SUNNY WORLD (PREQUEL) BY @pixelchills on AO3

MASTERLIST

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

spoilers under the cut!!!

SECOND CHAPTER: THE FOOD COURT

This chapter went through A LOT, including the establishment of Sun as a level 3 Animutant, some filler dialogue on the construction of Moon in the story, and Sun becoming more and more curious about his surroundings and his body!!

A couple of things that for the sake of my need for every little detail in an AU to be polished to perfection I need to give extra attention to: 

THANK YOU, PIXEL, FOR DESCRIBING THE LEVELS OF ANIMUTANTS. I have a HUGE pet peeve around people making up systems and setting something at a random level and then.. NOT describing what the other levels are. I played a video game in which there was a ‘class III superficial robotic wound’, BUT DIDN’T EXPLAIN THE OTHER TYPES OF WOUNDS?! It made me so mad and the fact that the humanity ‘levels’ of the Animutants were explained made me so happy. 

Just the description of the labs themselves. When ‘Connection Court’ was mentioned, it felt like I knew what that was supposed to establish and was just very smart wording. A+++. The worldbuilding is SUBLIME so far, and overall how we’re taken throughout the labs and the court in general is written thoroughly enough that I feel like I can imagine without much strain what everything is.. supposed to look like. 

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THIS CHAPTER:

It tasted like cardboard. Not that he knew what cardboard would taste like, this was his first meal, after all. But the texture of the liquid and the lack of any sort of flavour was making his mouth feel icky and his tastebuds disgusted. Was this what he was supposed to eat until his stomach could take solid food?

Again, Sun getting to understand how his body feels about certain things and discovering more things just feels so cute in such a well-done way???!?!?!!!?!?!

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS VOL. ONE:

THE WORK BEHIND THE ANALYSIS:

A NOT SO SUNNY WORLD (PREQUEL) BY @pixelchills ON AO3

MASTERLIST

Welcome to the analysis! I'll be working chapter-by-chapter on this fic, and while some are condensed I'll have all of the sections linked up above as they come out for the ease of access!

TW: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM, BODILY INJURY, PANIC ATTACKS AND GENERAL OVERTHINKING/ACUTE ANXIETY, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, BODILY FLUIDS (both urine and vomit are mentioned briefly in some chapters), AND TOPICS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY, INCLUDING THEMES SUCH AS AROUSAL AND PLEASURABLE/PLEASURING ACTIVITIES AND AWARENESS.

This will be pasted across every analysis in order to generally blanket the contents of the work versus creating trigger-specific warnings for each chapter. This is just upfront so you know what to expect, even if the various themes are only mentioned in passing across the work.

spoilers under the cut!!!

FIRST CHAPTER: SUNRISE

I want to start out by basically saying that HOLY SHIT. From a writer’s perspective, the establishment of Sun’s humanity in the beginning of chapter one GRIPPED me like a vice. It was SO IN CHARACTER and wonderfully, like, put together?! Reading him discovering his own body and his own voice and the fact that he could touch things and they were soft made me want to CRY, because it seems like it was portrayed in such a.. Sun kind of way. 

Solar is hinted at briefly in this chapter, establishing the foreshadowing for his (however brief) involvement in later chapters. This didn’t seem stilted or odd in general; I liked the setup! 

FAVOURITE SECTION FROM THIS CHAPTER: 

He was put down to a soft surface. Oh, it was warm, and so cosy! He immediately rolled on his stomach and rubbed himself on the soft comfort with giggles.

Wait! He stopped and sat back up. Was that his voice? He let out another laughter. Oh! Laughing made his head feel happy. Could he talk?

"Haa..hhaah...Haalloo?"

He could! The words were coming from his mouth. He touched it. Felt his tongue, and teeth, and the insides of his cheeks. Tongue was slimy, cheeks were soft, teeth were hard.

The dialogue was BEAUTIFUL??!! It was realistic, which isn’t something that a lot of people remember to do. Overall this paragraph made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

[celinolesunshine]

THE ANALYSES OF FICTIONAL WORKS MASTERLIST

INTRO

a not so sunny world (prequel) by @pixelchills on AO3

(one) (two) (three) (four/five) (six/seven)