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90shaladriel · 3 months ago

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Writing Interview Tag Game

Thanks for tagging me @klynnvakarian !

About Me:

When did you start writing?

In my 30s I definitely made an attempt to write a "novel" and did some world building and a few pages of writing and it didn't go anywhere. Then Late 2022 after Rings of Power season 1 just joining the Haladriel fandom I read so much fic that I thought maybe I could do some as well. Got some encouragement from other haladriel writers (crucial for me)

Are there different genres or themes you enjoy reading other than the ones you write?

I love history and science non-fiction. I mostly am writing in the fantasy fan-fiction space, but I do like sci-fi as my first love.

Is there an author you want to emulate, or are compared to often?

I either consciously or unconsciously imagine I am writing in the voice that Frank Herbert used in the Dune series. Maybe mixed with some George RR Martin and a tinge of Tolkien.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

Vast majority of my writing was on an iPad lying in my bed before sleep when no one needs my attention.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I usually write a chapter per month so it's just random thoughts or reminders while reading other fics which inspire me to write a snippet here or there when I have the energy.

The other big muse I've found in recent months was actually listening to or reading Tolkien books: "The Silmarillion", "Beren and Luthien" and "Fall of Gondolin" the beautiful prose and the rich lore just sparks new ideas I want to try to play off of or emulate in my own fics.

Are there any reoccurring themes in your writing? If so do they surprise you?

I always like stories of characters that are beaten down, up against the world, maybe a little unappreciated, but not giving up. Even if they cannot win they try their best and work hard. A lot of sadness too. I don't express much of that sadness IRL so that is a bit surprising.

Characters:

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

Tough call - probably the Lady of Light, Galadriel based on the ROP - characterization

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

Hmm, I'm not sure if I would be best friends but I think I would get along with Ereddâz, my Orc OC from A Lord and his Builder.

I think Galadriel would ignore me and Sauron would send me to his dungeons to be a thrall.

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Melkor from my First Fire in the Void fic

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

I touched on it above, I think I like writing characters that believe they are doing the right thing. I do not like writing characters that are specifically and intentionally bad. Even my villains have plausible motivations or perspectives to justify their actions.

How do you picture your characters?

Most of my writing is currently around the Rings of Power cast and that style.

I am dabbling with non-ROP fics, like First Fire in the Void and there I pictured Mairon based on a lot of fanart that basically draws him like a pretty woman with long red hair lol.

My Writing:

What’s your reason for writing?

A creative outlet. For years and years I would day dream my own stories, going back to when I was a kid, I was also a pretty decent DnD DM making up my own campaigns. I've often had dreams of telling stories by creating video games (I am a software dev professionally) but I usually get stuck on the actual technology side of creating a game and can never get to the creative side. By writing fic, I was able to just get my ideas out there without being held back by the lack of skills in other areas (game dev, art, making a story interactive and still make sense)

Is there any specific comment or type of comment from readers that you find particularly motivating?

Ive gotten a few amazing comments that say this is their favorite fic and I can't believe it since I just write one of many thousands of fics so I feel honored, and for my WIPs a little pressured, to produce more at that level.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I want to write stories other people like, I do think about how can I make a story original in a way no one else does? What's a premise no one else has or could be done differently?

But really I am mostly writing stories that I like?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I think putting my characters through emotionally charged or traumatic events where they have realistic responses or reactions that I or I think readers might relate to emotionally.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I read other writing and it feels so polished and natural. I often feel like I am "emulating good writing" rather than being a good writer myself. I like my stories and plots but I am not always impressed by the words on the page after writing them. Sometimes I just give up during editing and just post and people seem to like it enough.

When you write are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, do you write purely for yourself, or is it a mix of both?

AS I was saying I do think about the readers and I'm surely influenced by what I see in the community and what people respond to but every single idea is a kind of "wouldn't this be cool" idea I have myself first and then I judge how much I think other people would also find it to be cool or enjoyable. That part I sometimes guess at or things resonate with others that I didn't expect

No pressure tags!

@eowyn7023 @demonscantgothere @cliffdivingsblog @pursuitseternal @theriverwild

#haladriel #fanfic #writing #writing tag game

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digital-chance · 1 year ago

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Writer Q&A Tag Game

thank you for the tag @clairelsonao3!! you're lovely.

1. What motivates you to write?

The stories themselves. If I get inspired and like the premise, I'll write it down. From there, my passion for stories will take over and tell the story and expand upon the characters.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

From the first chapter of my fanfic ysbwm; This place he’s in is a different world than the one he knows. There are so many flashing lights popping out of the building, constantly moving. The cars are shaped differently and drive on a painted street at amazing speeds. These buildings, like the one Steve just ran out of, are so much taller and sleeker than what he’s used to seeing. He gapes and haltingly spins around, letting his eyes flit around him and be momentarily captivated by the movement.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

At the moment, Theodore, from Scars of Duty. Writing a villain character is so interesting to me, especially since their character is going to change throughout the novel and series. I'm not the greatest at making ocs and I haven't purposely written a character like this before so this is a challenge that im excited to take on!

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Brainstorming. It's a love-hate relationship though lol. I love gathering all the stuff that inspired me and organizing it though so it's both worth it in the end and satisfying. Lately I found a template/organizer for the Notion app for my writing and I'm so excited about my projects now!!

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Honestly I'm not sure. I would say research and potentially preparation.

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

I love the tag games!! I love seeing what people wrote and learning about them and then being able pay it forwards for others!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Tumblr, with it's endless quantities of prompts and the short stories that people write on here. I love it. I also starting using both Grammarly and ProWritingAid to correct my grammar after me being in denial for ages about needing them. Very useful for the editing process.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

Oooh my favorite piece of worldbuilding i like is from Scars of Duty but it's a huge spoiler so I better not say it haha. My second favorite is from Nova Futurum and it's the underground community's culture. One thing I've noticed when I was living in a lower-income neighborhood is the sense of community and how that can influence not only social interactions but also things like crime. People look out for each other and care about each other and will help each other get to better places, to the best of their abilities. And in my new neighborhood, in a different part of the city, it's entirely different. More money = more socially/emotionally distant. I barely know anyone and the weight of others' opinions matter more. It's interesting to me and I definitely will add this to Nova Futurum.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Read other people's writings in a genre that you are NOT trying to write in. It doesn't have to be any particular style of literature, but something different enough from what you're working on. This way you can get inspired or even just have a break from the genre and get refreshed. It can get exhausting reading for research or inspiration.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

@tea-and-mercury, @leisoree, @ruinmegently, and @janec23 are my biggest supporters and i adore their work. to name a few more people with amazing work: @scribbling-stardust, @halfbit, @hallwriteblr, @repressed-and-depressed, & @fire-but-ashes-too

tagging those people above and no pressure tagging: @ntzsche9, @writingmargo, @mthollowell-writes, @wingedcatastrophe, & @lostpasswordreturning.

#tag game #writing #excerpt #writeblr #wip: nova futurum

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yarameijer · 2 years ago

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Hi Yara!

If you don't mind, I wanted to know what you think would happen if all of Inazuma Eleven Go had a sleepover! (Definitely wouldn't go well!).

Also, wanted to say that I am a huge fan of your stories, so please keep up the great work!

Thank you

And stay safe!

-Kristy

Hey there! Thanks for sending in your ask! With ‘all of Inazuma Eleven Go’ I’m assuming you meant the Raimon team, since I don’t think you meant all the characters that ever appear… also I have Raimon feels right now so shh, let me be.

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Raimon actually has had sleepovers before multiple times - although most often it's in a more serious context, for example during their Chrono Stone travels or Fifth Sector-approved training camp, and then it's an early bedtime and a bit too much stress to give it a real 'sleepover feel'.

It actually started with, surprisingly enough, Hamano! The team already knows that he's outside often, and would rather take a walk than play a video game - it's obvious, with how much time he spends fishing, and his holidays usually filled with going on hikes or camping (he has a lot of fun stories to tell and the first-years love listening to him). Therefore it's not really a surprise when it's revealed that he likes going stargazing sometimes. It's after morning practice when he mentions a meteor shower that very weekend that he's planning on watching. The first-years are, as usual, in awe.

Hamano, being the awesome senpai he is (he's trying to start a competition but so far the other senpai aren't going along with it. They all know Sangoku is everyone's favorite, anyway), sees their excitement and asks them whether they want to join.

That's the first time they have a real sleepover just for fun, although it only includes about a third of the team.

Shinsuke, Hikaru and Tenma are absolutely down for it from the get-go, Kariya ends up asking for permission from his guardians at the orphanage and being most excited out of all of them (he hasn't really had sleepovers before, being the antisocial butterfly he was before Raimon), Tsurugi gets dragged along by Tenma after Yuuichi finds out and arranges it. Aoi is more than welcome too, and she invites Midori along when the older girl expresses an interest. Then the last two, Nishiki (threatened or invited by Midori, they're not actually sure) and Hayami (because Hamano wouldn't let him stay behind, obviously).

They crash at Hamano's house and have a grand time playing soccer in the backyard (and somehow Midori gets the best score out of them all? How does she do it? No one knows) and making dinner together. Afterwards, they head out to a nearby park where the light pollution is at a minimum in the city to watch the meteor shower. All of the first-years are falling asleep on their feet by the end of it, and as the good senpai they are, their friends ensure they get in bed safely and proceed to draw on their faces.

The week after, none of the first-years can stop talking about it, and how much fun they had (even Tsurugi is smiling and, of course, promptly teased by everyone, especially Shindou). Hamano keeps laughing about the pictures they took (exhausted first-years make for great pictures, who knew) and it's unanimously decided that it should happen again. That idea is put aside for the time being because they have to focus on an important match, and after, the start of the Winter Road Tournament.

Which is why no one expects it when their coach announces a training camp for the weekend, a couple of weeks later. They're all excited for it, though - at this point the only training camp they had was the one planned by Fifth Sector, and, well. Enough said.

Endou makes it clear that beyond training, it's also team building (which might be inspiration for Tenma, years in the future) and that they're encouraged to have fun together too. The first-years take it to heart.

The weekend starts off well - it's held at Raimon Jr. High and Endou has called up some of his friends to help with training. By the end of the day all the kids are in a good mood and cooking dinner together is quite the interesting experience, most likely only saved by Sangoku being in charge. After dinner they have the rest of the evening off and, surprisingly, don't spend it playing soccer (although Tenma puts up a good fight, but he's overruled).

Instead they watch a movie, not without some arguing about which one precisely (no one wants a horror movie, Kariya, Hayami seems ready to cry at the thought). Sangoku and the managers are in charge of snacks, Amagi is enlisted by Hikaru, Shinsuke and Tenma to help push the couches together and cover the floor in pillows, Shindou ends up sitting in an armchair and doing absolutely nothing (this is the first time his team calls him a lazy rich kid and Kirino laughs so hard he cries), Kurama is criticizing everything and everyone until Kurumada shuts him up with a pillow to the face, and Ichino is filming everything.

They watch the movie, if it can be called that, because people will not shut up. Kurama keeps on criticizing everything and everyone. Shinsuke gets startled by everything that happens on screen even though it's not a scary movie. Kariya pulls on Kirino's hair because he's 'blocking the screen', nevermind that Kariya is sitting on the couch and Kirino on the floor, and it's all downhill from there. Kirino is inspired by Kurumada's actions earlier, and promptly shoves a pillow in Karoya's face. Cue the pillow fight. Multiple people (Tsurugi and Shindou) try to stay out of it and fail horribly. There are no survivors.

In the end they finish the movie, and whoever decided on a sad movie will be murdered when they've recovered from the emotional damage it gave them. Even Tsurugi is crying. The only one who isn't is Hikaru and it terrifies them all while simultaneously reminding them, right, he's related to the international mad soccer criminal lost in space. It explains a lot, honestly.

They're sent off to bed an hour before midnight and of course it takes another thirty minutes before they're actually, y'know, in bed. The next problem is that none of them actually shut up - there's about six different conversations going on. They're in sleeping bags in the gym and that place echoes. Sangoku tries to get them all to settle down but fails, until Akane offers to tell them all a story (she has help from Midori in shutting them all up and Raimon is, once again, reminded why their managers are both terrifying and amazing). It's? Surprisingly good? They expected something a bit vague, with her love for aliens and conspiracies, but it's a captivating mystery tale that leaves them all genuinely invested by the end. Thankfully it also helps them calm down enough to sleep and with the exception of some whispered conversations, they all settle down quickly.

The next night is a bit different - training went quite similar, but this time, after dinner, Endou and his friends have organized something. A test of courage through the school.

Raimon initially expected it to be just Endou and the handful of people that have been helping in their training so far. They were wrong.

(When Endou sent out a message asking for volunteers, EVERYONE responded. Getting a new pass at scaring the new Raimon? Hell yeah.)

And when Raimon, young or old, has something in mind, they go for it.

They get the kids to scream. Whoever gave Fudou free reign with the fake blood should get a life sentence. Natsumi plays out a scene immediately afterwards of a nice, kind woman, helping settle their nerves with some of her cooking. Except as usual it tastes horrid and when the kids look closer, they find the red food coloring that they, sadly, don't appreciate after Fudou's scene. Afterwards it's unanimously decided that Fudou and Natsumi are NEVER allowed in the same room without supervision again.

The rest of the test of courage goes a bit better, although even Kidou is mystified on how Fubuki covered the entire main hall in (fake?) snow, and cleaned it up in like ten minutes after? How? Endou decides not to ask when he sees Fubuki's perfectly innocent smile. Anyway, the kids have been split up in multiple teams of three (whoever put Tsurugi with Hayami and Sangoku clearly has a death wish) and hearing other teams scream from further into the school is NOT encouraging, although in the end they all get through it. By the end they all meet in the soccer stadium and it turns out that they all got a different key to the final puzzle. It takes some teamwork to solve it, but they manage, and are absolutely exhausted by the end of it and incredibly relieved that no one died.

They head to bed soon afterwards this time, and it's quite different from the day before. The entire team ends up sharing their experiences during the test of courage and talking about it, talking about what they learnt, gaining some new ideas for hissatsu techniques (Midori was somehow inspired by the terror duo that was Fudou and Natsumi and it's both wonderful and terrifying at once). The night, and the training camp in general, ends on a good note and somehow without nightmares.

Afterwards it becomes more common for the team to have sleepovers, although still quite rare - there's nineteen of them and coordinating something like that is an absolute mess, especially when they slowly start moving onto High School. They manage once or twice a year, though, usually either through training camps or birthday parties. Pillow fights are common, most often started by Kariya and Kirino, Midori and Nishiki, or whoever gets annoyed by Kurama. Sangoku is put in charge for dinner for good after some disastrous attempts by other members. Some of their most effective strategies are created during sleepovers, when they can spend hours on a group discussion (Shindou's mind is wonderfully chaotic and when they get him rolling, he will ramble anyone's ear off). The sad movies continue too, somehow? They never do end up figuring out who brings the DVDs. In later years, sleepovers (very rarely) are moments for heart-to-heart talks between all of them (Tsurugi finally opens up and Tenma literally cries from relief at that, and Kariya quietly shares some of his most important memories of his parents).

They all love their sleepovers but also agree that it's probably best that it doesn't happen too often. It's exhausting for them, they're chaotic enough on a normal day.

(Still, Endou's initial plan at team bonding goes off better than he ever could have expected.)

#inazuma eleven #inazuma eleven go #ina11 #ie11 #ie go #raimon #sleepover #thanks for the ask!#accidental reverse ask #accidental reverse #test of courage #these kids are ridiculous and i love them

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cynical-gamer-media · 1 year ago

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*gently tugging your sleeve*

Would you tell me about Triangle Strategy?

You got it! I'll do my best to keep it simple:

So 'Triangle Strategy' is set in a land-locked continent called 'Norzelia' that is divided into three countries: Glenbrook (a monarchy), Aesfrost (a newly made meritocracy), and Hyzante (a theocracy). It takes place 30 years after the Saltiron War; a war for the ultimate resource that is salt, for, like in real life, salt is used to preserve food, medicine, it is extremely vital. (as a history nerd I love how salt plays the crucial part of politics). The iron part comes from how Aesfrost has iron to make the best of the best equipment.

You play as Lord Serenoa, the son of the head of House Wolffort, an extremely influential House in Glenbrook, trying to keep the peace of the continent. There are three other crucial characters. Frederica is from Aesfrost and is in an arranged marriage with Serenoa (which is shockingly written very well and their friends to lovers thing is legitmately great!). She is also a Rosellan, a minority that is discriminated across the continent. Roland is a prince of Glenbrook, a long-time friend of Serenoa, who is sort of the runt: he is not crown prince thus is deemed unimportant. Then there is Benedict, long-time retainer to House Wolffort, a pragmatic man who fought in the war.

Gameplay is a TRPG with some awesome stuff. The gameplay is divided into two parts: the combat stages (each character is unique; there is no one healer that is identical to another--thus encouraging you to try everyone) and the voting. With voting you roam around a map to speak with others so you can then try to convince those in your political party to believe/choose your cause. People can vote against you; just because you choose one thing doesn't mean you rule out the majority. I fucking love this about the game.

There are three beliefs: Liberty, Utility, and Morality. You can accumulate points depending on your convictions (what you say or how you respond to people, and how you vote). Whatever you vote determines how the story unfolds: who you recruit, who you kill, places you go, levels you play, political siding, etc.

The start of the game is quite slow, but I think absolutely necessary in building the world and showing the political scene. People say the game is more of a visual novel but I disagree; there are lots of cutscenes, but the majority last maybe 2-3 minutes? I think there is only, say, two that are 10 minutes.

The ENG voice acting is rough in parts and with some characters, especially at the beginning: I blame voice direction rather than the actors themselves. Doesn't help that the protagonist is by far the weakest voice actor. Yet shockingly he grew on me??? Some though are phenomenal from beginning to end i.e. Frederica and Benedict.

There is a free demo of the game on the Switch. It is the start so again it is slow and with plenty of cutscenes, but it does a great job showing you the characters and trying out how the voting system works and affects the story (and the combat too).

I hope this summary gives you some understanding of what the game has to offer!

#Triangle Strategy #Answer #Text #My Text

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twst-drabbles · 2 years ago

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I’m so mixed on the get along/hate thing because I feel like characters I wouldn’t like would like me whilst characters I do like would avoid me.

Like in theory I could get along with Ruggie, hes adorable and I’d love to pack extra snacks for him when making my lunch. But I know that I’m pushy and that he’s skittish so it’d take awhile to get him to be my friend.

Idia and I could be friends in the liking games/otaku department but he’s so negative and mopey that I’d either get annoyed or inadvertently let him ruin my own mood/excitement.

On the other side I would ignore Jade who would initially seem so boring to me until I see him in action and go “Huh he’s a pretty funny guy.” and then start to hang out with him. (Which is literally how I treated him in game so when I finally got around to raising his viginette levels and his voiceline said HE thought I was boring I cackled so loud. He’s now my number 1-3 as Leona and Floyd rotate spots with him) Floyd would be a somewhat friend as he causes too much trouble to hang around 24/7 but I’d still want to see some carnage. Just a little.

I feel like Riddle would kinda want to be my friend but hes way too strict for me to actively want to hang out with. Same with Vil.

Leona and Jamil would tolerate me in a “Some days I like you. Some days you annoy the shit out of me” sort of way but I imagine that they’d be wholly neutral towards me and I to them.

I would definitely be best buds with Epel and Jack though. Epel because I would encourage him to go full country boy whenever Vil isn’t around and Jack because he seems like the type to fold to people that persistently try to befriend him.

As long as Ruggie doesn't steal my food, he is safe.

Seriously though, just because Mr. "I need someone to put the spoon in my mouth" Leona wants my meaty sandwich doesn't mean I'm going to give it. Fuck off Ruggie. And if he does take it, you bet your bitches I'm chasing that fucker down. And if he manages to run away, I'm going to go to Vargas and tell him that Ruggie took away my lunch. Why Vargas? Food is a very important component of muscle building. You must have plenty of it if you wish to be of the physic that Vargas is. And I have many a mental problem that keeps me from eating as much as I should. And now I have an extra burden of having a student starving me of my lunch? Vargas will not like it one bit, especially if I add the bit of wanting to build up my stamina with meaty meals.

But if Ruggie doesn't, cause my meals are small so that sandwich would be all I have, then we're good. And skittish? Hmm, doesn't strike me as skittish so much as cautious. Ruggie has the patience of a saint for having to deal with Leona's lazy ass so having another pushy person in the group would probably be a bit much for him. Another headache to deal with. But, he will never say no to snacks and eventually his patience will grow to be able to deal with that.

Idiaaaaa, yeah he's a Debby Downer, and bitter. Real bitter. Like, he puts himself down a lot but he also puts people down. Idia's dug this hole into the ground and when anyone takes the chance to peer in, he hisses or grabs people and puts them in the pit he's in. Spiteful man. I know people like to categorize him as this sad, weepy little man full of anxiety, and he is, but he's also so protective of his ego he has to insult people to make himself feel better. Hence why he'd rather talk to people online rather than real life cause online you only ever see a sliver of what they're actually like. Because of the limited scope of time, you can shove your best qualities to the forefront while letting the rest be hidden behind. And most of the time, people are distracted by their interests so that helps Idia even more to hide away from his problems.

Riddle...I'd feel wouldn't take much notice honestly. Especially since he clearly comes from a place of both privileged and high expectations. I still remember his whole thing, looking down on our background and the insults to my family. Thing is, I'm...okay so I do have some issues with my anger. Not in the sense I yell and and throw destructive fits often, but in the sense that when it comes out, it's a whole fermentation of bottled up bitterness, little annoyances and horrid intrusive thoughts.

By that, I mean I would probably choke Riddle to get him to shut up. Which would probably trigger Riddle's memory of his own mother cause she is just that suffocating of a mother. You know, I should write that one day. I'll add the warnings obviously.

But yeah, same on that front, it be hard to hang out with him. And Vil.

Leona and Jamil, gotta catch them on a good day to deal with any antics.

#admin

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mejomonster · 2 years ago

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So many writing tips are just... I want to say "utter bullshit" but I'm going to be gentler here and say simply "NOT as universally good ideas as they imply they are."

Like. I'm reading the Tale of Genji (and loving it a lot). It starts out with a nice long explanation (exposition) of the main characters family background and how his mom and dad got together. wow. So many times I have seen the advice "avoid exposition/exposition dumps/limit exposition/try to start off with an ACTION scene and get people into the middle of an active story." But you know. Tale of Genji didnt. And neither did a great many famous beloved stories.

(And also in hindsight I really do think a Lot of "internet article" writing advice pieces are Specifically giving Young Adult novel writing advice to appeal to the main trends, not necessarily to be the best written just to match trends, and any advice to jump into action and limit exposition is more based on the idea kids want the plot to ramp up immediately and may have less patience for a story to build up or unfold than an adult).

A common bit of advice is to not write in first person. And fair enough, it's not my favorite to write in. But it's excessively common. First person CAN be in a great novel. I can think of many wonderful stories I've read that were written in first person, and that never stopped me from giving it a chance. (Likewise it seems any perspective or tense is fair game if you want to write in it).

There's the advice, again, to jump into the action quickly. Which I think may have initially been advice for young adult novel writers but now seems to be encouraged for all kinds or genres. Interview with the Vampire tells itself like a history book (or rather autobiography) as do a lot of the vampire chronicles, but they were fun reads and liked enough to have some movies. Again, Tale of Genji is far from the only novel I've read that enjoys a nice luxurious exposition dump for a long while before even getting to an active scene with dialogue or actions, Kamikaze Girls (a novel I'm currently loving as I go through) has a few chapters of ONLY train of thought first person narration, like I'm reading a teen girls journal and she's bitching and rambling about opinions (which I love). While I personally do actually like to start up on an action scene (because I find it easier to Write action scenes and dialogue), it's apparent to me that people can make absolutely lovely stories by many varied approaches.

There's the advice, of course too, to follow the trends. Be "unique" enough to maybe stand above the rest, but also be "similar" enough to what already sells and people already read if you want to get either picked up got publishing or trying to have some chance at being seen etc. And that can be a good strategic idea, I just don't think it means much on if your actual story is of good quality or not, in that you can either fit the trends or wildly stand apart and regardless have made a nice meaningful story. (I think of when I delved into historical romance as a genre... I checked out Bridgerton and it is a LOT like the trends, but maybe stood as just unique Enough cause it had that gossip column feel to it. Of when I saw Lisa Klepyas's stuff, and she's now one of my favorite writers, who mainly stayed in this genres norms BUT she'd add some meaningful bits of historical derails into her stories so while it still felt sugar coated and Softer than an Actual realistic historical tale? It still felt more like it was showing bits of real history, like an American Girl book almost, compared to a lot of the more standard type historical romances I ran into that had the Frame Outline of the genre but weren't aiming for big historical focus. Then there was Sarah Waters... a writer I now admire. Sarah wrote Fingersmith, technically a queer historical rromance, but so Different than the norm for historical romances. A style like it'd actually been WRITTEN in the century it was set in, a tale reminiscent of the prince and the pauper but darker (and lesbians), a thriller with con artists and danger and enemies playing each other while falling in love, and historical facts that REALLY aimed for realism in a brutal way Lisa Klepyas had spared me. The details about how filthy Londons streets were and how terrifying as a woman alone with no money and home there still stick in my mind, the way the manor in the countryside felt Ancient compared to how it would now and my body ached just reading about the conditions and glad we have heaters now, the parts about the mental hospital were beyond horrifying and possibly more so for how real people had to live through that. A kind of grounded reality like actually going back in time for better or worse, sort of like Black Sails the show. And THAT is how broad the historical romance genre can span. It's not all like Bridgerton, that's just what was on trend but Slightly unique Enough to stand out whenever it had published).

I've lost my trail here I think but just... know however you write or choose to tell your story, there's worth in it. Of the infinitely varied ways to tell a story, all are lovely in their own ways.

#rant #writing #im thinking of how one of my FAVORITE novels is first person pov #how my favorite childrens novel bunnicula never tried to use easy words for readers #how tale of genji has this exposition i LOVE like listening to a history story (which i love)#how Fingersmith is SUCH biased pov i think to be fair #some readers wont catch the DEPTH. how each character lies to herself and th READER #and when the lies come out youre as FUCKED UP EMPTIONALLY as the character who was betrayed #and its a BEAUTIFUL example of how biased perspective and omited facts and when to use whos pov #can INTENSELY CHANGE how a story is experienced and impacts

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justasmallbloginabigklainefandom · 8 months ago

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Alright, I have finished Side Order on my 11th run, so here are some thots.

It's fine.

Like, that's basically what it comes down to. It's fine. I had fun with it and I am definitely going to replay it. I don't know if I'll aim for 100% completion, but I am definitely interested in trying out more builds and weapon combinations. I think that's where the strength of this DLC lies: experimentation. It's wonderful that it makes the gameplay feel new and fresh again.

I initially was disappointed when I saw it was a roguelite, since I am not vibing with roguelites a lot, apart from Hades. As a result, I compared it a lot to Hades. (Since I don't know how common these mechanics are in roguelites in general.) I like that you are encouraged to do every weapon in order to get keys, like in Hades. Re-playing it with a weapon just gives "less valuable" items that don't progress the overall story. And yes, figuring out your builds is great, especially since there is a random aspect to it. You can unlock a hack that let's you reroll the floor selection, but still, if you don't get the chips you want, it's going to be different from what you expected. For example, I really wanted to amp up my charger with a quick charge, or something, only to get one quick charge chip. The more you have of the same chip, the more effective that chip effect will be.

The chips also work together. Like, poison ink works really well with sticky ink, etc. Acht also gives hints on how to mix and match chips. I do miss some more interesting combinations, like the Duo Boon and Legendary Boon system in Hades. That would encourage people to really hunt for chips. So yes, the mix and match of chip builds and weapons is the best part of this game.

Now, my least favourite part is that I think the different floors just aren't inviting enough. It's always one of the same 4 objectives in different floors. Yes, there's difficulty levels etc., but most of the time, I am dreading doing the actual climb, which is... uh... not good. Same goes for the bosses. They're amazing, but apart from the final boss, there are only 3 of them. I do like that each boss floor has a chance to be any of those 3, unlike Hades, where it's always the same boss on a certain level, but I do feel like the game favours some more than others. I barely fight Parallel Canon and that happens to be my favourite.

Also, it looks like a full run is around an hour long, which is just a bit too long for my liking. When I am at the last floors I can really feel my interest dropping and I am getting tired. Maybe if the game made it more inviting to constantly beat your own record, it'd be more inviting to redo all these stages. I know that the UI tells you when you've hit a new time record, but maybe a log or something with all the levels and your times on it would make it more inviting. And yes, there are a lot of floor types, including some I haven't seen yet because they're rigorous level, so it's not super boring and repetitive, but it still is.

But it's a good thing that these repetitive levels are used for your chip builds, since again, that is super fun and the main replay value for me. And of course, there are additional bonus and danger floors that can show up at random.

As for the story, it's fine. It's not mind-blowing or anything. Maybe it will be. I haven't unlocked all of Marina's logs yet. But yeah, if you're expecting some deep lore, then you'll be disappointed. It's just fine. The character writing is amusing, though, and I am a big fan of Acht, so the character do shine, but it's not going to blow your socks off.

Overall, I don't love it, but I don't have to in order to still enjoy it. It's fine. It's fun.

#lb 2024 #lb gaming

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amberautumnfaebrooke · 1 year ago

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this one is my favorite reply to this post so far.

i've gotten a lot of replies saying things like "they design the arenas before they find out who the contestants are" (guys, this is one of the best-funded entertainment programs in the world, they have a large team of professionals working on this thing, and we see them modify the arena on the fly repeatedly during the games, i don't for one second believe you couldn't modify the games during tech week) and an ENORMOUS number of replies saying essentially "they don't actually want to humanize the contestants."

to which i would say: what? yes they do. they obviously do. what are you talking about?

we can debate whether it's smart or useful for them to do that, but it's clearly what they're doing. they designed a sponsor system into the games which, sure, makes them money, but also obviously has the design effect of strongly incentivizing the contestants to play into their narratives for the crowd. like you say above, all the mentors are encouraging the contestants to play up their stories for sponsor help, this is a decades-long practice, it's a known quantity, they're hardly shying away from it. they built this rules system, they know how it works, it's encouraging public personalization on purpose.

and i mean let's talk caesar flickerman, who sort of stands in in these stories for the whole process of building narratives for these kids. he's a charismatic guy and apparently the main lens through which the capital presents the contestants to the world, and his whole job appears to be to ask them questions to get them to talk about their stories, and to make them look likeable, sympathetic. the capital didn't have to give the kids any media attention, it could have been just a set of games of random children, but they choose every year to get the public invested in this specific group of characters, because it makes the games more exciting. and yeah, the other part of caesar's job is to keep the tone light so it doesn't feel like anyone is watching a murder farm. it feels, like the above poster said, like they're watching a sports event.

this is a point i really love in the above post that i don't think contradicts my original thesis at all. the capital wants people to think of tributes as game pieces, which they do by building up these very arch, melodramatic narratives about them, and which they could support by incorporating those narratives into the arena. the wedding chapel still works in this model.

another thing i love about this reply is the point that the 75th games were an exception, that they had a different design goal but needed to look like they were business as usual. this isn't something i've seen a lot of people saying but i'm actually very ready to concede that point! i don't think it excuses them not telling the contestants the mechanics of the arena, if anything i would argue it only exacerbates that problem, but in terms of the personalization, yeah, ok, maybe the 75th games specifically WOULDN'T have benefited from the wedding chapel, point well made.

my other favorite reply is all the people saying they're obsessed with my jokerfied mind. mwah, i am giving you each a delicate kiss on the forehead.

i think i could design a better death arena for children than those hunger games amateurs.

the whole premise of the games is all pageantry. every year you get a crop of 24 candidates around whom the entire state media apparatus dedicates an entire year to building celebrity narratives. this candidate is the younger sibling of last year's winner - these candidates are young lovers forced to compete - he's smart - she's fast - root for them, care about them, watch them, form opinions on them, bet on them. and then they stick them all in an arena to kill each other, which is a great entertainment premise, except that they make the arenas themselves really boring and generic. ooo, they're in...a forest.

it's not even an interestingly designed forest. imagine if the game designers treated their arena like an actual video game designer treats level design. discrete zones with multiple paths between each room, creative use of lighting to guide players to points of interest, points of interest scattered across the map, discoverable resources hidden to encourage exploration. instead they just have a generic outdoors location and if you get too close to the edge they throw a random fireball at you.

the 75th games are especially bad about this. the arena is laid out radially into 12 wedges, and each hour one wedge becomes especially dangerous in a 12-hour loop. as a mechanic, this is genius. it forces everyone to keep moving, making "survival by hiding" an engaging and tense viewing experience instead of someone sitting in a tree for three days. plus, it encourages players to return to the center of the arena, where travel time between wedges is short, which creates a high-value zone for players to regularly return to and conflict over. in other words, it's a mechanic which incentives players to adopt dramatic, dynamic, exciting behaviors which are entertaining to watch (not to mention it communicates geography to the audience well). but it only incentives those behaviors if the players understand what's happening, and they go out of their way not to tell the players anything! when they figure out what's going on, the showrunners spin the arena to disorient the players, like they're intentionally trying to get them to just. randomly wander the jungle instead.

this isn't even to mention how often they create undramatic, boring deaths. they plant poison berries around the arena. they supply no fresh water and no way to get it. they roll poison clouds over sleeping victims. these happen to work out in the books themselves but you have to imagine that extremely often these just result in players dying unexciting deaths.

the cardinal sin though, of course, is that nothing is done to personalize the arena for the crop of contestants that year. if i'm designing the 75th hunger games and two of my most beloved contestants famously had to cancel their wedding because of a return to the games, i would OBVIOUSLY give them a trail of, i don't know, wild game which conveniently leads directly past a well defended wedding chapel. will they hole up there for a while? hold a mock ceremony for themselves? do or receive ironic violence here? stare wistfully and move on? any of it is better television than getting attacked by generic attack monkeys. you should have a dozen of these things on the map for every single candidate. but the game makers are more interested in doing the same thing every other game has done than in telling a compelling story.

it makes me second guess enjoying the children's murder arenas at all.

#the hunger games #thg

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jessiec-writes-fantasy · 2 years ago

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Writeblr positivity (tag game)

Thanks for the tag @lexiklecksi !

1. What motivates you to write?

Making up my own worlds, or playing in others'. Making characters or 'what ifs' that I haven't been able to find in fiction.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not, maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them):

this if from a fanfic i've been posting under my other blog(and on ao3), wheres-all-the-tea-gone. I'm quite happy with how my writing has been in it, although I'm worried that its changing as the story goes on. But I think i nailed the coziness I wanted to have for this scene.

In the hush of the room, Glorfindel lowered himself to sit against the wall with him. Cushions had been placed along the large area in front of the hearth, including where they sat. He picked one up and held it against his chest before looking at him. Elrond smiled. “Do you feel better?” Glorfindel nodded and returned the smile. “Much.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/ talk about them and what are they like?

I tend to like my characters for a while, but then either grow to be embarrassed/hate my writing or worried it's stupid, or I move on to another story once the previous one is done. So I never really stick around with one OC enough to get super attached I guess?

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

When I know exactly what is going to happen in a scene, and the dialogue, and I just need to write it out.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Not sure. I think I'm getting better at showing and not telling tho.

6. What is something in the writeblr community that is most enjoyable?

Meeting other writers and learning about their works.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I use Scrivener. I like how I can divide chapters, thus making it easier to find something if I need to fix it. I also tend to listen to music without words on youtube.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

I havent started writing my newest story yet, but I've started on the world building and I really like the druid system so far, and how the spirits of the world grow into stronger spirits.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Go for walks in nature or just get out of the house and do something fun. Go someplace new, or try out something new. It will get your mind off of writing and once you relax your mind might just find a way to fix what you're stuck on. If not maybe try working on some other piece of writing and maybe the answer will come as your work on it.

#writblr #writeblr #fantasy #writing

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luckydragon10 · 2 years ago

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P&P Chapter 43

(Chapters 41 and 42)

Chapter 43 looks chonky, so I'm gonna do just one this time.

Score check:

Lizzy is down to +10.

Mr. Darcy continues to hold at -15.

BTW, I've decided to start considering this my sentimeter, or measurement of sentiment.

~~~

Chapter 43

“And of this place,” thought she, “I might have been mistress!"

Definitely sounding young and her age here. Silly child. Best to make sure you like the husband that comes attached with the house.

Mr. Gardiner, whose manners were very easy and pleasant, encouraged her communicativeness by his questions and remarks;

The uncle exists! And can speak!

Mrs. Reynolds: “Yes, sir; but I do not know when that will be. I do not know who is good enough for him.”

I like Mrs. Reynolds. Potential new side blorbo.

Elizabeth almost stared at her. “Can this be Mr. Darcy?” thought she.

Child. Judge others by how they treat people who are working, not by how they treat their peers and friends.

This feels like less a tour of the house than it is a tour of Mr. Darcy's real personality and motivations.

Something something something house as metaphor for real self.

What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant?

Theeeeere we go. Good girl.

Every idea that had been brought forward by the housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she stood before the canvas on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before; she remembered its warmth, and softened its impropriety of expression.

Mmm, in some ways this isn't very fun to me? She seems to be softening and coming to like (love?) Mr. Darcy not by interactions with him but vicariously through other people's regard, and through her vanity at the idea that such an esteemed person was romantically interested in her. Eeehhh.

...her uncle and aunt stopped also, and while the former was conjecturing as to the date of the building, the owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road, which led behind it to the stables.

Yep, knew this would happen, just wasn't sure when it would happen.

Amazed at the alteration of his manner since they last parted, every sentence that he uttered was increasing her embarrassment; and every idea of the impropriety of her being found there recurring to her mind, the few minutes in which they continued were some of the most uncomfortable in her life.

The fact that none of this is written in dialogue is very frustrating. It seems like such an important meeting, and I can't tell what's being said.

(Mr. Darcy) At length every idea seemed to fail him; and, after standing a few moments without saying a word, he suddenly recollected himself, and took leave.

You wonderfully awkward potato. I'm going to give you 5 points for character consistency and for being damn funny. Maybe you'll get out of negative digits someday.

Oh wait. I still don't like the way you fucked Jane over. You're cute, but I will remember that.

Whilst wandering on in this slow manner, they were again surprised, and Elizabeth’s astonishment was quite equal to what it had been at first, by the sight of Mr. Darcy approaching them, and at no great distance.

He's like a whack-a-mole game. He just keeps popping up.

It was consoling that he should know she had some relations for whom there was no need to blush. She listened most attentively to all that passed between them, and gloried in every expression, every sentence of her uncle, which marked his intelligence, his taste, or his good manners.

I'm still in disagreement with Lizzy about family matters.

More of Lizzy being willfully blind about Mr. Darcy's regard... same old, same old.

It originated in Mrs. Gardiner, who, fatigued by the exercise of the morning, found Elizabeth’s arm inadequate to her support, and consequently preferred her husband’s.

Mrs. Gardener needed no such thing. She knows what's up better than Lizzy does.

Mr. Darcy: “There is also one other person in the party,” he continued after a pause, “who more particularly wishes to be known to you. Will you allow me, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister to your acquaintance during your stay at Lambton?”

This man needs help. Cart him off. He's insane.

“But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities,” replied her uncle.

Whimsical? That's an understatement. He's a damn fucking unicorn is what he is. Very skittish, doesn't warm up easily.

In confirmation of this, she related the particulars of all the pecuniary transactions in which they had been connected, without actually naming her authority, but stating it to be such as might be relied on.

Lizzy. Your secret-keeping powers are SHIT.

(Chapters 44 and 45)

#nemi reads p&p #pride and predujice #chapter 43

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greysfall · 3 years ago

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My 4444-word review of NEO TWEWY (with personal illustration + heavy spoilers)

My overall critical score for the game is 7.5/10, while my personal enjoyment score is 8.5/10. This review is posted as I have 80% completed the game, got the secret ending and achieved the Angel psychic rank. I’ll first start with the main pros and cons as follows.

PROS:

- Enjoyable as a whole, still upholding the first game’s spirit in world building and sharing the same backbone - which was mostly revealed in the Secret Reports, it’s impossible to grasp the story without reading them.

- The new cast and new game is charming in their own way

- The old cast’s return is one of the biggest highlights for sure, it was fun and impactful. Everyone stays true to themselves and also had their own stories wrapped up nicely.

- Boss designs are cool, new pins are fun to use and collect

- The connection between the old and new cast is well written and executed, including but are not limited to the tension between the old and new protagonist, the weird but fun interaction between the 2 Composers, the new friendships revealed and formed

- Sho being in the main cast is something so uniquely TWEWY and uniquely Sho

- Still good music

- Still many fun side quests, some of them really uphold the same quirky spirit of the old game and some are surprisingly touching

- Many new nice stores and yummy looking foods to explore

- The map is really easy to memorize for me, it’s fun to travel around the “current” Shibuya to see all the differences compared to the past

- The social network is crazy and interesting to read through

- Has an anti-frustration system to help 100% complete the game more easily and earn money faster, so post-game is relatively managable.

- Overall, I really feel the efforts the team poured into making this as their passion project, not just during the development process but for all the last 14 years. They showed the vision of what they wanted to make, at the same time giving something to both the old as well as new fans.

CONS:

- The biggest problem with the game is scenario writing. The story is so heavily back-loaded. The director himself thought it would be better to balance out the tension flow by adding more at the beginning but gave in to the scenario writer in the end, probably due to time pressure. This results in an underwhelming execution of characterization and lots of wasted potentials for the first half of the game.

- I struggle to view it as a stand-alone game, since the backstory and the old cast both play such an important role in the core of the game. If someone plays this game without having played the OG, they can only enjoy it on surface value at best.

- The new cast is nice but most of them aren’t quite as intriguing as the old cast, maybe it’s cuz they’re all too nice deep down that they lack a little bit of an edge, of that batshit craziness that everyone in the OG used to have? I think some characters (Fret, Nagi) ended up weaker in terms of characterization because the writer is too afraid of making them unlikeable – which kind of backlashed cuz they only became likable in the most expectable way to cater for a specific group of fans. I would have wished for the other team leaders to be more crazy too, had they not suffered 30+ loops of the Game…

- The CAMERAWORK IS HELL.

- Gameplay does get tedious at certain points with all the time travels.

- Shiba is so badly written as a villain, some Shinjuku characters should be given more screentime cutting into Shiba’s– like Hishima or Kaie or even, Hazuki (though his limited presence also solidified his importance).

- Some of the main character designs, for example Beat’s hairstyle and his food reactions are hilariously bad. What’s the point of covering up most of his unique facial features?

- Some of the minor/side characters’ design are too cool for them to have such a small role (eg: Ayano, Eiru). Ryoji did get much screentime but is nowhere as fun as Makoto was.

- Overall the scope of this game is made a little too big for the team to handle as perfectly as the last game that was very compact, it felt somewhat rushed in development too so the missing pieces are clearly there in the final picture

The entry fee versus paying for it all in the end

An important difference between the Neo game and the original Shibuya game was that the Shibuya rule asked for an entry fee that is the Player’s most important asset, stated as a chance the Composer gives them to reexamine themselves. Meanwhile, the Shinjuku rule neither encourages nor allows personal growth and ultimately aims to erase as many Players as possible. It’s a pity we were never introduced to the full Shinjuku rulebook, as it seems like the system there focuses more on building up power and a grand government to compare with the individuality-driven system of Shibuya.

When you have to compare the new game and the original game (OG), this is an important factor to consider. Also, the OG has a serious storyline running through and through, locked with a different partner/GM creating unique atmosphere for each week and you don’t get to see your old partners again until the end. NEO’s team system does not allow such deep insight and communication between the Players. All of your teammates are always there throughout, the dynamic does change with each new addition but it is not as prominent as a partner change.

Another important factor is how the OG was built from scratch for a new platform as “something no one has ever seen before”, while Neo recycled a lot of old unused ideas from the previous development (check out this interview for more details). The development team for NEO lacks 2 key members and had a change of writer so the final product is not as strongly bound together as the last game.

The new cast is definitely inspired by today’s teenagers (from the view of creators), compared to the old cast they’re more sociable and always seem to take whatever works for them despite feeling unstable inside. They are all innocent and genuinely nice kids, avoiding to hurt each other to a degree that they end up keeping some sort of distance. They’re also unable to communicate at deeper levels, always stagnant at this half-baked stage of equilibrium without any motivation to get to the core of things. That is the cost of entering the game without an entry fee, without even dying or having a reason to be there/to fight seriously. These kids were stolen from the RG into a Game that was decidedly the worst environment for them to change or develop, just wandering around cluelessly to find a way “out” until tragedies started to unfold one by one and they ended up being charged the total sum of the price for their actions – ultimately losing everything in the end.

That is, I believe, a story arc which can resonate more to the youth of today rather than of my generation. If the message of the old game was to “listen”, enjoy life to the fullest and accept to trust others, the message of the new game is to “speak up” from the inside, trying to understand yourself and take actions instead of just going with the flow and finally, to take responsibility for such actions.

If Neku was handpicked by the Composer for being the special one with an all-dense soul to ensure victory of the game then Rindo was just a normal kid chosen out of random by Kubo to be his back-up plan, who just happened to have a high enough imagination to awaken the incredible power from his pin. Rindo was then officially chosen by the Composer as Josh picked up and handed the pin to him again, this time not as Josh’s personal Proxy – but as the Proxy to represent the normal people of Shibuya and via whom he could gamble if humans can fight for their own fate.

The underworld heroine and the hero with little of his own

Shoka is for me a refreshing and layered heroine. She’s the kind of character that took at least 3 trials of creators to form as a complete individual – that included Nomura who gave her the base design and Reaper background, Gen who gave a more cunning touch and the writers who made her English dialogues more punchy. Dishonesty equals “tsundere” is such a cliché, so the English writers tried really hard to avoid that trope in my opinion, while still letting her good intention come through.

She serves as the character who is informed of everything the players should have known, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Almost. Until she met Rindo.

They were drawn to each other by sharing a state of “not having anything of their own”. They both started out with not being able to truly know themselves, Shoka even hated her RG life but also managed to mature from that stage before Rindo. She must have vibed with Shiki’s love and passion in the Gatto Nero threads, initiating her connection with Shibuya and understanding herself more. With Shoka as Swallow, they were able to open up to each other and offer mental support… but was still not getting to the centre of their problems because for all this time, Shoka could not tell Rindo the most important things about herself.

How did Shoka feel when she met Rindo at the UG? She probably didn’t want to hope that he would live the day until she witnessed the Twisters’ potentials. From the very beginning, they were both incredibly conscious of each other and also constantly frustrated that the person they happened to “notice” was such a condescending bitch/a clueless loser. The Shinjuku Reapers are overall quite drunk in power and uncompassionate to Players, Shoka included. She is also a master of dissociation, which results in her constant boredom, tone swings, haughtiness and subconsciously distancing herself from the friend – the boy she cares about – from false hope, as she judged from facts that it was a hopeless situation where nothing could ever be. Maybe she is naturally a bit of a chameleon just like her name suggests (Shoka 紫陽花 = hydrangea, the color-changing flower), so putting on an act and always dissociating herself from what’s important was easy, while hiding her contradiction was impossible. It was the ex-Reaper Beat who broke it out to her, that she should decide whether she really cared and wanted to do something for a change. He knew how it felt like to cross that line, and knew she wanted to too.

Shoka is endeared by many of the Shinjuku Reapers and has shown independent acts of kindness (the Shinjuku ghost), proving that her kind and truthful side is as real as her harsh and dishonest side – which makes her a nice mirror to the previous heroine Shiki, who also embraced a dichotomy of self-complex and self-love within her character. In the end, she was the first of the new cast to ultimately accept all that is important to her and independently made the decision to help save Shibuya despite all costs.

She was jealous at Rindo’s interaction with Tsugumi and Kanon but remained silent cuz she wasn’t at a place to have any say about it. She also didn’t reveal about Swallow because that would only add an awkward irrelevance to their current situation, as she was too ready to face erasure at the end of the Game. She only wished to “play a game” with him, be it FanGo or the Reapers’ Game. The tension that the team could only feel at the end, she’s felt it the entire time. The song “DIVIDE” is applicable to not just one bond in the game, but it always makes me think of theirs. There is always a “divide” between her and Rindo throughout the course of their journey, as the living and the dead, as a Player and Reaper, as someone who has a place to return to and someone who doesn’t, someone who knows little but wields too much power and someone who knows a lot despite not being able to do much.

“If only I had the chance to connect with you on the other side

But time goes on, and without us realizing it

The battle is getting heated

Time goes on, and without us realiazing it

Divided again”

To be honest, maybe I didn’t grow any affection for the new main cast from Rindo’s perspective but from Shoka’s. Since I started to sympathize with Shoka, I started to see the boy in a more “real” way. The real Rindo, behind his peaceful façade with others, would lash out on Shoka for her unfairly harsh attitude while none of the others cared. He could also subtly feel that mantle of unspoken secrets from her, her own contradictions, the unresolved chemistry between themselves – and not knowing what to do with it rather than to feel angry with all the unfairness he could not process. (As a Libra too, he’s triggered the most by unfairness!)

It is actually a positive development as he’s at least “reacting” to something strongly now rather than to keep evading his problems. During my replay, I clearly saw the difficult situation Shoka was in, her remaining harshness after the Motoi incident was due to her internal struggle with a mission to save her own life, versus a chance to really be with the team. Her decision was to do both at the risk of losing favour from both sides. Rindo started to accept her layer by layer, as the person who resonated the most to her contradicting nature from the start and knew that via learning her resolve, he has learnt his too.

Later into the game, she even got too much of his attention. Maybe even without knowing she’s Swallow, he’s familiar with her thinking direction and Swallow had always been closer to him than any other friend. It was only after she had to betray her important ones twice that she could start being truly honest. The scene when she died a 2nd time left a strong impression in me, the little reveal let Rindo know that he is also losing Swallow as he’s losing Shoka – and that only death could drive the last secret out of her. Her final “Later, loser” echoed through Rindo as it was the final truth, with only him remaining to hear it: they had actually, already lost everything.

Rindo was the boy who never dared to face all that matters to him until he lost it all, fighting an unfair battle in the faith that they would somehow still win. Shoka was the girl who always knew what was dear to her, but never dared to think she could be together with them ever after and still threw her all into a battle she knew was losing. I think they stir each other on naturally to fill out their gaps, similar to what the Shibuya game partner systerm would have aimed for. The end reward was a little divine intervention to help close up the divide between them once and for all.

During the game there was not enough space to process anything personal so at the ending when they officially became “friends”, it was an important affirmation of their bond. Some people complained it was friendzoning but it’s not, they just have arrived at the perfect place to start something more. “From now on, we will truly be together” – I read it as that kind of message.

The heroine from a lost battle, with her story taken away

After reading the secret reports and playing the game to be surprised of how small a role Tsugumi had in the main game despite being the “Hype-chan” thought to be a major character of the next TWEWY installment, many fans would feel sad at a missed opportunity to see the Shinjuku arc in full depiction.

It was shown clearly that, a Shinjuku arc was very carefully planned out and is a vital part of the whole story, yet it could not be made due to various circumstances behind the development scene. I would assume, that the team were not able to make a TWEWY game that ended on a despairing note, but it already happened in their mind, thus becoming a mental burden that forced them to break away from it and started the game anew with NEO. A significant part of NEO became the healing arc for the Shinjuku characters, especially for Tsugumi though I really wished more emphasis should have been placed on her rather than Shiba. We didn’t even get to see her brother – Shinjuku’s Conductor who had a vital role and instead was given the clueless Shiba, who had absolutely no idea what’s going on all the way until the last day in NEO. It’s as if Tsugumi has had her story stolen away from her, because her own battle ended with a saddening loss.

I think every time the game creators look at Tsugumi, they would feel that sadness too. Maybe to them, she is a bigger character than what is seen by the fans, as despite their failed effort to depict her story, she’s lived in their mind for all these years through periods of destruction, healing and rebuild. Though it is a pity we could not get to experience the full scope of the Shinjuku story, the creators was clear about the place they wished for it to arrive at.

Individuality, connection and the social network

The team system adapted from Shinjuku rulebook does not allow much room for personal development, as the team dynamic is closer to a work relationship forced to bear results, than a spiritual bond to max out all corners of understanding as found in the partnership system. The old Shibuya system allowed only 1 winner and 1 week limit per game, while the new rule declares for a 1 winning team and only the team at last place will be erased – the other teams will enter another loop. Furthermore, whichever team to challenge the unwinnable Ruinbringers will face the risk of ending up dead last followed by erasure. As a result, the longest-standing teams are most likely not the strongest ever recorded, but the ones who have figured out a strategy to simply survive until something changes, enjoying their newly found social constructs while they are at it. Basically, it is a system to hypnotise players into the illusion that they are still “living”.

Therefore, we as players would not get to the core of each Player individually as fast and directly as we did in the last game. The Twisters were able to stand out not because they’re powerful, they only started to have a real chance after growing enough to each form a meaningful and personal connection to another teammate. It did not come as a team, nor did it intiate from the existing friendship between Rindo and Fret. In fact, I did not find much solidity or anything truly note-worthy about the main team and new characters within themselves until they started clashing with other team members, Reapers and new recruits from week 2 onwards. Rindo found his personal development with Shoka (via a clash with Motoi and pretty much a mini dating sim between them), then via the confrontation of his role with Neku; Fret found his with Kanon then Nagi, the team learned about the real Neku via Beat, Neku entered the UG via Coco’s wish to save Tsugumi… it was not the team but their personal links that empowered them to fight and solve each of their problems.

The other team leaders may have failed because they did not form such personal links, after 30+ hopeless loops Fuya’s team all fell apart to pursue their own interest even at the cost of erasure, Motoi quit his KOL façade to work like a dog for the Reapers (probably to save just his own ass not his team), while Kanon dropped her tricks to find changes via honest cooperation in acceptance of a fair loss. The despairing note in that is huge without making much of a scene because their failure didn’t happen at their best effort to “win”, but in their last attempt to find a way “out”. Even Shiba got his way “out” in the end thanked to his personal friendship with Hishima and Tsugumi.

Something has shifted in the mindset of the game creators in the last 14 years, as both games are about “connection vs individuality” but the last game focuses more on connection between just individuals and this one on the overall network that is formed out of those individual connections.

The introduction of Beat into the main cast was truly the bridge between old and new, they helped each other out in several turns before officially recruiting him. Beat is a character whom a lot of fans including myself have felt somewhat concerned about after Neku disappeared from the RG, so when the new kids welcomed Beat with warm and organic interaction and Beat seemed happy, I started to feel like I wanted to help them out too! I think the overall team chemistry is enjoyable enough for new players, but I could warm up to the new kids more from the pov of a returning character – whom I’m glad to be Beat, as the older brother figure who is genuinely kind, fun, serious and upbeat at the same time; who is needed and needs the kids in return.

The social network is a fun and refreshing feature. You can read all of the crazy tidbits about Shibuya and the links each character have formed with the town people, it’s also fun to visualize how the characters act off screen. Characters’ profiles provide extra insight into their background too, like how it reveals Tsugumi has been friend with Coco during her time in the RG. During the game when not all characters have showed up, you can sometimes guess which empty spot will belong to whom. For example there is a 1 character linking to Neky that is not linked to anyone else, so I could guess that was Joshua, and that another character linking only to Joshua was probably Hazuki, hinting that the 2 Composers are related before either of them even showed up.

Hazuki only showed up for 5 minutes, but his presence is so vital and true to the game that I think he is the most memorable out of the new cast. The two Composers have such an intriguing bond, with their yin/yang or phoenix/dragon themes, opposite color design, the sempai/kouhai tone and the way they keep some sort of distance/work relationship as if it’s mandatory between Higher beings, yet at the same time they can talk so casually because they are truly equal – and different from one another. I have written a separate meta on them here.

Some people pointed out, that all Shinjuku characters’ names and themes are based off Hanafuda cards and the Phoenix in Hanafuda belongs to the Paulownia suit – which is Joshua’s name flower. This is so interesting because it feels like the creators somehow saw it as a sign to interweave the Shibuya and Shinjuku storylines together. Though it doesn’t come out much on the surface, it’s fascinating nonetheless considering both Josh and Haz had at some point interfered with the other town’s affairs.

“Shibuya tour with Haz” was such a special scene, as it happened between 2 characters who do not/no longer have a reason to care about Shibuya, on the subject of what is worth saving about Shibuya. Hazuki carried out the purification of Shinjuku and stepped in to restore Shibuya just as part of his job and unlike Hanekoma or Joshua who both possess profound understanding of humanity, he really didn’t know humans at all. Rindo’s irrational wish invoked in him a sense of curiosity, to try gambling on something irrationally and learning a bit of what his senior have experienced. With all the pieces put together, it provides an overview on Higher beings as a whole, and that Joshua and Hanekoma are really the odd ones out with Hazuki being somewhere in between them and the rest.

The old friends

It’s easy to have returning characters overshadow the new cast as they have already matured out of their personal story arc and stayed in our hearts for all this time. In the end, I have managed to enjoy both the old and new cast separately and altogether, and they will both find their own place in our memory of this game for the long term.

Sho is truly as crazy as ever, the game wouldn’t be the same if Sho is any less of what he is. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like Neky or Beat is younger than Nagi at all, with moments when it seems like Neky has aged 14 years instead of 3 years. His friendship with Coco surprised me pleasantly, and their interaction together with Beat was fun to watch. Rhyme’s found a new dream and her friendship with Kaie is precious too, especially considering that she can still talk to him online after the game ended. Josh and Neku’s interaction suggested that they have resolved the past and are on equal terms now, they even parted ways in good spirit and I don’t feel any worry about them like I did before.

Neku and Shiki’s reunion scene was beautiful, theirs is such a special bond that it has grown and supported them even without being able to see each other. I am so happy to see them all again and that they stay true to who they are, albeit looking more grown up, cooler and happier than ever before.

Overall, NEO can’t become a classic on par with the OG, but is definitely a good sequel and a good game in its own rights. I’m happy with whether or not there will be a 3rd game to complete the 3 monkeys theme, but if there will be – I hope the creators can really find the time to learn from the last 2 games and start over with a fresh mindset and strong core.

#neotwewy #neotwewyspoilers #ntwewy #ntwewy spoilers #neo the world ends with you #twewy #review #meta #neo twewy #shoka sakurane #rindo kanade #tsugumi matsunae

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q-starhalo · 1 year ago

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Oh you have come to the right place my dear friend :D (thanks Kade for letting me know)

Their dynamic is usually put into the box of "protectors" or "warrior buddies" and that's completely true. They trust each other, such as taking care of the others egg or protecting the other. And honestly, they don't need the trust, they need the loyalty. As long as the other doesn't betray, then why should the other complain? [i.e "You can hide anything you want, just don't betray me" "I won't ever betray you"]

Take the kidnapping situation for an example. When Etoiles first heard about it, he was upset only because Bad didn't invite him to help. And even without the need of trust, they tend to tell each other almost everything. About the worker, about the code sword, a bit about Etoiles' alliance with the code, etc.

To add to that, they almost always are able to read each other, mostly Etoiles with Bad: “I know myself by heart, and you are the same as me, which means I also know you. I know you by heart.” The quote, if I remember, came from Etoiles saying that he knows Bad can be just as dangerous and strong as Etoiles is, and since both are really similar, he knows that his assumption is, if anything, 100% the truth. Another recent example of this is when Etoiles (offstream) asked Bad to catch him up on whatever has happened the next day. Bad had responded with "yeah!" with a tone of voice that is usually normal though Etoiles picked on something; "And uh- Okay, you are saying the 'yeah' in a tone I know, it means there's problems because I know you by heart and when you said, when you said 'yes', you put your mouse in the, like, in the down, like you move your cursor like this [Etoiles characters head moves in a looking up motion] and that means, that means you have great problems. So don't forget something, you're the best ever, and it's not because you're playing egg simulator that you're not the best why you're on the island"

Just with a movement and tone of voice, Etoiles picked up that something was wrong and it mostly had to do with Bad. He knows him that well that he knows when something is wrong. He knows Bad.

Early on, they would discuss about ways on how to kill other members, due to them knowing they're strong. And it's true, almost, if not everyone, sees it. They're two of the strongest players. With Bad's strategies and Etoiles' gameplay (and vice versa), they're basically unstoppable. And Etoiles, and recently Bad, have teased the other about the fact they're strong; "Badboy could defend himself if he stopped playing 'I'm not good'/'I'm not the goat (?) simulator" + "Okay mr. 'I'm a builder who builds all day with wool and I love peace' okay". They have that understanding, and Etoiles wants to see it. Etoiles is one of the only people (besides Foolish) who wants to see Bad go off and show that he's strong. He's one of the major, of not THE #1 Badboy supporter. He wants to see Bad in action and he's always encouraging it.

“Be careful Badboy, because if you kill everyone, then they will want to do bad things to you. I mean, I won’t let them though...” this quote alone speaks so much about how much Etoiles is willing to do for Bad. I don't think I have to even elaborate.

And my all time favorite thing, the start. When the French arrived, Cellbit, Bad, Forever, and Etoiles went to go see Luzu's house and potentially break the box that randomly showed. Earlier that day, Dapper had died. And Bad was angry. Angry enough to lasso Cucurucho when it showed up and drop some of the beat lines and express his feelings [ex. "Do you like being the pawn of someone's game?]. And Etoiles was there to see it. See him in action and he wants to see it again. He knows. Bad was also the one who gave Etoiles so much which made Etoiles want to give new people, if there were any, stuff too.

Other moments of starhalo is the coffee date, whatever was going on Etoiles went with it. No questions asked, he distracted the guard so Bad could do whatever he was planning on doing to Fred. (and plus, we got such a cute photo of them <3).

That's everything for right now as I'm on the bus while I'm finishing writing this. Again, thanks Kade for letting me know (and for reminding me of moments (saw your analysis)) and thanks op for unintentionally letting me ramble about starhalo :D Don't hesitate to ask me other questions about starhalo :P

I need someone to explain starhalo to me so I understand their dynamic I somehow always miss their interactions

#also let me know if I need to touch on something I barely checked if I made sense so you know :P #starhalo

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ooffies · 3 years ago

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ᴋᴀᴇʏᴀ, ᴄʜɪʟᴅᴇ, ᴠᴇɴᴛɪ, xɪᴀᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʙᴇᴅᴏ ᴀꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛꜱ (ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀꜱ)

characters x gn!reader, modern AU

a/n: this wasn’t edited/proof read so I apologize if there are any errors

warnings: none

requested by no one

tagging @genshin-obsessed (heyyy pocket lmao- 🍷❤)

Tip jar

Kaeya → the cool dad

He’s a very chill parent (pun intended)

Has rules but is very loose with them

Just cause he’s the cool parent doesn’t mean he’s not strict at times (he can be very strict if needed)

He’s a very affectionate and doting parent, always showering the kids with love and hugs

Spoils both you and the kids, he can’t help it cause he just loves you guys so much

All of your kid’s friends call him dad and constantly say they wish they had a cool dad like Kaeya

Always willing to drive the kids somewhere or take them out for a day if you need a break

He still makes sure you two get alone time together and takes you on dates frequently

Sneaks kisses whenever he can. A peck on your cheek or your lips, he also loves seeing your reaction to his surprise kiss

Family game night is a tradition for your family and Kaeya is the king of losing on purpose to make is kids smile

He absolutely loved playing with kids when they were younger and you still often find them playing fighting in the backyard when they come to visit

He really tries to be the best father he can and sometimes puts way to much pressure on himself

Loves styling the kid’s hair and will let them play with his hair. Sometimes you'll walk downstairs and be greeted by Kaeya with a head full of bows, hair clips and mini ponytails.

Whenever the kids would have nightmares he’d go into their room and fight the “nightmare” monster. He’d come out of the room 3 minutes later and tell the kids he beat it with his super awesome sword skills

Childe → the tries too hard to be hip and trendy with kids dad

First off he is a very doting dad, he loves his children so much and calls them his precious babies and often says he cannot live without them

He’s very much a *ahem* malewife *AHEM* (don’t try to change my mind, it will not change no matter what you say). Even though he’s hella rich he wants to spend all the time he can with his kids.

He cooks, cleans, packs the kid’s lunches in the morning and makes sure to give you a kiss whenever you return home from work and say “How was your day at work babe?”

He really, and I mean really, tries to be cool with kids. Spends time looking into “the latest and hip’ trends that all the kids are hopping on. They thought he was the coolest when they were younger but now they call him cringe and say he’s trying too hard and that he’s cool just the way he is.

It broke his old man's heart when they said it to him the first time and he cried for 30 minutes straight, you made them apologize to him even though you know they meant no ill intentions. Now calling him cringe is a family joke :)

Encourages the kids to learn something that will “help them wins fights and emerge victorious from all the battles they fight”

You put a quick stop to that and told the kids that they can do any activities they want

He’s still very supportive of what they choose to do and will always be their number one supporter

He’s a big cuddler and often initiates family cuddle piles.

Venti → wine dad

Chill dad #2. He wants his kids to be free and be who they are. You still set some basic ground rules for them.

Very doting and affectionate and will always give you and the kids all his love

Stopped drinking as much when they kids were born/adopted

He acts like a wine aunt (hence wine dad)

LOVES reading the kids bedtime stories but this also became a family activity since you’d always accompany him. He’ll also sing them lullabies and he’ll sing you lullabies every night too

Even when your kids are older he’ll still read them stories and sing to them.

Doesn’t really like to do household chores but he’ll do them for you (He will complain though)

He does enjoy cook though and likes to help make dinner for special occasions/holidays

He will teach his kids how to play instruments and sing. He won’t force them into it but wants them to at least try it

Get’s pouty if the kids get taller him and will tell them to stop growing or he’s gonna steal their height

Another family tradition you guys have is weekend picnics. Venti usually chooses the location because he somehow finds all the prettiest places in town. He would tell the kids it was his magic talent when they were younger.

Encourages the kids to go to summer camp so they can “build unforgettable memories and be closer to nature. (But really he just wants to have some alone time with you)

Xiao → the emo dad

On the outside he seems cold and very un-affectionate but oh boy he’s quite the opposite

He’s willing to do anything for you and the kids because you guys are the most important things in the world to him

He’s also somewhat of a malewife too but it was completely his choice. He just wanted to take care of his family.

He doesn’t like it when you come home from work and start doing chores. He’ll force you to sit down and relax. He’ll say that he’s got everything under control and there no need for you to stress yourself over chores

The main way he shows you and the kids affection is through acts of service.

Like I said before he’ll do the majority of the household chores, the kids also have their few assigned chores (and you help out with chores if he lets you)

He’ll help the kids with their homework, make them lunch, read them bedtime stories, brush their hair for them, take care of them when they’re sick, ect.

Only shows a limited amount of affection in public. He’ll hold your hand and carry the kids but that’s about it

In private however he is willing to accept all the affection you and the kids give him

He often struggles helping his kids out when it comes to emotional problems/issues but he always does his best. He’s always there to a lend an ear

He’s not vocal about it or always showing it but he’s your guy’s number one supporter.

Evening walks after dinner is a family tradition you guys have had ever since the kids started walking.

When they were young he’d let them sit on shoulders and would give them piggyback rides

He can be very strict and overprotective sometimes but that’s just cause he wants the best for his kids

Albedo → the art dad

He may not be the best at giving affection but he is a very supportive and doting dad

He likes draws pictures for the kids, even when their older he still does because he said seeing their smile when he give his art to them is a very special and happy feeling that he never wants to go away

Helps out with household chores but absolutely despises mopping.

He’s always there to listen to the kids talk about their latest obsessions/interests

He’s not very good at comforting but he really does try too

Makes you guys take family photos every so he can paint them later

Teaches the kids about art and alchemy if they show interest in either

When they were young he used to make kid safe experiments for them

Road trips are a family tradition. Albedo enjoys them cause he gets to draw the pretty scenery and thinks it’s one of the best to to spend quality time with family

He wakes up like a mom so whenever the kids would wake him when they’d have a nightmare he’d get startled and almost launch himself out of bed with a high pitched screech

Encourages the kids to have playdates with their friends often (he actually just wants more alone time with you)

He’s also the type of parent that draws on the walls with the kids when he finds them doing it. And yes he doesn’t care if they’re using sharpie he’ll still join in. Yes you’ve scolded all them multiple times and no they never learn their lesson, Albedo too. He always promises that he’ll “clean” it up which results in most of the wall in the house being murals cause his “cleaning up” is just him painting over it.

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