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itwoodbeprefect · 7 months ago

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12, 27, 42, 46 for the fic writer asks

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

i could try to pretend that it doesn't matter to me if people read my stuff or not, but that would be a lie. i think maybe it's more... by this point i've had years and years of posting fic and people being extremely sweet and kind and encouraging about it, and that has absolutely had an impact both in terms of keeping me posting more fic and the ways i view my own writing (and how i view myself, i think, especially pre-ao3. i'm pretty sure people online telling me i was funny played a not insignificant part in building any sense of self-worth as a deeply awkward kid irl in high school), and having all of that history and experience, at this point i have the luxury of not caring about the numbers that much. comments are always very awesome, but if any particular fic would end up getting ignored completely for whatever reason, that's okay. i'm not writing for max engagement (i've made some hilariously terrible decisions lately if that's what i'm going for), but that doesn't take away that people being excited about a thing i made remains a really really nice benefit to how the fandom ecosystem works.

though i will also note, i don't think there's a single thing wrong with wanting or needing feedback or support to your writing. i frequently feel extremely spoiled in that regard, because i've been around for so long and my output in that time has been so high on average that i know people know my name, and i also write pretty easily digestible uncontroversial stuff generally speaking no matter what fandom i'm in at the time, so the responses i'm getting are oftentimes not the average, and i'm very aware of that. it's much, much harder getting started in fandom.

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

ooooh. i mean, most favorite is easy, and probably a fairly universal answer, which is that moment when the writing flows nicely and it feels right and i get to put down at least a few paragraphs in a row (maybe even more!) without it feeling like any effort at all. least favorite is probably the opposite - when it just Won't Work, and every sentence feels clunky and awkward and overwrought, like there's just no way to bridge whatever tiny gap in a story i'm probably trying to fill at the time. the goofiest thing about that is that when reading things back later there's often not too much actual difference between the quality of the writing when it feels good vs. when it feels bad, because the problem is in my head, but it's also my head that needs to do the writing, so that doesn't make it less of an obstacle.

42. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Centrefolds / Distal Breaks by @redgoldblue, which i read because @redgoldblue wrote it, because i would absolutely recommend anything written by @redgoldblue.

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

ha, anything but action- or plot-driven, i think. characters, emotions, characters having emotions, emotions to explore characters - that's my wheelhouse.

and on the topic of writing style: i've gotten a comment a few times (as a compliment! nothing bad about this) that said something to the effect that my writing is pleasantly economical or sparse, which frankly baffled me for a while, because right from the very very start i was writing mostly about relationships (whether friendship, romance, family), and not very much really happens in my stories (the traditional way, action or plotwise), so from my point of view almost everything was fluff and just sort of... not superfluous, and definitely not meaningless (there's a lot of meaning to feelings!), but a sort of deleted scene extra part to canon. those are some of the first responses i got to my work: i can't believe i read this many words about almost nothing happening, and i really liked it! so filler, i guess, might be the best word for it, and obviously "all of this is filler" and "this is a very economical use of words" is inherently contradictory, except, well. is it? it took me a while to, i guess, internalize, that when the goal is feelings and exploring characters, doing that in an effective way is going straight to the point.

Get to know your fic writer! 🔎

#thank you!! 💖#*#ask #ask game

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galadrieljones · 10 months ago

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Author Interview

Thanks for the tag, @littlelindentree ^_^ Happy New Year!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

981,132

3. what fandoms do you write for?

I have written for Dragon Age: Inquisition, Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, and The Walking Dead

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

The Lily Farm (Arthur Morgan x Mary Beth Gaskill, RDR2)

That he may hold me by the hand (Arthur Morgan x Albert Mason, RDR2)

The Dead Season (Solavellan, DAI)

Magnolia (Bethyl, TWD)

Yours, Sadie Adler. (Sadithur, RDR2)

5. do you respond to comments?

Yes, as often as I can. Sometimes, I forget on older fics. I'm sorry about that. If someone is rude to me in the comments though, I will respond rudely!

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Teen Wolf. It's a story collection so the ending isn't really "true," but it's the end of Solas and Ghilan'nain's love story, in my mind. It's sad and bittersweet, as in the story, they are talking about building a house on the back acreage of Solas's mother's property, but I envision the very next day as being the day that Andruil invades the Weathers, kidnapping both Ghilan'nain and Solas's mother Leanathy, and beginning the Great War. In the ensuing days, Andruil's men leave Solas for dead, and when he wakes up, he goes to Mythal and begs her to free his mother in exchange for his loyalty. She accepts, rescuing and protecting Leanathy in her Blue Palace, and Solas becomes her Bodyguard. Eventually, he is elevated to her General, then he becomes her lover. During the war, after Ghilan'nain's betrayal, the Evanuris murder Mythal, and Solas, out of vengeance and grief, builds the veil and imprisons them all, including Mythal's soul, which would, over time, resurrect into her body, using special magic taught to her by Solas's mother many thousands of years before.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Well, most of my long fics are unfinished. I'm sorry about that. I think that The Dead Season has a happy ending. So does Yours, Sadie Adler., thought it is bittersweet.

8. do you get hate on fics?

Not tons at all. I have gotten a few rude commenters over the years, mainly people being weirdly critical of my writing style in ways that are, frankly, moronic, and also some people who just want me to write more smut. But I don't write much smut anymore, and I don't think fics need smut to be worthy or interesting. If you only want a smut fic, you probably won't like my writing. Remember that tags exist so that you can see what you're getting into before you crack the first chapter!!!!

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Lol. Speaking of. I used to write much more. It was never the overly explicit kind and I didn't have any specific kinks I liked to explore, but I wrote a lot of it for DAI and RDR2. I still write sex scenes for sure, it's just that they tend to be character driven.

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

I have never written a real crossover; however, I do have some crossover characters in The Lily Farm. In the later chapters, I have two main characters who are taken from other texts: Woodrow Call from Lonesome Dove and LaBoeuf from True Grit. Both are Texas Rangers, and in my fic, they owe Dutch a few rather large favors. They help Arthur and Mary Beth on the river boat job, which goes terribly wrong. They also help break John out of federal prison. They are two of my favorite characters in the fic.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I've had plenty of art stolen over the years and I don't even keep track anymore. Mainly it just gets reposted without credit on like, Pinterest. Oh well!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of! But I am amenable.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

I don't think so!

14. what's your all-time favourite ship?

I have several though Bethyl and Solavellan are probably tied for first.

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Lily Farm. In truth there's not a ton left to write. But it's been 84 years like I don't even remember the geography of the game. I would have to replay RDR2, at least through chapter 4. I also wish I could finish Zero, my Niloy fic for HZD. I still think about them, and I still occasionally get really really nice comments on that fic. I honestly wish I could finish all my old fics. Like That he may hold, which also has maybe one closing chapter left to write. I wish I could finish As You Were, too, my TLOU fic, just so that I can save Joel's life, and as a big fuck you to Neil Druckmann.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I'm not sure. Pacing has probably always been my greatest strength.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Overwriting, getting bored. My issue is often that I start a fic with modest goals but then those goals get bigger and bigger as I go, and I can't help myself. Then, I eventually get bored and I don't finish. I view fanfic as a way for authors to express themselves and their hyperfixations in the moment. I think that the quality of being "unfinished" is, in an of itself, conventional to fanfiction; however, I still view my general lack of focus as a weakness.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Don't translate it. Just put it there. If your reader cares enough and doesn't know the translation, they'll look it up. If they don't care enough to do this, then they're not your target audience. The internet makes this sort of thing very easy.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

Technically it's the boyband fandom (*NSync and Backstreet Boys, mainly) in like 1998, but in actuality, it's Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2016.

20. favourite fic you've written?

Probably Yours, Sadie Adler. It feels the most complete, and I still don't know how I managed to write that fic so quickly, when I was like three weeks postpartum with my second baby, and with very little revision. It just flowed out of me, like it was already written in my mind, and all I had to do was type it out. I have received some really lovely comments on it over the years. It seems to affect people deeply, which makes me very happy, because it came from a very raw place in my heart.

I will tag @thevikingwoman @bearlytolerant @roguelioness @gneebee @shallow-gravy @a-shakespearean-in-paris @pipergirl17 @sasusc and @im-immortal <3

#about me #writing #rdr2 #dai #tlou #hzd #twd

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the-enby-bird · 6 months ago

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for the headcanon ask game!!! mtmte era megatron hehe <3

2) Who they want to please the most.

7) This character’s favorite character

9) What calms them when they are upset.

12) How they sleep.

19) When they feel safest.

!!!! megsie!!! :3 idk if any of these rambles make sense, ive just spent 3 hours psychoanalyzing random characters for a psychology project and my brain is Fried, but yeah they're certainly. words on a page

2. mmmmmmmmm probably soundwave and ravage. he feels a debt to him because they've been there despite everything, and he feels like he owes them the world just for putting up with his bullshit during the war. his desires aren't purely driven by regret and imagined debt, of course, he feels a deep (platonic) affection for the both of them and wants them to be happy just because he's a sappy bastard

7. mmmmm if we're going off of fictional characters from human media, he seems like the kind of guy to like odysseus/ulysses. idk why he just does

9. i think there was a point in time where poetry was his outlet, and he'd write mildly shitty poetry about his feelings; but nnowadays he prefers to talk it out with people close to him, or just go people watching/stargazing to remind himself that, if nothing else, there is life persisting all around him, and that there is joy and whimsy despite everything. he likes confirming thaat his loved ones are okay

12. Like a dad. He's easily disturbed while sleeping, and tends to be jumpy and have trouble falling asleep, but when he's comfy and conked out he takes up a Lot of space and snores. he snores very loudly. he runs just a little warmer than most so he doesn't usually use any blankets or whatever, and frankly he's more likely to fall asleep at his desk than in his bed (he's not even that much of a workaholic anymore, he just figures "comfy is comfy" so he'll basically pass out anywhere he's cozy (and his desk chair is cozy))

19. in the company of someone he loves, but far away from anyone he can hurt. as much as he wants to say he feels safe on the lost light, he doesn't, because he's afraid of himself - he's afraid he'll hurt someone, or his presence will bring trouble. he does feel safe with the crew, yes, but only because he's outnumbered - he genuinely feels safest far away from anyone he can hurt, in the company of someone he can protect and who would protect him. Specifically Drift and Ravage, probably. He likes people who keep him level-headed, even if he doesn't need it anymore.

#birdbrain babbles #bird's rooboot posting #probably totally incompreheensible but who cares #megatron #idw megatron #mtmte #maccadams #ask games

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lookedlikethebins · 1 year ago

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as someone who got into fanfiction bc they just want to see their fave characters ✨live life✨ i very much support the idea of an ongoing series!

so so excited for it!

am going to be annoying and ask some more qs

what is matty's dissertation topic/which class does he ta

does george still produce for charli (pls say yes)

is ta! matty aware that our g is a Big Deal or completely clueless (love both options)

that's why i like it too!! in my original works i always write too much of life's daily minutiae (to current fiction's standards, that is) so i LOVE having an outlet to write the simple day to day driven by joy (and dialogue, my beloved). now we've got two votes for on-going series!!

and omg you are NOT being annoying!! i'm a discovery writer so most times when answering questions i uncover/discover things i wouldn't have necessarily thought about before so i'm actually very appreciative of the questions, love. Thank you!!!

I'm still trying to decide the dissertation topic! i was going to, quite frankly, steal from the research paper i wrote for my mfa but i don't think i can make that funny lol? there has to be a certain level of hilarity to how intense matty is going to be getting about all the books he's reading/teaching. i always lean towards Homer, Milton, or Plato (ooo perhaps symposium??) because there's just so much there (and in some cases particular translations to argue with) and it is RIPE for a matty rant (that goes over george's head but he's smiling and nodding)

I was thinking a specific author-based seminar but now i'm thinking he'd probably be stuck as a TA for an introduction to literature (theory) class or something. reading roland barthes to a bunch of 19yos and just... gritting his teeth.

George can absolutely still produce for Miss XCX. perhaps it's her track that gets him Out There first. omg introducing everyone's favorite career-boosting bestie charli!! (who thinks matty is so endearing and good for george bc thank god he can stop showing up to (and leaving) her parties alone... he was too hot to be doing that)

Through waughy, matty sort of knows george does music (general) and well enough to make a career out of it. but at a certain point it does dawn on him that oh people are taking their picture when they go out... people are trying to follow him on the insta he never uses... students are asking him about his super cool boyfriend (when he's never even mentioned he's queer in that class). and then he realizes OH my boyfriend is um. actually kind of a big deal?? like he knew he was talented, knew he was working hard, knew he was getting paid (insert george owning a full home before 30) but did not put two-and-two together...

#ANON I AM SO HAPPY YOU'RE INTERESTED!#this is making me so :))) thank you!!!!!#producer george and TA matty fic #asks #answered

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adelle-ein · 1 year ago

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lace's oc2path review

Disclaimer: I am deeply critical of this game and of Octopath 1, and I very much loathe COTC's overly edgy grimdark plot, so there will be a lot of negativity in this post. Don't like don't read!!!111 Also explicit spoilers for everything duh, and game typical content warnings.

Octopath and I have a…complicated relationship. It was my first Switch game. I had fond memories of it, even if it was never my favorite, I found it very hard, I really only cared about Primrose and Cyrus as characters, and I never even got all the secret jobs, let alone beat Galdera. Then the mobile game COTC came along, bringing with it a clusterfuck of horrific misogyny, racism, and frankly terrible grimdark story writing, severely souring my relationship with the franchise. I tried to replay it in 2022 and couldn’t even get to a chapter 2 — the grind was awful, the world was bland, the stories were just insufferably boring at best and misogynistic at worst. The lack of relationships or even acknowledgement between the characters made the whole thing feel stilted. Therion works alone, don’t mind the seven other people walking behind him! Now let’s explain the ways all the stories connect in a diary info dump locked behind a boss rush!

Octopath 1 has staggering design flaws and, as more and more JRPGS come to the Switch, those flaws become strikingly pronounced. Party dynamics are important to me, and without them, most of 1’s cast remained stubbornly boring. The game was hard, but not fun enough for me to want to grind OR learn advanced strats. Every chapter of every story follows the same basic plot beats and the layout of the world is boring and predictable, with even the scenery getting old eventually.

So I had mixed feelings when Octopath 2 was announced, especially when I saw they hadn't changed a single one of the main 8 classes and that the Crossed Paths would only be between four duos of characters. Still, the game went on sale for $40 in mid-April. Split the price with a sibling and here we are.

For starters: The graphics in this game are fantastic. I’m still not in love with HD-2D, mostly because of the lack of expressiveness in the tiny character pixels. Watching them flop over dead in a pile of blood in Triangle Strategy was only ever hilarious, and most emotional scenes fall flat. Strangely, Asano continues insisting on using this style for really drama-heavy, emotional games. Luckily, they’ve made some strides forward with OT2. The bigger human sprites are drastically more dynamic and expressive, move more fluidly than ever before, and have ample opportunity to demonstrate both emotion and personality. Everyone’s unique walk cycles and Bewildering Grace dances really bring character to the game. We can get a clearer look at job outfits and have animations for all kinds of things like dancing and character interactions. And HD-2D, as always, continues to shine in the backgrounds, special effects, and enemy sprites. The game is very pretty, and while I still don’t think HD-2D is the best choice for any character-driven game, the sprites don’t feel nearly as rough and awkward as they do in their predecessors. I hope Team Asano retains this style in future HD-2D installments, especially interpersonal ones.

The world is huge, sprawling, and genuinely FUN to explore this time, with various nooks and crannies to dig into. The day/night cycle and added path actions really add a lot of fun and variety to gameplay. The world not being a perfect circle moving outwards really makes things more exciting and less tedious, and the towns, cities, and dungeons had so much variety. I genuinely had fun on the journey this time, while in 1 i was just dragging myself from town to town. The bonus bosses, latent powers, hidden classes, sidequests, and various new game mechanics all felt like upgrades from the first game to me.

The music is banging, no criticisms here. I’ve gotten the impression before that Revo and Nishiki have been influenced by and learning from each other and I think this really shows it. Super fun, loved that we have more theme variants now. VA work was solid, with some very fun moments but nothing I was super amazed by. That's not a problem, though, it's really all I ask for in a game. Loved the added voice lines, the unique voice lines for certain bosses (I don't wanna fight no doggy-dog…), and how the characters interact with each other in battle as the game proceeds.

I’ll continue with my thoughts on the eight characters/stories one by one and then give some overall opinions on the “main plot” and game itself.

Ochette:

The constant food talk gets old fast. Seriously, every conversation this girl has ends up being about food or similar. I also think her voice acting may have been mixed oddly, sometimes it's quiet and sometimes at too high a volume, she ends up sounding REALLY loud and grating a lot of the time. Overall, she really doesn't feel as fleshed out as every other character, and it's a shame. That being said, she does have some very fun travel banters and brings a fun "kid of the group" energy, it's just…she's twenty goddamn years old.

Story-wise, had a lot of potential but constant food talk and the weird fantasy racism (why do they all speak broken English) were huge drags. I thought the stuff with the unchosen starter was a really good idea, but there just wasn't enough time lent to it, and overall the first and last chapters felt completely disconnected from the middle ones. Oh well.

Castti:

No mercy, only pain. She's just a great character who ended up with so much depth and felt like a twist on the kindly, maternal healer. "Do harm when necessary to save lives" is a great archetype for doctor characters and Castti plays the role fantastically. She has been through so much and still chooses to be gentle when she can, but if she has to she'll bring the axe down. She has a talent for making do. She has so many fantastic scenes and lines and flips the "mom friend" character around on its head. I really love her, she's great, she's up there with Primrose for me forever.

Her story was also my favorite, and her boss the toughest to beat by a comfortable margin (what worked in the end was no strategy just hikari, throne, and their knives). Sure, some beats are always predictable in Octopathland, but chapter 3 was beautifully done, and the use of game mechanics and the interface to play with the effects of Castti's amnesia were really enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking, but a strong and solid story that felt emotional and meaningful as well as unique and independent from the stuff all three games have done and rehashed. Castti herself is of course a huge part of that, but this is one of the rare Octopath stories that didn't feel like it was being fully carried by the strength of the MC.

Throne:

Throne herself, I adore. She's fun, she's determined, she's witty, she's like Primrose in some ways but firmly different in others. She doesn't want to kill, but it's all she knows. She has some fantastic travel banters. I laughed out loud at her first "Bravo, Temenos." And the little "tada…" when she uses Disguise. She's great, she has endless potential, and boy does she have fun path actions.

Warning for discussion of incest, abuse, and rape in the following paragraph :(

Unfortunately, her story is the classic edgy Octopath misogyny fest. What was with that random sex slave and what the hell happened to her??? We don't care, she only exists to show that Bad Guys Evil and that Throne Can't Be A Hero Because She Is Tainted. Everyone wants to rape Throne and that is made way too clear. Some of those people are her fucking brothers, because why the fuck not. And the ending with the "but was it worth it?" tone was phenomenally stupid. Octopath asking the quintessential question: is it okay to escape slavery even if you have to kill your slavers? What if your slavers love you (even though they keep you in a collar and whip you and offer you up as a rape victim and force you to kill people?) What if your slavers are your parents or siblings? Also not loving any of the Marietta story, anything that involves "she killed our baby" is going to set my hair on end in this day and age and I just did not like the way any of that was portrayed and handled. Even if Claude didn't rape Marietta, it's clear he raped several of the other mothers including a few of the ones we meet, and they're all forcibly separated from their babies and left to die — it's just too much. It's too disgusting. The huge conspiracy itself fell flat due to the general creep factor and tried way too hard to be edgy. Throne cannot be happy within her story for even a second and it's way overdone. I'm sick, absolutely sick, of this type of story and COTC trying to play with "but she loves her abuser" stuff and doing a frankly disgusting and often fetishizing job. Overall, it felt like a COTC plotline, and that is very much a bad thing for me! I'm glad that the postgame sidequest cleared up the Mira plotline and actually had some "breaking the cycle" themes, but the fact that we've just apparently left the residents of Lostseed to suffer and die instead of even attempting to bring them to the Garden or somewhere they can get help is pretty gross.

But again, I adore Throne herself. Get her out of this game. Put her in Animal Crossing or something.

Osvald:

And now we flip around! Talk about pleasant surprises! I was not expecting to like him or his story at all, it felt so Octopath edgy and woman-in-fridges-y. And to an extent, it is, but the game is actually self-aware of this and gently pokes fun at it to a degree that makes it more bearable. Osvald is an Edgy Man and the other travelers can and will be confused by it. That's really fun. Being able to save Elena flips everything about the story on its head in a good way, and The Answer being The Power Of Love is both so funny and so sweet and fitting. Just a genuinely heartfelt and optimistic story in the end despite where it begins, I really liked it despite another dead wife on the pile. The antithesis to Throne's story.

My main complaint is that the story pacing ends up really off due to two out of five chapters being at the very start and about the prison escape. I really think he could have benefited from another chapter between his 3 and 4. I wish the ending was more emotionally satisfying, but it does feel in character and leave on a hopeful note. Would have enjoyed, if not a reunion scene between him and Elena, something more significant about them and their relationship than the tiny nod we got at the end. All that being said, liked both him and his story a lot!

Partitio:

He really is very funny. Those voice lines are a hoot, every Scent of Commerce is just ridiculous, and his determination to stop That Devil Called Poverty by having a polite meeting with the CEO of capitalism and giving him some $$$ is just absurd. As a character, I can’t say I find him as interesting as Castti, Throne, or Osvald, but he’s entertaining if nothing else, and his first chapter pacing is creative. He was my MC and spent tons of time running Arcanist Sidestepper or Latent Power Catapult Inventor, so of course I got pretty attached. Yeehaw let's do it catapult go-go-go

But let’s be real here. Any story about a merchant “helping the poor” by doing more capitalism is going to be kind of a mess. It wasn’t a harmful mess, but it felt like the story was deliberately skirting around making any meaningful commentary. None of this is surprising, but I spent a lot of chapter 4 rolling my eyes. Roque illegally modifying a contract after signature on multiple occasions is just completely brushed aside, and Partitio happily SIGNS a contract with him KNOWING Roque has a habit of violating and editing them. It’s all just very…dumb. Seize the means of production Partitio! Don’t just give The Man eighty billion leaves! Also, Roque apparently KEEPS all that money in the postgame even though he’s allegedly reformed, soooooo (I know he's using it on the railroads but like….Yeah)

But yeah, while it was a silly story, it wasn’t much else. He's a fun guy though. I wonder if octopath 3 will bring us our first edgy merchant MC.

Agnea:

She’s sweet and fun. I don’t really feel like I have a lot to say about her, which isn’t a negative? I enjoy her theme, I love all her dance animations, I think her constantly-slipping accent is pretty funny (I’m genuinely not sure if the premise is that Agnea hides her accent and occasionally slips into it by mistake, or if the VA keeps forgetting that Agnea is supposed to sound Southern and only remembers when Agnea says “oh my stars” or something lol. It’s funny though.) But like I said, I enjoy her, she’s not as grating as some of the other “goodhearted, happy go lucky” characters from 1.

Similarly, while I don’t have much to say about her story, that’s not to say I disliked it. I thought it was sweet. Dolcinea and her gf are some of my favorite NPCs in the game, the final battle kicked my ass in a fun way, and most of all I love how ¾ of Agnea’s bosses are just her going “I want to speak to the manager!!” and it actually working. I liked it a LOT better than tressa’s, which it’s constantly compared to, since it felt like an actual coherent story. She’s a star!

Temenos:

Fandom made me dislike Temenos before I set foot in the Crestlands. In those early days especially, every woman in this game was ignored in favor of an AVALANCHE of fanart of him and crick. People say weird shit about Temenos being a twink, some of which is frankly homophobic and/or creepy. I pretty strongly disliked his predecessor Fandom Favorite Man, Therion. Man had a lot riding against him. All that being said, once I got to know him I liked Temenos just fine! He's a priest who can't remember the Lord's Prayer and calls the scripture boring at every given opportunity. Also enjoys beating the shit out of people for information and can barely be contained by those around him. It's a fun character type.

His story, though, is honestly just blah. I guessed the big murderer about as soon as they appeared on screen, and by the time I finished the story I was pretty confident I knew who was manipulating them too…and I was right. As funny as it is that Temenos can use his "special powers" to just, like, see something lying on the floor, the investigation/mystery is really lacking and dull, which is disappointing. Particularly since his story is the "main" one that reveals the ultimate final boss, and the only one that gets a full follow-up cutscene in the extra chapters — it ended up just being a big pile of text dumping, which is not a fun way to do a mystery/whodunit!

Also Crick is boring.

Hikari:

Hikari is Just Fine. He's sometimes fun, largely unremarkable, just another member of the crowd. The same is pretty much true of his story as well — it's just Fine. Has a pretty hilarious mom-fridging as horses whinny loudly in the background, which I think was iconic. Dunban levels of "bad at making friends" (and while it's not "Therion works alone" levels of stupid by any means, does feel a little awkward that he keeps talking about needing his Allies and True Friends while seven people he camps with are standing right there…) I really just don't have a lot to say about him or his story, which isn't a bad thing! It was fine, he's fine. My only real complaint is that I don't love that his overcoming his Evil Blood was tied to him also having Good Blood on his mother's side — that detail seems irrelevant to everything, and I would have preferred his overcoming the Shadow and taking back his Hidden Power just be framed as him having willpower and a good, kind heart. But I am nitpicking here, since I think that was the intention — just wish blood hadn't been brought into it, y'know? Anyway yeah Hikari's fine.

Together Now:

The Crossed Paths are SO short (other than waiting for that insanely long lute performance to be over) and that's a shame. I wish there were more of them, between more characters, that they were longer…I hope any future Octopath games play with these concepts. Overall, I mean, it's a huge meaty game and it's not that I wanted to be playing it longer, I was satisfied by the length. I just really would have appreciated more character interaction. I'm glad that you can view the travel banters freely and easily from the menus now, and that there are more of them. But I do wish that the characters emoted during them instead of just standing there staring blankly at each other. Huge improvement over one, just not quite there yet!

I will say the Extra Chapters/final boss were also huge improvement over 1's, with actual cutscenes, some character interaction, more consistent foreshadowing, and finally, a boss with no boss rush leadup whose level of challenge is more "difficult but doable" than "haha fuck you." My hopes for this game had been that they would lower the final boss difficulty and make a bigger, harder bonus boss for hardcore players to enjoy, and I'm really happy that they did so! I beat Vide :)

That being said, most of the Extra Chapter reveals were entirely contained in heaps of diary entries again. You guys expect me to remember who Tanzy was or care?? Other than the Arcanette cutscene/battle, things never got that emotional or exciting. A few travel banters tried to fill in the blanks, but there just wasn't enough emotion or stakes put into the scenes. That being said, I enjoyed the Vide battle and it was the perfect difficulty level for me, and I enjoyed the ending and epilogue a lot! It just didn't quite do everything I want from a JRPG ending (which…has been my tune with almost every newly released JRPG I've played in the last couple years :( we need better endings in these things.)

Will also say that the Osterra nods don't really make sense, but I'm personally subscribing to Osterra and Solistia straight up being parallel worlds (I suspect COTC will be confirming this one way or another in the JP version shortly, but like, eh).

Overall, it was a good game, I liked it, it's hands down my favorite Octopath and probably my second favorite Asano game after BD2. Despite my complaints, wishes things had diverged further from the original game, and generally feeling like this series is a bit overrated in JRPG circles, Oct2path is solid, fun, and a big upgrade from its predecessors. Stan Castti

#lace reviews #txt #octopath traveler spoilers #octopath traveler 2 spoilers #octopath 2 spoilers #octopath traveler ii spoilers

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quickdeaths · 2 years ago

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is there a specific character archetype you enjoy writing the most? what inspires you when making your ocs? what genre do you enjoy writing in the most? (Hey Bryn, you got any of that OC brainrot? I need to spam your askbox with that good brainrot. It's leaking out of discord!)

is there a specific character archetype you enjoy writing the most?

I did already answer this, but I prepared a second answer just for you, Rae. This should be of truly Zero Surprise to you, but I like characters who are emotionally closed off about their own feelings and eventually open up. This doesn't always look like same, I think. Just on this blog alone, I would say that Shinobu is closed off where it's obviously coldness and general discomfort with emotions period, while with someone like Izumi it's more anxiety and feeling like a burden on other people and not wanting to drag people down with her issues, and with Tsubasa, it's a veneer of "I'm funny, I'm cool, I'm laid back and chill, I'm not damaged, I'm not sad, I'm totally fine, let me take care of you, pretty girl, I don't want you to worry about me."

I think in general, it can be hard to be open about your feelings and it's easy to build up walls and mechanisms that keep you from having to think about them and frankly, I put my characters through the goddamn wringer sometimes. So, then the questions of "how are they dealing with this, what coping mechanism are they adopting , and how, ultimately, are they going to try and take those walls down and turn those mechanisms off in service of connecting intimately (whether that's romantically or platonically) with another person?" just naturally follow.

what inspires you when making your ocs?

Depends! Sometimes it's to be a foil to another character (either an OC that a friend is writing, or more rarely, a canon character). Sometimes (often) it's a situation where there's a hole in the canon, or some idea that I think would have been interesting but wasn't explored. Sometimes I am simply gripped by Pure Spite at some piece of canon that I hate and a powerful drive to change it in some small way. Increasingly, other people that I know in the RPC are the biggest inspiration, and not in a "I want to design a character like X's character" way, but rather a "I want to design a character that would have interesting interactions with X's character." That's kind of how the DR OCs were all made, since they were originally designed to do things with my girlfriend's Discord DR OCs.

The things I try to keep in mind are like, A) is this character different enough from what I already have to justify existing? B) is this character grounded in the world that they are inhabiting (or if they're fandomless, are they grounded in the genre or macro-setting)? C) Is there enough here that I am going to be excited to write them for weeks, months, or years? D) Are there ways for other people (IC, and OOC) to meaningfully impact the direction of the stories?

The process can be a little different every time, but it's broadly things like coming up with an aesthetic, coming up with the themes of the character and what their struggles are, and then checking them against that little checklist above. It's not always possible, and these dorks end up surprising me sometimes, but I try to have a full image in my head of who a character is and what they're about before I write them with another person.

what genre do you enjoy writing in the most?

Well, I do like slow burn romance ehehe... It's hard to pick a "Favorite" though. Speaking of "genre" rather than "setting," I really enjoy character-driven stories that have romance elements, but also skew a bit more realistically in terms of time and realistic(ish) depiction of obstacles and pitfalls. I love angst (not all the time, a little can go a long way, but romance without angst is like food without spices for me). I like fantasy (although is that a genre or a setting or both?) but a specific kind of fantasy, at least when it comes to writing. I like supernatural/paranormal/whatever a little bit, but definitely in a more grounded and realistic way. I actually love horror and run a ton of horror TTRPG games, but I don't think I'm necessarily good at it in pure text mediums.

As like a big overarching thing, I would say that I do like writing romance when it makes sense and is mutually desired, and more generally, I just like writing stories with deep characterization, some kind of relationship, and a development of both that relationship and those characters over time.

#morethanaprincess #thanks for the ask!#answered memes #so many thoughts i have been enabled #thank youuuuuuu

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bellamysgriffin · 2 years ago

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would love to hear your gilmore girls s6 thoughts!

lmao i don't even know where to begin i have so many! let's bullet point it

so i can see why people point to this season as the beginning of the downfall of rory gilmore. girl crumbled after someone said one mean thing to her, immediately committed a felony and dropped out of school. that said, i did like that storyline for her, it was interesting, but. i was definitely on lorelai's side. i think rory behaved pretty badly throughout that storyline – and frankly throughout the season. i feel like the only person who points out that the scene with rory/richard at the end of s5 was a pretty manipulative scene on her part, but i also feel like the show agrees with me, since they point it out several times lmao. like, that girl realllllly did not want to face any consequences, and so she went to the person who would guarantee that for her.

in general, i do think the writing has gone downhill, and that’s in large part due to so much of so many episodes being dedicated to antics instead of actual storylines. side characters have been getting broader and broader. it feels like everyone aside from rory, logan, luke, lorelai, emily, and richard are basically operating at kirk levels of zaniness. one kirk is fine but they can’t all be kirk, you know?

i think that could have been solved by giving side characters meaningful arcs. which means it’s time to talk about the paris of it all. they’ve fully bastardized paris and i could not be more disappointed. she’s my favorite character on the show, and i think it’s wild that instead of showing her grow or have any arc, they’ve regressed her to being socially inept. like can you imagine s6 paris leading madeline and louise around and running things at chilton? paris has always been intense and frank and kinda mean, but she’s not like. terrible with everyone. the running joke that everyone secretly hates paris was really mean-spirited, especially considering how long she’s been on the show. they had a storyline in which rory publicly clarified to a room of ppl who she knows hates paris that she does not consider herself paris’ best friend.

i will say they got better at writing for her again by the end of the season. but i feel like they could give her an arc in which she’s confronted by the fact that a lot of other students at yale are as driven and smart as she is. she claims that rory is her only real competition but get real. they go to YALE. are you expecting me to believe that rory is the smallest person here?

also they could have given her a meaningful romantic subplot a la lane/dave, instead of just dumb comedic fodder with doyle. (i say this even though im a parisrory but).

SPEAKING OF LANE, the way they wrote the breakup with dave was WILDLY bad. so contrived. i don’t think they ever gave the storyline with lane & her mother the kind of weight it needed, and i’m disappointed by what seems to be a very long slow character assassination.

also. hot hot take about logan/rory. i prefer jess and jess/rory mostly because i think that was a better, more interesting story and i was therefore more emotionally invested. that said, i do happen to think logan treats rory better than any of her other boyfriends did. and yes, that includes the sort of cheating storyline. i can go more in depth if u want, but i do firmly believe this to be true. (logan himself i find kinda smug/smarmy, but i don’t mind him. i do think that’s what rory is looking for right now, and it’s kind of a signal of her embracing her grandparents’ lifestyle.)

finally, the luke/lorelai of it all. oh BOY am i sad. the april storyline was RIDICULOUSLY contrived. april herself is a fun kid, but i see no reason why her existence should make luke have to postpone the wedding?? the show could never give a reason. how does april prevent luke from committing to lorelai? and why wouldn’t lorelai say anything? they both acted really out of character in order to make that work as a complication. and it just didn’t. (i also don’t love how the first few episodes of season 7 seem to be letting luke off the hook just bc lorelai slept with chris. like you wouldn’t let her into your life!! that’s why u broke up!! not bc she slept with chris or bc u “weren’t right for each other”!!)

i feel like they wrote this partly bc ASP didn’t know what to write. i think that explains the antics-heavy season, dumb side plots and april fiasco. they could have given paris a meaningful arc in that time, but they didn’t. and what they COULD have done with luke/lorelai is just…. give them a kid!! i say this as someone who is not super crazy about baby storylines typically, but on gilmore girls you could do SO MUCH with it. you get rory dealing with a sibling after being her mom’s whole world for her entire life, you get emily and richard getting a second chance at being there from the beginning, you get lorelai having a kid with a stable life and support system, and you get luke and lorelai navigating parenthood together. so much potential tragically wasted and i’ll never get over it.

also…… i’m only on 7x03, but i can’t believe luke/lorelai get married in AYITL…. a full twenty years after lorelai dumped him for not marrying her….. LUNACY

#dana answers stuff #that was a whole essay but..... lmao anyway

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jojotier · 5 years ago

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hey there! so my summer project (in addition to like, so many au) is to do a long list of golden kamuy oneshots of ideas/characters/ships/rarepairs that have no fics for them, ranging in genre and the like, to add some more variety to the gk ao3 !

If you have any ideas to add to this enormous list, please send them my way! I wanna cover as many bases as possible haha

(Italicized items have links to the completed fic)

- TsukiKoi Boxing au (half done?)

- Edogai dealing with human corpses for the first time

- Asirpa and Inkarmat childhood bonding

- SugiKoi apartment neighbors w/ Sugimoto veggie garden

- Drunk Sugimoto cries over like, so many puppies

- Tsukishima and Koito personalityswap

- Tsukishima doesn’t know what to do with his newfound freedom fic

- Tsurumi character study (ft Olga?)

- Lesbians.

- Heiji bars Koito from going to war

- Sekiya x Kadokura, modern casino time

- SugiShira romcom hypnosis fic

- Fic gently poking fun at the Tsurumi’s Harem concept, with a zombie horror twist

- Edogai + Ienaga bonding

- SugiKoi tightrope walking

- Heiji and baby Koito go to Sado for a military parade, find malnourished Tsukishima

- Kadokura has a predictably bad day, somehow is just mildly inconvenienced

- KoiSaku canon army bonding

- 7th Division Shenanigans

- Usami centric backstory fic

- EdoKoi Reunion Fic

- Koibro bonding time adventure

- Starchasers Tanigaki sibling v Space Pirate Ogata crew showdown

- Something Svetlana+Sofia centric

- Nikaidou and Sugimoto stand off + reconciliation

- TsukiKoi boutta get SO high

- Toni Anji Centric Time

- Necromancer Ball fic with Edogai-rella (EdoSami)

- Sandbarhag Miniarc (technically Golden Trio with antagonizing Technical Graverobbers Tsuki+Koi)

- Mermaid Igogusa and Water Mage Tsukishima childhood friends

- KoiSaku Childhood friends + mage childhood friend marriage promise

- Teenage Air Mage Nikaidous fuck it upppppp

- Kadokura accidentally proposes to selkie frost mage Kirawus Thrice

(You can request either here on tumblr or over at my cucat <3)

#golden kamuy #golden kamui #asirpa #shiraishi yoshitake #gk #fanfiction #time for projects....#:3c #i just wont write smut!#why are you doing this to yourself sam jojotier you may ask #well thats easy!#i just... love this entire series #every character is so well rounded and fleshed out that they feel like real people #and frankly my favorite kind of writing is Character driven #rather than plot or just focusing on some random set

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callmearcturus · 2 years ago

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youtube

A friend linked me this video uh MONTHS ago and I finally watched it.

My god I fucking love broccoli.

The thing about The Beginner's Guide and by extension Ultra Deluxe (because I agree, they are telling the same thing) is that: I will never, ever actually know what Davey Wreden intended by making them. I will never ever know anything about Wreden other than: the topic of boundaries and parasocial fixations and the Plight Of Creation is on his mind a lot. That's it!

So what's actually important about TBG and Ultra Deluxe is not trying to read between the lines and connecting the dots with red string to divine what Wreden wants to teach you. The only thing that matters is what do you pull from them?

TBG is frankly one of my favorite works in any medium I have ever experienced. I think its the most useful story for our current era. The first time I played it, I felt ripped between Davey-the-character and Coda. Davey made me question if I was some kind of monster, if I was sick in the head for wanting validation. And Coda's parable scared the hell out of me, how the expectations of Davey poisoned and polluted his work until he stopped being able to create anything without that contamination.

Now, what I get from TBG is a two-pronged lesson.

One: I don't allow anyone to think that by reading my work, they know me. Even the most lovely, enthusiastic people who adore my writing-- it's the writing. That barrier between the Work and the Creator is a bottomless moat. No one will ever know who I am just from reading my stuff, and when people start to think otherwise, I remind them.

Which extends to me as well, obviously. I consumed all of TMA and all of the Mechanisms albums and watched Jonny Sims stream. I don't know him! I may have a few assumptions about the guy, but I have no misunderstanding that I know fucking anything about him as a person. And that's fine. That's good honestly. I don't want to know. That is an intimacy that cannot be shared through someone's art.

Two: When you begin to trade parts of yourself for validation, you will wind up destitute and ruined. Davey, in TBG, wonders if his desire for validation is a disease. He says something along the lines of "I cannot imagine not being driven by external validation." And for a long time, that haunted me.

My own take-away, my own way of dealing is a reframing, one that benefits me and anyone who interacts with my work. What I want is communication. I have been very open about the fact that I write as a form of conversation. Seeking pure praise and headpats will absolutely make you into a cautionary tale like Coda, like Davey. But I also cannot reject the fact that I create to garner reaction. But its not a conversation about me. It's a conversation about my work.

Anyway, I owe TBG a lot. And I'm pretty sure my take-aways from it are not the actual Intended Parables. But also... who the fuck cares? Why would I elevate the intentions of Davey? I don't know him and I never will. What I personally get from the work has more meaning and more applicability to my life.

Man, this broccoli is fucking delicious.

#long post #Youtube

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parvulous-writings · 3 years ago

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Karl Heisenberg // SFW alphabet

Request: So there was no actual request, I just knew this would cheer up my closest friend.

Dedicated to: @rey-is-not-a-skywalker

Summary: A sfw A-Z for Karl Heisenberg, from Resident Evil Village!

Warnings: Explicit language

Notes: Please, have some Soft!Heisenberg, bor. It’s one of the many, many things you deserve. To those who have requested oneshots- I am working on them, please be patient! My requests are currently open! My pinned post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist!

Not my gif

A - Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

He’s never affectionate publicly. Behind closed doors, though- well maybe he’s not your stereotypical lovey-dovey type, but hey-ho, he shows it in his own little way. A few hugs, but mostly through making you things. Music boxes, little figures and robots that wind up, you name it, he’ll try and make it.

B - Best Friend (What would they be like as a best friend? Where does the friendship start?)

He’s not a friendly man, typically. He’s cold, and driven only by his motives. It takes a long time for him to warm up to you, but when he eventually does he is always by your side, whenever you should need him. Be it for violence, or for an ear to pour your thoughts into- even though half the time you swear he’s not listening completely.

C - Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Heisenberg likes warm cuddles above all others. The kind where he can pull you close and hold you there for a while- he likes feeling you against his chest. It’s comforting to him, after years of no affection and a torturous living experience.

D - Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking, cleaning, ect?)

Karl is not particularly skilled in any domestic skill. He’s very mediocre at cooking, and he can’t clean to save his life- his factory is littered with dust and other probably very harmful particles. He isn’t very good in a domestic environment at all, really.

E - Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Blunter than a broken pencil I’m afraid. He’s never had to hide something from you in the past, so why should this be any different? He would not want to beat around the bush here, he’d annoy himself with pleasantries and euphemisms.

F - Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? Do they wanna get married?)

He’s perfectly fine staying as partners, without marriage looming over the pair of you. Quite frankly, he doesn’t think it’s worth it. “A piece of damn paper to show someone your fucking devotion? Bullshit.”

G - Gentle (How gentle are they both physically and emotionally?)

Unless you’re shaking like a leaf or have specifically asked him to be gentle with or around you, he’s not going to be. He’ll treat you much how he treats most others- with a little bit of affection for zest and flavour every now and then.

H - Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it, and what are they like?)

While he likes cuddles, he isn’t a huge fan of hugs. He thinks they’re too short to show any real affection, and often get in the way of whatever task the recipient is trying to perform.

I - I Love You (How fast do they say the “love” word?)

S l o w l y. This man has gone through some stuff, and doesn’t want to get attached to people despite falling for you. Give him a chance.

J - Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What are they like when jealous?)

Okay so he may be “non-committal” in a loose sense of the term, but this man is one jealous motherfucker. And he gets angry. I’m talking punching the wall, lashing out and breaking shit kind of angry. It’s mostly because of a nagging fear that not only will he lose you to someone you think is better or less monstrous than he is, but also in part due to a feeling that because of what he was forced to become, he isn’t good enough to keep you for himself.

K - Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

He kisses you on your hands or neck mostly. Those are his favourite places to kiss you. He occasionally kisses you on the inside of your wrist. If you have any scars as well, he’ll kiss them.

L - Little Ones (How are they around kids?)

It depends. Sometimes he’s the perfect uncle figure, others he’s a whirlwind of rage. If you’re taking him to see some children for a prolonged amount of time, please check how he’s acting and feeling on the day so there isn’t some sort of horrific accident.

M - Morning (What are mornings like with them?)

There’s nothing special about them, he’s usually up long before you are. He doesn’t leave anything like a hot beverage behind, unless it’s a special occasion that he’s remembered- like a birthday or anniversary.

N - Nights (How are nights spent with them?)

He often tells you to go to bed before him, as he’s usually working on something, and would rather not have to worry about you being down in his factory and workshop.

O - Open (When do they open up about themselves?)

When he’s extremely angry. He gets riled up, then will start to spill facts and secrets while hardly even realising it.

P - Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He has a very short fuse and a violent temper, to say the least. There’s a reason the man swears so much. Though he will often apologise if he’s scared you after an outburst.

Q - Quizzes (How much do they remember about you?)

He remembers the basic things at the very least- Your name, your habits on eating and drinking, what you do to amuse yourself. He’s quite observant, actually.

R - Remember (Favorite memory with you?)

He made you a small music box once. The past part of his day, or his entire week, was seeing your smile as you opened it and listened to it for the first time. It was the widest he’d ever seen you smile, and he loved the feeling it gave him.

S - Security (How protective are they?)

Very. One particular other Lord- “Lady Super-Sized Bitch,” as Heisenberg has dubbed her- is very interested in your presence, and Heisenberg has made it very much his business to keep you practically under lock and key to keep you safe. And when Ethan Winters comes around? Ooh, boy. You ain’t leaving his sight.

T - Try (How much effort do they put in?)

He does try- through making trinkets and gadgets to both help you and show his affection. Sometimes it may not always seem that way though, with his outbursts and his tantrums.

U - Ugly (What are their bad habits?)

He smokes. You tried to get him to quit once, then stopped when you realised it made him more irritable.

V - Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He’s not that concerned. If he’s still kicking... Well that’s all that matters to him.

W - Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

He’d feel that something’s wrong, something’s not right- a cog missing from a machine, in a sense. And he hates that feeling.

X - Xtra (Random HC)

This man would die for some ice-cream. You bring him a tub of the stuff- BAM, instant good mood for the next like two days.

Y - Yuck (Things they don’t like either in general or a partner?)

This man is not fussy, in the slightest.

Z - Zzz (Sleep habits)

He basically doesn’t, he gets so little it’s a wonder he can actually function normally.

#karl heisenburg x reader #heisenberg #karl heisenberg headcanons #re8 oc #re8 village

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archivedbyebye · 2 years ago

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Redemption: Harumi’s Only Option For Character Growth.

HIIIIII

What am I doing here? Writing a rant/ essay/ crazy vomit pile of words and half-thought ideas? I don’t know, can you please tell me?

Yeah, probably shouldn’t have written this while I’m drunk on sleep-deprivation and procession of the most recent episode.

Oh boy, that was fun. Yeah, don’t keep that episode in mind when reading this (if you do) It’s not really connected to the most recent episode, more just my jumbled thoughts after the last episode before hiatus was rotting in my brain.

Also, subtitles probably won’t do my understanding of it justice anyways.

For future reference, this was written before the last 22 episode of this season came out, and it’s just my thoughts as far as Harumi and the way this season has handled her return so far (with only the understanding of episodes 1-12 of crystallized, thank you for your time.)

My only criticism for Harumi’s return this season is the probable inevitable repetition in her character arc.

Harumi is my favorite character in this whole fucking series. There, you have it. Ninjago’s full potential in characterization was crafted to her and the entirety of season 8. She’s manipulative, flawed, emotional, conniving, and driven. Her character arc was amazing, ended amazing, and her lasting effects were present in seasons following her death. Utterly perfect. Do I take criticisms? No.

Here’s the thing, despite how much I loved her and season 8, there’s no way I’d ever want Harumi back. Crystallized didn’t get the memo.

Honestly, my biggest concern for her return is the fact that they really did everything for her character. She was a love interest, a character on the good side. The villain-twist really brought the edge to season 8. Her last-minute redemption was utterly amazing, and really brought her character full-circle. Say what you will about season 8, but I loved every minute of it.

So, Harumi survived the building collapse? Good for her, I guess.

Here’s the thing, there’s nothing left but redemption.

If they were going to bring Harumi back, the last thing I’d expect is for her to return to the villain role. If her last minute before death told us anything, it was that she saw error in her ways, and perhaps even felt regret. She’d been at that point where she’s lost control of her pursuits, and now others are suffering because of it. It’s already been proven that she’s willing to break a cycle, see last two minutes before death.

Yet here she is, second-in-command to the epitome of darkness to torture green boi.

It’s not surprising, but it feels overused. Remember when Garmadon was brought back in season 8 as big bad boi? Some were concerned that the writers were reusing Garmadon’s character arc. Is that what happened, though? Personally, I thought it was wonderfully done. (Are you surprised? I mean, it’s not like I haven’t been ranting so much about how much I love season 8 what are you talking about-) I thought that this reincarnation of sort was tastefully done, and even better than previous incarnations of the whole “villian-Garmadon” fiasco.

I don’t feel the same way about Harumi’s return, especially if she’s just brought as the villain. I know this isn’t explained very well, especially as I’m comparing her to Garmadon of all people, but there’s a difference, I swear. For one, Garmadon’s state of mind during his season 8 comeback was in tune with the plot. It was established early-on that this would not be the same Garmadon we had seen in the past, and frankly, this Frankenstein-of-sorts was definitely something cohesive to the plot. With Harumi in Crystallized, it’s really hard not to feel as if she was just shoved in there for shock value.

So yeah, I really feel like there’s a big difference here.

So here’s the cinch, I think that bringing her back into this form as a villain really undermines the last-minute redemption that brought her character full-circle in the first place. Say that Harumi undergoes this kind of redemption in this season? I might think differently about it.

We have what? 22 more episodes to go? I’ve heard that this season’s a doozy, (but aren’t they all?)

Truthfully, and albeit cynical as I may be, I wouldn’t put my trust in the writers to cover this kind of characterization. (Or Lloyd’s trauma *cough cough*) While I was disappointed, I wasn’t surprised to see Harumi in this state again.

All I can hope for is a return to redemption for her. What will probably come for her: Death / permanent punishment for her actions.

SCREECH.

#Ninjago #harumi #crystallized #rant #long boi rant #what the heck #s16 #s15 #what season is this

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absynthe--minded · 3 years ago

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So... Let's say that, on the wave of recent excitment for the upcoming book, somebody has decided to ignore both their official academic career AND the evergrowing pile of bought-but-not-read books on the bookshelf, and wants to finally dive into HoME... which volume(s) would you suggest starting with? Asking for a friend...

so my answer to this is Morgoth’s Ring, but it’s a bit more complicated than that.

the thing about HoME is that it’s not organized by category, it’s organized chronologically, so it starts with the very first stuff Tolkien wrote and builds out from there. If you’re interested in tracing the development of a particular character, it’s in your best interest to get the whole thing and use the index or a search function to track their progress, but if what you’re looking for is a specific story, that’s a different animal entirely. Morgoth’s Ring, in my opinion, has a lot of stuff that’s really worth reading if you want to start exploring more deeply and you’re already interested in the fandom as a whole, but there’s a lot more out there worth exploring, SO.

what I’m gonna do is go through the volumes and point out anything that’s there that I really like or think is relevant in terms of fanon. I’m excluding the middle volumes because they’re the rough drafts of The Lord of the Rings and don’t really come up a lot in conversation in the fandom, so this is gonna be the beginning and the end. I am of course giving my opinion as to highlights and must-reads, and if people feel like I’ve slighted their personal favorite thing, I hope they’ll say so in the notes! there’s so much and it’s scattered everywhere and I know I’ll forget something worth mentioning.

the way that HoME is structured is snippets of text in between long stretches of commentary by Christopher Tolkien, and the commentary is hit or miss. personally, I disagree with basically every point Chris makes, but it’s still worth reading in some situations because he will cite fragments or notes or asides that don’t get transcribed, or he’ll discuss things he did for the published Silmarillion that he judges to be errors. there are also footnotes written both by JRRT and by Chris, and those are always worth it in my opinion.

The Books of Lost Tales - technically this is one and two of twelve, but they have a very different structure than the rest of the History. here is where we’ll find the very earliest stuff Tolkien ever wrote about Arda, and here is where the beginnings of the ‘Mythology for England’ idea come into play. the basic idea for these books is that Eriol, or Ælfwine, a mariner presumably from the British Isles, goes on a solo voyage and gets horribly lost and lands on Tol Eressëa. from there, he becomes what I can only really call a weeb but for elves (elfaboo?) and starts asking a bunch of questions to the people who befriend him. they very obligingly start telling him everything, and as a result there’s a frame story for a significant part of these volumes that makes the whole thing feel very fairytale in a way that later works really don’t capture. the bones of the SIlm are here, though a lot of the political intricacies and character drama aren’t. it’s also a very incomplete telling, though all three of the Great Tales show themselves. highlights: the Tale of Tinúviel aka “the one where Beren is a Noldo and Sauron is a giant cat”, the most complete version of the Nauglamír story that we have (though I will argue that it’s noncanonical for various reasons), the only complete account of the Fall of Gondolin featuring horribly detailed Everybody Dies play-by-play

The Lays of Beleriand - this is a poetry volume so if you really don’t like poetry I understand skipping it, but if you do read it you’re in for a treat. the framing device is basically gone, but it’s worth pointing out that Ælfwine isn’t gone entirely - he pops up a few more times throughout the rest of HoME to serve as the in-universe writer of a bunch of fake sociological studies and articles. highlights: here’s where you’re going to find the full-length Lay of Leithian (incomplete, but the most detailed version of the story that we have so far) as well as the Lay of the Children of Húrin, which is also incomplete but has some really heartwrenching stuff as well as Beleg and Túrin kissing and Morgoth hitting on Húrin.

The Shaping of Middle-Earth - here’s where a lot of stuff that turns up in the Silm comes from, to the point that I can pick out direct quotes from Shaping that are in the published volume. still no framing device, we’re getting into the early Quenta properly. highlights: the Quenta, appropriately, which is useful not least as a compare/contrast between the source and the Silm, and the translations of the Fëanorians’ names into Old English. this is a great volume and I absolutely recommend it.

The Lost Road and Other Writings - this is kind of an oddball volume but there’s a lot of information here about Númenor, even if quite a lot of it is deviating from later and more definitive canon. We get a time travel story of sorts, with a distinctly more fantastical bent than your average time travel story, and information about what’s best described as a Sauron-driven industrial revolution meant to help challenge the gods. highlights: basically everything we know about Adûnaic is here

Morgoth’s Ring - skipping past The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated, we come to volume 10. if you are going to get only one HoME volume, get this one. Both during and after writing LotR, Tolkien returned to the Silmarillion, and began to introduce more character details in addition to worldbuilding and linguistics. With Laws and Customs Among the Eldar and The Statute of Finwë and Míriel we get information about marriage and birth and death and see the beginnings of the intricate interpersonal political drama in Valinor that so many fans have come to love and hate. the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth is here, too. highlights: there’s too many to pick from so I’m just gonna say character descriptions! here is where we get the detail that Míriel Þerindë has silver hair. Nerdanel makes her first appearance, and this is the only source for much of the information about her character.

The War of the Jewels - this volume is my personal favorite, largely because of the Grey Annals, my preferred canonical source and my pick for best draft, riddled with Maedhros character details and Russingon subtext and raw dialogue. there’s other stuff here too but I think WotJ is worth it for that alone. this is a volume highlighted by timelines and outlines rather than full narratives, but there’s a surprising amount of detail and gut-wrenching pain and agony despite the lack of conventional storytelling. highlights: here’s where we get the famous “and their love was renewed” line for Maedhros and Fingon, same with the mention of the green Elessar stone being originally given to Fingon by Maedhros. Finrod tells Celegorm and Curufin “your oath will devour you” and that’s raw as hell.

The Peoples of Middle-Earth - some of the very last things Tolkien wrote about before his death, which places this in the same category as the upcoming The Nature of Middle-Earth in terms of timing/his greater career. the majority of this book is essays and examinations rather than narrative development, though a significant part of it is dedicated to Maeglin’s early life and particularly the travel times for Eöl’s journey that gave Aredhel and her son time to escape. there’s another version of the Statute of Finwë and Míriel here I think, but the full and more complete version is in MR. highlights: The Shibboleth of Fëanor, also known as “Dialectical Shifts Are A Conspiracy Theory”, which is notable for telling the story of a frankly comedic linguistic rivalry, featuring information about elvish naming customs, and giving a version of events at Losgar where Amrod gets burned alive with the ships.

I hope that helps! have fun!!

#replies #tortoisesoul #tolkien #absynthe's meta

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aschlindartroom · 2 years ago

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Hey, how are you doing? How was your day? <3

Just came here for asking about your inspiration for Second Serpent and some sci-fi book recs if you have any. I'm in dire need for those, so I figured if I'd like to read something like your story the best thing is coming to you for some recommendation hehe.

Well, hello there! My day yesterday was fab and my day today is also fab (and so, so lazy).

Honestly, I'mma have to disappoint you. I'm not a huge sci-fi reader. Science fantasy/cosmic horror is more in my wheelhouse, and even then, a lot of my favorite inspirations are movies and television shows. I do not read nearly as much as I should these days (unless you include Hannibal fanfic and webtoons, god help me).

Here are some science-fiction/science-fantasy works that I can credit for giving me Second Serpent inspiration. Typically, they'll include soft "magic" systems that are somehow that are explored through science and experimentation, and probably some horror elements too.

Evangelion (anime): One of the first animes I ever watched (6th/7th grade), and instantly a favorite of mine that I still revisit today. It felt like Hideaki Anno had reached into my brain and pulled out all the stuff I liked at the time, then spread it all out for me to see. Post-apocalyptic world, kaiju, occult references, existential dread, aliens, haunting visuals, etc. Honestly, I should not have been watching Eva at such a young age, but it was EXACTLY the kind of media I craved.

Arcane (animated): I was told by a friend that Arcane might be a comp title for Second Serpent WHICH IS THE HIGHEST HONOR, FRANKLY. This show's got a plot almost entirely driven by its fantastic characters. It's got tiered cities, political gameplaying, developing technology, etc. Seriously its one of the best things I've ever watched so if you haven't seen it, check it out.

The Dark Tower Series (novels): ...I have a beef with how Stephen King writes women. That being said, I started reading this series in 6th grade (again, way too young), and it absolutely floored me. Basically, a "gunslinger" (read knight, read warrior, read academic) is on a mission to find the Dark Tower, the source of life and stability in all universes. Something is very wrong with it-- like, "decaying universes like the Nothing from Neverending Story" wrong. It's destroyed Roland's home world, and he intends to either reverse what has happened or stop it from happening further. I LOVE how this series portrays time-space anomalies. We've got doorways into other worlds, a cool take on fate and destiny, and really engaging characters (for the most part). Eddie Dean is my love.

The first three are great and they go downhill from there, sadly (except Wolves of Calla... that book is dope).

Even Horizon (movie): I only mention this one because it's been on the brain lately. It's not an excellent movie, but it's Hellraiser in space, and tells a story about what happens when we fuck with tech we don't understand. I honestly think about this movie a little too much.

Gosh I could list so many others. Another place you might look for inspiration or good stories are indie horror games, which usually have cool sci-fi elements. I'm thinking Iron Lung, Human, Discover My Body... I dunno. I could go on forever.

I'M ENDING THIS POST NOW.

#my recs #lol this answer is way longer than I intended it to be #whatever #take it

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literallymechanical · 3 years ago

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Book Recommendations? Book Recommendations!

This is the list of books I've read during the pandemic, and let me tell you, I am doing all sorts of decision paralysis on what I should read next. If any of y'all vibe with these, do you have anything you'd recommend? Other than the obvious sequels. Ideally nothing too YA-ish, right now.

In reverse chronological order: Skyward, Ancillary Justice, A Desolation Called Peace, A Memory Called Empire, Spinning Silver, Empress of Forever, Red Mars, The Priory Of The Orange Tree, This Is How You Lose The Time War, Harrow the Ninth, Gideon the Ninth, Rhythm of War, Dawnshard, The Ruin of Angels, and Four Roads Cross. I've put a little review of each of them under the cut!

Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson, 2018. Your usual story about an outcast, misunderstood teenage girl finding an injured dragon and nursing it back to health, except instead of a dragon it's a starfighter spaceship. Really solid YA scifi with Sanderson's trademark meticulous worldbuilding. An enjoyable read, though much lighter than his usual epic fantasy.

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, 2013. Honestly, I didn't enjoy this one. It was pitched as a queer science fiction space opera, but the "queer" bit was gimmicky and falls apart if you think about it, I didn't find the characters interesting, and the plot didn't even try to hide that it was just a list of checkboxes. Felt like a YA novel that refused to admit it. This is the only book on this list that I personally wouldn't recommend. But all my friends seemed to enjoy it, so I might be the odd one out here.

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkadiy Martine, 2019 and 2021. The first two books in what will presumably be a trilogy, and the best stories I've read in a long time. Twisty political thrillers wrapped up in gorgeous science fiction, and by FAR my favorite books on this list. Vibrant characters with nuanced relationships, scifi worldbuilding that is frankly breathtaking, a captivating story, and an all-around delight to read. Language, identity, colonialism/imperialism, and cultural assimilation are tackled through the lens of scifi. In my opinion, this is what science fiction should be. Also there are lesbians. Above every other book here I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE ONES. Martine seriously earned her Hugo Award.

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik, 2018. Folklore-fantasy about three young women — the daughter of a jewish moneylender, a poor peasant girl from an abusive home, and the daughter of a nobleman who wants to marry her to the Tsar — caught up in a conflict between the Faerie realms, the human world, and something much more sinister than either. Highly recommend, especially if you're jewish.

Empress of Forever, by Max Gladstone, 2019. A fantastical science fiction breakneck-pace adventure romp that puts its foot on the gas in Chapter 2 and doesn't let up. It's also quite explicitly a genderbent retelling of the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West, with more lesbians this time. This book has all kinds of energy, extremely fun characters with more depth than you'd expect, and some bonkers high-concept SF. Highly recommend if you like swashbuckling found-family adventure stories, and wlw romance.

Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, 1992. Every book, movie, and TV show about colonizing Mars since Red Mars was written owes pretty much everything to this book. It can be a bit dense if you're not up for lengthy (but gorgeous!) descriptions of Martian landscapes, and there are one or two bits where you just have to keep in mind that it was the 90's and this was quite progressive for its day. That being said, I am a sucker for a two-page description of a martian sunset. If crunchy hard-science fiction thrillers (emphasis on the "science") are your thing, I recommend this one. I'll read the sequels (Blue Mars and Green Mars) at some point.

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon, 2019. The prose and plot read like classic high fantasy, but with a modern eye towards character-driven storytelling. It's not often that you get something that feels so classic and so modern at the same time. Scratches that Lord of the Rings itch, with Queens and dragons and glorious heroes, but queer romance and a heavy focus on character development makes this a modern fantasy classic. Highly recommend if you like doorstopper-length high fantasy, and lesbians.

This Is How You Lose The Time War, by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar, 2019. A novella, you can read it in a couple of days — or a single marathon sitting, if you get into it. Gladstone (same author as Empress of Forever) and El-Mohtar take turns writing letters back and forth from time-traveling spies of rival timelines: Red works for the post-singularity mechanical Agency, and Blue fights for the Garden, a post-solarpunk biofuture. Their letters start out as taunts, and gradually change in tone as each develops a grudging respect for her rival. That rivalry blossoms — or compiles — into something deeper. It's emotional and raw, and it cartwheels merrily down the tightrope of fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. Highly recommend, though the flowery prose and gleeful disregard for explaining itself to the audience might be off-putting for some.

Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, 2019 and 2020. I'll let the pull quote from on the cover of Gideon from Charles Stross' review describe these: "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!" This one is horrifying, and it's funny, but I wouldn't call it comedy-horror. It kind of defies genre, outside the very broadest scope of "science fantasy." Read it if you like lots of gore, graphic violence, madcap humor, and extremely unhealthy, codependent, dysfunctional relationships that are always on the verge of self-destructing into multiple-homicide. Highly recommend.

Rhythm of War and Dawnshard, by Brandon Sanderson, 2020. Rhythm of War is book 4 of the Stormlight Archives, one of several epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. Dawnshard is a novella set between books 3 and 4. This is the same author as Skyward, but intended for a more mature audience. Stormlight is definitely my favorite epic fantasy series, and I've read a lot of epic fantasy. These books have some extremely interesting takes on racism, mental illness, trauma, disability, identity, family, and regret, far more so than pretty much any other high fantasy I've read. The first book is The Way of Kings, and if you like bigass doorstopper multi-book fantasy series, The Stormlight Archives should be at the top of your list.

Four Roads Cross and The Ruin of Angels, by Max Gladstone, 2016 and 2017. While Empress of Forever and Time War were standalone novels, these are books 5 and 6 in Gladstone's Craft Sequence, and they are absolutely brilliant. This is a world where about sixty years ago, humankind went to war with the Gods, and the Gods lost. "Magic" in this world is more or less synonymous with "legal contracts," where you can literally sell your soul to your student loan company and resurrecting a dead god is basically bankruptcy restructuring. "Necromancer" is roughly synonymous with "lawyer." The first five books can be read more-or-less out of order, but I recommend you start with Three Parts Dead. Gladstone is probably my favorite author these days. Everything he writes feel like it could be a poem. Also, once again, lesbians.

I am really not sure why about 2/3 of these books are about lesbians. Like seriously, I went into almost all of these books completely cold. The only ones where I knew ahead of time to expect lesbians were the Locked Tomb books, and The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don't know if this is just because a lot of modern scifi and fantasy has lesbians, or if all my friends who recommend me books are queer, or if it's just a coincidence, but hey, I'm not complaining.

#books

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bestworstcase · 3 years ago

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The tts fandom "rewrites" the series by adding Varian and trimming the kiddy/filler episodes. They rarely address any actual problems with the shows characters, pacing, etc, nor do they ever really rewrite much beyond those two points.

So it still sucks, it just sucks in fast forward and also Varian is there now.

that’s tangential to what i’ve been gnawing on actually, bc like--hm. i think a lot of varian-in-s2 fic is mediocre for the reasons a lot of fic period is mediocre, ie it’s being written by amateurs in their spare time with zero quality control and is often like, kids having fun while testing the waters of longform fiction. and like, writing a novel length story is HARD! ive been doing it fairly seriously for FOURTEEN YEARS! and feel like i’m only just starting to truly get the hang of it. and the mediocrity of your average varian-in-s2 or v7k longfic is largely the mediocrity of being, you know, new to this.

[& frankly: the reason so much mediocre tts longfic is varian centric is because the varian side of the fandom is actually writing longfic, which um, is not really the case in other corners of the fandom gfbfndbk]

anyways no it’s more of the… mindset undergirding like, metaposting and fan discussions that got me thinking about this + the attitude towards tts itself + the specific tropes different corners of the fandom seem to gravitate to when the subject of ‘fixing’ the story comes up--like there’s. varian fans + moonvarian obv but there’s also new dreamers + benching cass and cassunzels + ‘cass took the moonstone to protect rapunzel and YEARNING’ and so on, & of course a big part of it is folks just wanting their preferred character or (sigh) ship to hog the spotlight which, fair, but-- wait ive cracked it i think

tts DOES HAVE an extremely clear and tightly focused narrative through line which acts as the keystone holding the story together, and that is of course the conflict between Rapunzel Growing Into Her Power and Cassandra Struggling For Her Freedom. that is what the story of tts is…about.

& what i see happening a lot in fan discussions + metaposting + actual rewrites is people looking at the bad structure and plot contrivances and weak characterization stemming from the writing being very plot driven and going “this is a mess” and then kind of papering over it all by slotting their favorite character into whatever arc they wanted that character to have, but they do that without meaningfully changing the through line. so they are--bear with me i’m going to make a reference comprehensible to Me Only--it’s a wonderland uk tour problem where the skeleton of the original story is left intact and the meat is kind of awkwardly shifted around in an attempt to make it a different story and you end up with bad literary taxidermy.

so like--i promise i’m not trying to pick on varian fans here gkfhdkd it’s just, again most of the longfic in this fandom is varian fic--a lot of moonvarian concepts that get tossed around rely on his efforts to save his dad but then just kind of peter out into…well there’s a conflict with rapunzel…and zhan tiri… manipulates him… and half the time you end up with “tts but varian is cass and cass is on a bench” and varian being railroaded into cassandra’s canon arc because…well that’s what the person who takes the moonstone is supposed to DO. (this gets even more egregious when it’s new dreamers shoving eugene into that role but then also refusing to commit to the conflict mbgnfnsh) or else there’s a series of contrivances to let moonvarian happen so as to “fix” cassandra’s villain arc while also not actually changing much and then there’s this weird vibe of varian is a main character now but also irrelevant bc the story is still cass vs rapunzel.

and all of that feels very weird to me because! why is the first thing you do when you sit down to do a rewrite not asking “what is my version of this story about?” not in a thematic way (theme comes last) but in the elevator pitch way--what is the one-sentence pure distillation of the story’s central conflict? like for bitter snow i would say it’s righting past wrongs vs an oppressive status quo--the cass vs rapunzel conflict still exists but is in no way the centerpiece of the whole story, and that’s what allows bitter snow to be SO much wider in scope than tts, i’m not trying to have a very tightly focused interpersonal through line and a sprawling revolution story at the same time

everything is just bones. rewriting is literary necromancy and the tts fandom refuses to open its cadaver

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