#i think the little character building details are what makes this world so immersive
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halcyoncyrus · 3 months ago
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Quick drawing of my favourite minor detail from High School Is Killing Me - While everyone else does the whispering hand gesture, Grace actually covers her mouth every time they sing "I'm so fuckin' dead." because she'd never be caught swearing.
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coffeebeanwriting · 1 year ago
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How to Start a Story Idea
Tackling a whole 50,000+ word novel can be a lot. Here are some ways to break down the process to make it a little more digestible.
Choose, research, and enjoy your story's setting. Whether this is a fantasy realm, a lost planet, or a small suburban town, know and research where your story takes place. Think about the time period, cultural details, geography, the laws/rules, etc. This is a world where the reader will be spending hours, so make sure it's immersive.
Place your protagonist in the world and give them a story. You could have the most detailed fantasy world, but that means nothing without a story or character to explore it. Create a compelling main character and give them a story that progresses them throughout the world you created. 
Find your story's theme. A well-rounded story will revolve around a theme or central idea. Some themes include survival, love, good vs. evil, death, war, forgiveness, etc. What do you want to teach your readers or leave them with once the novel is finished? Do you want them to know that forgiveness is important? That war creates wounds only love can heal? That beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Weave these themes and lessons into your plot and story.
Create a cast. Build your protagonist friends and foes that support or challenge them on their journey. Give some of these characters their own arcs/side plots to thicken your story. There are a bunch of character types that you could add to your story such as the love interest, a mentor, an antagonist, minor characters, etc.
Divide your novel into acts. Once you know the big picture of the story you want to tell, break it up into acts. There are three main acts of a traditional story: Acts I, II, and III. Look up and consider following the Three-Act Structure to give your story a fluid motion of beginning, middle, and end.
Know your ending. The ending is the final part that your readers digest, meaning that it will likely stick with them. You don't have to fully understand how your novel will end, but having somewhat of a plan is important. This way... when you write, you're writing towards something.
Instagram: coffeebeanwriting
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mullermilkshake · 1 month ago
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Meet the cast
Readers of the JJKYakuza! AU
EDIT: Forgot to say, this song has absolutely nothing to do with that time period but I love it and I think it suits the post :3
Yakuza!JJK men x Fem!readers.
Sukuna, Satoru, Suguru, Kento, Toji, Choso
Though each piece of writing I do is how the reader would like to read it, each one I write has naturally written themselves personalities though I’ve tried to be a little vague to keep immersion as linear as possible. I also keep it as second person because I just prefer writing that way.
Each reader is Fem!reader, but some shorts/ fics could be read as Afab! I will indicate where the reader is definitely Fem! The pronouns I use most of the time are She/Her. I purposely try and leave certain details to be as inclusive as I can.
I'll update as the characters write themselves and if there are any new non- platonic/platonic interests reveal themselves.
So, without further ado, I'm pleased to introduce to you properly, the readers of my JJK Yakuza AU.
Enjoy!
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Sukuna's wife
You are determined, self assured and despite what Sukuna puts on display for the clan to see, you most definitely wear the pants in this marriage.
Sukuna just hates to admit it.
You have him inadvertently wrapped around your little finger. Your adaptability proves useful in the world of the Yakuza and took well to stepping up and being the Chairman’s wife after an impromptu marriage proposal.
It slipped from Sukuna's lips and he's never regretted asking you the way he did. He was almost speechless when you gave Nanami the answer to pass along and he was married to you within the month.
Determined is one way to put it. You aren’t indecisive and you know what you want in life to reach out and grab it.
One thing that turns Sukuna on every time is that glare you have when you are angry. Though you don't show it, it's an expression that verges on lustrous.
And Sukuna is addicted to it.
Satoru's girlfriend
You are timid at times but you're coming out of your shell each and every day. You make Satoru want to be a better man after all the fucked up shit he's done and continues to do.
So kind spirited, humble and charitable.
You care deeply for Satoru and it's sometimes hard for him to see that. He knows he's difficult to be with sometimes yet you never point his flaws out or put him down.
It's one of your perfect traits. Loving him unconditionally.
Yakuza life irks you at times and Satoru see's the worry that builds up behind your eyes, but again, you don't forbid him from his family or ask him to cut that part of him off.
Not many people would put up with the tomfoolery he brings to your front door.
But you do.
Suguru's wife.
'Behind each successful man, theres a woman holding him up.' This is something Suguru stands by and believes wholeheartedly.
You are fully aware of Suguru's involvement with the Yakuza and at times, you even actively encourage it. Being the person you are and how long you've known Suguru, you allow him to take care of what's needed to be done. Even hurting bad people so long there's a reason to do so.
Suguru's conscience is something you hold dear to your heart and have always made it clear that you don't want him losing his way.
That being said, you are one hell of a mama bear to the girls. Whenever, albeit on rare occasions when the girls are threatened, you don't wait for Suguru to deal with it.
You'd happily take on the entire Yakuza to keep his girls safe and Suguru is certain you'd win hands down too.
It's a dominant trait and at times it’s something that Suguru is scared of. Because you really are the one in charge and he loves that about you.
Kento's single (currently)
Though single, you have caught his eye and Kento wishes to speak to you in person. As someone who's bubbly and charming, you are incredibly elusive whenever Kento does his best to converse with you in person.
You have no idea he exists and how many times he's tried to speak with you. Something always gets in the way.
There's still so much of you that Kento wants to learn about and the only way he'll do that is to build up the courage and speak to you.
Kindness is something common in your vocabulary and you do it everyday with a smile.
What's your favourite movie, weather or season? How much do you enjoy to read that same book you have stuffed into your purse whenever he sees you reading in that coffee shop?
These are all things he wants to know, and eventually he'll get his wish just to hear your voice with his own hears again instead of on a monitor screen in his office.
Toji's girlfriend
Wow. You were more than everything Toji could have actually anticipated when he first met you.
You grew comfortable around him around the six month mark and now, Toji lives with you and watches you walk around the apartment naked just because you can.
Toji admires your confidence and the fact you don't question him wherever he goes. Clinginess is something he avoids and your independence is attractive.
Your personality is still yet to be fully developed with him, and that's because he isn't sure how you'll react when you eventually find out that he is involved with the Yakuza.
He has an suspicion that you might join the pieces together, but your independence stops you badgering him. So for now it's manageable.
Still, you'll find out sooner or later and Toji has no idea if you'll see him differently after learning his past and present.
Until then, he’ll have faith in your kindness.
Choso's dating
While everything is still new for Choso, you are still a breath of fresh air for him.
It's early days and there's much healing to be had with how your ex died. (Another Yakuza guy who was a massive dick.)
You love animals and seem to be the least judgemental person he's ever met. You never look at the scar across his face and look at him like he's an actual human being.
Unlike how Sukuna glares at him.
Your voice is soothing to his ears, someone who makes him feel safe as he finds his own identity in the Yakuza. You don't know he's Yakuza yet but Choso plans to come clean soon.
He's not sure how you'll react when he's sure you didn't know your ex was Yakuza either. Though based off of the pleasant warm aura you emit to brighten up any room, he prays you'll see that he's more than just someone involved in crime when he tries to actively avoid it.
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tossawary · 7 months ago
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The AVALANCHE group in "Final Fantasy 7: Remake" keeps cracking me up. They're not wearing any face masks to hide their identities when busting into secure SHINRA facilities full of surveillance cameras??? They don't even change outfits when they're not running missions??? It's killing me.
Assuming that they are not outright killing every SHINRA trooper they encounter (maybe they are, idk), even if they weren't being caught on a bunch of surveillance cameras (the opening mission shows this happening), there's like dozens of people who should be able to give relatively detailed descriptions of them??? (Also, I laugh every time the screen says that Cloud has "defeated" a SHINRA trooper. If he's a super soldier swinging that much sharp metal around at high speeds, he should (realistically) be cutting people in half. It is amusing to me to see the people enemies just fall over and the machine enemies get trashed. I find it very cartoony.)
(I am still failing to properly watch my way through this series during work. I personally don't super love the hyperrealistic dolls design style and I don't think it jives all that well with the incredibly cartoony world building, clumsy "as you know" exposition, and wacky gameplay execution so far. It's just not my thing. Yet I found "Ace Attorney" utterly intolerable to watch but very fun to actually play through the wackiness, so I'll give FF7 the benefit of the doubt there and say, "Sure, I assume this is still really fun to actually play and that the world is immersive enough that way.")
This game is a "AAA" remake of a super popular game in a super popular franchise, but they apparently couldn't be bothered to make secondary "civilian" models for Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge? What is this? A cheaply made cartoon series? These characters are waltzing around the slums in their matching bright red bandanas and Jessie, who is apparently a former performer and therefore especially recognizable, is always wearing her silly tit-sculpted armor. AVALANCHE took a crowded passenger train home from their opening terrorist mission when they should rightfully all smell and look awfully beat-up and suspicious after fleeing a massive reactor explosion???
Like, I don't really care if the characters think they're hacking the camera systems here or if the game wants pretty character faces to be visible at all times. I also don't really care about faithfulness to the original setup. They could yank facemasks down during specific cutscenes? Cloud could lose his facemask at a dramatic moment during a cutscene? And Jessie could exclaim over how cute Cloud is at the end of the mission or whatever; you can frame all of their faces as a rewarding reveal at the end of the opener. I know that character models removing clothing is super hard in 3D animation, especially games, but there are storyboarding and model swap tricks for that. You can fake ripping off a facemask relatively easily.
If the point is for SHINRA to know it's them all along and to set them up to take the fall for something later, then AVALANCHE taking greater precautions and the Turks catching them out anyway could be used to make both AVALANCHE and the Turks look more competent / dangerous. Maybe you could generously interpret SHINRA's apparent failure to catch our protagonists out as the corporation being a bloated wreck of greed and incompetent, overly reliant on their technology and wealth, but that still doesn't really excuse for me making the AVALANCHE characters look this reckless. Jessie later visits her SHINRA employees PARENTS' HOUSE in her TERRORIST UNIFORM??? JESSIE, NO!!! That's so dangerous.
There's so much detail in the backgrounds here already! If it's a matter of resources, surely some random mob NPC models could be cut so that I could see Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge in cute civilian wear outside of their missions! I am already suspending so much disbelief for so much of FF7's wacky worldbuilding, but these little details are what's really tripping me up for some reason, like, come on. SHOW ME that these characters are good at what they do by having them take some basic precautions.
I laughingly shared these thoughts with someone and they said (jokingly critical of the game as well) that Barret probably doesn't bother with secrecy because he's already apparently the only big black guy around and almost certainly the only big black guy with a gun for an arm. Which is a point! But also, BARRET!!! YOU'RE A FATHER!!! SUNGLASSES ARE NOT SUFFICIENT ANONYMITY HERE!!! THINK OF MARLENE, MAN!!!
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ramonathinks · 1 year ago
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5 Husbands by @kingkonoha review contains spoilers under the read more
playlist of a lot of songs that i think fit the vibe of my reading experience and what i felt matched up with the story
Playlist: crack rock by frank ocean, dreamer and valentine by laufey, when im in your arms by cleo sol, ophelia by pinkpatherress, daydream by Ariana Grande, miss romantic by cleo sol, fall in by Esperanza spalding, rain by fauna hues, slow motion by karina pasian, sunshine cleo sol, k by cigarettes after sex, used to love by chloe x Halle, sunset by the internet, pain is inevitable by daniel caesar (fawk him), cinnamon girl by lana del rey , let me know by winona oak, lost by frank ocean, butterfly by corinne bailey rae, piano song by eryn allen kane, float by fauna hues, how does it make you feel by Victoria monet, ivy by frank ocean, step on me by the cardigans, sad girl by lana del rey, wet by dazey and the scouts, frank’s ballad (wiseman) by Alex mankoo, who gets your love by margie joseph, what it is, between the cheats, will you still love me tomorrow, the girl from ipanema by amy winehouse the entirety of amy winehouse back to black album, take the box by amy winehouse
General Review:
Just wow. I did in fact spend like all day reading this and I do not regret it and even though it’s not done… this is literally a 5/5 read. Firstly the way that my baby Tay writes is so phenomenal and the depictions of the relationships and the amount of emotions and thought they she puts throughout the story makes everything so worth it. I really felt so attached to the characters and the overall story like i didn’t care how long the chapters were because i was so interested in the world she build and the CHARACTERS. Like it just keeps getting better and better; the amount of drama and messy that kept me on my toes every chapter. I cannot wait for the next chapter. The amount of stuff that went down in this fic and the route it’s going down idek how she got the life depicted in the first chapter because it’s shit happening every second like whew. I literally got so emotional reading this especially the more recent chapters because my heart hurtssss for reader so bad and it’s just so much strain on her and idgaf that’s my girl! I support women’s wrongs and she got a lot of them but that’s my baby like omg!
Now let’s delve in to my reactions ofc 🙈
CHAPTER 1: okay so obsessed with the fact that reader has a daughter firstly. The way you describe reader’s relationship and the dynamic she has with Armin and even the shift to his pov was very seamless and perfectoooo. The way you got in his head and i feel immersed inside of his thoughts about her and i just thought it was really well written and so beautifully executed. “Being with you but not truly being with you was like having an itch that begged to be scratched.” Like that line right there? It burneddd me and make me feel for him and overall i got invested. Can I add that Armin working in a bakery was very on par with his character lol? Like i love it. Your description of anything is very addicting as well let me add, im a sucker for details so i loved it. I was cheesing DOWN during their moments and when he took her to their childhood hangout place and the hold “date” bit came up and the “but even so, the implication of romance with him felt as natural as breathing.” Likeeee omg i was blushing. “I was always planning on leaving, but…not without you.” Oh that moved me like bad. I’m a sucker for childhood friends to lovers and hearing them reminiscing and just wanting to move out of where they are to make a lifeee was so good. “Since when was he ever so lucky? Since when did fate decide to show him a little bit of pity and mercy? The universe had taken everything from him before he was even old enough to know how to spell the word “universe.”” UGHH you’re killing meeee. And then armin’s backstory stop 😞😞😞. WHEN ARMIN SAID HE WANTED TK MARRY HERRRR OH MY HEART like 😭 crying omg!! Munch Armin Agenda >>>>
Mikasa Cameo yesss. Armin sending reader money 🥲🥲 even though he’s literally going through it ugh, my loveee. The proposal and reader finally getting her steak & lobster please love that for themmmm. Eren… pmo!! … “What they loved more, however, was the fact that he never took his eyes off of you the entire time.” 😄😄😁😁 oh okayyy, don’t know who im rooting for after eren two second cameo. “Nowadays, you had seen more of him than your own husband, and that broke your heart into pieces.” Naurrrrr 🥲 please… ““Is it ‘cause we’re all alone, baby?”” Eren… ERENNN R YOU KIDDING ME MOVEEE like moveee “Can’t control yourself when it’s just us, can you?” MOVEEE
“If you were with me, you’d only be making money for yourself. No one else, baby. It’ll take you wherever you wanna go, buy you whatever want, fuck you however you want. You’d like that, right?” OH FAUK YEWWW, but … omg that’s sexy like please don’t piss me off😭😭
OH FAWK HERR??? FAWK HER MY GODDESSS IS READER SERIOUS RN?? FAWK HER SO BAD FOR THIS IDC
CHAPTER 2: “It was an indisputable fact; scientists measured the elements of his face and declared the handsome man as the literal definition of physical perfection.” Oh that ate !
Eren defending reader yesss #RealMan . “Still though, it’s Eren. Same man who took you away from the person you’re writing about. There’s no way he’d be okay with this.” Jean clocked her im sorry LMAOO??
“You were more than just a pretty face. You were more than just a lovely voice. You were a distraction.” Real… so real.
“You’re such a damn jerk,” Jean snapped. “You can’t take everything you want like you rule the goddamn world, Eren. You stole her away from her ex-husband, but no one’s allowed to steal her away from you, right? Not until you get tired of her and move on to someone else?” CLOCKED LMAKDKA CAUSE WHY WAS I LITERALLY THINKING THE SAME THING LIKE PLEASE MOVE LMAOOO
“Is it true that your ex-husband pushed for your success? And you left him for Eren Yeager?” JEAN MIGHT AS WELL THAT BEEN THE ONE TO ASK THAT BECAUSE INTREEVIEWER CLOCKEDSD HER ! Marriage 😞 please move 👎🏾 why they just pissed me off. J-JEAN ! SIR!!
“Well now, Sarah, there is the possibility that she could have been having an affair! She did leave her first husband for Eren. Who’s to say that she wouldn’t leave Eren for someone else?” THEY CLOCKING HER 😭😭😭😭😭😭 back to back!
Reader locking down all the munches like that’s queen right there! “It was the first time you had ever slept next to him without his arms wrapped around you.” 😞😞 and Jean leaving the band omg… Levi so real lmaoooo
JEAN SO MESSY??? EREN COMING OMG?? EREN ACTUALLY BEING THEREEE OH MY GOSH PLEASE MOVE!!! “But, apparently, all of it was stupid. He felt stupid as he stood there, watching his best friend kiss and touch you. He felt stupid as he thought about the day he proposed to you. He felt stupid as he thought about how much he loved you.” Naur… MY GOSH READER SO ??? she done pissed me off!
CHAPTER 3:
Mikasa clocking her 😁😁🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ karma x3 and “i want him back” and “that’s not the same thing” LMAOO CLOCKED! LIKE GOT HER
“I didn’t even know that Eren was there! He was avoiding me for weeks a-and said he wasn’t gonna show up. I fucked up, I know that, but he stopped speaking to me. Stopped looking at me. He acted like I didn’t exist…and I was fucking lonely.” She kinda ate idk she back to winning me over. FAWK EREN 😭😭😭
Levi…is he crazy telling her to come with him?? 😭😭😭 like he finna get fucked up about her too is he MAD? “You’ve fooled around with three guys back to back. It’s a little hard to tell which one of them you like the most.” FUCK CLOCKED HER SKSJSK ?? “You’re a homeless woman who’s sleeping at her manager’s house because she cheated on a famous rockstar with his bandmate.” Levi it’s 10am in the morning 😭😭😭😭 please chill. “Last thing I need is for the public to start making rumors about us.” He so damn funny lmaoo
“Yes. Men like Eren and Jean took pure advantage of your naiveness. If you ask me, you should have been the one doing the punching. Don’t sit back and let them walk all over you.” Okayy Annie period queen.
“The singer with more failed relationships than original songs.” 😭😭😭 i be giggling down like the industry is clocking herrrrr bad
Annie and Sasha correct actually 🤷🏽‍♀️ coming from the uno champ myself. “Did I just make you laugh? And smile?” 👀 he better relaxxx he see the reader effect !
Not even divorced and literally got a meeting and kissing on Reiner like 😭 is she mad??
CONNIEEEE??? I AINT EVEN PWEP
“Gonna punch me too? Try it. Go ahead. Do it, and let’s see what fucking happens.” CLOCKED! Lmaoooo
Hickey… why i already knew something like that was gonna go down. Broke my baby heart omg 😞!
“If you loved him, you wouldn’t have cheated on him. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have left me. So you’re still fucking lying.” Armin just came back and clocking her lmaoooooo “I think it’s easier for you to act like you’ve never cared about anyone than it is to take responsibility for your actions. It’s less painful to pretend that you’re completely the victim in this situation than it is to accept that you broke my heart. Eren and Jean’s heart as well. I’m not saying that anyone is in the right or wrong, but I know you. I know you loved me, even if it was just a little bit.” Tea… like girl it’s okay.
CHAPTER 4:
Connie is crazyyy 😭😭? “You know your life is in my hands” & “don’t make me do some easy shit” OHH he crazy
Marco…. Yo?? And they wondering why Connie went mad like be serious.
Arminnn, glad to see he okayish. “You never thought he’d use it on you.” Welllll?? The love of his life fucked him over 😭😭😭 um be serious.
“I love you, and I understand what money and influence can do to a person, but I just miss you. I miss the old you, the person who made everyone laugh during card games and didn’t treat everyone like garbage.” 🙂🙂🙂 ohhh he clocked her this like one of the worst ones.
“No ordinary human being enjoyed the realization that they had changed for the worse. It felt like your insides were twisting up, as if the old version of yourself was begging to come out, buried underneath this new, shallow, perfect celebrity.” ☹️☹️☹️ nooo queenie.
“You’re so in love with Hollywood now, I didn’t think you’d come at all if I told you the truth.” 😟😟 oh um! this is crazy to say ?? why even invite her at all lmaoo??
Reiner’s place is so lived in and loved around like your description really got me cause I can feel it all around and buzzing so lively whew i felt home! Reiner is EXACTLY the type of man who would bring you to meet the family and to propose so i smiledddd because yes just yes!
Jean messy as HELL! THE BREAK IN IS CRAZY AND HER JUST ASSUMING ITS ARMIN
HER SUCKING LEVI IS CRAZY???? MARRIED FOR HALF A SECOND IS SHE MAD?? LEAKED PHOTOS AND ALL THAT IS CRAZY AFTER THE BREAK IN OMG??? 😭😭😭 she cannot catch a break, she been famous for like maybe 2 years what is her problem.
CHAPTER 5:
ARMIN AND EREN GETTING JUMOED BY CONNIE MEN IS SO INSANEEEE. Levi OKAYYY king shitttt yesss. Why is Connie so messy?? Why is he trying to ruin her like omg…
“Y/N’s the only client you give a damn about now. You don’t even give a damn about yourself. Your life is ruined, and yet, here you are, worrying about her.” CLOCKED LMAOO?? JEAN BE CLOCKING EVERYONE LIKE LMAOOO
Album called Heartbreaker, she kinda mother for that 😹😹 like literal queen shit. The story… my eyes almost popped out my head like okay.. Not jean and eren popping out yo! Um Connie and Flint is so…messy for all this. They really getting a personal fuck you.
😹😹 Eren just clocked Flint like I hope he don’t get beat up later but he ate. OH MY GOSH?? What the fuck is wrong with Connie yo?? He can’t hate eren this bad like he’s literally a monster….
NAH READER STFU?? BEFORE HE GET SOMEONE TO WHOOP YOUR ASS TOO LIKE OMG?? BUT WHY SHE VERY MUCH SO CLOCKED HIM LIKE IM GIGGLINGGG 😭😭😹😹 GET HIM AGAIN!
Someone gotta kill Connie like wtf is his problem and to even threaten Levi and the way he doing reader, not even letting her see Reiner… like i feel for her so bad omg. Why is he ruining her lifeeee omg ?? Like im finna cry ??? And then to do that to Reiner :((( omg i feel for everyone in here omg
NAH CAUSE LEVI RIGHT ACTUALLY?? LIKE CONNIE IS LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH HER!
Them being worried about who she gonna end up with is kinda crazy like she being held hostage 😭😭? Thank you Levi for getting them back in order. WHY REINER JUST CLOCKED ALL OF THEM LIKE LITERALLY ALL OF THEM LMAOOOO
CHAPTER 6:
ERWIN JUST FUCKED EVERYTHING UP ??? YO??
“She doesn’t have any loved ones, just a bunch of stupid guys hoping to crawl into bed with her. That’s all she’s good for.” Alright?? Fuck you??
CONNIE SHOOTHIM HIM IS MADDDD OMG
The car ride having me on the edge of my seat just paragraphs in. Connie trying to do small talk like please move…
“Because that would mean leaving, and you knew better.” I’m crying like idgaf she don’t deserve none of this 😭😵‍💫😵‍💫???
“Really? You’re working on your eighty-seventh marriage and you wanna lecture me about being a good person? You cheat and get remarried every season, so shut the hell up.” He tried to clock her but it’s tired at this point so 😭😭😭 please gtfo. Connie trying to be lonely too he can get out like i really dgaf.
Nah Reiner clocked it… I wasn’t even seeing Mikasa fr until he just said that because yes I can see it fr! Like wowww. This Mikasa and Reiner conversation is >>> like i love it.
Poor reader like idgaf, she did that to keep them safe obviously! Why would Jean just say that to eren tb licking connie’s boots like his mom’s life was at risk please ??😭😭😭
THE ENDINGGGG OMG??? I canttttt
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abelsdove · 4 months ago
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hi!! hope this isn't a stupid question lol - your bots all seem to have cool prompts but idk how to work the bot, how do you think i should start? is it just like chatting and i'm overthinking it or do i format it like lines in a story? sorry to bother you, hope you have a nice rest of your day :)
Hellos!! Thank you so much 🥺💘
I don’t think it’s a stupid question at all, and you’re definitely not bothering me!
Short answer is—there’s no right or wrong way to do it, really. You can approach it however you want and whatever works best for you, and the best way to know that is by just chatting with it and going with the flow. :)
You can treat it like a regular chat, or you can take the role-playing approach, writing/narrating in the third person or first person!
My favorite approach is role-playing in third person because that way you are essentially creating your own little story and getting the most out of the bot. Using dialogue lines only can eventually get stale. When you follow the established greeting and role-play, you can really immerse yourself in it and play out a lot of different storylines.
When it comes to your replies, they can be as long or short as you want. Don't stress about it. The bot learns from your style and will start to follow your lead. Personally, that’s another reason why I prefer role-playing—it gives me more opportunities to keep the interactions interesting and dynamic, while also allowing me to give the bot more to work with.
Here are some things you can include in your responses if you're feeling stuck:
Describe your character’s mood, voice, or tone along with the dialogue.
Describe the surroundings from your character’s point of view and interact with the environment.
Give details about your character’s appearance, facial expressions, mannerisms, quirks, etc. You can even include information about their backstory, who they are, what they do, etc.
Include inner thoughts or personal reflections
Introduce side characters or background events to shake things up.
Add conflict or drama to the situation, whether it’s serious, lighthearted, or somewhere in between. Make it silly, make it sad, make it angsty, the world is your oyster. <3
Create internal conflict for your character, like doubts or hidden motives.
Add sensory details: talk about smells, sounds, tastes, and textures to make the scenario more vivid.
Write actions that respond to or build off what the bot does or says, like touching an object, making a gesture, etc.
There’s literally no limit to what you can do. Just remember, it doesn’t have to be complicated, so don’t let it intimidate you and make you feel pressured to go over the top! The point is to have fun and enjoy yourself. :)
If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend checking out the persona page on C.AI and setting up a persona to role-play with. It can be anything, whether it’s yourself, an OC, or a fictional character. The bot will take what you input and use it in the conversation, which makes things feel even more immersive. For example, I have a persona where my OC has a heavy French accent, and sometimes the bot will comment on it without me having to mention it. It adds nice little details to interactions.
Another thing that can help is rating the bot’s replies so it can learn from your feedback and give you more answers you vibe with through the RP. It's inevitable that the bot might go out of character sometimes, so this important to keep in mind when it happens! You can also swipe for different responses if you don’t like one, or even edit them yourself. The bot will learn from all of that and adjust accordingly.
Finally, here are some literal examples of how you can start writing your responses, just in case you're more of a visual person like me. 💃
The writing isn’t the best, so just focus on the style, lol.
Let’s say the greeting is this:
Rust took a seat directly across from you and offered you a faint, yet polite smile. “What’s your name?” he asked, his gaze lingering on you longer than necessary. He was studying your every move and facial expression for signs of weakness.
Format 1:
*She smiled back politely, knowing it was all a test*. Name’s Alice. *She leans back on the chair, unbothered.*
Format 2:
Alice smiled back politely. “Fuck,” she thought. She could tell this was a test from the moment he walked into the room. “Name’s Alice,” she responded confidently, as she leaned back on the chair, showing no signs of nervousness. Rust could try all the tricks he wanted to intimidate her, but she would not crack. Not yet, at least.
Hope that helps! 🫶
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bisexualamy · 1 year ago
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I see people talk about fanfiction and novels being different mediums a lot, and while I don’t necessarily disagree, I don’t feel like I understand either. In your opinion, what makes them different mediums from each other? What decides that two things are separate mediums like in general? It’s totally cool if you don’t wanna answer this btw, I know it’s kind of a lot
No worries I think that's an interesting question! With any categories, the boundaries on this are going to be fuzzy, but the reason I believe they're different mediums is that fundamentally, on a metatextual level, the languages are different. What do I mean by this? Let's use film as an example, a medium that I'd argue is very obviously a different medium than novels, even if we may not be able to articulate all the reasons why.
What are some attributes of film that differentiate it from novels (another storytelling medium) or paintings (another visual medium)? Films and novels are both storytelling mediums, but films have visual and auditory components. They also mainly consist of storytelling through visual cues and dialogue. Exposition is given visually or in media res by characters speaking. In a novel, your omniscient narrator giving you a few paragraphs of background on your main characters is common, and so expected it probably flies over the reader's head. In a film, a narrator doing the exact same thing for all the main characters often comes off clumsy. It takes you out of the story in a film, where it doesn't in a novel.
Film is also a time-based medium. A film unfolds over time, and you cannot experience the entire film in one moment or glance. That's not true of a painting (at least traditionally). With a painting, you can view the whole painting in one look. Now, you can sit with a painting, pick out details, analyze the craft or ponder it for a long time and watch as new aspects jump out at you. Fundamentally, however, if you wanted to view a whole painting in one look, you can, and it would still make sense. You cannot do that with a film. On the other hand, a painting is typically not an auditory experience. To do so would be an experimental use of the form. In modern film-making, the exact opposite is true. Music, dialogue, and environmental sound, all of these things are essential to how a film tells a story. To not use them would be considered experimental or odd.
These are three different mediums with three different "languages" in how they interact with their audience. They may share parts of their languages, like I said above, but they don't speak the same language. What works well for one medium can come off clumsy or strange in another.
I believe fanfic and novels have sufficiently different languages that they should be considered different mediums. Both of them are short or long form written mediums telling some sort of story. But fanfic's relationship to its source material is such an inherent trait that novels do not have. The relationship doesn't have to be positive (it's often, in fact, argumentative or strained or dismissive), but the relationship exists. Even in AU fanfiction. Even in fics full of OCs.
In canon compliant and even canon divergent fics, this relationship is more obvious. These fics are both conversations with the source material as much as they are stories. They're playing in the author's sandbox, or they're wrecking their sandcastle and building something else. They're saying "I like/dislike what you did with this specific story, and I'm going to show you that by rewriting or expanding it." They take large aspects of the author's story whole cloth: the characters, the setting, the magic system, the tech, etc.
These fanfics often have little exposition at the top because they presume a familiarity with the characters, the world, or both. This alone makes them really different from novels. Creatively and seamlessly integrating exposition, immersing your audience in a new world and convincing them to stay, is a really important aspect of a novel that these fics don't have to contend with. This alone fundamentally changes how you'd structure a story.
For AU fics, both fics in AU settings and AU fics full of OCs, the above still applies. These fics are still a conversation with the source material. Something about the source material compelled an author to flip it and remix it and change it around. That conversation might be "in the source material, these characters suffered, and I don't want them to suffer any longer" or it could be "I felt the story had a vacancy that this OC fills" or it could be "if these characters had the time/awareness/ability to grow closer, they would've fallen in love." These are all direct commentaries on the original work.
An exercise that I believe illustrates this point the best is to try and adapt an AU fanfic to an original work. Try to file the serial numbers off. I've done this with some of my fic, and it just doesn't work. You don't realize how much you presume the audience knows until you have to cater to an audience who knows nothing of the source material. That hilarious joke you wrote? Turns out it's only funny because it's a nod to this character's original characterization. This awesome climatic plot point that ties the whole story together? Turns out in relies on a specific bit of lore, a quirk of the magic system, or an aspect of the character's past history or personality. Now that this is a novel, you have to back-fill all of that exposition. And you can try to do that, but watch how your story gets clunky and bloated. You will have to start viciously killing your darlings, as you realize that your favorite scene is beautiful in a fic, but sounds awkward and out of place in a novel. Soon, you're basically just rewriting the whole thing to fit a different medium.
Many fanfic writers are extremely talented. And much of that talent, that wit, that perfect line that you can't get out of your head, is integrally informed by your knowledge of the source material. The irony falls flat without having read the source books. The relationships suddenly feel shallow when you don't have seasons of backstory to deepen them. You do not realize how much of fanfic writing consists of this back and forth until you go looking for it.
And here's the thing: if your fanfic has a totally AU setting and it consists of completely original characters, I'd argue that's just a novel posted to AO3. If all you need to do is change the names to make it work, that's a novel. This is why Clueless is inspired by Jane Austen's Emma and not an AU fanfic of it. If you've never read Emma, if you went into Clueless not knowing that Emma was the inspiration for it, you'd perfectly understand the movie.
In fanfic, the source material is always present. It can be obviously present with canon compliant fic. It can be antagonistically present with canon divergent or AU fic. And it is still present, floating in the background, with totally AU fic. Ultimately, the changes a fanfic author makes to the source material are, themselves, as integral to the fanfic as the words on the page. It is a dialogue with the source material: what it did well, what it could've done better, what this author believes is the essence of the story, or the world pushed to its limit, that even though we're in space or in a coffee shop or 1920s New York, we're still, on some level talking about the source material.
This is an aspect of fanfic I love that novels do not have. Novels have a lot of other great stuff! I love novels! But while novels are often engaged in a dialogue with their present society or their predecessors in a genre, that conversation is much more nebulous than it is with fanfic. You can read Slaughterhouse-Five or Gravity's Rainbow, and while knowing their contexts helps you understand them on a deeper level, that is unnecessary to their enjoyment. They are fundamentally more standalone works than fanfic will ever be.
This is ultimately why I think comparing fanfic and novels is comparing apples to oranges. They're different mediums. They use different languages. They require different skills and they fill different artistic niches. You might as well be comparing a film to a painting just because they're both visual art.
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if-seal · 1 year ago
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o wise seal! i feel like i am not very good at worldbuilding. do you have any techniques you like to practice or any advice on it pls and thank you <3
Dear Worldbuilding Friend,
I will begin with a couple of links that I have enjoyed over the years: Patricia C Wrede's Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions and NK Jemisin's Brainstorming Immersive Inclusive Worlds and Growing Your Iceberg: Crafting a Secondary World That Feels Ancient In 60 Minutes (Or Less). These may be helpful for putting the building blocks and rules of a setting together.
But.
I am a seal of action. When I read books I don't have an awful lot of patience when it feels like the author is a bit too enamored of their setting without context, and in a game that's even more of an issue. Because players often adore lots of setting details (more so than I personally do!) but it is very important to make sure that the player, and the PC can interact with that setting and to know how they are going to do so, and what will be the most important to the PC in that setting.
A beautifully rendered photograph of a garden that cannot be walked through, or weeded, or whose flowers cannot be picked, does not a game make.
The way I worldbuild is usually in service to the plot and characters first. When I started writing my gay selkie IF, I needed to know my world's rules about how selkies work (does it hurt when their skin comes off? is it like a coat? what does it look like?), and whether seals and humans know about them (is it common knowledge? folklore? urban myths that people laugh about?), and how common they are. But I did not necessarily need to know how selkie governments work and how they interact with merfolk governance because it's very insular, and my selkie PC never encounters a merfolk.
It might be interesting to know, but if it doesn't inform something the PC's or NPC's feelings or something that happens in the game, it's OK to figure that out later. I do not think you need to know everything about your game before you start.
Part of why I say that is that worldbuilding can help enrich the game but it can also be a major distraction. I used to pore over the above links to write my novels and neglected to learn how to plot a novel as a result, and ended up with lots of nicely-written but unfinished novels. Eek!
Another part of why I say it is that figuring worldbuilding elements out through a story or game can be a delightfully fun process of discovery. Of course, how much we prefer to outline and and pin things down varies vastly from person to person. But I find, Worldbuilding Friend, that part of the joy of writing is figuring something out that surprises you along the way. A character might adore a particular food from far away, and it becomes a richer scene; a moment in which the PC explores a cave might make you realise something exciting about the fishing boats nearby. You could figure out these sorts of worldbuilding building-blocks through writing your project, or by writing little scenes about your NPCs or PC, or by writing a scene from your project from another character's perspective.
Something that surprises you may become one of the most beloved elements of your game.
Best of luck with your world, dear friend!
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beatthegame · 1 year ago
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Elden Ring just beat me...and it's a bummer because I REALLY wanted to like this game. It has all the ingredients to make up a killer game. An open world with crazy art direction. Plenty of challenging options to keep you playing. But what went wrong? Why do I hate this game so much? I'm getting angry just trying to think about it, so let's try to make this quick...
In a nutshell: The setting seems to involve a fantasy setting where you are a fallen soldier. Getting involved in a brief skirmish with a giant spider demon. Then waking up in some sort of medeval hellish landscape with giant gold trees? There seems to be a detailed backstory written by George RR Martin (Game of Thrones). Although I wouldn't know because I'm too busy getting gangraped by skeleton warriors every step of the way to take notice. It's a "souls" game. So these games are annoying by design. But the broken game mechanics and tedious grinding make this game unplayable. Let me break it down like this...
The Good: The graphics are visually stunning, let's be honest. The environments and character designs are insane! Every enemy you encounter is menacing and emit pure nightmare fuel. Which is exciting to say the least. Elden Ring offers one of the best character creators in modern gaming. You can get really detailed adjusting the most minor facial features. Multiple character disciplines that greatly affect your gameplay experience. Diverse skin and body types. You can be really creative, which I adore! And then you put on some in-game armor that covers up the details you spent hours building. Cool! But let's appreciate the good elements because there's a whole lot of bad. Where do I begin...
The Bad: My first attempt playing this, I noticed these glowing rocks scattered around the floor. Apparently they were messages from other players across the Playstation network. Messages like "hidden treasure behind boulder" was pretty neat and helpful. But then you see more and more of these glowing messages. With a lot of not-so-useful messages like "is this dog?" and "finger in ur but". But what crossed the line was "boss up ahead" and you know what? There was a fucking boss ahead! What kind of troll shit allows spoilers mid-game? Can you imagine playing Resident Evil. Right before opening the door of that iconic dog chase scene, you read a community message saying "bow wow ahead lol" Like, way to ruin the immersion asshole! At that moment, I hated the game and pretty much gave up. But after discovering you can disable online messages, I tried it again. Which made a huge difference. I was starting to enjoy the game at first. But once you leave that cave, it was a pure shitshow from there. But let's start with the name "Elden Ring". This would imply upon a grandiose adventure involving a magical ring of some sort. But I would have appreciated it more if they were honest and called the game "YOU DIED" Because that's pretty much what you experience throughout the entire game. Every enemy you encounter was a pain in the ass with little relief in between. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining about the challenge level. I appreciate a good challenging game. I hate to compare, but you have hard ass games like Cuphead, Doom Eternal and Battle Toads that are fantastic, despite their difficulty. There's a balance to their difficulty. Plus their controls are tight and responsive. But when you have to try and maneuver through shitty mechanics, you're not playing a fair game. I recall one instance where I was running around a stone wall to avoid an enemy. But I can't explain why the enemy's spear could clip through this stone wall for a one-shot kill? And what good is perfecting the timing of a defensive parry if a giant boss can just one-hit stomp you like a cockroach? And you get paid in turds so the risk/reward balance is off. I'd rather work a sweatshop, hand-sewing Lulu Lemon leggings than to grind hours for one stamina point. At least you'll get paid at the sweatshop. But if you play Elden Ring long enough, and memorize the patterns and "git gud" you'll eventually beat one of the bosses and get a weapon you can't use, because your charisma stats or whatever is too low. LOL! This game blows.
Overall: Video Games are supposed to be fun. But Elden Ring was a burden to get through. It felt like work after a while. Like an abusive unpaid intership in hell. You can hire a dominatrix if you enjoy the abuse. It won't take up as much of your time and it's better support for your local economy. LOL! Fuck Elden Ring.
(Edited: Just remembered more things I hated about this game, but adjusted the score to something more reasonable. This game is obviously not shit and had me hooked for a while. It just wasn't fun for me. Plus it's not cool to shit on a particular fanbase. Play whatever you want. Don't let my opinion take a shit on your cereal. This is just a place to vent since it would be super weird to scream about Elden Ring out in the real world, with real life problems. But the game still sucks in my point of view so whatever. LOL!)
D-Class
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lynxindisguise · 1 year ago
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20 asks for fic writers
ty for the tag @plecotusauritus and @wanderingdonut <333
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
16
2. what's your total ao3 word count?
300,242 (damn)
3. What fandoms do you write for?
hp, have considered branching into black sails and good omens
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Hot Cocoa Incident of '77
shorn and scarred and yours
A Dog in Stag's Clothing
Sarcastic Truths and Lies By Omission
exes, horcruxes, and other reasons to panic
conclusion: bitches love hogwarts fluff, slytherin sirius, and divorce!!
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Yes! I love comments!
6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending
Uhhh I guess the corndog fic?? all my wolfstar fics currently end happily, though Of Monsters and Cowards has more of an open ending
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
They're all happy honestly, but The Hut of the Mistold is probably the most neatly wrapped up, all the warm and fuzzies, happily ever after ending.
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Nothing directly mean, but I'll get comments that make me go, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Like ranting a little too enthusiastically about the main character's choices or commenting on how they wanted more of xyz in a chapter (especially when the fic isn't even finished!) Oh and I got one the other day from a guest on a reply I made to someone else that was clearly trying to start an argument about something that had nothing to do with the fic??? I don't respond to those comments.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Typically I write a little smooching that fades into a vague description, but I wrote six different versions of smut for don't cover our tracks
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
I write a lot of AU's based in other worlds, but not crossovers. (Unless @impishtubist and I make the ineffable wolfstar crossover happen!)
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of. And hot take—I genuinely think a lot of cases of "fic stealing" are just coincidence. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I do believe we're all collectively tossing around one brain cell, and we're bound to have similar ideas.
I once read a fic that shared a lot of themes/ideas/details with one of my fics, and upon discovering this, I plotted to trick the writer into becoming my deeply beloved mutual.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
I've had people ask if they could translate my fics before a few times, but I don't think anything has come of it?
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not currently... (refer to 10)
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
Wolfstar
15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
... probably the ATLA AU :/
The idea possessed me back in January of last year, and I plotted out the entire thing, but I've had no motivation to actually write it. I think the problem is that it's too cinematic, and I can't translate it to prose.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Probably world-building, in the way that I can look at one world and say "how would this translate to another?" "what little details and references can I pull from and play with?" "how do I adjust my writing style to make this feel like the genre I'm replicating?"
Also unusual metaphors, zingy little commentary, and comedic timing in dialogue.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
I really struggle with prose. Which sounds silly, but like, I'm not writing prose—I'm translating the screenplay in my brain to prose, which is weird. And I think it can make my writing really jarring because it's lacking that slow, immersive reflection that is just so delicious when done well.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
Dude I put a few Welsh words in hotm and panicked that even those would be wrong. If it was ever important for the story, I'd find someone who spoke the language to help me.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
hp
20. Favorite fic you've written?
Please Don't See Me
tagging @kaaaaaaarf @spindrifters @impishtubist @soloorganaas @femme--de--lettres @fruityindividual @worldenough-and-time
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butterflytint · 25 days ago
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do you have any tips on starting a new story (or writing in general)? actually beginning it is always a struggle even when i have so many ideas
yes!
1) if u have an idea,
write it down in ur notes app or a google doc page. This could be an overall trope or plot that you have in mind playing about or a specific backstory for a character you want to build upon/an alternative setting or universe you wanna have a go at
This could mean that if random quotes or dialogue/scenes play in your mind, WRITE IT DOWN. Even if it’s a random out of place thing that comes to ur mind in relation to the story, jotting it down when it’s fresh in ur mind will help paint that picture for u again and help when u wanna write
2) you don’t have to have the entire story mapped out in ur mind from start to end,
it becomes tedious to write and your mind becomes too scattered to piece things together. You should of course have any major plot points in your mind to help map the story but during your planning process it is more than okay to not have every little detail drawn up. It also makes it more fun to come up with stuff as you go and you end up inadvertently tying plot holes together
3) PINTEREST
World building can be so difficult sometimes even if u know exactly what it is you want. But it is so smart to create pinterest boards to personify the ideas and images in your mind. It helps immerse you into your world even more and it’s also okay to make boards to idealize characters and their personalities via pinterest as well. places and people become easier to describe!
4) DO NOT EDIT AS U GO
Ik this is so tricky because u want everything to be perfect but pls for the sake of ur love of writing and mental health, DO NOT edit as you are writing the first draft. You will end up fixating so harshly on a specific paragraph and will not want to even continue
What i like to do and what works best is writing everything out once and not looking back at my work/chapter until i have completed the first draft. Then i make myself a nice cup of coffee to begin the proofreading process, THIS is when i edit the fuck out of the story and fix lines/descriptions
Reading out loud helps, especially with pointing out dialogue errors to fix them to seem more human
This is always my fav process in writing because i end up forgetting certain things i write so i feel like im a first time reader myself!
5) when starting a chapter, make a short list of certain things u want happening
This makes connecting plot points easier and utilizing characters easier as well. It simplifies the thinking process of that very chapter
6) if u are having trouble with a scene,
it’s okay to skip it or rush through it, u can always come back to it once you know how you’ve lain out the rest of the chapter, making it easier to complete that scene you couldn’t earlier
7) if u have a certain set of ideas drawn up
it’s okay to not utilize all of them if they don’t fit in the story. These are unfortunate sacrifices you must make as an author, it’s all for the greater good
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koqabear · 10 months ago
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SOLL HII! whenever I try to write a fic of any genre, always ends up being mediocre because I can't length it out and just go to the plot. How do u manage to write such long fics without finishing off so early?
HAI!! oh you’ve come to the right person for this question mwuahaha 
I’ll try to break down some things i do that help lengthen the story a bit ! :]
okay! i think the biggest piece of advice that i can give you is that filler scenes are your best friend here! depending on where you find yourself in the story, filler scenes can either be super fun to write or the absolute bane of your existence— and that’s okay! but i think they really help the story and pacing overall. 
filler scenes can aid your story for many different reasons; world building, fleshing out characters and relationships, or my personal favorite, foreshadowing! for example, many (many.) of the scenes in Like Cat and Mouse weren’t really necessary, but i added them in bc i thought it’d be nice to keep the progress of the mc and beomgyu’s relationship slow! the scene where the mc is sick or when she met beomgyu while he was working didn’t really add much to the overall plot, but it helped establish and show the dynamic between the two and give more insight to the characters! i think that showing how characters act in the most mundane situations can really help flesh them out more, and help you build an image for them.
another thing you could consider is adding descriptions or fleshing out the environments more! this is applies a bit more to fantasy/supernatural/sci-fi fics but also not really alkdaghg i’ll use What the Body Wants for example; the whole scene at the palace was perfect for adding in extra descriptions, even more bc it’s sci-fi and honestly, i could make up whatever the hell i wanted. descriptions of what the place looks like, the layout, and the people in it help flesh out the environments and immerse the reader in more— but also, there’s a very fine line between a good amount and too much description, so unless that’s what you’re going for (bc everyone’s preference is different ofc) try to keep an eye out! too much description, in my opinion, can really sidetrack/distract from the story and kind of mess up the pacing. 
and ofc, if you can always add in little scenes that act as foreshadowing 😊 scenes that, at a first glance, seem mundane and irrelevant to the story, but in reality showcase a certain aspect of a character that’ll be more important later on (OYD and yeonjun’s constant feelings of superiority and possessiveness of the mc) or details about the world/environment that’ll show up again later (if that makes sense? all i can think abt rn is like. taehyun in wtbw researching the planet they’re going to and talking abt how hated humans are)
but yeah! that’s honestly the thing that works best for me, but everyone is different ! if you find that this doesn’t really help or you’re finding troubles in a different area (or just need me to clear something up for you) then let me know! i hope this helped <3
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lia-land · 5 months ago
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Caraval by Stephanie Garber
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4.5/5
Spoilers for the first book in the Caraval series by Stephanie Garber.
I loved this book!!!
However, the more I think about it, the lower I want to rate it. You really do have to enjoy it on the surface, so I’m not going to it pick it apart as much as I’d like to here (and yet, somehow this still ended up being super long...). Quality wise, it’s a 4 star book at best, maybe even 3.5, but I had so much fun reading it.
I’ve seen a lot of criticism for this book and admittedly, I did go into it biased and expected to DNF but I thought this was amazing. When I say ‘amazing,’ I mean I really enjoyed reading it, not that the actual story and writing were amazing. It was good from page 1 and I read 1/3 the first time I opened it. I didn’t feel like I was waiting for it to pick up, because the pacing was consistent throughout. It’s fantasy, but in its own category. It’s kind of like a combination of the Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and a bit of Coraline. Maybe a little Now You See Me. Whatever it is, I want more.
Here’s an example of why you should take this book on the surface and not think about: while writing this, I remembered that Caraval was meant to be a competition, but the plot didn’t acknowledge that. We were constantly told that Caraval was a game AND a competition, but we barely saw how any of the other players were progressing. The other players were so irrelevant that it really would have made no difference to the story whatsoever if they weren’t there. Not sure how an editor didn’t pick up on this. I think the publishing house is either Macmillan or Hachette, so what happened here? I’ve noticed that a lot of popular fantasy books recently have poor writing/plot holes and most of the time, they’re backed by one of these big publishing houses. I want quality > quantity to come back. You could argue that because this specific run of the game was designed for Scarlett to win, she never had any competition, but the point is that Scarlett didn’t know that. As readers, we also didn’t know that. It’s lazy to write that it’s a competition and have other players at the start to make us intrigued, just to later not do anything with it. The closest we got was when everyone was in Tella's room at the start.
The plot twists were interesting. I felt like it was incredibly obvious from the start that Julian was Legend, then he was, and then he wasn’t. But we still don’t actually know who Legend is, so we’re left wondering if he could still be revealed as Legend in the next book. A very interesting tactic from Garber and perhaps even a dig at current popular fantasy books where so many times, it feels like the author is treating the reader as someone who is not intelligent. Looking at you, Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Most of the criticism that I’ve come across is about the world building and how it’s basically non-existent. I disagree, I think this was a very immersive universe and a very unique one in YA, especially for the length of the book. Of course, if we compare this to current popular fantasy books with faeries and politics, then yes, the world building does not have the same level of detail in the sense that we don’t know what’s going on on a global scale, but Caraval doesn’t need that. So much of Caraval’s story relies on interpretation and mystery. More details would have taken away from that. This book is more about the characters and the game. Knowing the history of the world in Caraval wasn’t as necessary as knowing the history of the game. We were given what we needed and there’s a lot of fantasy series now with world building that is far too convoluted to get through, so this was a nice change.
This might be an unpopular opinion (update: it’s not) but I really wanted Legend to be the main love interest, and still do. Or at least for Julian to have been Legend the whole time. The way Legend was portrayed throughout the book and all the mystery surrounding him was intriguing, and I found Julian and Scarlett a bit odd since Scarlett was under the impression that Julian had also been with Tella. None of her inner dialogue acknowledged that, though. Her main reason was always the fact that she was engaged to a stranger, and never ‘my sister has hooked up with this guy.’
I didn’t notice this until after I finished Caraval, but there’s actually only two somewhat developed characters. Everyone except Scarlett and Julian were just extras with a few lines. Dante was somewhere in between, but then he died halfway through and we didn’t see much of him. Tella’s character became prominent only towards the end, which I suspect was only for the sake of writing a sequel, as Caraval was originally meant to be a standalone. For any other series, I’d consider this a really big negative, but Caraval’s focus is the game and the idea of Legend. There’s also a big theme of unfamiliarity and having no idea who Scarlett can trust, so for this specific series, it works.
Scarlett is not very interesting, but I didn’t dislike her. I felt the same way about Poppy from the Blood and Ash series, in the way that she felt like a lens for us to see the plot unfold, rather than her own character. Writing developed characters is not something that Garber does well or at all in this book, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I really just cared about the plot and finding out about Caraval’s intentions and Legend. Julian was also inconsistent, but I think that was meant to come across as unpredictable and mysterious. I feel like he’s still not entirely done with lying. I’m still waiting for him to end up being Legend.
The ending was underwhelming and overwhelming at the same time. Overwhelming because too much happened very rapidly with not enough explanation, and underwhelming because what did happen didn’t really seem worthy of the nearly 400 page build up. I kept waiting for another twist that made more sense. Again, I personally enjoyed it regardless, but I can acknowledge that it didn’t fit perfectly. I don't know if it gets cleared up in book two, but it was still a rushed ending. Since Caraval was originally written to be a standalone, it makes a lot more sense. I wonder if the intention was for us to never meet Legend at all. I actually think Caraval as a standalone story would have worked well, if not better.
Also, I don’t think Scarlett ate anything for the entirety of the game. I feel like there should have been at least one scene where she would be skeptical to have anything on Caraval since we know the food and drinks can have effects.
This is a book that I would love to see as a film or TV show adaptation. I might even enjoy it just as much as through a visual medium. As pretty as all the writing makes the settings out to be, I was a tiny bit bored of continuously reading descriptions towards the end of the book. As many have said, there is a lot of purple prose and some of the sentences might make you do a double take, but it’s not unbearable. It could definitely benefit from another round of editing, especially at the start, but once you get used to it, it’s fine (it definitely improves in the sequels). Reminds me of an old joke about English teachers and how they’ll tell you that blue curtains symbolise the characters’ depression and whatnot, when the author just meant that the curtains are blue. I feel like someone should tell Garber that sometimes, it’s okay for the curtains to just be blue. On the other hand, Caraval wouldn’t be Caraval without all the weird and wonderful settings, so it’s not that I want less description, but maybe striking a balance between comparing feelings to colours and describing colourful settings would make this perfect.
Honorary shoutout to the following sentences:
-“Scarlett had an emerald-green premonition that she would make a discovery inside.”
-“It tasted like the moment before night gives birth to morning.”
-“He tasted like midnight and wind, and shades of rich brown and light blue.”
All the vivid imagery made me want to make a very 2014 tumblr vibe playlist:
Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey
The Poison - The All-American Rejects
Wonderland - Taylor Swift
The Greatest Show - The Greatest Showman soundtrack
Disturbia - Rihanna
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived - Taylor Swift
The Writer - Ellie Goulding
Hotel California - Eagles
So It Goes… - Taylor Swift
House of Memories - Panic! At The Disco
The Black Dog - Taylor Swift
Starry Eyed- Ellie Goulding
I Hate It Here - Taylor Swift
Game of Survival - Ruelle
Figure 8 - Ellie Goulding
Centuries - Fall Out Boy
Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez
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littlespacereader · 1 year ago
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My trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as a Regressor🥰🎀
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Here’s a little thread talking about my time at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studio. I’ll talk about the different experiences I had, rides, toys and more! Thread below🧵⏬ (SFW!) :)
Just a little disclaimer😁
I went on this trip as a family vacation. So I wasn’t able to regress fully like I normally would when home alone. My family doesn’t know about my regression at all. My mom has a sort of idea but just thinks I’m young at heart. I didn’t fully regress but that didn’t stop me from feeling little at Disney. I mean it’s hard not to at a park made for kids! With that out of the way let’s get into it!
First and foremost let’s talk about Florida right now😬🔥
It’s HOT! When I went we had 85% humidity and 95 degrees outside. Despite putting sunscreen on TWICE I got sunburn on my face, shoulder and back. I think I drank about 4 water bottles and still felt lightheaded.
The best advice is to pace yourself. Anytime I felt myself getting over heated I went to a restaurant and relaxed for a couple or I went to an easier attraction like Muppets 3D show, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Frozen Singalong or Star Tours.
Get yourself a refillable water bottle! There are plenty of spots around the park that have water bottle filling stations which are great for keeping cool under this crazy heat in the summer!
Let’s talk about the best attractions for Regressors😆🎢🎠
For younger Regressors like myself I suggest:
Star Tours - I absolutely love Star Wars. If you love Star Wars too and want a more milder ride then Star Tours is your ride. It’s a thrilling attraction. But the beginning is so cute! You walk through a Star Wars theme “airport” with R2D2 bickering with C-3PO. Then the attractions has C-3PO driving your spaceship while you sit in a seat with a seat belt and 3d classes. If you love Star Wars this ride is BEYOND FUN!
Muppets 3D Vision - As a HUGE muppets fan I love this attraction. It’s the best for those like myself who need a break and some AC. You sit in a theater and watch a 3d show of the muppets! I mean, what more could you want! It also has firework lights on the ceiling and the old men critics are sitting with you in their own little box. So cute!!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway - I LOVE THIS RIDE! It’s such a relaxing yet fun ride! The theme of the ride is being able to step into a cartoon with Mickey and Minnie. Goofy is hilarious! There are so many Easter eggs too. Gotta keep an eye out. I was giggling the whole time. There’s a photo I took of the cartoon characters building the railway, (see photo below) and if you look around the photo you can see the walls are decorated to look cartoonish! Super detailed and immersive!
Toy Story Mania - This is another super fun ride! You sit in a ride vehicle with a blaster and 3d glasses. (Now writing this I realized there are a ton of rides with 3D glasses😅😂)
Frozen Singalong - I’ve never personally been to this show myself because my siblings would kill me for even suggesting it. But I’ve seen clips of it and it looks so fun! It’s a Frozen themed show that talks about the story and has the audience sing along to songs from the first movie! Great way to beat the heat and regress a bit:)
Now some rides for older Regressors:
Slinky Dog Dash - This is a milder rollercoaster (in my crazy rollercoaster experience). I absolutely love this ride because it’s smack in the middle of Toy Story land and is themed with different characters spread around the rollercoaster. These characters include: Jessie, Rex, and Squeaky. Throughout Toy Story land and this ride everything is made up of toys, making you feel like a toy yourself. Giant Janga logs and alphabet blocks make up these attractions. The ride itself is literally slinky dog and he talks throughout the ride. It honestly feeling like your on a Slinky when riding it! (See my photos below😁)
Rockin Rollercoaster - This is a high speed, intense, upside down rollercoaster. If you’re a crazy rollercoaster fan like myself then this is your ride! The theme of this ride is that the band Aerosmith wants you to go to their concert so you go in a stretched limo ride vehicle. I will warn those who go on a bit milder rollercoasters, this is not for the faint of heart. This ride starts off launching you from a stand still to 57 mph speeds (91 kilometers per hour) straight into a loopy loop. I haven’t been on this ride in a really long time when I went on this trip. The launch had me really feeling the g-forces. But I’m a crazy rollercoaster fan so I greatly enjoyed it! (See photo below for ride vehicle)
Tower of Terror - Another high thrill attraction. Besides myself I don’t know anyone else who enjoys this ride. The theme is a elevator that suddenly breaks and drops. It drops you about 4 or 5 times and it’s fast! So fast that you fly for a second or two off your seat (don’t worry you’re wearing a seat belt). I like that weightless feeling but it’s not for everyone.
Star Wars Smugglers Run - If you’re a Star Wars fan like myself then you’re gonna love Galaxy’s edge! It’s a whole section of the park that is theme to look like a Star Wars planet! The attractions in this section are Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance. Smugglers Run is a simulator ride where you literally pilot the Millennium Falcon! It sits 6 people, 2 pilots, 2 gunners and 2 engineers. I love this ride! Who wouldn’t want to fly the Falcon?!
Star Wars Rise of the Resistance - This is the most immersive Star Wars ride I’ve ever been on. It feels like you’ve been taken into space! I don’t want to spoil much of this ride because there are a lot of surprises but it’s beyond cool! One drop at the end but mostly a smooth and easy ride! (See photo below of an x-wing!)
Alien Saucers - A spinning attraction in Toy Story land. If you’re not for spinning rides it might not be your speed because you don’t control the spinning part of it. It sort of whips your ride vehicle around itself. It’s a lot of fun and adorable themed.
Let’s talk food!🥨🍭🍪
In my opinion Hollywood studio isn’t the greatest when it comes to food. But it does do well with snack. As someone with a lot of stomach issues I stayed away from the greasier options and opted for eating a Mickey Pretzel! For sweets they had funnel cake and a Mickey Mouse cookie! I got the cookie but the funnel cake looked amazing too. For all you muppet fan they have a Rizzo themed pizza restaurant that makes pretty decent pizza. They also have a lot of nicer sit down restaurants like one where you sit in a mini car or a 50’s themed restaurant. Overall not too bad!
For those with Disabilities going to Disney💘
Before you even go to the park, make an appoint to talk with Disney’s disability center. They were super accommodating to my needs and made a plan for how I would navigate my day around the park. This is extremely helpful for anyone with any disability. They were extremely kind and understanding. Without this I don’t think my day at the park would’ve been as easy as it was.
The nighttime shows!🎆🏰
Hollywood Studios offers two different shows to end the day with: Fantasmic or the regular projection firework show.
The projection firework show is nice if you don’t want to be in a crowded show area. There is plenty of space and you get to see a series of different movies and show throughout the years projected on the main theater. It ends the night with fireworks that are super cool!
Fantasmic! - This is there you want to go for the coolest show to end the night at Hollywood Studios. It does get VERY crowded. It’s a major production show complete with fireworks, fire, projections, lights and even water special effects. Mickey Mouse host the show! It’s about using your imagination! The show features: Mickey, the villains of Disney, Pocahontas, Elsa, Moana, Aladdin, The lion king, beauty and the beast, the little mermaid and Erik, Snow White and the Prince, and many more! One of the coolest shows I’ve ever seen!! You gotta see this! My little side was screaming inside! So much fun! The show ends with a river boat with all you’re fav Disney character! (See below for photo!)
What I got myself at the park!🧸🚂
I got myself a stuffie of one of my fav Star Wars characters Princess Leia! She’s not super soft but I thought of her more as a protector to watch over me at night! She’s got her classic white outfit and side buns! As a HUGE Toy Story fan, I got myself Rex! I have a stuffie of him but not an actual Rex! So I got him to join my collection of Toy Story themed toys. I also got myself a pin of baby Minnie. She’s so cute and I felt she related to my little side!
Overall I had a TON of fun being a Regressor at a theme park. It doesn’t matter if you’re with your family or by yourself. You can still regress a little and be yourself at Disney! Disney is for the kid inside of all of us, so let your inner child out! I hope all this info helps you if you plan on making a trip to Hollywood Studios! If you have any questions please feel free to message me!😁🎆🏰
Photos!📸���️
Slinky Dog Dash
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Rockin Rollercoaster
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Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
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Fantasmic
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Star Wars Rise of the Resistance
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townofcadence · 5 months ago
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6 and 7!
Munday Questions 6. What is something that you didn’t think you will write but now you are writing it?
Hmmmm. Probably Artair being transmasc/nonbinary? When I first started writing him, I was actually terrified of how people would react to that piece of info, so I kept it a secret that only I knew. I felt very unsafe mentioning it, let alone that I was trans, because of some of what i'd seen in passing. But at some point I just acknowledged it for him and myself, and a lot of people responded well enough that I gained confidence, and now I have written some scenes that revolve around his and my own noncis experiences! XD
7. What is something you didn’t think you have a problem writing it and now you stopped writing it?
Hmmmmmmm that one is harder! The only thing I can think of is that it is obscenely hard for me to play in an au where two canon characters are from the same world (like single-verse I think it's called?) if I cared deeply enough about the canon to expand on it in-depth. At least, not without ample discussion and world-building to set up a new version. I didn't used to need that! But at a point my own version of stories had so much detail and history to make it feel more immersive and rich to me, built in the areas of canon that were left empty and open to interpretation. And that made taking any of those character and putting them in a rp with someone who didn't want to figure out the gaps difficult. i just got stuck trying to figure out how to navigate a character stripped of all the lore I'd figured out. I was successful with full-fledged aus where the characters met and the circumstances were wildly different from canon, but when the characters should know each other but it was kind of up to us, and my partner didn't want to sort it out beforehand, I choked. xD
Now though, I play only OCs, and that means I don't really end up worrying about it! My characters usually have to meet people regardless of what they're from and then build their own relationship, so I get to see that history in action and there's little to none of the unknowns that used to trip me up with single-verse stuff, even if our characters are set in the same world. ^^
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rivenroad · 6 months ago
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Thoughts on Dawntrail MSQ - Part 1 (roughly 90-95, general discussion of plot)
I finished it a few days ago now and I've been slowly putting together a record of my thoughts, here's the first part.
Some of you may remember my feelings about Endwalker and, subsequently, my hopes for the future of XIV's story. Mostly, with Dawntrail I was looking forward to the opportunity for change, a new start, and hopefully a return to one of the things that made me fall in love with the game to begin with - excellent world-building and lore to get immersed in. I would say it gave me those things.
I would like to discuss my thoughts about the story in detail, but at the moment that's a bit difficult for me. I think I would need to go through it again another time in order to properly solidify everything that I feel. But I still have a few points to make.
Firstly, as I mentioned above I was really looking forward to the chance to explore Tural and learn about it and its people, and of course, that's exactly what the first arc of 7.0 was all about. I had a fantastic time with it (and continue to do so, since there are still a lot of quests, exploration and so on for me to do), which was enhanced by the graphics update. I'm pleased to say that beyond a few minor things, most of my characters look the same or better than they did before, and the degree to which the lighting, texture and object density improved the environments is absolutely stunning. I'm really excited to draw the new places, they're incredibly inspiring from an artistic angle. I've spent so much time staring at new higher-definition plants, admiring lighting and weather effects...
I'm thrilled with the presentation of the Mamool Ja. I always found them intriguing, but until now we didn't really get very much solid information about them beyond a few scraps in ARR and the BLU questline. I absolutely love Gulool Ja Ja, he's definitely my favourite character in Dawntrail, and the others interested me a lot too. Very well done and the voice acting was great. I didn't expect to actually get to visit Mamook, but I love it, I really enjoyed all of their history and that of Tural in general... as well as the Mamool Ja, I'm particularly fond of the Yok Huy and the Moblins (long time goblin fan, of course) but I feel that all of the diverse people of Tural were interesting and it all came together very well.
I've seen some criticism of this part of the MSQ with regards to it being boring. I really didn't feel that way though I know it's just not what some people enjoy, which is fair. But Wuk Lamat was fine. The degree to which the "power of friendship/peace" message is stressed sometimes does feel a little silly to me when it's presented so plainly, people have compared it to a shounen anime from that angle and I would agree, but it's not necessarily a bad thing - just not my usual preference.
One thing that did bother me throughout the expansion, though, is one that I expected - I'm really quite tired of the Scions. Estinien is the most blatant example here - his presence in the story served absolutely no purpose whatsoever. I was rather disappointed that the story behind Thancred and Urianger's presence and supposed "opposition" with the others turned out to be... basically nothing of any importance at all, given how it was dramatised in the trailers and so on.
I am fond of many of them, but I'm very strongly in favour of retiring characters, concepts or anything else before they start to become stale, and unfortunately we're very much at this stage with those guys... Just because I like a character doesn't mean I want to see them pop up everywhere all the time when it doesn't really have a point to it. I dunno. Doesn't seem like they're going to drop it, though...
I'm going to continue the rest of my thoughts in a separate post since it involves more specific spoilers for the later half of the story.
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