#like it has a theme and character arcs and multiple plot points

[lu-is-not-ok]

How it feels to be T minus six months away from being thrown into The Chamber which is awfully Red.

Anyway, I'm going to take this opportunity to make some Canto 8 predictions before the Roadmap drops for fun.

Now, these are a mix of theories that have been brewing within me since the game's launch and some stuff that hit me extremely recently. I'm going to try to keep the most general/sane predictions at the front while the more specific/deranged takes are gonna stay at the bottom.

Enjoy.

(And just in case anyone is curious, yes, I will be making a Canto 8 bingo board after we're done with this Season's Intervallos.)

Canto 8 Name Predictions:

The Disillusioned / The Disenchanted (Reference to either Land of Illusion or the fairy Disenchantment from DOTRC)

The Indebted (Reference to the Debt of Tears from DOTRC)

The Cycle Continuing (Matching the Canto 7 format of misleading you into thinking it's a description of the plot when it's actually describing the Sinner as well - Sancho is trying to end the dream, she's the Dream Ending Sinner)

All The Other Predictions:

The lesson Hong Lu will have to learn is to stand up for himself against his Family.

As the Saplings of Light seem to be happening in reverse Ruina order, Hong Lu would end up being assigned Chesed. Thus far, every Sinner tied to a Sapling of Light had to learn the same lesson as the counterpart Sephirah - Heathcliff had to learn to move on from his past like Hokma, while Donqui had to learn to have hope in the future like Binah.

Chesed's arc revolved around him learning that he needs to stop lying to himself and others, and that simply following authority only contributes to perpetuating the harm they cause, so his resolution has him stand up to that authority and try to rebel. I expect Hong Lu to have to go through something similar in his Canto.

Hong Lu will Distort.

Did you really think I would forget that foreshadowing from all the way back in Hell's Chicken?

Hong Lu will be the key to the Immortality of the Mind his elders are seeking.

This would tie him directly to the theme of resurrection that him being the Jade implies, plus it would be a direct reason as to why his Family is actively looking for him - they need him for their own goals.

There will be at least One cannibal in the Jia Family.

No I am not letting go of that Canto 2 line about bitten off fingers.

The Land of Illusion will be revealed to be where one of (if not more) of the Rivers is.

DOTRC potrays the Land of Illusion as a place with notable supernatural Rivers + thematic cohesion between Land of Illusion and Hades as forms of "afterlife" (we already know one of the Rivers is named after a River of Hades).

Hong Lu will be revealed to be both Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, not in a "they merged the two characters into one for the sake of adaptation" way, but in a "this character is composed of two characters in-universe" way.

The framing and timing of the reveal of Hong Lu's name being Baoyu feels incredibly suspicious to me, to the point it actively makes me doubt that's all there is to his true identity. Plus there are multiple things about his E.G.O.s and certain writing choices that can't be explained with him Just being Baoyu.

[novlr]

Do you have any posts on turning a book into a series, and/or deciding how many books the series should be? I searched but couldn't really find anything. Im plotting my story and not sure how to split it up into how many books if I decide it's too much for a stand alone. Do I just go with trilogy? Thought there are many authors who have like 5-10 books. How do I know?

The choice between writing a standalone novel or committing to develop a series isn’t always straightforward. While some stories naturally lend themselves to multiple books, others work best as self-contained narratives. So what do you have to think about to actually make these decisions?

Signs your story might work better as a series

Complex worldbuilding

If you’ve built an intricate fictional world with multiple cultures, magic systems, or technological innovations that you can’t fully explore in a single book without overwhelming readers, you might have series potential.

Multiple major story arcs

When you have several significant plotlines that feel rushed or cramped into one book, or story threads that naturally extend beyond your story’s major conflict, this could show series potential.

Character development opportunities

If your characters have growth trajectories that would feel unrealistic or rushed within a single book, or if you have multiple interesting characters whose stories deserve more content, a series might be best.

Scope of conflict

Stories with conflicts that escalate naturally or reveal larger implications beyond the initial problem often work well as series.

Signs your story might work better as a standalone

Single central conflict

If your story revolves around one main conflict that can be satisfyingly resolved in a single book, it might be better as a standalone.

Focused character arc

When your protagonist’s journey has a clear beginning, middle, and end that rarely spawns new questions or conflicts, consider keeping it standalone.

Contained story world

If your world-building serves the immediate story without requiring extensive exploration of other aspects, it might not need expansion into a series.

Thematic resolution

When your theme can be fully explored and resolved in one book, forcing it into a series might dilute its impact and spread the story too thin to remain interesting.

How to decide the number of books

If you’ve decided your story would work better as a series, consider these factors when deciding length:

Natural breaking points: Look for places where your story has significant shifts in conflict, setting, or character development.

Story complexity: More complex narratives might need more books to do justice to all the elements.

Market considerations: While you shouldn’t write for marketing alone, if you plan to publishing, be aware that publishers and audiences often prefer certain series lengths for different genres.

Story structure: Some narratives naturally fall into traditional structures:

Trilogy (three acts)

Duology (two-part story)

Quartet (four interconnected arcs)

Longer series (episodic adventures or expanding scope)

Questions to ask yourself

Can your story be told effectively in one book without sacrificing depth or rushing important elements?

Do you have enough material for multiple books without resorting to filler?

Are your subplots and secondary characters strong enough to sustain reader interest across multiple books?

Does each potential book have its own complete arc while contributing to the larger story?

Are you personally invested enough in the world and characters to spend years developing multiple books?

Remember that there’s no universally “right” answer. Some stories that started as standalone books often grow into series (think crime series that tell self-contained stories but use the same protagonist throughout), while others that originally released as series are often condensed into a single volume for a better reader experience (like Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Quartet, or Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series).

Let your story guide you. Don’t force a standalone into a series just because series are popular, and don’t compress a story that needs room to breathe just to fit it into one book. Focus on telling your story in the most effective way possible, and the right format will often become clear during the writing process.

Whether you choose to write a standalone book or a series, make sure each book can stand on its own merits while serving the larger story you want to tell.

[elainsgirl]

Hello. Feysand stan here. And elriels are like my younger siblings so I'm coming to the defence. Antis just don't understand writing, it's really that simple. They don't understand writing as a craft. Writing isn't vibes on paper. It's a narrative told through themes, symbolism, character arcs etc. And, most often, it's not even difficult to pick up on. Because, most often, it isn't supposed to be a mystery to unravel. You're supposed to be able to follow along. Its not a TikTok jump scare for brains whose attention spans have been fried and need constant plot twists to even keep their eyes open.

When antis say "previous books don't matter" and "anything could happen! We dont know what sjm will write!" Then all there is to say is "no". Elriels are just way too kind about this (to no one's surprise, because it's really no surprise that the fans of the most gentle characters of the series would be too reasonable for their own good). You know you have the whole narrative on your side.

Writing isn't "anything goes". Its not about what is theoretically possible. Theoretically, SJM could write acotar 6 from the POV of Andras in the afterlife. But that is an uninteresting argument. Because it's not about what's theoretically possible but about what has been set up through all the literary devices at a writer's disposal. And you actually don't even have to know a single thing about writing, and you still will pick up on it. That's how it goes. That's why little kids read Harry Potter and aren't surprised by the general direction of the story. That's why people read Fourth Wing without going all shocked pikachu face when Violet and Xaden end up together.

How insulting is it to say that sjm is so incompetent she spent a decade working on acotar and yet never was there a coherent narrative she built? All is vibes and plot twist taken from a random plot twist generator. That's what they sound like they think writing is. Just no. Its not "anything can happen". Its "what's been set up to happen will happen". And that is so obviously Elriel. And FINALLY. They've been stuck in that basement getting hot and heavy in silence for too long (that's hot though).

So, from one Feyre to all the Elains out there, the next time someone says "we don't know what sjm will write, anything could happen!" The answer should simply be "NO".

awe 💞

and I couldn’t agree more. Antis either read too depply into things missing the point or dont read deel enough, again, missing the point. They dont understand foreshadowing, build up, parallels, patterns etc. They don’t understand that with certain books especially fantasy series - things are layered. Plot, relationships and characters themselves all have multiple layers that are building up towards something. For antis it feels like all their takes are surface level and they try to come up with all these messed up, wrong, interpretations to sound clever and pretend they know what they’re talking about - but anyone with decent reading comprehension and understanding of writing as a craft can see right through their bs.

Everything about acotar is obvious. Elriel is meant to be obvious. Its right there in your face. Yes it is cliche but its meant to be. Mass has been so clear with the direction of the series - had laid it all out as clear as day it’s genuinely so shocking to see antis miss it every single time.

Im sorry, unless an author wants to be known as fickle or hasn’t foreshadowed it enough - they would never switch up 180 all of a sudden with no warning in the text. Mass has foreshadowed multiple things throughout the series and its all coming together book by book. We do know what will happen, Mass clearly states it in the books. Her foreshadowing in acowar, especially romantic pairings has been consistent for 3 books. She’s not going to throw all that away for a couple that - in comparison…has no foreshadowing to be together. Nothing tangible holding them together. Az can leave training and thats it. No more gwynriel interactions and it doesn’t disrupt the current flow of the series.

exactly, most books are predictable. You should be able to pick up on where the story is going, whose ending up together and the effect literary devices have. “Elain and Az are too obvious!” Yes they’re meant to be, you’re literally picking up the clues Mass is putting down. Obvious and predictability isnt bad writing and I wish more people understood this.

Mass has spent the past decade crafting this narrative of fate and destiny coming together. 3 sisters, each perfectly matching with 3 brothers isn’t some random coincidence Mass came up with. Its an intentional choice, its significant- it shows they where always meant to find each other and help each other fix whatever issues are present in the series. Not anything can happen. What happens in the next book has to flow and make sense with the previous book/series - as each book carries an overall plot. Very specific set of events that Mass has left clues for will happen in each book leading upto the big moment/event.

Elriel IS very obvious. Its in your face. By acosf, its no longer a subtle thing. Mass wants you to notice Elain and Azriel. She wants you to pair them together. The next couple isnt some mystery. Mass has kept elriel in the basement for so long but that just means a lot of thought went into their book and hopefully its one of the best books Mass has ever written.

so yh. When someone says “anything can happen” - its valid to disagree with them bcs no. Not anything can happen.

[evilkitten3]

#i think mdr also doesnt rlly care abt younger ppl's opinions sdffggfds#he's like. old man shakes his fist at a cloud#he is so OLD and i think he believes that its part of why he must be right#like ... he has all this experience. he has lived an extensive life#tried and failed to make 'teamwork' (cooperation) work#so for him it is. it seems naive probably of naruto to believe that this would work#(it is notable tho that he SEES that the shinobi villages are cooperating. he mentions this Twice actually the other time is#right after his edo tensei resurrection. its the very first thing he remarks upon being faced w the alliance#that theyre all wearing the same headbands but they seem to be coming from different villages#this kind of .. does blow his mind. but its too late for him to take on a new ideology Now ^_^#he has to go thru with it. he's so smart and so sexy after all <3 he has to be right. and they must be wrong#bc he has lived and seen that any alliance will just fall apart at the end and so thats why theyre 'pathetic' at the end of the day anyway)#it is very funny tho i think asfgdfdgd#bc obt is like out there screaming and arguing with everyone. and mdr is like ummm who the fuck cares. LMAO#lets beat the shit out of each other and whomstever wins. that one's the one that has rights. and IS right w their ideology#i also do think its notable that team 7's 'teamwork' doesnt actually manage to bring him down BUT#their teamwork does lead to the defeat of kaguya. so. i feel like at the end of the day#u can still say that the teamwork/cooperation ideology is the winner here#bc they get to have a future and konoha continues to exist. whereas mdr fucking explodes and then dies. lmao#so the narrative does. still prove him wrong albeit indirectly

1000% true he only cares about opinions of the youth (hehe) when said youth can shatter his ribcage. and even then he's still more interested in getting kicked again

alternatively i think he might find it somewhat amusing that the way to get everyone to cooperate turned out to be. having them all be really really really about-to-shit-themselves scared of him (obito but that's that same thing as far as he's concerned). moreover, if the only time they can work together is when they have a common opponent, then as soon as that opponent is defeated (entirely hypothetical ofc bc he's perfect and about to become the second sage and can't be stopped ever) then they'll just. go back to fighting each other. which just proves his original point (it in fact does not, but since he never tells anyone anything there's no one who can point out the itty bitty teeny weeny gaping massive gloryhole flaws in his logic such as that. while they can't prove that that's not true. he also can't prove that it is.)

your logic concerning the narrative is technically correct but unfortunately madara operates on his own crazy caveman logic, and while team seven can do. basically jackshit to stop him, as soon as kaguya takes over, they manage to beat her, which i think madara could easily interpret as black zetsu sacrificing madara to bring back someone weaker than him (did kaguya survive maito gai? no. did she survive a living full-power hashirama? no (neither did madara but pointing that out will just make him hard again). as far as he cares, all kaguya did was show up, steal his body via black zetsu hax, and then get pummeled by three teenagers, some corpses, and obito's ex. all of whom tried and failed miserably to stop madara).

now, technically, madara is crazy so his own potential thoughts on All That should be irrelevant.... if that had been the final battle. but the final fight of the series is naruto vs sasuke, and whoever is stronger is the most correctest, ultimately just. proving madara's power-over-all stance to be the correct one (i guess you could argue that naruto worked with kurama? but. idk kurama still doesn't really have the ability to just. leave. so i would at the very least have an asterisk there, personally)

wait so, as the holders if the most and 2nd most insane naruto characters, what did madara and obito have to say about team 7 dynamics ??

As a past memeber of team 7 Obito's opinion doesn't count cause he thinks kakashi's gremlins are the only normal people in the world. I don't remember Madara saying anything on the dynamics of team 7 but I'm not an authority on the matter so I turn it over to my resident Madara Scholars @evilkitten3 and @narutoenjoyer5000

[violentlyfeverish]

what i watched in january '25

a very solid month! i got around to shows that have been high on my watchlist for a while and ultimately found some new favourites.

see your love 看見愛 (tw, 2024)

this is, without a doubt, my favourite bl from this month and now one of my favourite bls of all time.

i could write paragraphs upon paragraphs expressing the sheer fondness i have for this show and its elements. the characters are complex, romance is well-written, and the themes and conflicts about communication have satisfying arcs, making for a very fulfilling and memorable show.

the attention to detail and care put into depicting shao peng's life and feelings, zi xiang's struggles and trauma, their individual growth and change is stellar. i love the way their bond strengthens as they support each other and encourage honest self-expression, creating space to be vulnerable and acknowledged for what others disregarded in the past. i'm in awe. it's beautiful. my most sincere praise and appreciation for the entire cast and crew that worked on this show. i'm gonna go watch the behind-the-scenes and keep an eye out for everyone's future projects <3

we best love: no. 1 for you (tw, 2021)

this show's primary strengths lie in the characters and the cast.

the characters, for one, have a very compelling dynamic. shu yi's competitiveness juxtaposed with shi de's feelings is really interesting, especially as we learn more about shi de's personality. he's willing to go to great lengths for shu yi even when disliked, including the whole "blackmail" inciting incident. while it felt contrived at first, i came to find the psychology of using your one-sided crush's one-sided rivalry with you to distract and help him get over his own one-sided crush just... fascinating. i keep thinking about shi de's convoluted way of thinking and coping with the feelings he's been wrestling with for years. shu yi, on the other hand, has spent many years harbouring disdain and trying to beat shi de. he's clearly very capable, so for his side, i like to wonder how often he might win if he wasn't so fixated on shi de, if he didn't feel so insecure in his presence in combination with growing up under extreme pressures to succeed.

for the other, the two leads do a wonderful job playing their characters. i love the way sam portrays shi de's loss of control (kissing under the pool, orchestrating their night in the clinic, the "blackmail") and simultaneous repression to the point of inability to accept shu yi's reciprocated feelings. the scene where he's patching up shu yi is a stand-out, where shi de tries his best to suppress the hurt and overwhelm from feeling like everything is unraveling. his micro-expressions and physicality -- downcast eyes and purposely-casual mannerisms -- are so, so good. i was also completely taken by yu's delivery throughout the show. there were multiple times i rewound specific sentences, especially during the bridge scene, to follow how he said his lines and the reaction they elicited. yu's facial expressions, the way he says 'i like you' then throws down his bag in defiance so he can prove he loves shi de are so striking. that whole scene is honestly marvelous, with every possible emotion playing out on shi de's face as he processes shu yi's confession and shu yi getting emotional again before says he wants this to count as shi de's first kiss.

too good.

we best love: fighting mr. 2nd (tw, 2021)

i have a lot to say about the second season.

i have some grievances with the plot, but my biggest issue is with shu yi's dad. the show wanted us to laugh at his silly antics, but they were juxtaposed with genuinely cruel, abusive things he'd done. it felt like they wanted a dramatic obstacle keeping shi de and shu yi apart, but then inexplicably still wanted him to be a likeable character? mind-boggling and very sloppy. he had potential to be a serious cause of distress, further fleshing out aspects of shu yi's childhood, like the pressures to live up to high expectations and i'm just gonna imagine that's what we got instead of a shockingly wishy-washy and frustrating character.

aside from that, while my problems with the root of the conflict persist, i must say the conflict itself is... really, really excellent.

the tension, the desire, the heart-wrenching familiarity and longing after so much time apart... it's no wonder they went with such a premise even when the set-up fell apart under scrutiny and honestly -- despite its faults -- i still love this season because of that. all the strengths from the first season continue, especially the lead actors, who are at the top of their game. just absolutely hitting it out of the park. and, since i knew what to look out for this time, i was able to enjoy their performances even more. their unexpected reunion had me holding my breath, their flashbacks hurt my heart, and i couldn't take my eyes off the screen when shi de showed up drunk, fully about to lose control. everything from the dialogue to the details of their micro-expressions is so well-done, and i love how yu portrays shu yi's barely-restrained anger giving in. throughout the whole season, it's a treat to see how he attempts to shield himself, build a facade of indifference that clashes with his innate honesty so hard it doesn't fool shi de for even a second.

overall, every bit of energy and effort is poured into their making moments truly glitter. and it really pays off. the sweetness, the domesticity, the callbacks and full-circle scenes are all incredibly effective. i wish some parts of the plot had received the same treatment, but i'll take what i can get. i love 'em.

the time of fever (kr, 2024)

i'm... not exactly sure how to word my thoughts on this.

everything from cinematography to dialogue to symbolism and characterisation is so, so carefully and thoughtfully put together. it truly feels like a meditative character study focused on one of my favourite pairs of all time, along with one of my favourite types of dynamics: fraught and fragile, full of uncertainty while at the same time harbouring strong familiarity.

there's technically not much plot, but i really admire how this series lays their foundation. i went back to watch their scenes from unintentional love story and now i keep thinking about what may have happened during those two years. it's crazy how i find musing about even the most mundane moments in their relationship super, super interesting. also, that orange scene changed my life.

light on me (kr, 2021)

this immediately became one of my favourite kbls/bls set in high school. each character is given time and care to develop, the romances are all fleshed-out, and i was blown away by how well-written the dynamic and interactions between the four friends are. the latter is the best part of the show, in my opinion; i loved seeing all of their unique interactions especially when sohee is no longer an antagonist -- i really liked her and shiwoon's love/hate friendship. shiwoon's entire character is a treat, tbh.

overall, a wholesome show with a love triangle done interestingly, care and consideration for every single character, and a final get-together that's really, really adorable.

to my star* (kr, 2021)

this is one of my favourite easier watches and i can see it becoming a comfort show. it requires some suspension of disbelief, but i adore the main couple and their story, how they grow closer during moments like cooking together. their touches and gestures of affection still feel like a gut-punch -- jiwoo immediately bringing taejoon's thumb to his mouth when he gets a cut, for example -- and my soft spot for loud, confident characters having underlying fragility is definitely indulged.

our dating sim (kr, 2023)

... i can't believe i forgot to include this show when it was one of my favourite shorter series this month. i love thinking about it.

the comedy hits, the characters are interesting, and their extensive history is really heart-wrenching especially when we get the revelations that we do during my favourite scene. in it, they're walking around, constantly in motion, telling each other how they feel and what the separation was like on their end. it's lighthearted but grounded. heavy emotions simmer underneath, but come to the surface in moments like ki tae alluding to having loved lee wan for over seven years.

their body language and mannerisms are just really effective, and now i want to rewatch so i can re-enjoy their unexpected (for lee wan, at least) reunion. highly recommend. cute ensemble cast and very compelling lead dynamic.

the eighth sense* (kr, 2023)

this was the first show i watched this year. as a sucker for fraught, fragile relationships, i think this is a pretty solid drama that delivers on touching moments that feel both grounded and earned.

my love mix-up!* (jp, 2024)

this was my second time watching this show. while i had some mild reservations about the story, i had a lot of fun with moments like the two eating lunch on the rooftop and ida defending aoki in front of everyone.

i hear the sunspot (jp, 2024)

this is my most recent watch. i have somewhat mixed feelings on it.

on one hand, i appreciate the attention to specific detail and attempt to include representation of different deaf and HoH people. as someone who's tired of the sole female character being the forced 'villain', i'm also at least glad she doesn't fall for kohei and create a love triangle. i actually really liked her character once that became apparent; her brief moments with taichi where they challenge each other's perspectives were thought-provoking and it made me wish we got better, more fleshed out friendships as a whole.

on the other hand, while the romantic resolution felt rushed, i still really liked taichi and kohei's relationship. taichi's efforts to help kohei, their mutual insecurity that they'd be abandoned once they're no longer of use, and the scenes where kohei signs he loves taichi and overhears him talking in the film club room are genuinely really sweet. taichi's empathy, validation of kohei's bottled feelings, and kohei's encouragement of taichi's outspoken personality were really heartwarming.

overall, i do have some hang-ups, but i definitely walk away with more to appreciate. there are a lot of fond moments that give me the warm and fuzzies, and i'm glad i watched.

a man who defies the world of bl (jp, 2021)

this is less a bl, more a comedic satire of its tropes and fans. i'll be honest, i watched this one at my sleepiest and more delirious, but i can still recall several moments i genuinely burst out laughing e.g. the mc yelling to stop the dialogue leading to a meet-cute, his exaggerated facial expressions, and just the absurdity of being in this world where guys are falling in love left and right based on nothing.

the ending is also pretty cute. i liked how we manage to get some development in the relationship, which sweetened the conclusion without feeling like too much of a departure from the original tone.

* indicates a rewatch

[utilitycaster]

This question is entirely in good faith: I’m currently watching campaign 2 for the first time, and you’ve said multiple times that you are a mighty nein girlie above all else. I am enjoying it, I think it’s fun and characters are great. But I find myself preferring campaign 1 more. I know this is a minority opinion as everyone loves campaign 2, but I just can’t really find myself embracing it the same way. What is it that draws you about the MN?

So I do want to preface this with the statement that I think it’s extremely valid to prefer Campaign 1 to Campaign 2. Plenty of people whom I respect do! The Mighty Nein happen to appeal to a lot of my sensibilities specifically but I don’t expect it to appeal to everyone else in the same way.

I also want to note that while it's true Campaign 2 is the fan favorite, firstly, the correct response if you prefer something that isn't the fan favorite is to commend yourself on rarified taste, and secondly, statistics are a funny thing. It's worth remembering that what you see as the Critical Role Active Fandom mostly doesn't include people who dearly loved Campaign 1, didn't like Campaign 2, and drifted away entirely in 2018; whereas people who loved C2 and didn't click with C3 are a little more likely to be around just because it's been less time and because there's more non-main-campaign stuff to hang around for (ie, people who haven't kept up with C3 might still have watched EXU Calamity or Downfall, or might be interested in Midst or Candela stuff, or are hanging out for TLOVM/Nein Animated reasons). You are not seeing Every Person Who Ever Liked Critical Role; you're seeing this segment in time.

ANYWAY. Getting to the actual point, I think Campaign 2 is my favorite because I think I take a fairly holistic view of fiction. I have my favorite characters and ships and themes and all that, but it is difficult for me to enjoy something if I don't enjoy a significant portion of it. I can't just watch for one blorbo, because the character should feel deeply rooted in a world, and have a plot that engages with who they are. This is what drew me to D&D and actual play in the first place!

Campaign 2 is the CR campaign that, in my opinion, achieves this to the highest degree. Hilariously, if you see the campaigns as a trilogy, while usually the middle of a trilogy gets slammed for being all moving pieces and no resolution, that actually works out great for a D&D game. Campaign 1 had the responsibility of introducing an entire world that was being built as the game went on (and introducing the players to TTRPGs); Campaign 3 is the realization of all that plot set up. Campaign 2 gets to explore, build out the world, and delve into characters who are inextricable from their setting, and that's what I love.

I started with Campaign 2, but decided to start catching up on Campaign 1 concurrently as I watched C2 week to week, and I started this quite early and finished C1 in about 4-5 months, and I happen to remember that I watched C2 episode 12 and an early Briarwoods Arc C1 episode back to back, and at the time, I preferred Campaign 1. Campaign 1 has its rocky starts, but the cast had already found their characters (even if the mechanics were being ironed out still) and there were very clear tasks. Early Campaign 2, while I still enjoy it, has a lot of milling about and aimless fucking around, and, understandably, the cast is still figuring a lot out. If you put, say, the Nein in Alfield next to Vox Machina at the Briarwoods Banquet? Yeah, one of these is stronger.

The thing is, that aimless fucking around led to character moments, which is the absolute heart of why the Nein are my favorites, and why I think many others love them as well. Without a clear mission or benefactor, this party had to figure out an identity and what they wanted to do, and in doing so, we got incredible moments between pretty much every party member. Vox Machina has no shortage of incredible conversations, but, for example, Keyleth and Scanlan just straight up don't interact one-on-one very much. You can't point to something like that in the Nein. I also think the fact that none of the characters knew each other terribly well helped with this. I've brought that up to contrast with the bonds in Campaign 3; it's not a bad thing to have a person your character comes in with and knows well, but much as I adore a twins conversation, the reason those conversations are so good are because Vex and Vax both spend a lot of time with other people as well. With the Mighty Nein, everyone has to do that because really, with Yasha gone half the time and then with Molly's death early on, we've got Fjord and Jester (have known each other like a month longer than anyone else) and Caleb and Nott (six-ish months and they're both hiding a lot.)

I really do get if people prefer that Vox Machina has two clear missions (with plenty of fuck around time built in) to start, the show-stopping Briarwoods arc next, and then the Chroma Conclave, especially watching after the fact - I am not sure how C2 is if you binge it vs. watch week to week, and it may suffer from a binge watch whereas C1 honestly might benefit. But the payoff is so great; you do not get the interpersonal relationships the Nein eventually have with each other without that early need for them to set their own direction.

Moving on from there, I love the setting of Wildemount and how much slow travel there is (which, to be fair, Vox Machina didn't have because that was all pre-stream; the Nein started teleporting at level 9 and Campaign 1 starts with the party at level 8). I love, as I mentioned, how tied to the continent everyone is and how relevant that is to most of their stories. I do think Molly's abrupt and unfair death early in the story is a crucial part of who the Nein are, and serves as a defining moment that is impossible to replicate but is very meaningful to me.

Also, and this is getting into some very idiosyncratic stuff: I love wizards and clerics and paladins and we get all those. I like gruff or overly formal characters with tragic backstories and good hearts and that's most of the party (unsurprisingly, Vex and Percy, in that order, are my favorite VM members). As someone who is constantly fighting the "Dump WIS not INT" fight, the fact that the Mighty Nein is fairly smart and has multiple characters specifically interested in history and politics and lore is right up my alley (the twins and Percy and Scanlan in C1 serve a similar purpose, and the fact that C3 doesn't have anyone really like this...shows).

I also like that the Mighty Nein are never famous, and I think some people don't like that. For all they are heroes of the Dynasty and end up with connections in the Empire, they aren't council members or tied to anyone specific, and this floating mercenary nature means they are setting their own pace. The only part where I think things get frustrating after some of the rockier early days is when they're hunting down Obann, and that's only a few episodes. While Molly's death is a defining moment, what is honestly a more defining moment is a few episodes earlier, when they decide against the multiple institutionally-backed job offers and decide to take a couple of jobs that will get them out of the city. I think it was jarring for people used to Vox Machina, with their duties to the council of Tal'Dorei, who dedicated a third of their campaign to saving the continent from dragons; but the Mighty Nein's greatest duty is always to each other and to becoming better people. The focus is always on them. Yes there are fetch quests, yes there are NPCs who give them some unavoidable tasks, and yes people use the term "player agency" in weird ways all the time; but the Mighty Nein are, I think, the zenith of what a player agency driven campaign can be. The story is, above all else, theirs and theirs alone.

I don't know if there will be a Campaign 4 - I'm a bit more sanguine about the prospect than I was earlier in C3 - but for what it's worth I don't think Campaign 2 is irreplicable. Or rather, it can't be replicated, obviously, but I think they could do another campaign that is deeply tied to its setting and lets the party choose their own adventure in the same way. It just takes a little more prep up front, and a little more flexibility once it actually starts. If there is a campaign 4, I really hope they do it in that same style.

[dragonfromthewoodlands]

Sonic Movie 3: It's Not About Shadow

I am probably going to catch hate anons for this, but I've promised a few different people that I'll post one. So, here's your spoiler warning for Sonic Movie 3, and also a warning that this is going to be Long.

Getting my personal feelings about this movie out of the way first- it feels like a dramatized AU someone wrote. It had fun moments, and it had scenes that were done very well! But even if I take a look at the movie from that perspective, ignoring the canon from the game it supposedly drew so much inspiration from, ignoring the games that came after and Shadow's canonical lore, the movie has plot holes in its own canon. My personal views are that the movie did Shadow's entire story and supporting cast wrong. The only good part about it was Maria's innocence, and even she had her story nuked. I'll get into that later.

Let's start where the movie does, with comparing Sonic and Shadow. Sonic states that he doesn't know where he'd be without his family, and the movie cuts to Shadow waking up from stasis. This is a part that I both really liked and at the same time feel iffy about.

The cinematic choice of doing a flashback to Maria playing the baseline of Live & Learn as Shadow wakes up was perfect. The song's message about learning from what happened and living on anyway was essential to Shadow's character arc in Sonic Adventure 2, essential to closing out a story in which a character that is always hunting the truth realizes that what he thought was the truth was actually a lie. The Sonic Adventure games' final boss themes, both Open Your Heart and Live & Learn felt like they were messages from Sonic to the respective characters of Chaos and Shadow. Chaos opened his heart and it was alright. Shadow may never find his way, but he lives and he learns.

At the same time, Sonic isn't that kind of character. He's a kind person that never opted for revenge until it was his only choice in the world, and even then he would never take that route. The movie addressed this in the end, but it drew a dynamic that just... isn't there. The comics, whether it was Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog both before the Sega Genesis Wave and after, or if it's IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, have had multiple instances where other characters press Sonic to kill Eggman. They bring up the traumas he's gone through and the crimes Eggman has done, the fact that Eggman killed people- and Sonic always, without fail, says that there has to be another way. Not just Eggman, either- Sonic does this for everyone. Emerl. Shadow. Merlina. Silver. Metal Sonic. It's been beaten into our heads time and time again that Sonic doesn't take revenge.

Shadow escapes from Prison Island, and here's another beat that I actually really liked about the movie. Shadow moves like a speed skater. I've had my issues with the updated way Shadow skates and how cartoony it is, and usually when I play the other games I preferentially look for mods that make Shadow skate like he did in SA2 because the little scoot scoot is so silly. SA2's animation looked fluid and natural in comparison.

Skipping ahead a little bit, another beat that was on-point for Shadow's characterization was when Sonic's team and Shadow meet for the first time. Shadow doesn't attack until he is pushed. That's not who he is. He just wants to be left alone and to process for a minute.

That is accurate. Without a driving force (Maria's promise, Rouge hunting for treasure, Eggman messing around with Emerl, the Black Arms invasion), Shadow spent his first few games just trying to process. We like to make fun of him and call it brooding, but when he's standing there with his arms crossed he's thinking. When Shadow gets a moment of peace- on board the ARK after saving Rouge, on the ship up to the ARK with Sonic- Shadow is going through the information in his mind and trying to make sense of it. He won't take an attack lying down, but he isn't going to just beat someone up for standing there.

And that's where Sonic Movie 3 stops feeling like it cares about Shadow as a character or his dynamic with Sonic. To explain that, I have to talk about Gerald Robotnik and Maria.

Stepping back for a moment, I spoke with someone who did not know the "deep" lore or anything really about the characters' backstory. They loved the movie and said it was enjoyable, and I agree that it was enjoyable. There were a lot of funny ha ha moments and witty lines. They also said that they agreed with my complains, but it didn't affect them as much because they weren't a die-hard Sonic fan.

I have a problem with that statement.

I try to avoid using the term "ableist" as much as possible, since I am not physically disabled and have no claims outside of mental health problems, but the simple truth is that the movie erased Maria's illness. Maria Robotnik was terminally ill. That's why Shadow was created in the first place. He wasn't a government project or an alien from space, he was something created as a medical cure.

This isn't something small in part for Shadow's backstory, it's a major point to his character. It's as major a part for Shadow as it is for Amy to admire Sonic, or for Knuckles to protect the Master Emerald. It's part of the entire plot of Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow would do anything for Maria, and her dying wish is his driving force in the subsequent games. He fully believes that the reason he has to destroy the planet is because Maria wished it. The only reason he stops the ARK from crashing into the planet is because the truth is that Maria didn't wish for that.

Sonic Movie 3 erases that critical aspect of Maria, of her being so kind that she would sacrifice herself for the sake of the very thing that was supposed to save her. It erases her disability. And it erases her dying wish. She just dies.

(By the way, you can find most of this out from the Wiki pages. I don't feel like this is about me being a die-hard Sonic fan so much as it is that the creators of the movie made a conscious choice to remove these critical aspects in favor of Ivo's story. You could argue that Sonic has also had many, many different versions of his backstory, including the one that movieverse has, but I will also reply to you that not in the universe in which Sonic was a ghostly force of good erased the presence of someone's disability.)

The lack of Maria's wish would normally be interesting to me, since Shadow now would have no direction to go off of, but the distinct shift in Gerald's character and the alteration of Shadow's backstory had me struggling throughout the movie. There's nothing of Gerald's original character present. The only similarities between Gerald Robotnik from the games and the Gerald Robotnik in the movie are the name and the fact that he was a scientist.

I know, Ivo is also very different from game Ivo. Like Sonic, we've had many different iterations of Eggman. The old Eggman from SaTAM and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was called Julian Robotnik, or even just "Doctor Robotnik." There was even a period in the old Archie comics where Eggman died (issue #50) and had to be replaced with a Julian from another universe for the sake of balance. A lot of the changes over the years were due to either lawsuits (thanks, Penders) or continuity problems, but the comics generally tried to follow the game canon.

But, again, the movie's directors were trying to follow Sonic Adventure 2, so we have to take a deeper look at who Gerald was. And Gerald wasn't kooky from the get-go, nor was he kooky when he was hell-bent on revenge.

Gerald Robotnik wanted to help mankind. He was one of the greatest scientists known, which was why he was asked to lead Project Shadow, a project to discover means to immortality. He wanted to use this as an opportunity to cure Maria. His first attempt produced the Biolizard. He managed to make Shadow after the intervention of Black Doom offering his own DNA. He realized his mistake and recorded a video of himself to eventually help Shadow when the Black Arms came back, but he was always trying to help mankind. He even gave Shadow a "heart" and a "soul" modeled after Maria's in hopes that Shadow would never become a tool for mass destruction. It was Maria's death that changed his personality from a kind old man to bitter and vengeful. He even says in his diary that losing control of his mind scared him.

Movie Gerald is just Movie Ivo, but older. He's insane from the get-go. The man is shallow and emotionally manipulative, playing as a kind of Deadpool-like character as the actor makes blatant references to the fourth wall. We get no explanation of his relationship with Maria other than he "brings her everywhere" and him telling Ivo that he is "no Maria." The subtleties of how he went insane are lost and his brilliancy in creating life is thrown to the wind in favor of the script just telling us that he's smart and that he supposedly loved Maria so much he wants to destroy the world.

There's no Space Colony ARK- that Gerald designed- with the Eclipse Cannon that was designed to destroy the Black Comet. There's no Black Arms or illness at all in the movie- Shadow is just a creature from a "black comet" and the term "the Ultimate Lifeform" is just a throwaway comment. Gerald's devotion and brilliancy is undermined in favor of cheap jokes and a frankly really strange montage between an actor and himself.

Once again, Maria's character- and Shadow's backstory- are reduced. We get more time going into Ivo's feelings than we do about any of the nuance that was in the original work.

Which leads me to the title of this rant: Sonic Movie 3 was not about Shadow the Hedgehog, it was about Ivo Robotnik.

We've been watching Ivo's journey from movie 1. Ivo is working for the government as a brilliant man, but everyone else sees him as a "dumpster fire." He's crazy, he's got no respect for others, and he has a sidekick that he doesn't really treat as a person but still somehow has a very sexually tense relationship with.

(I don't care what you say, nobody straight pins themself to a wall with a gasp like Stone does.)

Ivo outright states that he got bullied in school. Nobody likes him, so he lashes out at the world. With no one to talk to at the end of the movie, he starts descending into madness, where he's at with movie 2. Neato, they gave his mustache a backstory. He's back purely for revenge in movie 2, because he's lost his home and his position now too. We start movie 3 with Ivo's paunch having backstory, because he's fallen into a depressive state. He has no money, no power, no fame, and all of one person that hasn't left his side, and on top of that, the cause of his downfall shows up in the one place he can stay, which has to have caused him no end of emotional rollercoasters.

The movie then leads us on a story beat for Ivo. Someone wants his technology, someone thinks it's useful. (Hang in there, Stone.) It's been stated multiple times over the past few movies that Ivo has no family, which makes the appearance of his grandfather a pretty poignant moment for him.

Or. It would be. If it wasn't so weirdly done. I know, I know, I'm harping on a movie made for kids. But they could have made it fun while keeping the intricacies, and for all the hype, I personally was disappointed.

Again, this removes a lot of Eggman's canon dynamics with his family. In Sonic Frontiers, Eggman's diary entries talk about how he felt about his grandfather and how he never knew his cousin Maria. Sonic Adventure 2's Eggman states that he used to look up to his grandfather, and his plan for the ARK and Project Shadow just made Gerald look even more brilliant to Eggman. He is canonically attention-starved from his own family.

After a montage of Ivo finally having a grandfather, someone who needs his genius and thinks he is smart, we see a story beat about a neglected person realizing their true friend was right beside them all along. Stone doesn't give up on him the entire movie even though Ivo throws him aside because his grandfather could do him no wrong. Then at the end he realizes how insane Gerald is, that he doesn't want the planet destroyed- which is canon to SA2- and chooses to save it, even if it costs him his life.

This is more set up than the entirety of Shadow's story. The actor's dynamic with himself is focused on quite a bit, and with the additional phenomenal sad puppy eyes of Agent Stone's actor we have the kicked aside supporting cast we need. Of all the character "deaths" in the movie, Ivo is also the only one mourned for.

I'm bitter about that. But my personal feelings are another rant.

This is why Sonic Movie 3 is not an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. It is not a story about Shadow, or a way to set him up as a man-made powerhouse to contrast against Sonic's force of nature. It's a story about the Ivo Robotnik of the movieverse and his emotional journey with family.

There's so much more I want to say. I want to complain about how they only used Live & Learn for about five seconds, about how the stars twinkled on the moon, about Shadow not being mourned at the end despite the unskippable cutscene after the Finalhazard fight in SA2, about Tails the sweet 8 year old child cheering as an old man gets launched into what's basically a nuclear reactor-

But that's another rant, and if you've made it this far you're probably tired of reading for the minute. I'm doing my best not to bash the movie as it is.

All in all, I am glad I went to see it. But it is not Sonic Adventure 2. And I'm currently coping by envisioning it as a dramatized AU.

I look forward to deleting the hate comments from my inbox.

[aroaceleovaldez]

hi

tyson's actor has been announced

thoughts on that? i remember you talking about tyson's down syndrome coding and the way there's a big chance of being portrayed in an ableist way

I already talked about my main thoughts on Tyson's casting [here] but in summary - yeah, no, confidence is not inspired right now. I had mentioned before that if they didn't cast an actor with down syndrome for Tyson I cannot see it going well no matter what, and given how s1 handled disability themes (aka erasing the majority of references to adhd/dyslexia and other disabilities, turning Sally into an autism speaks mom, etc) I doubt they're going to reference Tyson's down syndrome coding at all, which is disappointing on multiple levels.

A.) His entire character and the arcs relating to his character, particularly his relationship with Percy and Percy's character development in SoM are ALL surrounding Tyson having down syndrome and themes of grappling with ableism. SoM is supposed to be where we solidly establish Percy as a character who stands up for other marginalized kids, particularly other disabled kids, and if you remove Tyson's down syndrome then that entire aspect of the story goes up in smoke - which is a problem because disability themes are central and core to the entire series. You can't remove them without ruining the basis of the entire plot, because it's disability metaphors all the way down. If by some miracle they do try to keep his disability coding, the casting right now at all levels point to it turning out horribly - firstly they've cast an abled actor to play a disabled character - not cool! Especially given down syndrome is not usually an invisible disability - like I give leeway to adhd/dyslexic casting because it really doesn't affect anything at all. It'd be nice but ultimately nothing is different really - But something like this is significantly more important. Secondly, because we know from the casting call that they're keeping the "Tyson is 'actually' a little kid" (< actually part of his down syndrome coding - it's an outdated medical concept from the 2000s which is very ableist so already not looking great that they kept that) them casting a nearly 30 year old for a character who is supposed to be in Percy's grade (Percy being 13) just sounds like a horrible set-up for a very ableist portrayal.

B.) Based on how s1 went, recent books in the franchise, and this casting, the more likely route is they're going to erase Tyson's disability coding entirely and likely replace it with Tyson being a "himbo" character. I was talking with the TA server about this and apparently according to some of them Daniel Diemer in The Half Of It very much gave off the vibe that with his Tyson casting they're going to go the "himbo" route. Which would make sense given in like TOA, TSATS, and CoTG it seems like Rick learned what a "himbo" is and has been trying to shoehorn that character archetype into everything. Also in recent books Rick has just completely started erasing or ignoring disability themes, including applying ableist tropes to characters instead (Percy being a goofy lazy idiot who dislikes school, Nico being infantilized, Annabeth's disabilities basically being entirely erased, etc etc). Suffice to say it's not looking good I'm not happy about it! :T

Like, in all, I'm sure Daniel Diemer is a great actor. I'm not accusing him of being ableist or anything. (Now, Disney? maybe.) But I am really disappointed in this casting and there is literally no way Disney can justify it. Like, what, "he's tall and Tyson is supposed to be tall?" Character height has literally never been a factor for any other casting and it absolutely is not relevant at all for Tyson. The majority of casting so far has been blind casting (save for age for the most part) - why is it suddenly so important now for Tyson's height of all things? When there are SIGNIFICANTLY more important aspects of his character to be casting for? So far it seems the only casting they've actually paid attention to disability with is Hephaestus with Timothy Omundson, which is nice, but one out of A Lot is not great given this is the disability series! We really should not be getting this many abled actors playing disabled characters (and DEFINITELY not be getting this much erasure of disabled and disable-coded characters - Grover's muscular disease, lack of references to adhd/dyslexia, erasure of Percy's PTSD, etc. Chiron's disability being brought from coding to explicit is nice, but they couldn't be bothered to actually cast a disabled actor for it too? Honestly I wouldn't even mind some of the abled casting as much if they actually bothered to acknowledge the disability themes at all!). And this is a trend so far because Disney has also completely neglected casting plus-sized actors for plus-sized characters in the series (INCLUDING TYSON). It generally just reeks of Disney being afraid to cast anybody but able-bodied skinny actors as much as possible, or at the very least being completely unwilling to touch upon the disability themes of the series - which is stupid, given it's the entire basis of the series.

tl;dr: I have exactly zero faith in s2.

[amuseoffyre]

Thinking about the current series of Who again in the context of the overall arc beginning with the Toymaker episode and the running thread of media and self-awareness within the show.

The Toymaker set things in motion with Stookie Bill, invading and overpowering the world through the very first television broadcast and "if the very first image has been hiding in every screen ever since, sneaking into your head, carving a wave and waiting", wouldn't something like that leave a mark?

We know the Toymaker has 'children' of a kind in the shape of Maestro, a creature that consumes and manipulates music. We also know a fragment of the Toymaker (eta. forgot it was the Master trapped in there) was picked up by someone/something at the end of the episode.

We also know there's something bigger than Maestro on its way - The One Who Waits.

It got me thinking about the genre jumping this season has been doing all over the place and the way different kinds of media and watching and use of media is critical to every bit of the plot.

The Church on Ruby Road - Ruby's life is very literally the subject of a television show which is the trigger for her becoming the target of the Goblins (Documentary)

Space Babies - a group of children confined in a space station with tasks and jobs and monitored by someone unseen who is watching them and will speak to them through an audio system (Big Brother)

The Devil's Chord - Centred on real musicians saving the day with a show-stopping finale significantly with "we should visit [Star Trek]", Maestro playing the Who theme music, diagetic sound being mentioned and multiple characters breaking the fourth wall, suggesting self-awareness of being part of the media (Musicals)

Boom - A dramatic war story where someone goes in search of their lost father on the battlefield spiced up with conspiracy of Big Capitalism's war profiteering (War films)

73 Yards - All the broadcast and media related elements that help Ruby piece together her role and defeat the villain of the episode without doing anything herself with all cameras pointed and focused on her - she is the object who is being watched but uses that as a weapon, turning the MP character into the subject (Horror/Fairytales)

Dot and Bubble - this one speaks for itself, really. The echo-chamber of 'influencers' sustaining themselves on a self-feeding fatuous loop of people so awful that the AI designed to protect them eats them XD (Youtube-style media)

Rogue - they're cosplaying Bridgerton. The Doctor, Rogue, Ruby, the villains. They're all cosplaying Bridgerton and say as much in the dialogue. It's a play. A drama within a drama. About watching and waiting for the narrative beats and recognising the arcs and trying to rewrite the story (Bridgerton)

Then we have the recurring character (played by Susan Twist) who appears through all of the episodes, which is what's bringing me back to Stookie Bill and the concept of someone being present inside the story from the beginning.

What if she is the one who waits? She keeps recurring in every storyline they stumble into because - like Stookie Bill - she's "hiding in every screen ever since, sneaking into your head, carving a wave and waiting".

And, because my brain makes giant leaps of logic, it made me think of the most famous icon of the BBC from back in the day: the Test Card F screen, that was put on the screen when no shows were playing. It was on screens across the world for decades. It was iconic and it was a sign to wait for your shows to come.

One who waits with a puppet and a game :D

[novlr]

I’m not sure where the heart of my story is. How do I figure out the theme of the story so I can flesh out the details (without changing my mind next week)? Do you start with a theme and build a story around it, or does the theme emerge as you write?

Themes are so personal, and different writers with different goals will approach it differently.

Many writers struggle with pinning down their themes, and it’s no wonder. Themes are deeply personal, emerging from our own experiences, beliefs, and the questions that keep us up at night.

Some writers meticulously plan their themes before writing a single word, while others discover them organically as their story unfolds. Neither approach is inherently better. Personally, I do a mixture of both. What matters is finding a process that works best for you.

What is a theme?

At its core, a theme is the central message or underlying meaning of your story. It’s what you want your readers to take away after from the story after they’ve turned the last page.

Your story’s theme is the truth or observation that your narrative explores. This can work on multiple levels:

Universal themes are the big ideas that resonate across cultures and time periods, like love, grief, redemption, power, or identity. These broad themes give your story a foundation that readers can connect with.

But themes can also be more specific and nuanced. A story about a chef might explore the theme of “food as memory,” examining how tastes and smells connect us to our past. A novel about siblings could delve into “the complexity of shared childhood trauma,” looking at how different people process the same experiences.

The most powerful stories often layer these themes, perhaps combining a universal theme like “the search for identity” with a more specific exploration of “how social media shapes modern self-expression”.

Starting with a theme

Some writers like to have their theme tied down before they write. Personally, I take a hybrid approach. I usually have a universal theme I know in advance that I want my story to cover, but I let myself discover the more specific themes as the story progresses. But I know many writers who work theme-first and develop the story around it.

Starting with a theme can be like having a compass for your narrative. It guides your creative decisions and helps you stay focused on what you want to say.

Benefits of starting with a theme

When you begin with a clear thematic intention, you gain:

A strong sense of purpose and direction.

A framework for making plot decisions.

Clear character motivations and arcs.

Natural unity across story elements.

Built-in conflict possibilities.

Focused opportunities for symbolism.

How to develop story from a theme

Let’s say you want to explore the theme of “sacrifice for family.” If you knew this in advance, you might consider the following when developing the plot. It may help you:

Create characters who embody different views on family obligation.

Design plot points that force difficult choices between personal desires and family needs.

Build a setting that reinforces the weight of family legacy.

Develop subplots that echo or contrast with your main theme.

Include symbols and motifs that reinforce ideas of family bonds.

These examples are to a specific theme, however, the same can be applied to almost anything. If you know your theme in advance, all your character, setting, and relationship decisions will combine with that knowledge so you can be targeted in how you approach them.

Making it natural

The tricky thing about having your theme fully decided before you start writing is that it can be hard to let your theme inform your story without dominating it. Your readers shouldn’t feel like they’re being taught a lesson, which can very easily happen if you overwork your theme. Instead:

Let your characters struggle with the theme in natural ways. Treat them like people and let them react to situations that way.

Allow for complexity and nuance. Not everything has to be simple or easy to understand.

Include moments that challenge or question the theme.

Balance thematic elements with a well-paced plot and character development.

Leave room for readers to draw their own conclusions. Don’t spoon feed them all the information.

Discovering your theme through writing

Letting your themes emerge naturally as you write can be like archaeology. You’re carefully uncovering the meaning buried within your own subconscious as you write. Some of the most profound themes come from this process of discovery, revealing truths you didn’t even know you wanted to explore, but it does require you to pay attention to yourself and your writing process.

A theme won’t necessarily just jump out at you. You have to be open to the process of discovery and be willing to make changes and edits when you finally settle on what you want to say.

Benefits of discovering theme

When you allow your themes to emerge naturally, you gain:

Thematic development that grows from your story, rather than building your story around it.

The freedom to explore your narrative without your own preconceptions.

Layers of meaning that surface organically.

Themes that will surprise you, and therefore will also surprise the reader.

How themes emerge through writing

If you’re letting your themes reveal themselves to you as you write, then there are some things you’ll need to pay attention to as you go. These might include:

Character decisions and their consequences.

Recurring patterns in your narrative.

Conflicts that keep appearing in different forms.

Questions your characters frequently wrestle with.

Imagery and metaphors that naturally arise.

For example, you might start writing about a character leaving their hometown, focusing on the plot and character development. As you write, you begin to notice patterns. Perhaps every major decision involves choosing between comfort and growth, or your descriptions keep returning to images of roots and wings. These patterns can reveal deeper themes about belonging, self-discovery, or the tension between stability and change.

How to recognise and develop emerging themes

Once you notice potential themes in your work, you must:

Pay attention to recurring elements in your story. Make sure you’re not overusing them, and that they form something cohesive.

Look for connections between different plot threads. If you mapped them all out, is there a unifying strand that connects them all?

Consider what questions your characters keep facing. What are there primary conflicts, and do they have any connections?

Notice patterns in your metaphors and imagery. Do you use certain imagery regularly? What does it mean to you?

Think about what draws you emotionally to certain scenes. What did you have the most fun, or the hardest time writing? Why do you think that is?

Allow yourself to explore unexpected thematic directions. Did your plot move in a direction you weren’t expecting? Is there any underlying meaning to that shift?

Practical ways to develop theme

No matter what point of your plotting or writing journey you decide to look at theme, here are some questions you should always ask:

Look to your characters: What do they want? What are they afraid of? What lessons do they learn? How do they change?

Examine your plot: What conflicts arise? What choices do your characters face? What consequences follow their actions? Are there any patterns that emerge?

Look to yourself: What subjects interest you? What questions keep you up at night? What experiences have shaped you? What beliefs drive you?

Draw from real life: What universal struggles affect you the most? Which human experiences touch you emotionally? What social issues are you passionate about? Is there any moral ambiguity you see in the world around you?

Questions to ask yourself

When developing themes, consider:

What questions does your story ask (even if there’s no clear answer)?

What truths does it reveal?

Why does this story matter?

What do you want readers to think about?

How does your story reflect human experience?

Whether you start with a theme or discover it along the way, what matters is creating a story that resonates with meaning. Trust your creative process. Whether you control the narrative completely or stay open to discovery, just make sure you have something to say.

[socra-time]

Socra’s Naruto Liveblog Ep. 91-100

(how tf are we at 100 already)

Ep 91:

-I can’t believe Tsunade is making a bet to win a 12 year old’s money

-the height difference between Jiraiya and Tsunade in the flashback is crazy

-welp I understand why Tsunade doesn’t like blood now

-Tsunade and Jiraiya have an interesting dynamic so far

-also at this point I know a little bit about Orochimaru’s and Tsunade’s pasts, but I realized that I still know virtually nothing about Jiraiya’s

Ep 92:

-can Kabuto PLEASE get an outfit change now that he’s not being a spy anymore (I just really hate his outfit lol)

-I really hope Sakura gets a cool technique to match Naruto’s rasengan and Sasuke’s chidori

-I can’t believe Tsunade actually DRUGGED Jiraiya

-Orochimaru sent Kabuto to take out Shizune but like… since his arms are useless, how does he expect to take on Tsunade if she tries to fight him????

-why would Tsunade ever expect Orochimaru to keep a promise to leave Konoha alone? There’s literally no way he would do that

-oh nevermind I guess Tsunade was gonna trick Orochimaru or something

-this is so off topic but Orochimaru’s hair kinda slays

Ep 93:

-Tsunade’s voice actor is popping off in this episode. She really sounds broken and torn up about how much she wants to see her loved ones again

-Naruto is once again having a profound positive effect on every character he meets

-I need Tsunade to kick Kabuto’s ass so bad. Fuck him up for me queen

-I like that Tsunade’s fighting style revolves around punching shit. I appreciate that even though she’s technically a medic, she’s also a physical fighter

-I said this back during the Naruto vs Kiba fight but if food pills are so helpful why aren’t people using them all the time

-Tsunade punching Kabuto in the face was satisfying as shit

-I don’t like that Kabuto was actually able to “beat” Tsunade. I know he took the food pill but WHY is he that powerful? He’s like someone’s edgy overpowered OC and my hate for his annoying ass grows with every episode he’s in

Ep 94:

-Orochimaru biting Jiraiya’s neck was uh… interesting🤨

-Kabuto needs to shut the fuck upppppppp. I want him dead so bad

-Naruto hitting Kabuto with a rasengan right to the chest was one of the most satisfying moments in the show so far

-(can you tell how much I fucking despise Kabuto)

Ep 95:

-see Sasuke’s already had multiple near-death experiences so it was about time for Naruto to have one of his own

-Orochimaru summoning a snake sword out of his fucking MOUTH was so weird ngl

-also the way the sword stuck out of his mouth like a tongue looked kinda stupid in a lot of shots

-lmao are we gonna get a sannin Kaiju battle

Ep 96:

-Tsunade saying “give my regards to hell” before punching the shit out of Orochimaru was metal as fuck

-also Tsunade wrangling Orochimaru by his tongue was so satisfying

-Orochimaru’s theme continues to go hard

-Naruto is such a hater to Tsunade lol

-Tsunade giving Naruto the forehead kiss was a great callback to her past

Ep 97:

-I do like Jiraiya and Tsunade’s dynamic a lot. Jiraiya has actually been pretty tolerable this arc

-I love Naruto nicknaming Tsunade “Grandma Tsunade”

-I feel bad for Shizune, her job is definitely kinda thankless

-Ngl Naruto pretending to be kidnapped to help make Tsunade pay off her debts is a hilarious plot point

-I love that Naruto sympathizes with the people who need Tsunade to pay the debt she owes, he really has a good heart

Ep 98:

-I’m just gonna pretend the scene with Konohamaru and Tsunade’s boobs didn’t happen

-ah I was so happy to see the other Konoha kids again

-Shikamaru really needs to have a Sokka arc and unlearn his sexism

-jesus Sasuke looks really traumatized. I’m worried about him

-I literally started yelling “MY CHILD” when Lee came on screen (also I love how antsy Gai was to get Lee healed)

-I was not expecting so much Lee angst in this episode. My poor boy:(

Ep 99:

-so like who’s gonna look after Konohamaru now that Sarutobi is dead? I’ve been wondering about what the village does about all its orphans for a while actually. Are they all just living in random apartments like Naruto?

-I really like Sakura and Lee’s relationship. It’s very wholesome

-Tsunade’s first act as Hokage should be making everyone go to therapy

-Tsunade busting through Konohamaru’s traps with the most deadpan look on her face was kinda iconic ngl

Ep 100:

-seeing Lee look so depressed is SO heartbreaking. My poor babyyyyyy

-god I love Gai’s dub voice so much. It’s literally perfect for him

-again, how did Lee pass the academy exam and become a genin???

-I appreciate having these little interludes about characters like Lee and Konohamaru, it helps add to the sense that there’s more to Konoha than just Naruto

-NO LEE IS CRYINGGGGGG

-the flashback of Lee and Gai talking about self-imposed rules is a good interaction but also it looks so fucking stupid because they’re walking on their hands during it

-ugh Gai and Lee are so father and son coded

[tobi-smp]

I'm breaking my silence:

beeduo was never actually a good duo name, we were just used to it because that's what everyone called it.

alliumduo is tied to ranboo and tommy's first meeting, where ranboo gave tommy his first gift and tommy Kept It. with it coming back around after tommy's death, with ranboo Finding It and realizing how meaningful it was (thinking about how tommy cared for him, and how he should've done more to show his care for tommy).

it's a 10/10 for being something obviously relevant to both characters and their relationship to each other (and Meaningfully so) + something directly and majorly plot relevant so most people are aware of it.

clingyduo comes directly from tubbo and tommy (with tommy playfully accusing tubbo of being clingy when he's obviously just as, if not more so), while Also being a statement on their relationship As Characters. the fact that they Are tied at the hip, how their connection to each other is a major part of their identities. they come together, and some of the biggest moments of drama on the server are those events that drive them apart.

I'd say that alliumduo is a Little stronger, just in the sense that it's connected to two major events that are outwardly acknowledged in the text as being symbolic for their relationship (which makes it easier to point towards as the Specific origin of the name), but it's still a solid 9/10 from me

benchtrio is a Doozy for me. on the surface it sounds a little silly, but it's Significant because of what it represented In The Moment. tubbo and tommy sitting on Their bench to listen to Their music discs has been a Theme in clingyduo. it's how they've capped off major arcs of the series, it's representative of Them. so the first moment that tommy invited ranboo to sit with them Was Significant. it was tommy inviting ranboo into that dynamic he'd built with tubbo, even as he'd felt insecure In that relationship.

no notes, 10/10 from me boys

and then beeduo is !

it's !!

well, I'm sure there was a moment where ranboo gave tubbo a bee or perhaps beefarm, or maybe ranboo Also expressed a liking for bees. I don't remember what that moment was and I doubt I've ever heard of it before and I've never seen anybody else talk about it Either.

they're literally married and have a child together, tubbo killed Multiple people after ranboo died, he's haunted by the literal ghost of his husband. they have a mansion in the tundra, they have a commune, they built a home together, ranboo was his minutes man and tubbo was his president, I Dunno ! there's just so much symbolism you Could work with

and beeduo is just that tubbo likes bees

I dunno, 4/10 at least pickleduo was weird and specific enough that people remember where it came from

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What do you think about Sabrina? Are you like her, dislike her or neutral?

I don't have strong feelings about Sabrina beyond a general distaste for her "redemption." Sabrina was played as way too much of a willing bully for me to absolve her of her past actions without some serious apologizing on her part. Just look at these matching smirks from the Derision flashback!

[Image Description: Chloe and Sabrina smirking evilly while plotting to hurt Marinette]

That was the episode that blamed Chloe for all of Marinette's problems while showing Sabrina doing all the actual dirty work, which is very much a running theme in this show. Most of the things that Chloe gets blamed for should see at least part of the blame going to Sabrina, too, but that's not what we get in canon. Sabrina spends multiple seasons helping Chloe torment people only to be welcomed on to team Miraculous before she even reaches her "redemption" moment (see: Penalteam). Now that Sabrina has done her one good deed, she's redeemed and is a permanent holder as a reward for that single good act, I guess?

The whole thing makes me deeply uncomfortable when I compare it to the way that the show handled Chloe. I only bring that up because, when it comes to Sabrina, I can't avoid thinking or talking about the Chloe thing because you never see Sabrina without Chloe! They're a matching set! They even have similar base stories with Chloe's parents influencing her behavior via their abuse and encouragement just like Chloe influenced Sabrina (which could have been a great discussion about abuse leading to abuse if this element of their writing had been even remotely intentional). Redeeming one and not the other invites you to make the comparison and it's unfortunately a comparison that's deeply lacking on multiple fronts.

If Chloè didn't earn a redemption - and I really don't think that she did, her redemption never truly stated - then neither did Sabrina. A sob story doesn't undo the harm that you've caused. A redemption doesn't even undo the harm! You can fully "redeem" yourself and still be rejected by those you hurt because your victims don't owe you a relationship. (Side note, this is where Chloe and Sabrina fall for me. In the early seasons, you could redeem them onto the team. Now? The writers took these two way too far to the point where they feel like totally different characters and even break early canon episodes because Marinette's treatment of them doesn't match who they supposedly always were.)

If they really wanted to redeem Sabrina, then they needed to highlight what makes her story different from Chloe's. As is, it feels massively hypocritical to welcome Sabrina onto the team after all that she's done to cause harm and after how little she's done to right that harm. At best, canon Sabrina should have just gone off to a new school to get a fresh start without Chloe. At worst, she should have become someone else's minion. Either way, she should not be treated as one of the "good guys."

Outside of that mess, Sabrina is just your standard minion character who gets minimal development, so it's hard for me to have a strong opinion on her. I think she's used well in the first few seasons, but she's still one of the characters that I'd cut or at least cut back on if I had my way with canon simply because she's not really necessary for the show to work and the cast needs to be cut down significantly. It's not that I hate her or anything like that. I just don't see why Chloe needed a minion or what Sabrina adds that another character can't.

For example, you could give Sabrina a solid character arc around developing healthy friendships and letting go of Chloe's influence, but why give that to her when you could give it to Mr. I've-never-really-had-friends-before-and-I-really-should-have-a-character-arc-around-that who also happens to have grown up with Chloe as his only friend? (That's Adrien by the way. Why go with Sabrina when you've got him unless you're using Sabrina to contrast Adrien in some way?)

[redux-iterum]

With your track record with your ‘favourite chapters’, I am deeply afraid of what trauma is going to occur in chapter 45. Also, here’s that opportunity to rant about the Erins’ crippling allergy to characterisation that you asked for!

Chapter 45's a great time. I promise. For me.

Now! Characters and the Erins.

So the characters in Warriors are extremely inconsistent. I think we can all agree on that. Firestar, for example, goes from murder-happy to altruistic and loving to completely apathetic, sometimes in the span of one book. He's constantly said to be a paragon of goodness and a soft-hearted nice guy, but if you actually read the damn story, you can see he flipflops around as the plot progresses. There's a lot of characters being said to be one thing while they behave entirely differently in the story itself.

The main thing that I believe when it comes to canon is that almost none of the cats having a consistent, present personality is more-or-less on purpose, or at least extremely convenient for the Erins. They focus on the plot first and foremost and shove characters into the slots that need to be filled so that the plot they have in mind can progress or be halted whenever it's most useful for them. Would Leopardstar be stupid enough to let Tigerclaw walk all over her in the first arc? No, but we needed the Clans to be split in two for the future battle at the end of the books. Is ThunderClan truly that eager to listen to a clearly battered, befuddled and bizarre-acting Bramblestar, especially when he starts kicking cats out of the Clan? Not logically in any respect, but how else are we going to facilitate drama and get multiple cats out there to help bolster the numbers of the secret rebellion? So on and so forth.

Is planning a plot first a bad thing? Not necessarily. Anyone with enough skill can create a plot and then create characters to service that plot and its themes.

But the complete lack of personality about 95% of the cast displays is much more harmful to this series than a bad plot (of which there are many). The entire premise is about a community of cats and their interpersonal drama. You can't do that well if your readers can't tell you what kind of personality Snaptooth has, or how Mousefur and Runningwind interact with each other. I've talked before about how even families don't feel like families, to the point of not grieving when their child dies at some times (never forget that Yellowfang's own mother is one of the first to demand her be cast out as if she could believe her own daughter would murder her siblings - likely because the writers forgot they were even related). The most we get for personal relationships is romantic subplots, and because there's no character between the partners, there's no chemistry, and therefore romances are more annoying than interesting. Not having real characters is poisonous to the story.

If I were to alter one thing - a singular aspect - in the books, it would be to give characters actual traits, and have them act consistently with those traits. I genuinely believe that if everyone had a personality they stuck with, we could have much more interesting drama, plots that are much easier to come up with and navigate through the different Clans and their members, and an overall higher-quality series with a fandom that could actually ship characters instead of slapping two designs together and pretending they had any chemistry or even interacted in canon.

As it is, though, I can't even say we're stuck with a bland flavor of cats. We have no flavor at all. No sprinkles, no vanilla, not even really any flour to begin with. We have nothing to work with. And it annoys me greatly.

[alligatorcarapace]

Which that is a post for another day becuase I do think it says something about his character, most likely unintentionally as Raph got the shaft in the 03 series despite him being so well written in the first 5 seasons

In context to the post you made sbout 03 Donny. Yes finally someone said it! Raph was overlooked and treated like garbage in 03 the writers didn’t care about him at all

I wouldn't say he was treated like garbage, as I have seen what spiteful tmnt writing can look like, but yeah best boy was not given much spot light at all and it sucks lemons.

If I had to play devil's advocate, I'd wager they didn't know what to do with Raph's character since they don't really recycle character plotlines in the first five seasons, instead if anything is similar it tends to be on purpose to compound a point, such as Leo's moodiness about his losses is less him relearning the same lesson and more about an over arching plot dealing with his deteriorating mental health throughout the first four seasons.

Since Raph is a sweet boy who often minds his own business and doesn't like making a full spectral of himself like his brothers I guess they didn't think they could do anything.

03 Raph might not actively look for trouble in the way his other counterparts do, but trouble finds him anyways. And a lot of the times it tends to parallel other situations. Thus showing how he's able to self reflect via looking and understanding other's, which make for interesting dynamics with ongoing A Plot but over all I think underplays his hand as an a character.

Since while yes he might not be "Oh let's impulsively go through this portal with April with out telling anyone" like Donny, nor does he have high attention and perfectionist needs like Mikey and Leo, there is one aspect of him that can be explored multiple times and in different ways; his morality.

Raphael's integrity is fierce and we see parts of it in City At War, but the ever dramatic Leo sadly get's more of the focus in that arc both to help sow seeds relating to his "Hold up the world and take all the blame" mentality, but also so Raph can have a big dramatic reveal to help our heroes in their hour of need.

Which flow why is understandable, but also means that a good pay off episode later about what happened here or something related to it could've been done for further explorations.

I wanted more of Raph's opinions on things like justice, since it clearly diverts from Mikey and Leo who have two different opinions of their own(Don't ask me about Donny, he clearly has opinions, strong one's at that, but I could not tell you what they are and at this point I am too afraid to guess)

Maybe even an episode that shows how community is very important to Raphael, despite not actively seeking it like Mikey. Maybe have it be a good sunset duo episode, or maybe a brains and brawn episode where Raph has to go looking for something and thus has to go through all the people he knows(Because he knows the most) and have the emotional side of the plot being around Raph's feelings of loneliness and alienations(Something we see in the Dreamwave comics) only to realize at the end he's not alone and their are many around him.

And if you're going with the themes of loss and loneliness maybe have the B-plot be around Leatherhead missing his Utrom family while also acknowledging Earth is the home he was raised and cares about, so while he might miss his family he was raised with, he'd miss his home more.

This plot could be solved with Donny helping set up a long distance communication device for LH. Maybe that device was something Raph helped get pieces for or maybe a villain that's been in and out Raph's side of things was trying to get it?

Idk, it would be something to wrap and connect the storylines.

But even after that there's still depth becuase Raph's self-worth seems to go through cycles, it doesn't drop like Leo's depression, but it's not exactly the false ego and quiet confidence of Mikey and Donny either.

And that's just on the emotional side of things.

Action wise he's a canonical thrill seeker, so you could have him do some crazy things that cause a chain reaction for the episode events, maybe you could throw in that lovely Raph patented self-loathing about that as well!

Like there's a lot there and for some reason they do nothing with it and that confuses me.

I suppose the nuance to his character scared the writer's off until the series drifted into flattening and flanderizing the cast

Btw if you want my opinion on why Raph has no big mystical moments, based on what we've seen with in the other character's it has to directly do with him being the "Friendship is Magic" pack bonding turtle he is. He has a direct connection with the world, making him worldy so to speak.

This is not a bad thing, it makes him a realist and the most grounded of the group, but it also means unexplained bs isn't going to be happening to him becuase he's a more sensible guy and thus isn't out there believing anything can happen just cause.

However once he does see something, he knows it's possible hence why he picks up chi channeling so fast after he see's Donny and Mikey get their sparks. I also like to imagine him and Donny had a cute bonding moment over studying while Mikey was sleeping and Leo was fully absorbed in his own books(same bestie)

[obsidianpen]

Okay, so a lot of people here have talked about the use of AI and large language models such as ChatGPT, and honestly, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I think that using them to help you proofread is fine. So spelling, grammar, and that sort of thing. And writers can also do this process themselves obviously, but I don't see the harm in using ChatGPT for this, as long as you are aware that you are giving your data and story over to OpenAI.

When it comes to ideas, bouncing ideas off of an AI can be fun, but only to the extent that they are completely your ideas (meaning the AI didn't come up with the idea for you and you aren't giving the AI information about someone else's ideas). So your idea your choice, but don't use the AI to get the idea for your work and don't give the AI other people's ideas or works. And this only really applies if you don't have anybody either in-person or online to do this with instead.

The last thing I'll say is that AI writing isn't the greatest. It can sound realistic and be cohesive to an extent, but it isn't the same as a real author. I actually tested this a few times because I was curious how it would turn out, and I promise that it is not a substitute or replacement for real authors. I think this is because ChatGPT and other AIs work by predicting what is the best/most likely word to come next in its response based off of the dataset it was trained on. It even has a function that allows some degree of randomness/variability in the next word, rather than only using the top/best next word each time. But this means it isn't coming up with new or inventive ideas. It doesn't come up with plot twists, it can't plan slowly developing arcs across multiple chapters, and it doesn't make the characters interesting to read, have a lot of depth, sound real, or so forth. There are more things too, but I'm just giving a non-exhaustive list of why ChatGPT's writing is not the same as a real author's writing.

Note: I apologize if this isn't clear or if I'm just rambling or if I made any typos. I'm writing this on my phone and have not had ChatGPT or other AI proofread it for me.

hm. I’d say there’s been a lot more discussion about whether or not Tom Riddle has a breeding kink (he does not; just a WAP kink) and about the height difference between Harry and Voldemort in NG (there are charts; they are, somehow, confusing). I don’t want this to be a recurring theme on this blog, so consider this my (very hopefully) last post on this topic.

My opinion on the matter: I don’t agree with your reasoning for using AI. You said you didn’t think it was an issue ‘as long as you are aware that you are giving your data and story over to OpenAI.’ I think you absolutely should care that you’re giving your data and story over to AI!!! You should care. Pretty much just sold yourself there as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t think anyone should be using AI for proofreading. I don’t know how great it is at this, but even if it’s amazing, I think you should be doing this yourself!!! Editing is a skill, and a great one to have. I catch a lot of things when I proofread my own shit; I realize I missed things or screwed things up - not just grammatically speaking but plot wise, which as you said, AI can’t help with anyway. Proofread your own stuff. Proofread your own stuff!!!! And if you want a second set of eyes on your work, ask a real human!!!!!!!!

re: bouncing your ideas off of AI… no!!!! Bounce your ideas off of PEOPLE I promise you will have much better conversations because they will be with someone who can think critically.

and the thing about chatGPT not writing super well… yeah, duh. But what some writers do is use shit like chatGPT as a starting point, then edit. It doesn’t come up with plot twists - unless you feed them to it. No one is arguing that it’s a good as a ‘real author’ but that doesn’t mean people who consider themselves ‘real authors’ aren’t using it. I think this sucks, because, in case we forgot, chatGPT uses theft as its foundation.

(and this isn’t even touching on the environmental shit concerning AI.)

In conclusion: I don’t think anyone should use it for anything creative. At all. Feel free to disagree (and you can post about that on your own blog), but if you lean on AI to edit or create your creative work, you’re only hindering yourself.

Note: I apologize if this isn't clear or if I'm just rambling or if I made any typos. I'm also writing this on my phone and have not had ChatGPT or other AI proofread it for me, nor would I ever.