#sideways stories

[beebfreeb]

One of the most heart-wrenching things that've ever happened to me occurred while trying to research the Super Paper Mario art style.

"Ohh what a beautiful and interesting art style! It is very distinctive! I wonder if anyone else has tried or wanted to try breaking it down and replicating it?" Obliviously, I typed in Super Paper Mario Art Style into my search bar... only to find many people calling it ugly and saying they hate it.

This simply could not be... permanent damage was done to my artistic soul.

No joy? No whimsy in this world? No love of computer graphics? Of a certain era of clipart? Of the art that was born from the computer and is difficult to replicate without one? Of the art made when this was something new and fascinating? No love for something unique?

Super Paper Mario don't listen to all those haters I love your geometric art style influenced by what shapes are easily drawn on a computer and the smooth mechanical interpolation within your animations. I love you. Also the music is banger.

[school-of-all-time]

Semifinal: Wildcliff vs. Wayside

[darnianwayne]

can't focus today. thoughts filled with diana's pussy out look in kingdom come

[notbecauseofvictories]

I finally listened to the latest episode of the silt verses ("latest" meaning "it came out in january, I've just been really busy") and I don't want to be negative but I liked faulkner better when he was unhinged. No more pseudo-therapy or painfully honest conversations for these characters, they need to march to their doom being lonely, unfulfilled, and tragic.

[kjelmose]

30 classrooms, supposed to be sideways

[andyoullhearitagain]

Just me?

[story-weavr]

The Lion’s Sin

In the twilight of Cybertron’s Fundamentalist age, two mechs met. After a time, they bonded on Conjux Endurae. Their names were Sideways and Prowl.

Sideways was a covert operative; the closest word in English was “cyber ninja”. His assigned task was fulfilling the orders of the Cybertronian government on a grand scale, both domestic and foreign, by whatever means necessary.

Prowl was an Enforcer, or cop, whose task was to maintain and enforce peace and order among the general population according to the law. Something that was considerably difficult due to the rumbles of opposition against the oft times oppressive Fundamentalist regime.

It did not help that there were different types of political opposition: one of a more civil nature & the other calling for more violent means.

(Prowl was thankful he had a friend in his fellow officer Orion Pax, a rare function re-assignment from a dock worker.)

It eventually got to the point where the violent Decepticons earned the label of terrorists.

Prowl, Orion, Ironhide, & a number of the more civilized Autobots worked in conjunction with the higher ups to combat the Decepticon threat.

One day, however, Sideways was declared missing presumed dead. Prowl was both devastated and furious that his Conjux’s superiors would not go looking for him after they sent him off-world.

Determined, Prowl snuck into his husband’s office in Cyberninja headquarters in order to find where Sideways was sent. However, he discovered something that broke his world.

Hidden in such a way that only someone who knows him as well as Prowl did, was undeniable proof.

Sideways was double-agent and Decepticon spy.

It completely blindsided Prowl… but it also made a terrible kind of sense. Sideways always resented his function: being controlled by others who view him as a tool that should be grateful for an assigned purpose in life.

Sideways had to fight tooth and nail to keep his identity, much less love Prowl and have a family together.

Sideways wanted power and revenge.

Spark-broken by his husband’s betrayal, Prowl gave up looking for him. Out of love for Sideways and fear of retribution on their son and unborn child, Prowl destroyed the evidence.

The only one he told the truth to was Orion.

As civil unrest became war, the Autobots became the officially recognized Cybertronian authority against the tyranny of the Decepticons.

As he climbed up the Autobot ranks, Prowl made a decision that was the only one he could make.

The former Enforcer, now officer, opted to give his children to bots he could trust to be both caregivers and mentors.

Ostaros, still a baby, was given to Kup, an experienced veteran of Cybertron’s last great war. To protect & hide him from any future retribution from Prowl’s enemies, he was renamed Springer by Kup.

The newly born Side Burn, who existence his carrier carefully hid, was given to X, a relative of Prowl’s who also had served in the military.

Giving up his children was the final piece of Prowl’s metamorphosis. Once upon a time, Prowl was a skilled young cop who believed in Justice and Serving the People. A mech who dreamed of a Cybertron that would allow he and his family to travel to other worlds.

Now, Prowl was the right-hand man of Optimus Prime, the military strategist of the Autobots, and a stickler for the rules and regulations of their military.

The warm-hearted mech with a wild streak was buried under the drone-like logic and patience for which he became known. It was not until many years later, during a mission with Ironhide and Silverbolt to rescue and support the Maximals, that his other side was seen.

Little did Prowl know, Sideways had survived his disastrous mission. If by survive, his body was completely ruined and his memories utterly vanished. He was eventually found by a Decepticon scout ship that returned with the barely alive mech to their masters.

The mech with no name eventually rebuilt himself - as Tarantulas, the mad scientist of the Predacons. At times, should his Supreme Lord Megatron require it, Tarantulas dons the identity of Double Face, a con artist and associate of the Decepticons.

Tarantulas never really cared about his missing past. His life is one he made. His only regrets?

The failures from achieving his evil goals. Namely:

- destruction of the Maximals & Autobots

- Decepticon Supremacy

- doing his unethical experiments in peace

- taking over a planet with a consort (preferably Black Arachnia)

During one of their battles with the Maximals, the winning Predacons were surprised by enemy reinforcements. That blasted “hero” Silverbolt came swooping in with two strangers: a Lion-shifter and an Elephant-mech.

After being soundly beaten and driven off by MagnaBoss, the Predacons licked their wounds and swore revenge!

For Tarantulas, however, something tickled at the back of his mind. Something he couldn’t put a claw on…

It wasn’t until reviewing hacked Maximal footage that he realized the “tickling” came from that Lion-shifter, Prowl!

The relaxed way he talked, the wildness just beneath the surface of a logical, patient mind… Prowl was a confident predator whose strategy and ferocity go hand in hand.

Tarantulas, never one to release something that had his attention (whether experiment or prey), dove into his newest project.

The result - the return of his memories.

And a desperate hunger to reclaim what was HIS.

Sometime later, Prowl led a small team to investigate a possible abandoned Decepticon refinery. Their communications were jammed as soon as they entered.

What followed, as described by Sideswipe (one of the few team members who would actually talk about it), was the equivalent of a Halloween horror movie

where the least terrifying part was Prowl as a DAMSEL IN DISTRESS.

Suffice to say, Prowl’s subordinates, coworkers, allies, & few friends were concerned.

The cop car’s Amica on the other hand… well… a furious Ironhide was always scary.

But no one, and I mean absolutely no one, ever wants to exist around an enraged Optimus Prime.

[pastafossa]

How do you get past writer's block? I have a fic that I'm working on that is updating on a schedule, and I made the mistake of giving myself a month off in between parts and now I can't really get back into writing it. I don't want to leave it abandoned because I have a few people who I know are really invested and I don't want to leave them hanging, but I'm having a hard time getting as excited to write it as I did before.

Ok so I'm in a weird place for this, hilariously. Because The Answer That Usually Works For Me (TM) and that carried me through a regular weekly update schedule for almost two and a half years is, in fact, not at present working for me apparently my brain can write through a pandemic but not through recovery from the shit that went down in December/Jan so we found my writing kryptonite. However, I'm going to assume you're closer to 2021 Pasta than 2024 Pasta. SO LET'S GO WITH THE METHOD I NORMALLY USE SINCE IT WAS SUCCESSFUL FOR YEARS. Cause that's the thing: sure, I've written almost a million words, and pumped out chapters for years (ignoring the past few months) but I promise, I hit the same walls as everyone else even when nailing weekly uploads. But over those years, I came up with a fairly solid list of steps that I'd go through one by one.

Fun one first: when I'm in a block, I almost always try re-engaging with canon first. I'd rewatch my favorite episodes, binge a whole season, or even the whole series depending on how much of a boost I needed. For me at least that was often like Pavlov's bell, my favorite story triggering a flood of affection. I'd remember why I loved this fandom and the characters so much, and it could often kickstart my brain and excitement back into gear. If you really want to dangle a carrot and your fic touches on canon, focus on watching parts you're excited to get to in your story. A big one for me in TRT for example was the post-Nobu, Nelson v. Murdock episode, since I'd had that planned for TRT almost since the start, and I was very excited to reach the hurt/comfort I had planned. Even if your fic isn't following canon though, see if it'll give you a creative rush again!

So let's say step 1 doesn't work, either because the canon just isn't hitting the spot or because your fic is dealing with something else. In this case, my next step was usually to jump ahead to write a scene I was really eager to get to. It was often a short blurb, but it was always something I REALLY wanted to explore, and because I'm also a reader who likes exactly the tropes and plots I'm writing, I want to read what fucking happens. Except, fuck, I'm not there yet, am I? And I can't see how that scene finishes until I write my way up to it and finish it. This is my own carrot. Multiple scenes in TRT were written months or even years in advance, simply as a way to bribe myself. This is also an option!

But maybe this doesn't work. Sometimes it didn't. This is when it got a bit more serious. For anyone who was reading at the time, you'd have noticed that I'd sometimes drop side fics, either Matt POVs or one-shots. This was me, in essence, working on the shower principle (basically, ideas/solutions will come if you stop thinking about it and do something else, like take a shower). I figured if I went and wrote something else - either with less stress, or something fun and dopamine-inducing - the part of my brain focused on my Big Fic would wander around the writer's block beneath my notice. And it almost always worked, all while I still kept my brain trained that, hey, even if we're not writing This Thing, we're still writing.

But let's say this doesn't work either. You're well, and truly, stuck. Been there now and then. And, you're going to hate this one. I hate it but it works 9 times of 10. And it is: Write anyway. Half of it was spite. I was not going to give up my schedule, I liked my schedule. The other half was that I knew myself. I knew if I could just get past the chapter/plot/dialogue I was struggling with, I'd be able to roll along again. And so I made a rule: whatever I wrote didn't have to be pretty. It just had to exist. If that meant I wrote, "Jane chased the cat in circles and caught it. She was happy." then that's what I wrote. Because everything, EVERYTHING, can be fixed in editing. But you can't fix what doesn't exist. And so there were those nights when I would scowl and groan and snarl and bash my head against that writer's block until 5 in the morning, but in the end Jane chased that fucking cat adn caught it, it was written. Hilariously, sometimes those chapters have wound up amazing (likely because I spent so much time hammering at them) and reader favorites. There are absolutely, I believe, moments where you can, and should, see if you can push through.

But that brings me to *waves* now. A lesson I've only recently recently and with encouragement. Namely... sometimes brain no go and that's ok. My steps work for me 99.9% of the time, but I've done the above during the past few months, and it just... hasn't dragged me out entirely out of it yet. Sometimes, our brains demand that break, especially when things just aren't going great. There's a reason TRT had a break of roughly 2 years between chapter 4 and chapter 5 (feel free to check the chapter index with dates on AO3!). I had some life things happening and I just was not in a place to write, even if I was still busily plotting and planning and thinking about TRT behind the scenes. And that was ok. We're not machines. I came back like a bulldozer in Jan 2021, yes, and bulldozed through weekly updates, but that break was needed. And now I'm obviously taking a short one again while I recover from everything. It's ok if you're not in a place for it. So the last step is one I've been told a lot by dear friends recently as they helped me through this: be kind to yourself, and try not to stress if none of the above works. The story will always be there, and if TRT is any indication through all its highs and lows, your readers will be there when you start up again.

[bottombaron]

fics where Nandor is all, "i wish Guillermo would stop calling me 'Master' and use my name" like ahdkgj have you met this man??

[kahran042]

This is the only day you can reblog this until next year.

[picturebookshelf]

Sideways Stories From Wayside School

Original Edition: 1978 -- This Edition: 1985 Story: Louis Sachar -- Art: Julie Brinckloe

[school-of-all-time]

School of All Time Final!

Welcome to the final!!

Asks are open if you want to send in propaganda. May the best (most interesting, most awful, most iconic, whatever) school win!

This tournament began with 256 schools (technically more if you count the qualifying rounds). If you want to know how we got here, you can see all the brackets below the cut:

The final bracket:

The preliminary brackets:

[gayvampyr]

is it even worth it to get your wisdom teeth removed

[tinyreviews]

Writing Tips: The Road Genre

A road genre story, often referred to as a road trip story, involves characters embarking on a journey, usually by road.

Why Write a Road Story?

Built-in Structure: Road stories inherently come with a built-in structure - the journey itself. This structure provides a natural progression, allowing you to organize the narrative around the various stops or milestones during the trip.

Dynamic Settings: The ever-changing locations during a journey offer a diverse range of settings, making it easier to keep the story visually interesting. This diversity can stimulate creativity and prevent monotony.

Character Interactions: On a road trip, the main character usually meets interesting secondary characters, have intense character interactions, foster relationships and encounter conflicts.

Conflict and Resolution: The journey can introduce a series of challenges and solutions, providing a straightforward way to drive the plot forward. 

Common Tropes in Road Stories:

Mismatched Companions: Characters with contrasting personalities or backgrounds forced to travel together, creating opportunities for humor, conflict, and personal growth.

Quest or Mission: The journey serves a larger purpose, such as a quest or mission, giving the characters a clear objective and a sense of direction.

Unexpected Encounters: Chance encounters with strangers, both helpful and antagonistic, contribute to the unpredictability of the journey.

Self-Discovery: Characters often embark on a road trip to find themselves or escape their current circumstances, leading to profound moments of self-discovery.

Examples of Road Stories(they are reviewed here on Tiny Reviews as well):

1999 The Straight Story:

Alvin is an elderly World War II veteran who embarks on a journey to resolve an outstanding relationship issue.

Along the journey, he meets diverse and captivating characters, as we learn more about Alvin’s own life and history.

2018 Green Book:

A racist white man escorts a distinguish black pianist in the Deep South.

The contrasting characters undergo significant growth and development.

2004 Sideways:

Miles and Jack take a road trip to Santa Barbara County wine country to celebrate Jack's upcoming wedding.

They go through a series of situation that threaten to upturn the upcoming wedding. We are faced with the tension as to whether the wedding will take place.

1991 Thelma and Louise:

Two friends commit murder in the heat of the moment and go on the run.

They go through a series of increasingly drastic crimes until only one option is left.

2005 Broken Flowers:

Don goes on a road trip to find the mystery writer of the letter that states he has a son. Tension: Does Don really have a son and are they going to meet?

He meets various old flames and their families, and recounts their histories.

To me, a good road story is the quintessential story. One where the main character overcomes great personal struggle, in addition to finishing a physical journey. The greatest example is probably Frodo’s journey in Lord Of The Rings.

This is part of my Writing Tips series. I publish writing tips to this blog.

[eclipsecrowned]

ok, jester's hat is off.

i'm on an edge due to my dad's health and an unrelated incident today just ripping out my mental stability at the root. i'm not well, things aren't looking so hot in terms of coming back from this. i'm likely to be either taking a big step back or throwing myself into the hobby depending on which side of the coin my fucked up brain lands on. i hate to do this as i feel like i only just started getting back into the swing of things but i'm hitting a wall mentally and need to start organizing that space, as it were.

if i do hang around things are likely to turn self indulgent for a minute, i'm likely to be more scarce in dms, i might focus on what's short/gives the fastest returns in terms of effort vs results. it isn't me playing favorites or trying to alienate anyone, i have just been here before and i know where it ends.

[shunshuntaiga]

From instagram❤️