#watching some story analyses of different games I've wanted to get into

[nexus-nebulae]

i dislike sacrifice characters

[maryellencarter]

Leia found a Youtube channel that has a lot of classic NHL games (filmed on potatoes of course as the NHL is wont to do) and now that I have glasses --

-- did I mention I had to get glasses to pass my vision test to get my ID? Anyway now that I have glasses it turns out I can usually read the jersey numbers so I don't have to rely on telling the players apart by their body language and playstyle.

So I've been watching Wayne Gretzky, who I swear had eyes on the end of his hockey stick to get some of the shot angles he got, moved like a roller skater, fell like a martial artist, let the puck chase him instead of the other way around...

We've been doing good work on our current X-wing story with comparing different pilots' flying styles to the playstyles of hockey greats, since I let Leia try to get me into the hockey a while back and it turned out I get very *specific* with my analyses of certain players (since I'm coming at it from a background of soccer, a little ballet and karate, and watching other people figure skate). "Wedge Antilles flies like Sidney Crosby skates" was not the take I expected to come up with but it honestly really helps?

Anyway I wanted to watch some Gretzky because, you know, he is the standard by which all other hockey players are measured, and I was hoping to maybe come up with some more insights about starfighter piloting, but the main thing I've got is that he was playing more *ice* hockey than anybody else. Definitely anybody else on the rink, possibly anybody else ever.

What do I mean by that? Well, of course, hockey skating is a balance of the goals of the other two kinds of ice skating. Figure skaters (and ice dancers, pairs skaters, that whole category) are about Must Be Graceful/Precise. Speed skaters are of course about Gotta Go Fast. Hockey is about *maneuverability* -- you're fast to catch the puck and make it go where the other team is not, but the most important thing is making the puck go to Destinations, and the second most important thing is keeping the other players from sending you to Destinations (such as the boards, the penalty box, or the hospital).

So anyway, a lot of hockey players, when they're trying to catch the puck, they're basically sprinting down the ice, pumping their elbows and usually flailing their stick to some extent. They're treating the ice like a floor that happens to be slippery, and their skate blades as how they compensate for the slippery. They'd do just as well or better playing field hockey.

Gretzky would have been, I think, absolutely terrible at field hockey. He did not run on the ice. He worked *with* it. He didn't go flailing after the puck -- he kept his center of gravity very controlled in general, his stops were very clean and he played almost crouched a lot of the time -- and while he was waiting for the puck to pop out of a scrum against the boards, he'd be gliding along doing those little wiggles a figure skater uses to build speed, or just moving forward like he was on wheels instead of blades. When he had the puck and was trying to hustle it down to the net, he'd do these smooth crossovers like a figure skater or a rollerblade dancer, keeping his momentum perfectly in line with his center of gravity, no wasted energy at all.

None of which is directly translatable to starfighter tactics, and yet I think it might be helping. It's really hard to articulate what makes Luke Skywalker a good pilot other than he has the Force plus Skywalker recklessness. But I think... I think it's not inaccurate to say that he's just working on a slightly different surface than everybody else?

Like. I don't know if that makes any sense. The other players were running on a floor that was fighting them. Gretzky was *skating*. Luke is flying through the same space as everyone around him, in one sense, but he's also interacting differently with that space -- the Force makes him more able to connect to what's around him and work with it instead of having to fight it.

[alienssstufff]

hiii !! i thought id ask you but if it's too much feel free to ignore...

i really want to get into the... life series i think it's called? or hermitcraft? (tumblr confused me a lot on the names) your art makes it seem very interesting and i've heard so many cool things and seen so many cool fanarts, but im not sure where to start since it seems to be a long series!

it usually helps me a lot when i get some sort of description of the characters in the series to know which ones i should look into to know where to start... so i was wondering if you could ramble a bit about any characters you want from the series!!! i have a big curiosity on grian, they seem very cool !

aaaaaaa

-Life Series has 4 (soon to be 5) seasons: 3rd Life [3L], Last Life [LL], Double Life [DL], Limited Life [LimL]. TLDR goal is to outlive everyone else and be the last person standing.

-Hermitcraft has 9 seasons. You do NOT need to watch every season in chronological order, they all exist as their separate thing.

Hermitcraft doesn't have ' set lore ' either hermits go on there for different reasons do different stuff and stories sprout off of that just *happen* momentarily.

I think watching the Life Series first BEFORE Hermitcraft is a good starting point bc there's less people to keep track of and improv plot happens, making it easier to pick out the faves you like and wish to continue watching on HC. Majority of the ppl in Life Series are on Hermitcraft while others are in Empires. Similar vibe of smp more lore and rules with governing different empires if you like that stuff :] there was also a crossover arc between Empires s2 and Hermitcraft S9 last year which was awesome.

As for Hermitcraft itself bwaaaa, pick any season (personal favourite is Season 7) - ppl rly like Seasons 7 8 and 9 but that's probably cuz they're newer. Current POVs in season 9 I watch: Bdubs, Etho, Scar, Grian, Tango, Beef - occasionally Impulse, Pearl, Zedaph

I did a similar ask on recommended Life Series POVs for each season HERE. Just know that the LAST LIFE ETHO/BDUBS POV compulsory event you MUST watch that at least once.

random Life Series thoughts:

Grian isn't as serious and calculative as he's popularly depicted as in fanon, he has lots of fun always he silly :]! And I think the reason just comes from his competitive approach to each season and his relationships. He treats it as it is: a game and trying to place him in an rp/lore setting makes him come off as such. In reality he's easily tunnel visioned by The Bit (things like gimmick kills, one-off plans) and trying to win and that's completely fine.

That being said I do not believe desertduo (Grian/Scar) are opposites of eachother, they have much in common and just because they are doesn't make their chemistry any less valuable. If you want to talk about opposites SCAB (Scar/Etho) is the way to go. Very apparent in 3L and especially LL: Magic vs Science, Fire vs Ice, wildcards. Scar the lover who tries to be a survivor, Etho the survivor who tries to be a lover. Their tension bleeds into Hermitcraft (see S7) as well and I wish people realised how awesome scab just is guys scab is so awesome u_u

From the architecture down to their fates, Bdubs' builds are the embodiment of his love for the people he aligns himself to each season, there's a reason why he'd rather risk his entire being to protecting places so sacred and I think about that loads. whwhwh I'd talk about it/analyse each build individually because he is my favouriteee but I am shy u///u....

[bonesandthebees]

I care about Rose! In fact, we started watching house of dragon (only 2 episode so far though) and it constantly makes me think of Rose because you use it as inspiration. Like obviously there’s the coronation scene which reminds me of stars. And there’s the character Willum is sorta kinda inspired by. And it’s an entirely different world, but every time I’m drawn back to Rose wondering how things will play out. (Which is not pressure to finish writing it if you don’t want to. Writer’s block can be a bitch and I get that the motivation for this project has been sucked out, but I just want you to know that I still care, and I’m not the only one.)

Also, I’ve been meaning to start my Ready, Set, Detonate analysis but I keeps getting away from me. I’m not sure there will be much to analyse, but there’s definitely fun details I want to point out. Oh and I am Looking 👀 at the fit/pac tag and kicking my feet. I don’t actually know if they are already in a relationship (I’m sure we’ll find out, but I just loved Fit’s little “Pac’s here?” That man is gone. Oh and I’m so excited for this Tubbo and to read more Bagi and the lore. Just all of it.

Then the original writing is a mood. I keep getting like a few chapters into my story before deciding it’s not good enough or thinking of something else I could do and throwing it all out. It’s this constant loop that never seems to get anywhere even though the story gets more and more fleshed out in my head every time. I think it’s because the opportunities are endless. Like there’s no characters and personalities and dynamics to stick to like there is in fan fiction. It’s free game but that does mean you have to decide everything yourself.

Anyway, best original writing advice I can give is remember the drafting process. There’s going to be a shit ton of drafts, which feels different for you because you’ve been mostly writing stories and posting them as you go, which means some minor or major editing, but leaves you without a chance to do a once over. It’s a sort of pressure to get everything right the first time. Meanwhile, original writing is something you keep close to your chest. There’s different drafting stages ranging from the zero draft (aka excessive daydreaming about all the possibilities) to the final draft (where you just go through and kill all your darlings and pour over ever single word to find the right one).

I’m struggling a lot with the first draft, which is literally just getting words onto a page. It’s a somewhat coherent mess that just allows you to shape the story and its structure so you can work off of that and edit it later on. I don’t know if this actually helps, but yeah, the first draft sucks and then it mostly gets easier. Just write, is kinda shitty advice, but it’s mainly, just get words onto a page, you will get a million chances to fix it, you don’t need to be happy about what you wrote right now.

-🌲

ohhhh I'm so excited you've started watching hotd!! good timing since the second season is going to come out later this year :D I hope you enjoy!! and I'm so happy to hear you're still excited about rose. I definitely want to finish writing it, like I said it's just me worrying about if anyone will bother to read it but a lot of you have said you would so that helps assuage my worries a bit

feel free to send whatever random thoughts you have about ready set detonate you know idc if it's analysis or not I just love seeing peoples reactions!! fit and pac are not in a relationship (yet) in the fic but theres a lot of flirty pining going on lol

god yeah it's so much harder with original fiction because it feels like there's so much pressure. you have too much freedom to do whatever you want so you're constantly second guessing if it's good enough or not. and ofc I know rough drafts are supposed to be shitty but I've tried to hone my skills so that my first draft is always incredibly solid because I rarely have the patience to do heavy edits, but that's with fanfiction. it has to be different with original fiction I know but it's hard to make my brain okay with that. I keep feeling like it needs to be nearly perfect on the first run :( but yeah I'm mostly trying to get words on a page. but then I think back and realize I forgot to mention this or I need to mention more of that etc etc and it's just stressful arghhh

[russeliarat]

In regards to Cia in a lot of the LU fanon space (aka fics and headcanons), I feel like she's being portrayed far worse than she actually is in Hyrule Warriors. I do think that Wars would have a lot of trauma regarding her considering she's the whole reason a war was started in his name. I do also think that starting said war is pretty bad. But I don't think she really deserves the black-and-white viewpoint most people have of her, it undermines the (attempted - it was a bad and rushed attempt but an intentional attempt nonetheless) redemption of her character arc. I say this as someone who owns the game and has combed through it for hours to attempt to rewrite that bullshit game.

But I think a lot of people are missing the part where Cia actually had control over her one-sided love for centuries as she only watched each hero and never interacted, but it was when Ganondorf came in and corrupted her that she started the war. She was under Ganondorf's influence throughout most of the game, even when she defected from him and attempted to gain the Triforce. She eventually made attempts to redeem herself after becoming free of Ganondorf due to Lana. There's also an element that Cia herself was exploited for Ganondorf's own power fantasies, it was likely that he manipulated or even told her to go to such extremes as making a war to get the Triforce and just used Cia's quiet yearning as a motive.

As dogshit as Hyrule Warriors is as a game and story, I think the idea that Lana is this perfect good is a great foil to Cia's unwavering evil, both forced to these extremes because of Ganondorf, who then regained their humanity once Cia finally broke free of him, though is more subtle in Lana is actually expressed kinda well compared to the rest of the wonkiness of the game. I think there's something to be said about Cia treatment as a antagonist compared to others like say Shadow, the way they're treated as being redeemed villains who were manipulated by Ganondorf for his own gains is vastly different across the fandom. Idk if there's a reason but it feels so distinct and I can't answer why.

This isn't to say that I don't think Wars would have a lot of issues surrounding what happened, its quite obvious he would have a lot of relationship problems on top of everything going on about the war. Its more a ramble about how people portray Cia post-HW/during LU. I myself don't understand how it happened, but as a DLC that was added for free in the Definitive Edition, Cia was revived and re-evilised, so yes she is technically alive still. I don't blame people for thinking she's some mega evil seductress that wants to capture the hearts of all the Chain, she seems very one-sided as a character at first without either getting the game and playing through yourself or skimming every website about the game (which is surprisingly few compared to its Age of Calamity counterpart - which also has its issues) and analysing the very misleading text in wiki pages and reviews. But no, she's not portrayed as a rapist (wtf literally where in the game is it even implied) nor is her character shown to be a pedophile (each hero she has been shown to fawn over are very explicitly the adult heroes).

I'm fine with headcanons, but the kind of stuff I see passed around in LU fanon is basically character assassination. It's kind of sad to see Cia just absolutely obliterated. I'm fine with some of the tamer headcanons, but some of the aforementioned like her being a rapist or a pedophile is so gross to me (and yes I've seen both multiple times in many more words to try to soften the blow of the writer/headcanoner's implications). I don't really like her character myself but I feel like I've analysed her and reworked her and picked apart her character too much to even consider humouring these kinds of ideas. Saying things like she's hypersexual or playing into her seductress image and appearance is fine because it's almost canon, I'll even agree with people calling her a stalker because she definitely was one during the war, but saying anything close to her committing anything more extreme is just not it for me.

[nightcall99]

Notes from 24.3.24

I couldn't sleep very well last night. I think AJ was in my dream. He had arrived to class and I was glad to see him, then we had to work on something. Then I had another dream where I shared a bedroom with my mother. I had just woken up in the morning and she was saying that it would be cold today. I was telling her how weird it was, that it had been cold the last two nights.

So, I think he is 'there'. As soon as I walked in, I was hit with a 'yes' but I'm not so sure. I thought it would be more obvious, can it really be so subtle? He seemed really subdued, more quiet than usual. We didn't really talk much. I mean, there's nothing to say.

His eyes changed back to how they were before. That focused, absorbing look. And when he looked at me, there were a few times where I felt there was was something there, looking back. I looked away really fast. I think I just don't really want to know.

But there was this one conversation we were having about a customer who was abusing some cough medicine to get high and he said that the guy had nothing going on behind the eyes. I agreed, since I'd served the same guy last week. I said his pupils were super dilated, and there's nothing there, just darkness. And then he said, Remember once a long time ago, you said that you sensed blackness behind my eyes? I said, Oh but with you there's something there. There's black but it's in the back, not the foreground. Well, isn't it right there? The truth came tumbling out of my mouth without my meaning to.

I dunno. I was depressed trying to analyse it. I spent my lunch break in my car just praying like, What is real? What is not? I'm really tired of the confusion and the deciphering. I've decided not to care anymore. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters.

But did a side of me believe that things might be a little more fun toward the end? Yes. I missed that sense of community. But I have never belonged so what am I hoping for? A few laughs, and conversations? About what, exactly? I just want to leave. I don't want to talk to anyone or make any re-connections. We can leave that for the astral. If the recall doesn't happen in a week (or ever), I have nothing to go back to. There's nothing else. This is my life. All I've had in this life, is the desire not to be in it. If I can't turn toward this, if this doesn't turn back toward me, I have nothing.

And even as I've typed all this I realise there's something inside me, watching. It didn't go back to sleep. It got woken up and it's wide awake. I've been monitoring that feeling ever since it said it would not go back to sleep. I've been checking and it's still there.

/

So I just came back after having dinner with my family and my aunt and uncle. I really don't like my uncle. Call it intergenerational trauma or something but ever since I got told the story that he left my dad behind while escaping during the Vietnam War, I've always detested his presence. Add to that the whole being a boomer thing and it's just something else. The moment I came out of my room he said You Look Really Tired (I said to him "Thank you"). And he referred to my time off work due to the V as The Year You Lost (I didn't lose anything) and he said You Know When You Smile You Don't Look So Mean (Thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it) and my parents must have told him that I just rot in bed on my days off so he asked in front of everyone How Come You Don't Go Anywhere Or Do Anything (I'm introverted and a homebody, is that okay? Everyone is different right?) and also Why Don't You Have A Partner, Do You Actually Really Like Working There, Why Aren't You A Manager Yet, Why Don't You Buy A Shop, Your Glasses Are Crooked. This guy didn't let up even with my sarcastic responses. I mean, I responded with the same energy since I'm just playing the game, but I haven't fallen in. I'm not reeling from this experience, nor from the day's. Actually, I'm amazed. That inner me that is watching, it didn't go back to sleep. Today was low-vibe and I'm... I'm still here. Observing.

[wolfwatching78]

Why We Need To Go Back To Old Internet Websites

I personally disagree with "nostalgia" being used as a pejorative; as a way to kind of dismiss any preference for how things were done in the past. For instance, in car design, perhaps cars run better now, but not wanting all cars to look like a computer mouse is not simply nostalgia.

Recently I've been thinking about some of the strengths of websites of the past, which are becoming fewer all the time, and how they offer something different than you can get on major social networking platforms.

Take this kind of thing for example:

https://bt.ht/death-of-personality/

It's a pretty good article about what I'm talking about, analysing the strengths of design in the past and where and why it changed, but in particular, you are reading the article on this persons own site, with it's own look and you process the information differently, or at least I think you do.

There's probably hundreds of YouTube videos about the same topic; logos and designs becoming almost invisible, but the YouTube videos themselves are the same, they've all got the same standardised thumbnails, presentation and even the same promotions. We look at the ideas in those YouTube videos in a sea of other "ideas" presented all the same way in the same formats. So the ideas don't really strike us.

There really is something obscene about lamenting the standardisation of iconography while completely having to conform to standardisation in your own videos you make. And on a certain level I would say the viewer can sense that and it becomes just another disposable ten minutes of your time.

By comparison, I would argue reading this person's article, while not exactly mind blowing, may have a stronger effect because of the way in which you found it and the manner in which the idea is delivered.

The idea is in line with the medium through which it is delivered and the person espousing the idea. It hits the reader differently and that's what I wish we could get more of.

Another example I have would be Doom My House.wad, which has lit up conversation and reinvigorated huge parts of the Doom fanbase and even those outside it with a really excellent creative idea that was delivered on a website, independent of the big platforms. And though millions of people have watched playthroughs on YouTube, they need to actually engage with the Doomworld website to get the full experience. The Doomworld website is part of the game and the story in a way that is very unique. To be honest, in many ways I think it may be one of the greatest horror games ever made.

(this video has an extensive breakdown on discoveries made so far for those who wouldn't know much about Doom, and even still, you won't get a full picture unless you've delved into that website and community yourself)

MyHouse.WAD - Inside Doom's Most Terrifying Mod - YouTube

When you look at the amount of energy that has been released in interest from a well-thought out project like that, it really makes me think of what could be done using spaces outside of just a reddit post or something like that.

To me these things are a synergy of old and new. And show what can be done. It's not to say platforms like YouTube and Reddit can't impact you or deliver unique experiences, but that we are missing out on other ways of doing things by only thinking of those platforms.

[banghwa]

hey, can i ask how you were able to get such a good grasp on the hyyh storyline?? i'm asking because i've been a fan of their work for over a year but i was never able to fully comprehend the actual events of hyyh.

i have watched videos and learned some other stuff from comments here and there but the problem is that, although there seems to be a general consensus on some of the themes of hyyh, some people have different interpretations of what actually happened. not as in they have different interpretations of the meaning of the events, but rather the actual events themselves. i know this is inevitable considering the way the storyline was presented (through music videos that weren't in chronological order, mobile games (?), the notes, social media easter eggs, performances, etc.) but it's kind of discouraging to think that there will almost always be stuff you miss, you know? all the appreciation i have for hyyh comes from the few things i've been able to understand but i sometimes wonder if my analysis is completely off simply because i don't understand the storyline itself.

it seems like there's a lot of resources out there helping people understand references and metaphors but the problem is that i never actually know where their source is from (as in, for example they make a connection to another even that i didn't even know had happened).

what i'm trying to say is that i would love for you to maybe talk about your experience understand and analyzing hyyh and how you consumed it in the first place. did you just watch the music videos and hope for the best? do you think reading the works that were referenced in the story (demian, the ones who walk away from omelas, etc.) would help ones understanding of the events or is it of more help in terms of themes? did you use secondary sources? if so, do you have any recommendations for people that want to understand the storyline but are starting essentially from zero?

im so sorry this ask is so long lol. of course you don't have to answer it, i'm just really really interested in this and what you have to say, and i trust your judgement so.

hiiii omg of course! i think video essays and stuff are really great for understanding how the mvs depict the storyline and to get a good idea of the main themes and symbols, but when it comes to understanding the timeline your best bet is the notes! i got into the hyyh game veryyyyy late but i had read the webtoon when it was coming out, i watched the video analyses etc etc but it really wasnt until i read the notes that i felt like i really understood the key dates and the characters too. i think reading the books that inspired hyyh are totally secondary and not really necessary, especially that the direct references as so sparse in the grand scheme of whats concrete canon vs what is symbolism. watching the mvs first and watching a few analysis videos/posts first really helped me get interested but if you're looking to get invested in the characters, understand their motivations, and be able to link dates to the mvs i rly recommend the notes!

however, like you said, hyyh is incredible and annoyingly confusing and convoluted :') even the notes can be difficult to read bcs 1) they're translations so some details are lost or skewed and 2) there are a lot of double notes + notes that are from different timelines without any distinction of what happens when and where and 3) theyre just for the most part poorly written. like its just straight up poor sloppy writing lmao. and there's just soooo much BU content but the problem is none of it is really that consistent and its hard to gauge whats canon vs whats another attempt vs whats a hyyh/ARG nostalgia cash grab. and so its very difficult to remember absolutely everything. so honestly my advice is to keep it simple! no need to remember dates or anything, just key events is fine. the notes for the most part cover everything and there have been lots of fan translations in addition to the official book so theres always backup for more nuance!

tldr: i would highly highly highly recommend reading the notes for anyone interested in getting into hyyh, i think theyre rly the best bet for balance between canon and clarity. definitely feeds the other sources rly well and fills in a lot of the blanks!

[void-botanist]

My Year of Writing

After reading @theskeletonprior's review, I thought I would write one of my own. Original prompt by @maguayans (whose blog theme on desktop is excellent for writeblr and might be something I borrow).

Part 1: Spotify Wrapped version

This year was all about The Fourth Android and bringing it from a half-baked rewrite of an older story to something edible. To that end, I wrote 158,587 words:

30,000 for Camp NaNo in April

30,209 for Camp NaNo in July

50,363 for NaNo 2022, plus

18,013 for a May goal and

30,002 for a June goal.

I archived a lot of those words as I iterated, though, and my current draft is sitting at 43,278 words right now.

Obviously Dez was on my mind the whole time but I also invented a ton of new characters as I fleshed out species concepts and the cultural geography of the world. I also frequently got distracted with other stories in this world and started writing extra scenes about characters who had captured my attention, several of whom are on Dez's future space crew.

My Spotify Wrapped was boring. It pretty much just said "hey you got real into pop this year. We probably classed all the 80s rock and 00s indie you listened to as 'nostalgia', which is silly. Also you still listen to a ton of Approaching Nirvana, like you're in the top 0.5% of listeners". If you want my recommendations, go listen to Wreck of the Day (the song or the album or both) by Anna Nalick, and literally anything by Approaching Nirvana (but I have probably listened to the albums Cinematic Soundscapes Vol. 1 and Illusions the most). Also go (re)appreciate that 38 Special and Fitz and the Tantrums are bands that exist.

Part 2: A More Detailed Review

General

This year I continued working toward improvement, in both my writing and art.

With writing, that looked like getting more invested in planning and analyzing my own work. I finally accepted that the typical plot charts I find don't make sense to me when I try to use them, and not because I'm trying to make my stories Special (TM). Something just doesn't connect for me, and that's okay. That's not the only way to get plot structure. Instead I spent a while figuring out how to use Scrivener to outline in a way that works for me. I also tried to apply my own media analyses and those of YouTubers like Princess Weekes, La'Ron Readus, Jessie Gender, NerdSync, and James Somerton to my own work, to consider what works and what might not.

With art, that looked like learning more tools and tricks in Clip Studio Paint and Procreate, changing my settings to help me not mess up my arm constantly (adjusting my pressure curve!), and drawing at a higher resolution. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference that has made in the way my work looks and how it feels to edit it. I tend to draw small, so I'd never thought about it much, but wow everything is so smooth now. I've also been working on accepting that the imperfections in my work don't make it bad, and that being a slow and indecisive artist is also fine. angrymikko, Nadiaxel, and Chroma Moma on YouTube have been super helpful to me as I try new styles and ways of working and just having fun with my art. ronillust also makes delightful art memes and some tutorials.

P.S. if you're on desktop and you despise the format of YouTube's Shorts page, you can play Shorts as regular videos by changing the "shorts" portion of the URL to "watch". You can also set up Redirector to do this automatically (I wrote a tutorial for this on my main blog).

Writeblr

I was so much more active on writeblr this year, especially during the last few months. I followed a ton of other writers (I won't list them all here but I've been trying to reblog from them to make sure people are also aware of them) and started posting some excerpts of my own work and participating in ask/tag games. I'm having a very good time so far. Please feel free to tag me liberally in future games and prompts!

WIPs

I started working on The Fourth Android after I lost NaNoWriMo 2021, where I was working on Triad and I ran out of steam after about 28k words. On the last day of NaNo I just sprinted some stuff about Zel and Anni and a fledgling form of TFA in which Zel is a journalist and Anni teams up with her to locate Dez, who has absconded over some misunderstanding. Then I thought, what if I just worked on this? So I did. Triad is still going to happen, but it needs a lot of restructuring to work properly.

As always, my writing went from high angst to low angst as I developed that first TFA concept further, which I think speaks to how I just like stories about people being friends. Which is, you know, a pretty broad qualifier, but I find that even in stories with high stakes and high drama the thing I find most delightful is friendship dynamics (can you tell I'm thinking about Hunter x Hunter as I write this? I got kinda into that too). A lot of my thinking about character arcs has been related to "how is this friendship interesting?" and the cultural worldbuilding I've been doing is going to help me explore some of those dynamics. (This also applies to romantic couples, not least because friends to lovers is the only thing that seems to work for me in my writing.)

Books and Other Things I Consumed

I read a fair bit this year, especially compared to the last couple years (I'm actually pretty proud of this because I read maybe 2 books in all of 2019 and 2020 and only got back into reading last year). Like Harrowben, I've starred my favorites.

*The Expanse series 4-7 by James S. A. Corey (4, Cibola Burn, was a particular favorite just because I love stories set on alien planets. Overall I think The Expanse could use more theys and gays, but I'm pretty happy with it)

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (I enjoyed how clever this one was, and also it has robots. For some strange reason I have become incredibly interested in robot stories)

Artemis by Andy Weir (honestly I think about this one a lot. I think it had some of Weir's character writing flaws as seen in The Martian but the worldbuilding was pretty compelling and I'm a sucker for epistolary bits)

*Fearless by Shira Glassman (a wonderful quick read about snowstorms and lesbian moms. I also bought several of Shira's other books but haven't read them yet)

*Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (I rarely buy books in physical form anymore but I did buy this one after I read it. Superb. Waiting for the sequel)

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (I enjoyed this one a lot. I can definitely understand the criticisms, and the formatting was kinda weird. But on some level I felt like I was reading something that was in my own genre)

Currently reading

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian (the sequel to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. It's just a super fun read)

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (the sequel to Finlay Donovan is Killing It. Honestly disappointed in this one, especially compared to the first book. There are some excellent moments but there are also a lot of things that don't really seem to make sense, and I'm very frustrated with the romance part of it)

Tiamat's Wrath (The Expanse book 8) by James S. A. Corey

Books I started and plan to finish (I often put down books because they're not what I want right at that moment)

Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan

The Doctor's Discretion by E. E. Ottoman

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Murmuration by T. J. Klune

I won't list out all the shows I watched but I do think that Hunter x Hunter, Exception (the Netflix anime), Mob Psycho 100, and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners have all influenced the way I think about my writing and to some extent my art (seriously the color and visual storytelling choices of Edgerunners are so interesting and cool). In video games, the environment design of Hades, Risk of Rain 2's Survivors of the Void expansion, and Slime Rancher 2 really fascinated me, and I spent a ton of time using Sims 4 to build places that exist in TFA to better visualize them. (I really want a game that is just Sims 4 build mode, but with more detailed building capabilities and endless building space. I just installed Sweet Home 3D, which might do it for me.)

Here's to another year of writeblring and creating. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the stuff I mentioned above (especially Exception if you've seen it), and/or your recommendations for anything but especially cool stories about robots/androids/gays/theys.

[heartxshaped-bruises]

Hi friend! Just wanted to ask, since you work with screenplays and filming - where do you get your inspiration from? And is there any materials (like actual documents, videos and such) you've benefitted from filming school that you would reccomend?

                                   ✧･ﾟ  𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃.

HEYHO NONNY !!

Thanks for the interest. I'd say that it entirely depends on what kind of movies you want to do or what stories you'd like to tell. I believe the worst thing you can do is working with resources and materials that you know you won't work for you, but people still recommend it.

Personally, I find MY INSPIRATION in music videos and music itself, most of the time. Like, two of my big movie projects originated from songs I heard that lead to characters who then inspired me to write their stories and make two shortfilms. And those characters are Benji and Joe from this blog here. My upcoming Bachelor's movie is also rooted in several songs and music videos that gave birth to the protagonist whom I used to write a while ago on here, too.

AS FOR WRITING, we get a lot of literature recommended when it comes to Screenplay Writing, but I find a lot of them kinda pretentious and they don't help me with my approach. What I still think should be a standard reference though is STORY by Robert McKee. It doesn't force the author's own opinion on the reader like others and gives you clear examples why some stories / movies work better than others based on techniques and facts, what could be the issue and how to fix it. It's less a book to read and more of a reference book, though. But I always found it very helpful.

Another thing I personally turn to has always been a book from Hirohisa Tanaka's HOW TO DRAW MANGA's series. It mainly focuses on teaching you some techniques and tricks how to develop interesting and surprising stories, or how you can "stay in creative shape". Technically, it doesn't have something to do with movies at first sight, but it works for me and it's fun. You should always consider material outside of your bubble.

WHEN IT COMES TO VIDEOS and such we actually do have our own huge digital encyclopedia of video tutorials made by the staff and students, courses, interviews and such that are only accessible for us. So I couldn't help you out with these, but as I said before -- turn to materials that benefit your story.

But I can warmly recommend one vid that my Screenplay teacher showed us and it was a simple but huge game changer for my stories: Writing Advice from Matt Stone & Trey Parker. I've never seen this put better into action than in Riot Games' ARCANE series, I would've never noticed if my teacher hadn't shown me this video.

Outside of my film school I watch A TON OF VIDEO ANALYSES of series and movies that I love so I can compare them with my own views and understand how they work. And they dont have to be exclusively from professionals and fellow filmmakers bc lbr, you just have to look at letterboxd reviews and you know we're a totally different kind of breed than your everyday movie-lover. It's also good to just watch reviews of regular people and see how their opinion differs from professionals.

Channels I personally enjoy are:

The Closer Look (Writing & Constructing Stories w/ examples from famous media)

The Vile Eye (Analyzing Evil // Villains)

Cinema Therapy (Psychological Aspects of Characters & Filmmaking)

Broey Deschanel (Analyses of popculture & politics)

schnee (In-Depth Analysis of ARCANE)

abitfrank (Overanalyzation of fairy tales, creepy stories & movies)

Hello Future Me (Reviews)

Friendly Space Ninja (Reviews & thoughts on recent series / remakes)

verilybitchie (LGBTQA+ analysis of movies, series and politics)

And generally, I ofc watch videos about the kind of filmmaking that I wanna do. So, in my case I watch a lot of videos about visual comedy in the style of Edgar Wright, how he uses Sound Design (a highly underappreciated department) and so on. And I also bother with materials covering these topics:

Morally Ambiguous Characters (I need writing-heavy resources)

Bizarre but endearing Dialogues (Watching movies that have this; researching in my book how to write conversations; watching vids on how to NOT write a dialogue)

How to do Music Videos (Watching music videos from the 90ies and early 2000s bc that's what I am going for; analyzing how music videos work, what it tells you about the song etc.)

Symbolysm & Color Dramaturgy (basically just research of the meaning behind each one, how to give the audience information, how to evoke emotions in the audience... and also watching movies where it's very clear to tell - like Crimson Peak and the like, if you're inexperienced)

That was a lot of text now, sorry about that. I'm not sure if you find any of this helpful, but I guess the general thing I can tell you is to directly look for materials and sources that speak to you and are specifically for you. The things that work for me might not work for you and vice versa.

I personally don't find any use in bothering with excercises and materials that only show me how much I don't want to incorporate them in my own work.

I hope this helps??

[summerlycoris]

Bingo.

Like, I remember Chazington and Quinnamon both making videos about 'What if Vanny was an Afton fangirl?' (Though I'd argue those vids were more analysis, based off what was common thought/ what was known at the time.)

And Chazingtons vid?

His main case was he wanted Vanny to be the main villain. One of his main gripes was her lack of screen time and story presense. He didn't want Afton (or the Mimic- who he just considered to be Afton again) to come back- he wanted Vanny to be the main villain.

Like, he recommended her to be a serial killer fangirl. Because he figured that would allow for Afton to not come back. And would give Vanny more focus.

"At this point, I just don't like it being William Afton again. But hey- it's setting up a new villain at least (...)"

If Vanessa had got more time? More emphasis in the story? A actual boss battle? If burntrap wasnt the final boss and presumed canon ending in the basement at the time?

He probably wouldve been more on board for what he called "mind control shit." Because it wouldn't have been shit.

Quinnamon's vid?

He's not the biggest fan of the way the franchise has headed after HW in general. Like above he complains that Vanny isn't easily recognisable as the main villain in sb- all the other threats are in the game more often.

"This character was hyped up as the main villain for this game for over a year."

He misunderstood some stuff from hw, but analysed the trailers for sb pretty well. And from what I've seen of peoples reactions to them, this was what a lot of people got from the trailers- Vanny's going to be an important villain, she may or may not be related to Vanessa, and Vanessa's going to be the heroine, at least helping Gregory to escape. Like I put in my tags above- he gets confused about Patient 46 and think's theyre Vanny, instead of GGY.

You could be uncharitable snd be like 'he doesnt know anything about these games and he's talking about them like he does' but like. These errors are the same errors a casual fan will likely make, and HAVE made. Before GGY released, how many people considered 'Patient 46= Gregory' to be the most likely option? How many people have played HW? How many people have played SB? How many have read ALL the books? (I havent read all the books. I havent beaten hw.)

Versus how many people have watched Markiplier play hw, and sb? And listened to Matpat saying Gregory and Vanessa are robots without realizing theyre missing something?

Anyway I'm getting off topic. He uses these misunderstandings of the story as his basis for why he's suggesting Vanny as a William Afton obsessed fangirl.

I don't agree with his take, but I can see how he got there. If the story of sb had been written better, he may have come to different conclusions.

Like. Both these vids were released before Ruin. Before all the pizzaplex books came out. Before HW2. Both vids understand that the villian of sb is supposed to be the Mimic, but none really respect it as an antagonist- seeing it as Afton again, a cop out. These vids came out before we had proof that sb's developement was hell- that Scott hadn't commmunicated vital information with steel wool.

At this point I think I'm just circling a point without being able to make it so I'm gonna stop here.

Edit- fuck i forgot the AR emails. How many casual fans played AR? And would they have found the emails even if they had- didnt some of the latest ones showing Ness spreading the pizzaplex virus only get added in properly just before the game shut down? I remember to get the story for them off the wiki, I had to alternate between reading released emails, and 'scrapped' (iirc) emails.

And like, even people who AREN'T casual fans screw up details/analysis. Vanessa never worked at Silver Parasol games. But this trips people up a LOT. Tape girl says "I hope the next developement team finds this." She also mentions a buyout, and how a new developement studio wants to pick up the game. She also mentions how she wouldn't know the next person listening to these tapes- Vanessa's part of an unnamed (possibly Fazent, like how Disney has a in house game studio) game developement studio. Plus, she wasnt listed as a Silver Parasol employee on that scrapped website mockup- but Dale and Jeremy were, along with two other women, one of who could be tape girl.

I’m so very tired

[heartbreakprincewille]

Thoughts about YR S2 Trailer

Okay so the trailer is yet to release, and I have seen some discourse around the possibilities in the trailer so this is basically just a rant about it.

Like there are many people who are worried about the trailer being misleading as in the case of S1 trailer and I just want to say: that's kinda the point? Like, maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I kinda want the S2 trailer to be a little misleading. And I don't mean it in "Haha I want everyone to overanalyse every detail and suffer because I'm a maniac" kind of way. I mean, trailers are supposed to be a glimpse of the story, and a well-crafted trailer follows the concept of "show, not tell". It's not supposed to just info-dump basically the entire plot for the viewers(looking at you Netflix teen rom-com trailers). It's supposed to weave out a possibility(true or false) out of the source material to intrigue the general audience(and in case of movies/ TV shows with multiple installments, dedicated viewers too). A good trailer will not only intrigue the viewers to deduce their own possibilities, but it will also convince them to watch the show and find out if they are right or not.

And in my opinion, alluding to a particular theme in the trailer which may or may not be actually present in the show is a clever marketing and storytelling tactic. Let me take the example of another Netflix show and its latest season, The Umbrella Academy. Netflix created so much hype around a set of another superheroes, The Sparrow Academy for S3. It was evident in their Instagram posts, and most importantly the trailer. The trailer mostly alluded to the "Umbrellas Vs Sparrows showdown" plot, but the actual show was wildly different from that. Most of the Sparrows weren't even a part of majority of the plot, and there were many bigger plot points than the whole Umbrellas Vs Sparrows thing. It's clever from a storytelling standpoint because your viewers have assumptions about the plot but BAM! you hit them with entirely different twists and turns, which adds to the impact you want to have on the viewers. And it's even better from a marketing standpoint because you create buzz around the show before its release based on a completely different plot point but then the viewers are introduced to new themes and it keeps the buzz around even after the release of the show because there's just lot to unpack(like we still analyse the shit out of YR). And I really like this thing, watching well-crafted trailers and then watching the show is like seeing a magic trick and wondering how the hell does this work and then you find out the whole picture of how the trick is done and you feel even more awestruck. It's exactly that feeling.

Like I can understand many people not wanting to get "clickbait" in a way by getting something they don't like and trust me, I get you. I have also been disappointed by trailers. But this is YR. I trust Lisa, I trust the team because they have blown us away the first time and based on what we know about S2, I'm sure it will happen once again.

Also, I've seen some people talking about Simon being barely there in the S1 trailer and Simon/Omar possibly having lesser screen time in S2. But for me, it was again a clever move. Simon, from a plot perspective, was the catalyst, the Ace of the deck, the constant that brought out a whole different outcome to the equation of the story in S1. Simon and his character arc was the driving force of the plot being the way it is, otherwise the show very well could have been just a Elite Boarding School drama with Wilhelm being in a possible love triangle with Felice and some other girl(but again, Lisa's writing is not like that but still it could have been a possibility). You don't give away the Ace in the beginning of the game, you keep it till the end. Simon's involvement gave a new direction to the story, which I think was the impact the showrunners wanted to save for the release. We all know how important he was to the plot in S1, and even if he's barely there in S2 trailer as well, it doesn't mean Simon/Omar has lesser screen time. It means that he has a bigger role to play in the story. And he's obviously one-half of the lifeline of the show, Wilmon. It would be plain stupid to reduce his screen time or him not having a prominent story arc.

And to the people who are going to dive straight into the show without watching the trailer: I have so much respect for you istg. It's an experience I really want to have but I have the patience of a grasshopper so my impatient ass won't be able to resist watching the trailer. Teach me your ways😩

Plus I like having my assumptions challenged in a way. It's like having your worldview constantly challenged, except the worldview is based on a fictional world in this case.

[lrugloyak]

Snowpiercer (2013)

A few days ago, I came across a video (whose title slips my mind now lol) that talks about a certain film and how it’s centered around its main characters. “As if there are any that focus on anything else,” I thought to myself, until I finished this drug of a mess.

It made me gag. It made me tear up from gagging. Tilda obviously made me laugh. All I remember was feeling sick about most of the plot throughand how the characters made their way through their own tasks, but these people were besides the point. Snowpiercer managed to construct an almost completely believable future by keeping relevant from the moment of its release to this day. I literally had to actively remind myself every few minutes that it wasn’t based on a written book because it felt so well-thought through (FYI though, it was based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. Thanks, wiki!) More than anything, it proved that video right: a film doesn’t have to revolve around its characters when its underlying plot can deliver its message all on its own.

Some notes!

It was Hunger Games without less metaphors and more theatrics that mattered. Okay, that’s probably not fair, but all I remember at the moment from Hunger Games was all the talking (or....murmuring HAHA zzzz) in the last 2 movies. Yeah, I’m getting that it was a whole book series, but I didn’t really appreciate the beauty of it until reading and watching the buzzing fandom’s analyses about it. Alone, and maybe it had to do with my age, it was a stretched out history book with so many sidetracks that I gave up trying to find the deeper meaning in the middle of it. (Again, not fair, but planning to re-read the whole thing again soon, mostly to get to starting the prequel. Wish me luck!) Snowpiercer took a different path in interpreting the morals of human society in it’s own no bullshit way -- no ceremonies, no repetitions of any big event, no love triangles (thank u Lord). Just pure, unfathomed almost-realities. And that’s really what keeps you hooked to genres like sci-fi: empathy! Hunger Games used to be an avenue for me to discuss more books with my school friends back in the day. It was a series I wanted to finish mostly because it was fun talking about the characters and judging their decisions as if they were people and we could actually control their every move! FOMO, if you will. And that’s great, because underneath all that, all I had to do was dust off the series years later and realize how parallel it is to local/national and international issues. But my point is that with Snowpiercer, I didn’t have to dust anything off. It’s like if I showed this to younger Me who was still engrossed with how wonderful a husband Finnick O’Dair would be in real life, she’d get the point and snap out of it. Or maybe I’m expecting too much HAHA. Just let her be, you filthy ingrate!

I’d have compared it to Train to Busan as well with how the characters weren’t the main driving force of the film, but I’m guessing that’s not true. Train to Busan eventually boiled down to individual people, exposing ego, pride, trust (or lack thereof), and any other harrowing characteristics each character embodied. Snowpiercer took a different route, using the plot to motivate the characters instead of the other way around, in turn giving its viewers the much bigger picture of how the world works. Take it this way. While watching Train to Busan, an audience member might think, “hey, I know someone like that guy with the bat” or “wow I’m like that sometimes; I really should change because that guy looks like a total asshole onscreen.” While watching Snowpiercer on the other hand, they’d probably...be silent the whole way through, until the end when they think, “this is happening all around us, and I’m scared because at this point it doesn’t seem like I have any control over it whatsoever, and nothing I change about myself will affect the harshness of reality. And I need a 16-hour nap.” In the end, you’ll realize that the plot outlives the characters. In the end, you’ll realize that the characters took the reins to the story without having to take the spotlight.

Personally, it was more memorable than Parasite. No, it wasn’t the star-studded cast or how more far-fetched of a dystopian era it represents. And if you even begin to suggest it was Chris Evans or my queen Tilda’s doing, I’m telling you now that if you get the chance to watch this for the first time, you won’t have the slightest bit of time to appreciate the cast until long after everything is over. It’s like, you know, when class starts and you take down the first few lines of notes from the board and begin to think you’ll be able to understand the rest of the lesson based on that and then bam the whole board is filled with complete gibberish when you look back up. (Sorry, I had more violent analogies for the point, but this one seemed to fit best.) But I’m guessing the complexity and the experimental aspects of Snowpiercer helped challenge the creators to make it more realistic than what they had to work with on Parasite. It’s easier to create fiction by throwing in extravagant, over-the-top novel ideas than to pull less conventional situations out of non-fiction ideas, but to channel non-fiction from fiction and favoring both -- that’s called ‘genius’.

Update: did some reading to keep this void filled HAHA and I found some articles snd reviews that made good points, like this one.

Update: more info! I've been itching to find out what happened to this character at the end scene. Spoiler warning! But once you've finished the film, this is a really interesting take on one of the very last parts.

[rainbowravioli]

I'm sending this to both Soobaki and Caramelcheese because I want both of your opinions. I've read the meta on how S2 could be somewhat saved if they did this or that, but what do you honestly think S2 will be like? Do you think the next story could turn out *decently* despite S1's plot holes? That the writing will remain poor for popularity's sake, or go back up? Like, what are you expecting from S2 after everything that happened, good and bad? I love all your analyses, so I'm very curious!

Well, I’ve talked with @soobaki about this a lot. And I’m probably going to echo her answer (x)

After episode 12 and after all the post-finale interviews I’ve seen…I don’t know. I don’t know what to expect. I had complete trust in the writing before the finale happened and they did what they did. There’s also the fact that we’re moving from a project fueled only by love to one fueled by massive popularity and absurd amounts of cash. Best case scenario, the only thing this affects is giving the series a bigger budget and a better animation, on par with ep1 of the first season. Worst case scenario, more pandering to the fandom, narrative structure and character arcs be damned. 

Realistically, we’re in for some angst. I talked about it a bit here (x). But…YOI is a lighthearted show. It’s meant to be happy and full of wish-fulfillment unless you’re Yuuri in which case enjoy your silver and try harder. The staff is also hellbent on selling the lies story about how the finale was planned from the start and that Victor and Yuuri are 100% perfect with no problems, so there will be no acknowledgement of Victor’s decision being a 180º from episode 10 and there will be no acknowledgement of Victor and Yuuri needing The Talk. So narrative consistency be damned. Which I’m conflicted about. On the one hand I’m tired and disappointed, on the other hand I do want to see Yuuri and Victor be happy…*longest sigh in the world*

I’m particularly worried by the implication of further more seasons, as in plural, for various reasons…

There’s the matter of the skating itself. The season isn’t over, so if we stay in the current skating season the main event of s2 could be Four Continents or Worlds. Skip the nationals, which both Yuuri and Victor sweep, respectively, and jump right into one of the other two. Alternatively, trying to keep a minimum of realism, Victor doesn’t compete in the Russian nationals, because he only has two weeks to practice and come up with two new programs, but since he’s Victor Nikiforov he’s allowed to move on directly to other championships.

The problem with going Four Continents route is that Victor and Yurio can’t compete in those. While that could fix the problem/ridiculousness of Victor both coaching and competing against Yuuri at the same time, it would be putting two of our three main characters out of the game and we can’t have that. So most likely it will be Worlds.

Another problem though, is that every single character would be using the same programs. We would only get new ones from Victor. This is a problem because1) the narrative purpose of the programs has basically run its course except for Yuuri’s because he was robbed 2) there is a chance of the audience growing bored of watching the same programs for another entire 12 episodes.One way to fix this would be to reanimate the programs. Have them up to ep1′s Stammi Vicino levels quality, with different angles and camera movements and proper cinematography and animation. Another would be to focus less on the skating itself and more on developing characters and relationships outside of skating. Not just our main trio, but all the secondary characters we’ve only briefly met. 

If they decide to skip ahead to the next season we would have to go through the Grand Prix process all over again and this has the same problem of potentially feeling repetitive for the audience. Though in this case we would have the advantage of new programs and new characters.

They’re probably saving 2018 Olympics for a third season. Or a movie. Please don’t let that be the only time Yuuri wins gold but do have him win gold there for the love of God

But what I actually expect from s2 at this point, ok, let’s go (pretty much paraphrasing @soobaki here though):

Victor retcon. It’s a must to keep this “he was never going to retire” sham. 

Injury storyline. I can feel it. Kubo even said that it would have happened to Victor in s1 if the anime was longer than just those 12 episodes, and it is now (x) It will hit either Victor or Yurio although with Yuuri’s luck might as well be him awww Yuuri you didn’t win gold AGAIN we need to do a season 3

Makkachin is old…It was mentioned in an interview that part of the reason Victor took the season off was to be with Makkachin during what might be their last year so why are you going back NOW Victor???? So…high chances that Makkachin passes away and Victuuri get a new puppy 

Puberty finally catches up to Yurio

The coach/competitor double-time is going to affect Victor and the relationship with Yuuri. Balancing the act will be one of the main conflicts of the season