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icannotgetoverbirds · 1 year

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fanfic hell (/pos)

For those of you wondering what my brain's been chewing on for the past few months. I present to you my incredibly long fanfic.

How long, you may be wondering if you haven't seen the other post?

The low estimate is 154-253.5k.

The more accurate estimates are at about 308-338k.

The most generous estimates could be up to about 507k (assuming the intended goal of 169 chapters is reached).

For reference, Gone With The Wind tops out at just under 420k (haha nice).

Why? Why am I doing this? The answer is, I don't know.

Something about this story just has my brain chewing and chewing and chewing like an overdone but delicious steak that keeps giving you more and more flavor as you chew it.

Every time I think the plot's going to thin out and I'm going to have to give up or shorten this, my brain spits out more plot points to happen.

I have so many fucking notes and a decently well-documented source material to work with (the SDV wiki is pretty extensive).

Even the documentation of the source material that already exists isn't extensive enough for how ridiculously in-detail I'm going - so I'm spending at LEAST 6 fucking hours using a mod to record NPC paths, which I'll then manually input into those spreadsheets I was talking about. Some NPCs are going to get more content than the original source material gave them, so their schedules are going to have to be generated from scratch.

Mind you, this whole fic starts a year before the PCs even arrive. So not only do I have to figure out schedules for things that happen before the events of the game (such as Abigail exploring the farm and Elliott moving in), but I have to adjust schedules for Year 1 (or 2 depending on how you look at it) according to deviations from the source material.

Y'all can probably find this if you look hard enough for it, the first 8 (correction: 9) chapters are published on AO3 and I've been talking about some of the details on both my AO3 and my Tumblr account. The fic tags need updating since some new developments happened - I'll get to that eventually.

Anyways, those little lines and dots are just to indicate that Jackson and Apollo are both farmers. Yes, Apollo is a woman, despite her name. fuck your gender roles and gendered names she does what she wants. Yes, Maru is non-binary, because why the fuck not. Yes, Haley's trans because fuck the police.

#once y'all find it I'll link it in my pinned post #uh warning the title is incredibly cheesy. please help me pick a better one #now that the story's beginning to pan out to more characters i might not even focus on the original main characters as much #that. might make the chapters longer since i'll be hopping between scenes dkldsjlgkdsd #im thinking maybe 'queer as in fuck you'?#honestly who fuckin knows #sdv #sdv fanfic #stardew valley #stardew fanfic #fanfic #also for reference almost everybody here is some kind of cryptid or mythical creature or w/e #im taking the 'changelings are actually just autistic people' lore and running with it #jay harvey and maru are all autistic hence changelings (therefore not fully mundane)#jay's a fucking selkie but like owl instead of seal #shane and marnie are druids #haley and emily are psychics because why the fuck not #elliott is a merman #leah is supposed to be a sylph but im still not 100% sure how that's gonna work out idk fuck shit abt sylphs #im thinking about alex being part dragon or something hence why he stronk #and of course we ALL know who abigail's real father is. come on.#sam and sebastian are mundanes and true humans but like. they Know #most people in town Know #harvey didn't Know until jay showed up #maru? eh maybe kinda sorta #penny is completely oblivious #she might end up Knowing at some point tho #jodi is oblivious #lewis is oblivious #pam is oblivious

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charcubed · 2 years

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#I have a genuine theory that people who are disproportionately and nonsensically enraged about how #they claim that ‘the MCU has forgotten Sam is now Captain America’ or some shit #are people who struggle with sense of time?#and which has now been exacerbated but HOW MUCH MCU CONTENT is released in a very short amount of time nowadays.#it’s been a little over a year since TFATWS finished airing. a whole live action show about Sam.#let me repeat that: A LITTLE OVER A YEAR.#and his movie is in development #and a few years ago this would be considered extremely normal for a main marvel character—because in terms of timeline IT IS.#the claims that captain carter is getting more focus / content are completely nonsensical #(aside from the fact that she’s not captain america and never has been)#in a show dedicated to SIDE STORIES she has a couple episodes. it’s why it’s a ‘what if’#and then she’s in MoM and it’s hardly a moment of glory #and that’s it!!!! THAT IS IT!!!!#I’m sorry but she’s got nothing to do with Sam or any exaggerated or perceived sidelining of Sam #I think everyone has seen how much MCU content is churned out and they mistake that for = longer than it has been #in OUR world AND in the story world #in which much of this endless content is happening concurrently #so if you want to be like ‘why isn’t Sam shown in Kamala’s avengercon in Ms Marvel’ then ok whatever but #to that I say: he was dusted for 5 years? that con is very much about past happenings? and #Sam has been Captain America for one instance in one city in a world where the universe was saved by heroes around for over a decade #he’s not going to have the same level of ~stans~ yet in universe! IF THEY EVEN KNOW ABOUT HIM YET.#I just think everybody is absolutely batshit for this manufactured rage that’s so baseless #TFATWS CAME OUT A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO.#BACK IN MY DAY WE WAITED YEARS IN BETWEEN MOVIES TO SEE SPECIFIC HEROES AGAIN BECAUSE THATS HOW THIS ALL WORKS.#the new accelerated timeline of content release doesn’t change that! it’s other stories happening concurrently! for the love of God

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quinton-reviews · 3 months

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Hi Quinton!! I have been a HUGE fan of your stuff since a friend sent me the Tobuscus Fallen Titans (I used to watch him back in high school and was like "huh, wonder what happened to him after those allegations") and I gotta say, it is REALLY FUNNY every time my fiancé and I watch the iCarly videos again, because when you cover Gibby's stunt double breaking his ribs, you cut to a clip of The Official Podcast. I used to play D&D with one of the main dudes from the podcast, so when he talks during that clip I do a goddamn double take literally every time.

Anyways, I remember an original Patreon stretch goal being a Fallen Titans on Homestuck! I was really big into Homestuck in my early 20s, and was wondering if that's still on the table at some point? If not that's fine, I understand plans change! I just love Fallen Titans lol, the Fred episode and the Neil Cicierega unFallen Titans are some of my favorite videos of yours!

That's a real funny story!

So here's the rundown on the Homestuck video. When I first started making long videos, they were actually inspired by the relationship I had with other YouTubers at the time. I used to watch, like, H3H3 and Filthy Frank, etc; and I'd always see people obsessed with the versions of creators from the past. Like, "Oh 2015 H3 was the best" and "Oh 2012 Frank was peak." So I had this idea that it would be crazy if H3 posted, like, a video he spent a decade on and you got a new video with 2015 H3 10 years on. (I don't watch H3 anymore ironically)

So the original idea for the "long video" format was that it would be cool if, throughout a long, analysis/review/recap video, you kept noticing someone get older. Maybe my months, maybe by years. That's why I always like to get a haircut when I start one of these videos. If you scrub through and you see my hair get longer and messier as it goes on I think that adds something magical you can't fake.

So... My pitch to the Homestuck video was that it would be funny to work on it just once per year. To record one segment, say "That's it for 12 months", and then come back around to it. And when I was making the iCarly and Victorious videos I actually recorded a few minutes of the video! I think it was two segments in total. But then I had a bunch of personal stuff happen and my work drive has been much lower, so any "back burner" video hasn't gotten much attention since then.

Now that the iCarly mini-series is done with, I want to focus on some short one-off videos I can make before April. But once that's done with, I would REALLY love to start work on a few more long-term projects which will take months or years to finish. I think returning to work on the Homestuck video, to at least get the first 20-30 minutes done, would be a great idea this summer.

Now, if you want to know my pitch for that video, here it is. The video is not a recap of the creative history of the franchise. I do not get into drama, community hell, lawsuits, or other YouTubers. My idea is this: you always hear about Homestuck as an outsider but you never hear about the actual content. Most franchises on Earth I know something about, even and especially if I've never been interested in them. I can tell you a bunch of facts about wrestling and MLP and the Fast and the Furious simply through cultural osmosis and having friends who are into those things.

I can't tell you the plot of Homestuck, who the characters are, what the themes are, nothing. I've known a lot of people who were into Homestuck but nothing about the series!

So I thought it would thus be funny to make a video about a bunch of people who know nothing about the series starting from the beginning and giving their reactions, even if it's been years since it all started. I call this part of the video the "Homestuck Book Club." So the next step is me picking out the members (who all have to have no history with it) and making sort of a podcast setup. We'd then read and record every six months or so, IDK.

This is why the video has been stuck in production hell! Everyone who wants to work on it and messages me about it already knows the franchise. I don't want spoilers, I don't want people writing for the video who get it already. I want to capture the "what the fuck is this" energy of three dudes just getting in the middle of it.

Also, I think that I really like the theme of the video capturing our lives as they go by, capturing us aging and changing. If you came back from the future and told me this video comes out in five years, I'd say great. If you told me it comes out in ten years, I'd say awesome. Until then, the latest edit will always be on Patreon, even if you have to dig a little.

#homestuck #quinton reviews #long videos

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my-castles-crumbling · 2 months

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soup - @jegulus-microfic - word count: 614 - for @starchasersunseeker

Regulus sat at the cafe, staring at the laptop in front of him, willing words to magically appear on the screen. If only. It would make being an author much easier of he didn't have to....write.

He looked around the small restaurant, trying to find inspiration that clearly wasn't there when his eyes fell on a man a few tables away.

The man stood out not only because he was gorgeous - his tan skin and dark, messy hair made Regulus stare appreciatively for longer than was probably respectful - but also because of the book he was reading. Regulus's book.

It had just been released a few months ago, and Regulus was proud to say it'd actually sold a few copies. Four thousand, seven hundred-thirteen, last time he'd checked.

He felt a small surge of satisfaction to see the beautiful man reading his book that he'd put so much work and emotion into.

At least, until he saw the man scoff visibly at a page, looking almost disgusted.

He tried to stay at his table. He tried to focus on eating his soup and writing his story. But he felt inexplicably irritated at the man for scoffing at his pride and joy. So he stood and walked over.

"Good book?" he asked as he approached, trying desperately not to seem awkward. He didn't usually approach men in cafes.

He expected the man to say no, of course. But he was surprised when he looked up and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! God, it's great! And it's based on a true story! Have you read it?" His eyes sparkled behind his glasses as he asked, and Regulus felt his stomach swoop a bit.

"Erm...once," Regulus murmured.

"Don't spoil it, then," the man demanded, grinning. "But now I have someone to ask! How did you feel about this part?" He pushed the book to Regulus, who skimmed over the chapter he was on. "I just...I feel as if it's not realistic, you know?"

Regulus stared at him, then back at the book. "Not...realistic?"

"Yeah," the man nodded. "The main character, Arcturus? He really doesn't realize how much of a decent guy he is! And I just feel like he must know, at least a little!"

Regulus blinked, fighting to keep his mouth from popping open. Arcturus was based on himself. "Arcturus...he did a lot of bad things," he muttered, slowly sitting in the chair across from the man. "He...hurt people. Before he left his family."

"Right," the man nodded again, and Regulus felt almost disappointed at his agreement. But then he went on. "But...he learned, you know? And, don't spoil it for me, but, if his brother's a good guy, he's got to forgive him, right?"

Regulus sucked in a small breath. "I...well, I can't spoil it for you," he murmured.

"Well...he should," the man said, as if it decided the matter.

Regulus contemplated walking away for a moment. Keeping the whole thing a secret. The book, based off of his tumultuous childhood, his guilt at how he used to worship his parents, and his reconnection with Sirius when he'd finally gotten his head out of his arse, had been such a personal thing to create, that it felt insanely vulnerable to admit to this man that he'd written it.

But he was also drawn to him. To the man who saw him as good.

"Who's it by, again?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Erm..." the man flipped to the inside jacket, where Regulus knew his picture lay. "It's..." And then he looked up. "It's you?" he finished, looking awestruck.

Regulus chuckled wryly. "Sorry. I know you asked for no spoilers."

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aevumgames · 9 months

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✦ | To light the darkest of paths.

Those Long Dead is a medieval fantasy interactive fiction story, with angelic imagery and themes worked in, and a focus on romance. It is rated 18+ for depictions of swearing, potential sexual themes, violence, and death. More warnings may be added as development goes on.

Three generations.

That's how long it's been since this kingdom was conquered. In a time of great upset, the First Queen led a rebellion against reviled rulers and oppressive laws. Waging war with unmatched cunning, she rallied many powerful soul mages, known as angels, to the cause. From that conflict, the kingdom of Calcherth was born, built on the bones of the old empire. The First Queen ruled with great compassion and wit, but not all sins are forgiven with time. For the deaths she had caused during the war, the First Queen was murdered by the very people she had endeavored to lead.

The loss of its ruler did not spell the end of Calcherth, however. The coup was quickly suppressed, and the First Queen's son took the throne in her place. Now, many years later, the scars on Calcherth's short history have faded, and advances in soul magic improve lives for many within its borders. However, those same advances are viewed as a threat by Calcherth's neighboring kingdom, and many fear war is on the horizon once more. To make matters even more dire, the Second King has suddenly passed away, leaving his youngest son to succeed the throne long before he is old enough.

The effects of these events are so far-reaching, that even you are beginning to feel them, far to the southwest in the remote town of Lest. You are the child of a retired knight of the kingdom, who traded in his sword for the deed to Lest's tavern. The Fool's March, your father has named it, and the humble, but beloved tavern has been the center point of your entire life. But now, with rumblings of war, your father plans to pick up a blade once again, heading to the capital to enlist and leaving you behind in your childhood home. With him no longer by your side, what will you do when a threat to the entire kingdom comes for you? What will you do when you find out you may be a soul mage, yourself?

Medieval Fantasy setting with angelic imagery and themes, and a focus on romance.

Adult characters, with the main cast being mid twenties to early thirties.

Customizable MC. Select your first name, last name, pronouns, appearance, orientation and manifestation of powers.

Five romance options of varying gender and personality, who you can interact with as you choose.

More to come as development continues!

Kaine Breckem (he/him) - The blacksmith's former apprentice, who your father took in and hired at the tavern a few years ago. A kind, but mischievous individual, Kaine cares about others a great deal, but that doesn't stop him from being full of snark. Kaine can be your closest childhood friend, or someone you unfortunately work with; the choice is yours to make. Regardless, he's rather protective of you... but who will protect him when he needs it?

Vermillion "Millie" Lousat (she/her) - A descendant of a noble family, Millie has extensive education and combat training... and is also quite the social butterfly. It doesn't matter if it's the docks or the Gilded District, if you want connections somewhere, Millie has them. She wears her heart on her sleeve and doesn't care about the consequences. Maybe you'll catch her eye, somewhere amidst the mass of other's trying for her affections?

Leon Calcherth (he/him) - Technically a prince, Leon is the standoffish older brother of the Young King, Caleb, but is no longer considered to be in line for the throne. He greatly regrets the situation this has put his younger brother in, as they're very close. Leon is not easy to get close to because of the way he acts, but maybe the prickly prince has a softer side underneath the thorns?

Milo Lance (they/them) - The commander of the Order of Light, and they absolutely live up to the position. Practically raised in Gilramore's guard barracks, Milo's personality tends to come across as stiff and business-like, but in actuality they simply enjoy being effective and to the point. A truly gentle soul in a warrior's suit of armor, if you can persuade them to let down their guard.

Clementene Fairwreight (she/her) - Celementene is a talented soul mage for the Order, but she is a researcher at her heart; field work isn't particularly for her. A slightly nervous disposition and bad eyesight really only add to her penchant to stay within Gilramore's white stone walls. Her surprisingly daring experiments with magic captivate most of her attention, but maybe she'll find something in you that can capture her focus as well?

Demo last updated 4/22/2024.

ITCH.IO PAGE | PATREON | DISCORD SERVER | PINTEREST

#if wip #if intro #twine wip #interactive fiction #interactive fiction game #sorry for the repost but the first one wont show in the tags 😭#those long dead if

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bulbabutt · 11 months

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ok i wanna talk about tmnt 2007 and the way i think this is the best version of a leo and raph conflict, and also leo as a character

for context i've been talking about tmnt things kinda chronologically, so i'm gonna mention an unconditional understanding in 03 i bring that up in a previous post about that show and the family dynamics in it here if u want context for what i mean

i think this movie can really be appreciated for the place it has between adaptations, and the way character-wise everyone is more or less the same as they've always been but with a more interpersonal relationship as the focus. the main villain of this movie doesn't really matter, the conflict, the fights, that's not where the strength is (although, it is reflected in the conflict and ill get into that)

so tmnt 07 is one movie that kind of combines the 90s movies, 03, and mirage all in one place, and tonally is is similar to the show that will come after it, 12. if the 90s movies give us conflict between leo and raph, and 03 gives us the unconditional understanding between the two, 07 takes these two aspects and creates a story out of it. (debate in your own mind if this movie is a literal sequel to the 90s ones or not, its not that important)

the set up of this movie is we are in a post killing the shredder world. leo has been told by splinter to go get training elsewhere, there isn't much context for what happened to cause this, but i would bet its a similar cause to 03, where he had ptsd and lashed out at his father to which splinter sends him to his grandfather to get better advice than he thinks he can give him. the difference here is there is no grandfather hes sent to, he's sent on a journey of self discovery around the world to learn about it and himself.

the thing about leo as a character, and this goes for all leos, he's has a very black and white way of thinking. leo thinks he's been sent away because he's failing his family, that he's not a good enough leader. so he stays away for longer because he doesn't feel good enough. he finds a place where he can help and he does that. leo always needs a bad guy to fight, or else he's fighting his own demons. so he stays there for a long time. finding a place he can help quietly, never letting anyone see him, and becoming a legend to the locals because no one knows what's really going down.

april manages to track him down and tell him about whats going on with his brothers, how they're holding up without him and without being a team, and i think thats a good reminder for him that they miss him. he doesn't tell april but he finds a way home only after hearing about this. when he arrives and speaks to splinter, he says "i was so caught up in my own world i forgot about everyone else, i'm sorry i failed" he still doesn't feel like he's done anything of worth.

i'm gonna jump in here and say, you know how we all love rise raph? cuz hes the big brother and some traits that come from that are like being overprotective and taking on everyone else's problems and trying to handle emotions alone? well that's a trait thats usually leo's. but the difference with leo is sometimes that concept doesn't make you as likeable. sometimes it means you come off like a nagging mother hen who thinks they know best but in an arrogant way. sometimes it makes you mirror being a parent when no one asked you to be. leo's less of a passionate character than raph, hes more analytical and full of himself. he takes splinters lessons more seriously, and hes always trying to do whats best for everyone so they don't have to worry. this is something evident with 03 and 12, but its so specifically noticeable here because these traits make up the main conflict. i just want to bring that up so we start seeing leo as no different than some of our other favourite iterations.

splinter responds to his apology by saying "you owe me no apology, but perhaps you should talk to raphael, your absence has been particularly difficult for him, though he'll never admit it" but when leo greets him raph is brushing him off.

on raph's end, this is him being angry that leo left, and angry that hes back and everyone wants to pretend that he wasn't gone at all. as if the time he was gone didn't happen. hes lashing out because he too cant handle talking about these emotions. and hes lashing out by becoming a vigilante in his own right.

i see a lot of people misunderstand what raph is doing here, that "this is what the turtles always do" or "this is the same as what leo was doing how could he be mad" when that is not true. that's what casey does. its true that both leo and raph have been fighting bad guys on their own (as a way of dealing with their issues) but raphael has made himself a costume to disguise himself which means hes prepared to be seen. hes riding a motorcycle around, which is loud. this isn't stealthy, this is aggressive. his vigilante name is in the news. the turtles are ninjas, they silently help where they can and fade into the night and, very specifically, they work as a team. these turtles live in a dangerous world, what if something happened to him while no one else was around? they would never know because he never told anyone.

so raph is lashing out, and leo doesn't have a good way of dealing with it. he tries to slide back into being leader, doing what splinter says but he forgets how his brothers are, and with raph egging them on they get into fights they shouldn't. which leo specifically gets in trouble for, as the oldest brother, and as their leader. leo tries to be this better leader hes supposed to have learned to be, but it doesn't work and raph ends up back out there in his vigilante get up. leo tracks down said vigilante, and in his peak "leo knows best" moment, lectures him, not knowing its his brother. there's a scuffle, and the mask comes off. let me point out that casey knew this vigilante was raph but his own brother didn't, because leo has been gone that long.

so lets get into what this fight is really about. on the surface, its "wow you've been going out at night alone putting yourself in dangerous situations with no backup" and "so what you're just mad that i can do it without you" which leo would be right about. and this is the analytical leo, he really thinks that's all that's going on here. what hes missing is that raphael has missed him as a brother, and hes hurt that leonardo left and just came back no big deal. that he wants everything to be normal. raphael is always a character with big emotions and the only outlet he knows to express them is violence.

leo, who as we've established, went away to learn to be better for his family is angry that raph doesn't see that. he's mad raph doesn't appreciate the effort he went to, and he thinks he's just angry because he's not in charge. each brother sees the other as being arrogant.

this leads them to the big fight. no one can disagree that this is the best part of the movie (seriously watch the movie for this scene if you haven't seen it before) , but the real best part of it is that raphael wins. raph proves hes just as capable of a fighter as his brother, if not more-so. he uses those sais as they're supposed to be used, catching leo's swords and in a fit of rage he fucking breaks them, leaving leo defenceless and completely vulnerable to attack. you'd think he'd be smug that leo lost but he pauses, going through a lot of emotions in a moment, questioning what he's doing, why hes doing it. and leo finally looks his brother in the eye and sees raph going through something he didn't before, realizing raph hasn't been angry that he's back, but that he's angry that he ever left. they don't have a conversation, because raph cant handle all these emotions and he runs away, crying as he does. leo just watches him, taking it all in and realizing the error of his ways.

hearing leo scream turns raph around, but he's too late to help him, and this is where raph regrets his own actions because right then, leo is also proven right in his argument. because he gets kidnapped. if leo hadn't chased raph down, there is a very good chance that would have been raph being kidnapped. with no backup, with no one knowing what happened to him. that's why its important that the turtles are a team.

raph goes home full of guilt, and there's a good moment of showing how he cannot open up emotionally here, because he grunts, punches the wall, knocks over some weights and forces splinter to ask him what happened, because that's how raphael is. he laments to his father that he finally understands why leo is the better son, proving that to raph none of this was about their team, but about their family. conflating the two ideas in his head. splinter gives him a talk that mirrors what he said to leo when he returned earlier in the movie, encouraging him that he is a good son and brother. this shows that these brothers have very similar insecurities about their value to their family.

the rest of the movie plays out as you expect, they go save leo, they stop the bad guy, they reconcile and behave as the team they're supposed to be. but i just want to point out that the villains plot is mirrored in leo and raph's conflict. the 'villain' here is a brother who has been cursed to be immortal without his own siblings. for 3000 years he lived to regret his actions and decided to undo his curse, but he used the cursed stone versions of his siblings to do so. no communication, just thinking he knew better (which maybe he did) and lying about it. that caused them to lie to him right back, and try to overthrow him and destroy the world. this is just one family whose inner turmoil could have destroyed the world. you might say, oh that's not a very interesting turtles villain, but its not supposed to be. its not the focus.

this movie is all about the complicated relationship between a family, and i see so many people talk about it by trying to ask who's right and who's wrong. that's not how it works. life is more complicated than that, people are more complicated than that. its boring to look at this movie and just say "leo is wrong and raph is right" because that's not even how the characters see it. this movie is about leo and raph being mirrors of each other in their arrogance, in their insecurities, and in their stubborn pig-headed refusal to let the other know how they feel. splinter says as much at the start of the movie. this whole movie shows that without each other, they need to be fighting something so they don't get swept up by their own emotions, which they are both bad at processing. they are SUCH brothers. they are so similar emotionally, yet they have such a hard time understanding each other.

personally 07 leo is my favourite leo for his complexity, his flaws his strength, his growth. its sad we never got those sequel movies to get into the other brothers heads as much as we got into leo and raphs heads.

also nolan north and james arnold taylor gave the best vocal performances in this movie and they deserve all the credit for it.

#tmnt #tmnt 2007 #tmnt 07 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #07 leo #i will defend 07 leo to death does no one understand his autistic swag like i do #all leos are like this he just got to shine cuz the movie was ABOUT his and raphs issues #this has been in the drafts for a while and in the mind a LOT longer than that #sorry its long idek if thats all i have to say about him but CLEARLY its long enough #thoughts

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physalian · 21 days

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What No One Tells You About Writing #5

Part 4

Part 3

Part 2

Shorter list this time, but longer points. I expect this one to be more divisive, but it is what it is, and this is what ‘no one tells you’ about writing, after all. This one’s all about feedback and how to take it, and give it.

1. Not everyone will like your book, no matter how good it is

I’ve said this before, granted, but sometimes you can have very arbitrary reasons for not liking an otherwise great story. For example: I refuse to watch Hamilton. Why? Because everyone I knew and their dog was trying to cram it down my throat when it came out and I still don’t really like musicals, and didn’t appreciate the bombardment of insisting I’ll like it simply because everyone else does. I’m sure it’s great! I’m just not watching it until I want to watch it.

It can be other reasons, too. I won’t read fanfic that’s written in first person, doesn’t matter how good it is. Someone might not watch a TV show because the primary cast is white or not-white. Someone might not watch a movie because an actor they despise is in it, even if the role is fantastic. Someone might not watch or read a story that’s too heavy on the romance, or not enough, or too explicit. I went looking for beta readers and came across one who wouldn’t touch a book where the romance came secondary in a sci-fi or fantasy novel. Kept on scrolling.

Someone can just think your side character is unfunny and doesn’t hear the same music as everyone else. Someone can just not like your writing style with either too much or not enough fluff, or too much personality in the main narrator. Or they have triggers that prevent them from enjoying it the way you intend.

How someone expresses that refusal is not your job to manage. You cannot force someone to like your work and pushing too hard will just make it worse. Some people just won’t like it, end of story.

2. Criticism takes a very long time to take well

Some people are just naturally better at taking constructive criticism, some have a thick skin, some just have a natural confidence that beats back whatever jabs the average reader or professional editor can give. If you’re like me, you might’ve physically struggled at first to actually read the feedback and insisted that your beta readers color-coded the positive from the negative.

It can be a very steep climb up the mountain until you reach a point where you know you’re good enough, and fully appreciate that it is actually “constructive” and anything that isn’t, isn’t worth your time.

The biggest hurdle I had to climb was this: A criticism of my work is not a criticism of me as a person.

Yes, my characters are built with pieces of my personality and worldview and dreams and ideals, but the people giving you feedback should be people who either already know you as a person and are just trying to help, or are people you pay to be unbiased and only focus on what’s on the page.

Some decisions, like a concerning moral of your story, is inadvertently a criticism of your own beliefs—like when I left feedback that anxiety can’t just be loved away and believing so is a flawed philosophy. I did that with intent to help, not because I thought the writer incompetent or that they wrote it in bad faith.

I’m sure it wasn’t a fun experience reading what I had to say, either. It’s not fun when I get told a character I love and lost sleep over getting right isn’t getting the same reception with my betas. But they’re all doing it (or at least they all should be doing it) from a place of just wanting to help, not to insult your writing ability. Even if your writing objectively sucks, you’re still doing a lot more just by putting words on paper than so many people who can’t bring themselves to even try.

As with all mediums subjects to critique, one need not be an author to still give valuable feedback. I’m not a screenwriter, but from an audience’s standpoint, I can tell you what I think works. Non-authors giving you pointers on the writing process? You can probably ignore that. Non-authors giving you pointers on how your character lands? Then, yeah, they might have an opinion worth considering.

3. Parsing out the “constructive” from the criticism isn’t easy

This goes for people giving it as well. Saying things like “this book sucks” is an obviously useless one. Saying “I didn’t like this story because it was confusing and uncompelling” is better. “I think this story was confusing and uncompelling because of X, and I have some suggestions here that I think can make it better.”

Now we’re talking.

Everyone’s writing style is different. Some writers like a lot of fluff and poetic prose to immerse you in the details and the setting, well beyond what you need to understand the scene or the plot. Their goal is to make this world come alive and help you picture the scene exactly the way they see it in their minds.

There’s writers who are very light on the sensory fluff and poetry, trying to give you the impression of what the scene should look and feel like and letting you fill in the missing pieces with your own vision.

Or there’s stories that take a long time to get anywhere, spending many pages on the small otherwise insignificant slice-of-life details as opposed to laser-precision on the plot, and those who trim off all the fat for a fast-paced rollercoaster.

None of these are inherently bad or wrong, but audiences do have their preferences.

The keyword in “constructive criticism” is “construct”. As in, your advice is useless if you can’t explain why you think an element needs work. “It’s just bad” isn’t helpful to anyone.

When trying to decide if feedback has merit, try to look at whatever the critic gives you and explain what they said to yourself in your own words. If you think changing the piece in question will enhance your story or better convey what you’re trying to say, it’s probably solid advice.

Sometimes you just have to throw the whole character out, or the whole scene, whole plot line and side quest. Figuring out what you can salvage just takes time, and practice.

4. Just when you think you’re done, there’s more

There’s a quote out there that may or may not belong to Da Vinci that goes “art is never finished, only abandoned.” Even when you think your book is as good as it can be, you can still sleep on it and second-guess yourself and wonder if something about it could have been done better or differently.

There is such a thing as too much editing.

But it also takes a long time to get there. Only 10-15% of writing is actually penning the story. The rest is editing, agonizing over editing, re-editing, and staring at the same few lines of dialogue that just aren't working to the point that you dream about your characters.

It can get demoralizing fast when you think you’ve fixed a scene, get the stamp of approval from one reader, only for the next one to come back with valid feedback neither of you considered before. So you fix it again. And then there’s another problem you didn’t consider. And then you’re juggling all these scene bits and moments you thought were perfect, only for it to keep collapsing.

It will get there. You will have a manuscript you’re proud of, even if it’s not the one you thought you were going to write. My newest book isn’t what I set out to write, but if I stuck to that original idea, I never would have let it become the work that it is.

5. “[Writing advice] is more like guidelines than actual rules.”

Personally, I think there’s very few universal, blanket pieces of writing advice that fit every book, no exceptions, no conditions, no questions asked. Aside from: Don’t sacrifice a clear story for what you think is cool, but horribly confusing.

For example, I’m American, but I like watching foreign films from time to time. The pacing and story structure of European films can break so many American rules it’s astonishing. Pacing? What pacing? It’s ~fancy~. It wants to hang on a shot of a random wall for fifteen seconds with no music and no point because it’s ~artsy~. Or there is no actual plot, or arc, it’s just following these characters around for 90 minutes while they do a thing. The entire movie is basically filler. Or the ending is deeply unsatisfying because the hoity-toity filmmaker believes in suffering for art or… something.

That doesn’t fly with mainstream American audiences. We live, breathe, and die on the Hero’s Journey and expect a three-act-structure with few novel exceptions.

That does not mean your totally unique or subversive plot structure is wrong. So much writing advice I’ve found is solid advice, sure, but it doesn’t often help me with the story I’m writing. I don’t write romance like the typical romance you’d expect (especially when it comes to monster allegories). There’s some character archetypes I just can’t write and refuse to include–like the sad, abusive, angsty, 8-pack abs love interest, or the comedic relief.

Beyond making sure your audience can actually understand what you’re trying to say, both because you want your message to be received, and you don’t want your readers to quit reading, there is an audience for everything, and exceptions to nearly every rule, even when it comes to writing foundations like grammar and syntax.

You don’t even have to put dialogue in quotes. (Be advised, though, that the more ~unique~ your story is, the more likely you are to only find success in a niche audience).

Lots of writing advice is useful. Lots of it is contradictory. Lots of it is outdated because audience expectations are changing constantly. There is a balance between what you *should* do as said by other writers, and what you think is right for your story, regardless of what anyone else says.

Just don’t make it confusing.

—

I just dropped my cover art and summary for my debut novel. Go check it out and let me know what you think!

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #editing #constructive criticism #what no one tells you about writing

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suffersinfandom · 26 days

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Okay. OFMD discourse.

I see a lot of passive aggressive digs at "media literacy" and claims that we're watching different shows, and... I guess that's true? There's obviously a fundamental disagreement about what story OFMD is telling. Like, I feel like we need to sit down and do some kind of Story Analysis 101 just to make sure we all have the same foundational understanding of the show.

Like. What I was talking about in the first part of this post.

If you and everyone in your server are doing OFMD media analysis and you've all concluded that the show's main plot is the crew's storyline, you're going to come to very different conclusions than me. You're going to wonder why so much time in S2 was given to B plots and scenes that don't move the crew's story forward. You're going to be annoyed that so much of the season is devoted to Gentlebeard and not Izzy and his relationship with the crew. You might even conclude that the whole show is an example of "bury your gays" because the central queer character -- the character whose development is, in your eyes, the heart and soul of the show -- dies at the end.

The thing is? The "big cliffhanger" of S1 was not the crew's separation, and the first episodes of S2 aren't about the crew's reunion and Izzy's arc. Izzy and the crew are not the show's protagonists. Stede and Ed are the protagonists; their relationship is the main plotline. It's very silly to call S2E4 a "mistake" that "[shoves] the show's main plot and most of the characters into 1 minute scenes in between much longer gentlebeard scenes" because the Gentlebeard scenes are the main plot.

Prior to OFMD, my favorite characters were always secondary and a lot of my personal analysis focused on action that fell outside of the main story. Heck, one of my blorbos of choice takes an antagonistic role to the story's protagonists, and yeah, I sure do sympathize with him even though he's not positioned as the guy who's in the right. But I'm always aware of my blorbo's place in the narrative.

It's okay if your favorite character(s) aren't the protagonists of a story. It's okay if the plotline you're most interested in isn't the main one. It's okay if you hang out in the corners of fandom that focus on the parts of the story you care the most about. It's even okay if you're mad at OFMD for letting you down by not giving enough time and attention to the bits that are the most important to you.

Just.

Stede and Ed are the protagonists. OFMD is, first and foremost, about their relationship. When I see analysis that denies this, I feel like I'm completely losing my mind.

#ofmd #ofmd fandom #fandom critical?#idk i feel like a crazy person sometimes #and sometimes this fandom is frustrating #ofmd discourse

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amyrlinegwene · 7 months

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It’s become really apparent to me how TV has changed based on the shorter seasons.

I feel like so many TV shows want to tell really in-depth complicated plots, but they’re only given eight episodes (sometimes less). And this can work if you have a smaller cast, or you are very strict about who the core cast is, for example in succession, the core characters are the family unit and the secondary characters—the people who work at the company— are not given a similar level of focus, the actors do a really great job of conveying who those characters and what their motivations are, but they still leave you wanting more because ultimately, you know, you might get a hint of something in the script that you can’t go into in depth.

I think the problem is trying to fit a really complicated plot(s) in an eight episode season that also has an extremely large cast of characters that they want to focus on. I see this in Wheel of Time, I saw it in The Gilded Age too.

And one of the main ways I feel like the stories really suffer is that you don’t really get to sit with a story or the implication of things that happen like you do if there is a longer season. For example, there’s a lot of cutaways right after dramatic event instead of seeing peoples’ reactions and afterwards reactions are implied, or perhaps you skip an important scene altogether, and then just tell people that it happened.

And I think there’s choices that you can maybe make as a writer or a director once or twice for a meaningful reason, but sometimes it happens so often it really feels like it’s only to save time. You didn’t want to see the character having in that emotional reaction for more than two seconds because you don’t have enough time the episode to focus on them, now you have to go to someone else’s plot. Or you skipped over that explanation/event to just have the character have already found out in the next scene because you know if they were to have that scene, it would take up at least a couple minutes because of course they would react to strongly to that news. But now they have known for hours/days etc so their reaction is stale and can be implied with a withering look or a long sigh and a quick mention to let the audience know that something happened.

When you have a large ensemble cast in a short season, there simply isn’t time to give everyone a meaningful plot all the time or there isn’t time to examine everyone’s deeper characterization as a result of their plot; this often ends up with audiences wanting more and writers relying slightly on stereotypes or character tropes to help round out the character in audiences minds.

I really hope the strike helps reverse the trend of shorter and shorter seasons for television shows, because while not every show needs to be more than eight episodes, many shows would benefit from the ability to have more time to tell their story. It is wild to me that a 12 or 13 episode season for a drama series is now a long season to me.

#this is not about wot but it is inspired by #wheel of time #and other shows like #the gilded age #I have specific examples in mind of these scenarios if anyone wants to know but I didn’t want to put them in the post because of spoilers

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fantasy-anatomy-analyst · 2 months

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Bonus note relating to that fantasy culture post I reblogged.

You know what really helps build up fantasy cultures? Making them interact.

Here is my most extreme example: my orcs, descended from a species of pack-hunting wild boar type animals, and my centaurs, chalicotheres that evolved a very weirdly consistent form of chimeric twin body shape.

The ancestors of the orcs used to hunt the ancestors of the centaurs. They were basically the only major predator of that species. This began long long before either group could ever be considered "people" but only stopped after both groups evolved equal levels of sapience and had many violent conflicts over it.

The centaurs defended themselves more and more, the orcs got more clever with their hunting, and then at some point they were no longer animals but all people, and what was once a dynamic of predator and prey became a dynamic of enemies at war.

The orcs surrendered. They abandoned their ancestral lands, conceding to the centaurs. They lost a lot of their culture, most of their important heirlooms, because so much of their ancestral history was so deeply centered on following their migrating prey and treating them as a sacred animal and using their hides and bones.

But that prey is a people now, and it is so very obviously the wrong choice to cling to that old culture. They had to start over.

And the centaurs became an isolated people, keeping everyone out, orc or otherwise.

Generations later, can they ever reconcile their past? Can they draw a line between animal and people and forgive the morally neutral act of simple predators hunting simple prey? When did it cross that line? Can these two opposed groups become friendly, after all that happened?

And then their cultures actually have a lot of similarities that happened to come from different roots.

The orcs are warrior folk who live in family groups and practice ancestral veneration.

So are the centaurs.

But the orcs are like that because they're descended from pack-hunting predators, while the centaurs are like that because they were the migrating herds of prey trying to defend themselves.

By having both of these groups in the story, even if they're not entirely central to the plot, I've already created a dynamic that makes the whole world feel more alive and occupied and gives it a history beyond the main characters and their own lives.

Following the plot, only focusing on worldbuilding that is plot relevant, that's all well and good and I encourage it! You don't want your story to drown in your worldbuilding. But man, it is so much fun to add those extra details and create connections between your people groups that extend far beyond the actual plot and the main characters. I think it can really make the world more immersive.

Sometimes I read fantasy, and it feels like the worldbuilding is shallow and flat, only there if it serves the one major plot line. It's like the rest of the world doesn't even exist. And I get it, I understand the tight focus, I know why so many people only want to write the small handful of characters and only stick to details that are plot relevant.

I just also really really love stories where the world itself is full and alive and you can see where there could be many many more stories to tell beyond the limited perspectives of the main characters.

#writing advice #worldbuilding

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thyfggfy · 10 days

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I had contemplated doing this post for awhile , because quite frankly I wasn't sure what I was trying to accomplish and even now I am not sure what my goal is. I just know that I don't want to scream into the void . I want to be heard.

Some of you might be aware of one of the most recent tw confession blogs . In one of their more recent posts a very interesting discussion occurred.

One of my mutuals pointed out a collection of fics that are labelled as "101 ways to kill Scott McCall". At first I didn't even notice this , because idk. Maybe I just glazed over it , however when more people began interacting with the publication I SAW IT and I just had to check for myself .

One of said fics is called "Kill-a-Character Bingo - Scott McCall" which is a fanfiction of 26 chapters in which Scott is killed in various grotesque and humiliating ways.This is one of the chapters:

Outside of feeling gross , disillusioned and honestly sick to my stomach , I was also beyond perplexed . It is one thing to dislike a character . To be so annoyed by them that you just want them gone by any means necessary . I can even understand killing them in your own fic as a "treat" . I can't say I am on board with that , but still I can put myself in your shoes...sort of. Writing a fanfiction in which your main focus is a character you loathe , on the other hand, is ...confusing to say the least.

I can already hear some of you saying "It is not like I wrote this" and you are right , but what about the people supporting it .

115+ people apparently consider this good , entertaining . Gave the "author" their silent encouragement to keep going .

To be fair this fic is from the end of 2023 so the kudos are not that much so let's look at their most recent work with the "Dead Scott McCall" tag -"Compare" which was written at the beginning of February 2024

Over 100 kudos in the span of 3 months . Not too shabby for ao3.How much is too much ? How much longer can you use the "just a few rotten apples" argument?

If you are wondering how Scott's life ends in this story , one of the readers was more than happy to inform us.

I am going to avoid name-calling ,okay. I know that realistically not all of you are like this (thank god). I just want to ask. Do you think this is healthy? Do you think that is a fulfilling way for someone to spend their free time? Are you going to be comfortable being near this person and their fans knowing this is one of their "hobbies"? I don't know about you , but I would definitely be keeping my distance.

Again, I have no clue what is the point of this . I don't want you to attack the user . They would most likely just double down on doing what they know best . Maybe some of you would understand why people from my side of the fandom are so willing to accuse you of certain things instead of getting butthurt . Though that is most likely also asking for too much.

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sapphos-darlings · 24 days

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There's something I've been thinking a lot recently, about how lesbianism is truly a unique sexual orientation even among other minority ones, and how that affects our art and writing that should be about self-expression. Lesbians are so far in the margins, being first women, then a minority of women by being same-sex attracted, and then a minority of those ssa women by being exclusively ssa. That's not even mentioning other factors that might intersect, such as race or ability. This can leave us feeling isolated and scrambling for support and allies, and in my opinion, one can compromise too much while struggling to be understood, and even lose important parts of yourself in the quest for solidarity and inclusivity.

So, what I want to say to my fellow lesbian writers and artists:

Be bold.

Be honest.

Be unapologetic.

Question your motives and biases again to make sure you're not holding yourself back. Don't let yourself become your own lesbophobic call-out-poster or a narrowminded critic. Don't chew up your ideas, opinions and creativity just so some hypothetical audience would have easier time swallowing it.

Don't shrink back and lie to make your art appeal to others. Dare to prefer women and lesbians. Dare to put lesbians first. Dare to center lesbians. Dare to center lesbians like you and focus on topics that are important to you.

Personally for me becoming the loud and self-centered lesbian writer has meant that I've started to write lesbian/lesbian couples without feeling the need to "be fair" in terms of representation. I've started to write about explicitly homosexual experiences, where women love women not "despite their sex" but because of it, and are sure and happy about that.

I no longer cloak lesbian sexuality in "soft sapphic vibes" or leave it without a clear definition. I've started to exclude men from the women's stories. I've shed the need to include heterosexuals in main roles, even other women.

I started to exclude hyper feminine tropes just because I don't like them. I started writing masculine women and butches without worrying they are "too much". I create lesbian characters who are flawed, in pain, evil, complex and unlikable, and put them in thrillers and horror without worrying about crossing a line into that dreaded "too much".

I've pushed down many invisible walls by examining the ways I've people-pleased and shied away from how strong and unique the lesbian experience is.

Behind all those walls are stories I really long to tell, the kind that resonate with me, the kind I want to have in this world.

And I know no one else is going to depict lesbians like we do ourselves. No one else is going to tell our stories like we do, or paint us like we do, so let's stop wasting time pleasing others and start telling our own stories - unfiltered and proud.

#wlw #lesbian positivity #lesbian pride #lesbian safe #lesbian writers #lesbian artists #lesbian #c: Lavender

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azulsluver · 10 months

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Bully!au with a cunning mc?

Oh how the tables turned

tw. yandere, bully!characters, manipulation, mentioned violence + public humiliation.

Heartslabyul || Savanaclaw || Octavinelle ||

From what I am getting at, reader this time can stand up against the bullies. During their time spending with Ace and Deuce, they noticed the way they've been a little distant and leaving backhanded comments. Perhaps reader has been in these types of situations, so they knew better than to entertain the duo by pouting and complaining. Instead, let them have a taste of their own medicine, being sure to catch onto their words in case it sets Deuce off. He's such a hot head. Call out on Deuce's bullshit, corner his feelings and get him to side with you. Ace would be left to fend for himself, so used to having people agree on his terms, he's gotta pick a side to be in the league.

People may not realize it, but Deuce is so easy to manipulate in this au. But he's too far deep into his delusions and selfish desires to repent, thus why it's best to catch on to the signs and take the wheel. Deuce is pathetic in your hands, separate him from Ace, make excuses to keep him company and busy while Ace stays from the side, he is the main reason why Deuce acts this way towards you after all. It's preventable, to say at least, but Ace won't back down so quick.

You have to play the game right, or else you'll fall like a stack of cards.

Ace is good at gathering troops into his plans, he gets to fling those around if they aren't much use to him. You'll catch on pretty quick however, understanding why Ace decided to have everyone turn their back on you. Because he's interested. You make Ace second guess himself, what was special about you to begin with. Could it be the fear of rejection, social image?

You want to peer inside that silly head of yours, glaring from across the room. And you noticed, the way his posture straightens as his eyes make contact with yours, teeth biting his lower lip as sweat cling to his neck. Ace loves the attention.

Riddle and Cater could be out of pure spite. You're good at something that they want.

After being told numerous times by Cater that he'd call the fashion police every time you two would hang out. He expects you to not take it by heart (100% wants you to), through gritted teeth and crumpled knuckles, giving him a confused expression to lay off. If Cater wished to create an image of himself that'll falsely inform others, then you might as well play it his way. Fooling Cater by pretending to be the air headed friend, you listen well to your elders, people slowly recognize you by the littlest of things that can make you stand out. Associating yourself with Cater meant you had been influenced on what you should or not do with him.

In fact you enjoy Cater's expression, when someone comes to say hi to you and not him, or mention your story of something you did last week. Shrugging your shoulders as you bat your lashes, Cater could barely hold himself from strangling you. He can see what you're doing, you aren't as dumb as he thought you'd be.

Clicking his tongue, Cater would want to cut you off from his social life for good, but you'll be a reminder to him that he has to do better. If you can easily take down his persona, just how willing were you to do more than just tease him for taking advantage of an innocent person such as yourself.

Riddle has been through some sort of public humiliation, and you've kept that to the back of your mind. He's high and mighty, he knows what he wants, and he gets it one way or another. You and Riddle would be rivals at most, some form of twisted love he's created for himself, for you, that you're perfect. But so, so disgusting.

He doesn’t wanna focus on or getting in a relationship, his bad habit of being a neat freak has caused a toll on him. Making it worse the longer he indulged in this unhealthy behavior and of, although majority of the characters start off light during their bullying. When turned a blind eye is where evil sets in, growing rapidly once they realize how good it feels to have someone bellow them. Riddle, per say is victim to this trope.

You have to push yourself to him, grab his attention and prove him that you are worth the respect. This goes with intelligence because he’s somewhat attracted to those who know how to use their knowledge to hood use. That’s the point, make use of yourself to show Riddle that you’re someone on his level. This can go two ways with him being your rival or friend.

Don’t be seen as vulnerable around Trey. It’s what started for him to prey on you, with no clue on how the world work to little no friends. At first Trey was your average normal friend who helped you at times need, sometimes it came with a price. But then he got greedy, expecting more than taking advantage of your naivety.

Trey is a little tricky to figure because he doesn’t open up about himself a lot. You have to find weak points that doesn’t involve hurting his loved ones. However you can easily deceive him by playing coy, keep him in line with his morals (once he gets comfortable there’s no turning back). I wouldn’t say he’s easily influenced but he hopped onto the train when it did come to bullying you, I guess he took some form of pity but that was to mask his sadistic tendencies. Trey does try to control his urges of said “temptation”, but he gets off to the feeling of someone needing his help in dire situations.

Which means you can be buddy buddy with Trey just make sure not to trigger any opportunities for him to get to how he is in this AU. At least he gives you free snacks.

#yandere twst #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twisted wonderland x reader #riddle rosehearts x reader #trey clover x reader #cater diamond x reader #ace trapolla x reader #deuce spade x reader #bully!au

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acourtofthought · 1 month

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I think it's fair to say that my blog is extremely Pro Elain Archeron as well as Pro Lucien Vanserra as well as Pro Elucien.

Keeping in mind that I adore Elain.....

It's interesting how certain people in the fandom consistently downplay the importance of Lucien's character. How it'll be no big thing for a biracial disabled male who was forced to witness his first loves murder and chased out of two homes to be rejected by his mate who he longs for two years after their bond snapped while remaining loyal as he makes no demands on her as she figures out her new world.

They'll say this as if Lucien Vanserra was not someone in book 1, a book where the author thought Elain was just going to be a stereotypical "bad stepsister" sort of figure.

Can we stop and think about that for a moment? The author did not think Elain would be anyone to the series at first.

That clearly changed for both sisters and she set them both up to have epic journey's but from book 1 LUCIEN received main character energy. Tragic backstory. Hints that his business with Beron and his brothers was not over as he had never forgotten what they did to him even if he pretended he had. Right hand to a High Lord, a High Lord who said he put Lucien in the position he did because he was better at things than even Tamlin himself. We were told Lucien was fast, handsome, sassy, brave.

Lucien has ALWAYS been someone.

And when she realized the sisters were going to have their own stories beyond what Feyre was seeing, she considered having Lucien and Nesta end up together because again, Lucien was always meant to play an ongoing role which now involved his possibly becoming Feyre's brother in-law. After mulling that over she realized that she did not want this "someone" from book 1 to have a love interest who would cause him more suffering (likewise for Nesta).

So instead of Nesta, she mated Elain to Lucien. One can assume that is because she felt that he and Elain would be better suited to one another. Why would she not want Lucien and Nesta to worsen one another's trauma but felt fine with Lucien and Elain worsening one another's trauma? There's no logic to that. And an Elucien pairing would again lead to him becoming Feyre's brother in-law, seems like something she was really pushing for.

I'm so very sorry that people pretend Lucien's character is not important but it sure sounds to me that Lucien has been her focus for much longer than either of the sisters, that she always wanted him to be in Feyre's life in a major way and that she'll make sure Lucien will not end up unhappy with a rejected bond.

Of course the sisters became an extremely important part to the series in book 2 and beyond but just because her love for their characters grew, it does not mean her love for Lucien diminished. It does not mean that what some think Elain wants before her own story became more important than what SJM has always wanted for Lucien.

#pro lucien vanserra #elucien #lucien vanserra

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shuttershocky · 7 months

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Based on my (limited) experiences following the Type Moon fandom, it seems like there's such a wall between the fans of the "OG stuff" (mostly Mahoyo, Tsukihime, Kara no Kyoukai, FSN) and people who started with/also enjoy Grand Order, it looks like such a one sided thing where the fans of the older stuff tend to hate on FGO's writing and whatever it might have done to have done to Type Moon and Nasu's priorities, while the FGO fans just seem to enjoy the story while still being happy enough to support the OG stuff (Mahoyo/TsukiRe english release for example)

That incoherent wall of text is basically set up for me to ask what *you* think of FGO as someone who I imagine came from the older works. I'm curious about how you feel about the writing and stories in particular, from the arcs where Nasu started to be more involved (I haven't played them, but I believe it's Camelot?) since that's where I heard they started to get more elaborate. Do they live up to the experiences you've had with TM's other works?

Sorry for the long question, and I hope you have a great day!

Wow. I've been here for an incredibly long time if people no longer know about how much I used to play FGO.

Anyway, I would say what really sets FGO apart, not just from the rest of Type-Moon but even from other Fate works, is its scale, both in terms of the storytelling and its real life commercial value.

The hate you see many non-FGO playing TM fans have toward FGO is resentment towards how much it has simply taken up Type-Moon as a whole. The Tsukihime Remake was announced all the way back in 2008 and released in 2021 for example, partly because FGO taking off the way it did in 2015 meant it took up all their time and effort. They could not focus on anything else.

As their biggest moneymaker, it also began to warp the production of other works around it, as FGO had now become the main way by which people got into Type-Moon. Therefore, all things had to appeal to FGO fans in order to sell whether that was Fate/Extella Link pulling in FGO cast members like Scathach and Arjuna into the game, or Fate/Apocrypha's anime adaptation including as many FGO cameos as possible like Medea Lily (what was she even doing there lmao).

Of course, just adding FGO references doesn't automatically make something bad. Fate/Samurai Remnant for example has made fantastic use of FGO characters while mixing them in with new ones. However, you also get stuff like Melty Blood Type-Lumina having Saber, Ushiwakamaru, Dantes, and Mash all in the game while old fan favorite Melty Blood characters like Sion and Len are nowhere to be seen. You know that "Wi-fi is okay if you're close to the router" Melty Blood meme? That character Nanaya Shiki isn't even playable in the latest Melty Blood. When you see that and see not one, not two, but THREE FGO characters taking their place (Saber's a free pass), you'd see why there's a lot of resentment built up towards FGO by older Type-Moon fans.

As I said before, the difference isn't just in its commercial scale, but also in its creative one. Even in the most outlandish of settings, Type-Moon works are almost always smaller scale, character-centric pieces. Fate/Extra took place inside a supercomputer on the Moon, but it was about a glitch making an AI fight in a death battle between humans, and how that formerly blank AI feeling danger and wanting to live blurred the lines between what is human and what isn't. Tsuki No Sango (Coral of the Moon) was about a world 3000 years in the future, but the entire thing was a little space man in the palm of a girl's hand, listening to a love story about a man and a computer on the Moon.

For all its many similarities to previous TM works, FGO is still ultimately a save the world type of story. It starts with a demon destroying all of time, and then turns into a death game between entire timelines. It's big, it's bombastic, and it's instantly accessible, the kind of story structure you want to be able to fit the gacha format of an endless stream of new characters while keeping the ship steady with an overarching plot that lets you keep meeting an endless stream of new characters.

That's not really what I'm a TM fan for. I played FGO for its first 3 years, and once they brought out the Lostbelts I realized I was already satisfied and did not want to read yet another big world saving adventure plot all over again. I was pretty happy with how the first arc ended already, so my interest in continuing FGO shriveled up soon after.

Quality wise I'd say FGO is a very mixed bag, inevitable when FGO itself is a mix of very different writers (who themselves can be pretty inconsistent, Nasu included). Plenty of FGO chapters have also been cursed with subpar adaptations (looking at you, Camelot and Babylonia), further muddying the perceived quality of the stories.

I will say when FGO is bad, it's really bad (and often pretty racist), but when it's good, it's really good. For what I consider to be a mediocre baseline, FGO has some incredibly high peaks that rival the best in Type-Moon, and even when something is just okay execution wise (like Shimousa), some of the characters, concepts, and story beats are just so damn cool that they become intensely emotional and impactive all the same and inspire superior adaptations and follow up works (like Shimousa).

That being said, my favorite stories in FGO were the ones that would use much smaller scale, isolated adventures with a far stronger focus on characterization and emotional arcs that follow its thematic ones. Aeaean Spring Breeze is one of the best examples, being a tiny event about helping Circe move on from having been rejected by Odysseus in life, with some incredibly solid character work and a great understanding of how to mix the needs of a light-hearted comedy event with making genuine, emotionally compelling moments from a character that almost never speaks from the heart.

#in case I haven't made it obvious yet read the Shimousa Manga

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