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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 10 months

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I know ramshackle was put in the game more for convenience than anything, but I wonder if the story will ever tell a bit about its past and how it was originally used? if there was someone that represented the dorm like the great seven does with the others or if it was a dorm before nrc became the way it is today? (like maybe the dorms didn't represent one of the 7 at the beginning?)

I'd personally really love to get to know more about Ramshackle dorm! ^^ There's so many fan theories on the topic (and especially about what led to its collapse and who, if any, the dorm is meant to be "representative" of), but each one is wildly different from the last and there doesn't seem to be any consensus in the fandom about it. We don't really know a lot about Ramshackle other than the general idea that it was once considered a dorm, but has since fallen from grace and is no longer recognized as one. What happened to its students? What was the event that led to Ramshackle's current destitute state? There's a lot more to this story that we just aren't seeing yet.

One common misconception I see is that Eliza (the Ghost Bride) claims Ramshackle dorm as part of her fallen kingdom, which may implicate some kind of ghostly or supernatural being as Ramshackle’s figure. However, this is not actually true. Eliza does come from a fallen kingdom AND she uses Ramshackle dorm as her base of operations—but the two are not directly connected. Crowley sites that Eliza chooses to use Ramshackle every year on her hunt for her prince “out of all the decrepit, abandoned dwellings in this world”. This implies Eliza could literally pick any place, but happened to pick Ramshackle (most likely to kick off the event story, and/or because it’s implied Ramshackle is an attractive dwelling place for ghosts, hence in part why the Ramshackle ghosts haunt it).

I also wonder??? If Ramshackle was even modeled after a particular "figure" to begin with? I really do not get those vibes at all; there is no particularly noteworthy iconography that would tie it down to one very "clear cut" classic villain (assuming it is one, like the others in the G7). Why would Ramshackle be the only "abnormal" dorm??? And speaking of the G7??? I find it odd that no one ever makes reference to a figure like them for Ramshackle. It's not like any character ever says there's a "G8"??? Or even speaks of a figure of equal greatness to them outside of the G7 (similar to the Just Judge at Noble Bell College). Like, even if Ramshackle itself is no longer relevant, that doesn't mean a historical figure linked to Ramshackle would be irrelevant too. Their deeds and accomplishments still exist. You'd think that would be important to bring up, even off handedly or in a vague mention. (Or is this a part of the “history can be erased an manipulated” stuff Lilia brought up??)

In canon, Pomefiore is said to be the oldest dorm (so unless there are extenuating circumstances, I don't think Ramshackle existed in a dormitory capacity until after at least Pomefiore was a thing). The wording can also imply that the other dorms came after (ie Pomefiore was established first, or the dorm system itself came much later). It's also interesting to note that, unlike the other dorms, Ramshackle does not exist in its own pocket dimension, but rather on the same main campus plot of land that houses NRC's other facilities. I wonder if this detail is actually historically significant somehow.

I really hope that some of these questions (if not all of them) will be answered in the future 😅 I feel like they are very important for world-building and shouldn't be left to the boring explanation of "well, it's the player/plot convenience, so..."

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #Eliza #Ghost Bride #Lilia Vanrouge #Dire Crowley

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theheirofthesharingan · 3 months

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Hi, so I know you are often using the Itachi Shinden novels as your source for in-depth discussions of Itachi (and other characters, but mostly Itachi), even though a big chunk of the fandom considers them not canon. What is your stance on the validity of the Naruto novels?

Itachi Shinden novels are the most faithful to canon novels, even though they have their own moments of discrepancy. They don't invent new, crucial things that contradict the canon material. Usually, whenever I mention something from the novels, I specify it with 'in the novel it says this", meaning this part doesn't directly come from manga, but since novel mentions it which was alluded to in the original material (or databooks), I'm using it in my analysis. For the most part, though, I take information from them with a pinch of salt.

Nearly everything in the novel was either directly stated in the original text, was alluded to, or just mentioned in the passing, and the novels elaborated on it. They also entirely validate Obito's story of Itachi and the Uchiha clan's oppression by the village.

When Obito says Itachi was used by the system, manga definitely gives us a peak into it in form of Itachi and Danzo scene in Itachi's flashback as well as Itachi and Fugaku scenes in Sasuke's flashbacks. Itachi and his distance from the family and his clan, the reason behind it, and how badly it all affected him.

Itachi was a self-assured kid, who never pitied himself, had confidence in what he did, thought was right and took decisions accordingly. Still he got manipulated by Danzo, and Hiruzen was useless. He was a child even though he himself didn't use that excuse to feel bad about himself. These things are mentioned in manga through Sasuke's interactions with the two men as well as his own flashbacks. The novels explained the process in extreme detail. Denying the novel is canon doesn't change much because it's only an elaboration of what already exists in the story and has been told to us.

Itachi and Shisui's interactions too. Shisui was important to Itachi, so much so that his death forced Itachi to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. Denying the legitimacy of the novels as 'not canon' doesn't help much because it didn't invent Shisui and Itachi's bonding and Shisui wasn't just a filler character. What the novel is doing is, it's giving us the story why Shisui was so important to him. Whatever your version of Itachi and Shisui's friendship, the end result is that they were extremely important to each other.

The death scene of Shisui was slightly different in the novel. Shisui commits suicide in manga. And in the novel he convinces Itachi to push him off the cliff. Again, it's not relevant, because it doesn't actually make Itachi a culprit or any less of a victim.

Itachi's relationship with his parents and Sasuke is the core for me in the novel as well as for his assessment as a character. His aloofness from his family, their lack of support, and his gradual descent into the darkness is shown from his point of view. And how Sasuke was used to make Itachi agree to the massacre. It's all available in detail in the books.

There are many things the novel contradicts, but to me the important things are the ones I mentioned above. His closest bonds with his parents, Sasuke, and Shisui. He was brutally used by the system, was alone, and then had to accept a mission that ended his life before it truly began. That's what the novel emphasizes. And that's what matters to me as well.

The novel states Obito was involved in the coup d'état planning and was manipulating Yashiro Uchiha, but there's no concrete proof of it in manga, so we can't say. However, since Obito is sneaking into the village, he definitely would have taken advantage of the coup and carried out whatever he was planning. So whether he was actively involved in the coup isn't as important to me as much his sneaking into the village is.

The people who claim Itachi novels aren't canon are mostly his haters. On one hand they are convinced Obito was lying about itachi being in war as a kid, Itachi being used by the elders etc., is a lie because Obito is an unreliable narrator. The same people in the same breath also fully claim Obito was telling 100000% truth when he told the clan was planning the coup because they were oppressed. Obito's reliability as a narrator is conditional of what they want to believe of his story.

Manga briefly hints to these things, but in detail they're explored in the novel. Plenty of pro Konoha people use manga to "prove" Uchiha weren't oppressed, they also claim novels aren't canon. Then pro Uchiha people who believe Uchiha were oppressed based on the information received from Obito refuse to view novels as canon because novels challenge their hateful opinion on Itachi.

In the end, I personally do not care. I only care about Itachi's novels. I also liked Naruto Jinraiden, but it has very little relation to anything that's mentioned in the original text. The rest of the novels (Sasuke's primarily) are aimed at SS as a ship and its fans. And something to do with Boruto, I guess.

Even then, Itachi's novels are not my primary source of info for analysis, but definitely work as a supplement, especially for Itachi who adds so much to the story, but has very, very little content from the reliable narrators. To each their own, I guess. And I also don't have the energy to argue with people who think otherwise. Whatever makes them happy, haha.

#itachi #itachi uchiha #uchiha itachi #ask #anon #itachi shinden

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daedelweiss · 6 months

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Will mona be in the life mission au and will sunita be different?

Will tiger claw be someone’s mentor? If so will they end up teaching him more than he teaches them?

Or will Alopex be involved?

Will Yuichi of Miymoto Usagi be in the battle nexus?

Will big mama’s assistant play a role?

One thing I am certain about: Hueso is very tired and stressed.

i've said it in the website's FAQ but i'll say it again here to clarify to newcomers:

if it doesn't exist in canon, it will not exist in life mission

any previous tmnt iteration characters will not play a part. i have a different form of usagi but he will remain in side content because i don't want romance in life mission's main plot (at least not at the forefront. there will be hints of splints/drax and april/cass but all of it is very surface level).

if there's a design for it already or it ties into the main plot/characters but never made it to the show, it will probably make it tho. since big mama's assistant, jennika, venus, mona, etc. don't have a design nor do they tie in the existing plot, they won't be included.

life mission is a homage to rise, not tmnt. so i will only be using what material rise gave (or was going to give) for life mission. if i've added something, it's just to stack the lore we already have and to tie it to thematic relevance. i won't take much away (only the details that aren't too important like minor villains) and i won't add too much either.

everything in life mission follows canon to some degree. i just twisted the narrative to fit the theme of found family, loss, fear, and leo's determination 💖

(side note: just because i follow canon, doesn't mean what will happen in life mission is a "what if" to canon. life mission is still its own story and is different enough from canon. i won't include every episode, just pay tribute to them. life mission has an entirely different vibe and feel to canon but i just wanted to use it as a blueprint~)

#dae asks #rottmnt #life mission au #life mission rambles

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inlocusmads · 2 months

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I have a very important question to ask, so let me slide into your inbox real quick! Does Trystan ever properly introduce Nora to the Drakovian / Eastern European culture? What does he show her? What are her impressions? 👀❤️

Oh HECK YESSSSSSSS

I hate what canon did so much I am going to pull a Thanos and snap it out of existence. Here's a little HC of how that goes (and yes I'm breaking them down into categories)

Disclaimers: - these are just my hcs!!!! - take a shot everytime I say "cantonese" or "drakovian" (please don't)

Literature: Trystan loves feeding in little tidbits about his culture wherever he finds it plausible. Mostly he enjoys quoting Drakovian literature and stuff he's read in the past - things that resonated with him deeply. He does so over a voice message or dinner or really, any given situation and he loves LOVES to share them. Nora's not the reading-type as in someone you'd expect to pick up reading for a hobby and instead she likes listening to Trys as he goes off on tangents about how a case might be relevant to a quote he read a long time ago or things just remind him of home in some way.

TV and Film: Nora's introduction to Drakovian culture is largely dependent on how the royals perceive it, so Trystan makes it a point to introduce her to a bunch of different films (and yes, in the off chance the films aren't dubbed or subbed, he pauses it every now and then to supply translations). It's easier for Nora to grasp (given she gravitates towards films a lot) and she ends up liking films with a lot of contemporary themes. I hc Drakovian films usually tend to gravitate towards historic themes or comedy-with-hidden-commentary and in terms of TV shows, a fraction of them might tend to gravitate towards procedural/workplace dramas and psychological/crime thrillers that might have a more serialized, seasons-spanning model or TV shows based on plays. Nora will eat that up entirely because if there's one thing she loves besides films, she loves when shows are these episodic collection of stories. She also ends up really liking some Drakovian feel-good stuff too - with the storylines (I hc) focusing on themes of "coming back home", road-trip comedies, stories set in small-towns that reflect upon the country's heritage, black comedies set in cities or this niche genre of "old person tries to keep up with today's world" or just these really mundane little ideas packaged into their own stories. They're not all "murders and daggers" cmon, let's be real.

Onto my absolute favourite part - THE LANGUAGE: Besides getting to know tid bits here and there from film and books, Trystan loves just teaching Nora a couple handy words in Drakovian. I'd like to think he did teach her a few words - just the basics when they went to talk to Bird in Book 1 (to really hammer in that good cop/bad cop routine) and once Nora reciprocated that interest back, he was like "YES now here's a couple of swear words you need to start off with" (jk jk) The reason why Nora showed an interest was largely due to the commonality she drew between her native language - Cantonese and Drakovian - and especially how they have these certain unique phrases that can't just be translated, even though Cantonese and Drakovian have very little similarities in terms of grammar or sentence structure. However they are both tonal languages (I hc Drakovian does focus on tones but it's not heavily dependent and a native speaker would be able to discern the differences without any confusion) which calls for some hilarious moments where Nora overpronounces Drakovian words and gets super focused on the tones and Trystan's like "Nora, it is okay! You can relax!" Both of them, when they're good to share, kind of introduce each other to their native languages. Normally Nora struggles with emphasizing her "r's" (she grew up speaking Cantonese at home and English in school) because Cantonese doesn't have the "r" sound and well, Drakovian takes incredible pride in enunciating your "r's" as much as possible. And how does Trystan help her with it? Swears. It's almost satisfying to exclaim in Drakovian than it is in English because there's about a hundred different ways to put your excitement as well as disappointment (sometimes both) out there. The day Nora ends up dropping something - possibly a cup of coffee and loudly swears in Drakovian is also the day Trystan's just crying tears of joy, full on happy breakdown, in the background. Conjugations suck. Forgetting English for a bit here, Cantonese from what I have gathered, doesn't have conjugations for verbs, instead there are characters that go before or after the word to indicate a specific tense. It's a bit of an uphill climb for Nora to go through this spiel because Drakovian swears by verb conjugations which makes up at least a fraction of its already complicated grammar rules. So yes, even though Nora knows this little "language exchange" thing they've got going on is something both of them really treasure in their relationship, she's one grammatically-incorrect sentence away from screaming.

Culture, traditions and so on: Trystan isn't just a walking encyclopedia of his country's traditions, rather quite literally a valuable resource for the Agency's cases. I'd like to think Drakovians who come to America end up settling in parts of the East Coast or perhaps uber-rich business conglomerates based in Drakovia gravitate towards parts of NYC for well, business reasons. While it isn't a considerable population compared to larger demographics, there is still a population comprised of business owners, celebrities, wealthy magnates and so on who might be interested in employing the services of a one private detective agency (and the endorsement by an exiled prince boosts their credibility too) The Agency do find themselves tackling a lot of high-profile cases and assisting big-name corporate law firms. Trystan's abundance of knowledge in Drakovia's culture and economics - and even some parts of Eastern Europe (thanks to trade and ambassador parties) helps Nora understand the nuances even better. A big lesson for her to learn - ever since the Agency gained traction after the Hand of Mahra case - was to discern between two different clients. A case is intrinisically unique on its own and factors such as economic, culture and society plays an additional role that gives her substance to go on with. It's how she learns more about Sonja in the first place and Drakovia's extensive history with art. Tidbits like that give her so much additional insight to carry on with. Eventually she just really ended up liking Trystan's stories (partly because he's a very good storyteller) - more than what he did as a kid and emphasis on what he saw. They kind of found a solace within each other's cultures because Nora learned the more Trystan kept talking about his, the more he tended to forgive himself for and the more Nora talked about her culture - be it through food or language or film or virtually anything she wished to share - she kind of began embracing her background instead of associating it with her trauma and wanting to ignore it entirely. Their heritage is super important to them. Trystan's family prided themselves over how their culture cannot simply be "shared around" and Nora's parents struggled to build themselves a home away from home in America, whilst ensuring their daughter didn't forget her culture. How they perceive their cultures is so rooted in their familial relationships that of course, it's going to be difficult trying to distinguish the stuff you want to forget from the culture you were brought up with. Partly why they (mostly Nora, because she doesn't like talking all that much) encourage the other to just talk about these things. It took them a while to realize even though they had completely different upbringings, they still had a couple things in common.

And lastly, the People and Places: One thing I really liked about Crimes 2 was the People's Garden scene where Trystan's just rambling about the places he loved as a kid and it's such a gateway into giving Nora an insight more than books, tv, movies, food, music etc. (They literally say that canonically too, if I'm not wrong - about wanting to take MC and give them a tour of their home) and it's like absolutely imperative to Trystan for Nora to have her experience it. Not many opportunities arise for them to go back home, but Trystan makes do with places in New York. From pubs to sociable gatherings, Trystan happens to know - and do some of his own finding-and-gathering to figure out the best scenes. He has a group of his own friends who run restaurants, bars, manage parks and so on and it's the best place for Nora to really understand what the culture is like, rather than see it from a royal/monarchial standpoint. And Nora ends up making a few friends on her own. It's great!

Out of all the avenues, Nora especially connects with the places and the language the best. Obviously it's a slow process. It took them eons to actually open up and even more so for Nora to see Trystan as Trystan and not as an exiled prince/diplomat/top-dog person or as a workplace colleague rather just a really really good friend of hers.

Them taking the time and effort to finding commonalities and compromises made them not only strong as a team (in terms of the job) but just bring them a lot more closer. They get a little jolt of happiness when the other takes an interest in the other - as in, when Trystan's able to read the label off a pack of sunflower seeds in perfect Cantonese or Nora swearing left and right in Drakovian and that basically prompts them to be more open and honest and thus, the cycle of "I NEED to tell you about this little factoid" continues lmao.

___

I'm super super sorry this ran for pages Anon! I just loveeeeee talking about their little sharing-of-the-culture (if that's a word?) <333 Thank you SO MUCH FOR THE ASK I HAVE LITERALLY WANTED AN EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT THIS FOREVAHHH

#anonymous #askboxed #trystan x nora #thorne rose headcanons

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incarnateirony · 1 year

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OK. So I've gotten questions a few times about like "hey, what about spinoff idea?" for the guys. Whether that be SPN Universe or, hey, do you think XYZ Misha gets a Two Face Spinoff?

OK guys. I need you to understand. You guys get to very casually consume, argue about, and delete the efforts of the results, but TV is very hard work and very expensive to make. It doesn't look like it when there's pretty pictures on your TV for you to argue about, but it is.

So first of all, I can guarantee you, anyone that goes But Why Not My Spinoff Idea, even if they're salty af about The Winchesters angle, has not thought about the full ramifications of their idea. 100%.

I got one sent to me for basically The Castiel Show about his time traveling adventures and stuff he did in ancient past. And you know what, you're right, that's fun as hell in like, Ao3. But one, you're still trying to lean entirely on internal existing demo, without building out around new audiences. Two, anything you do is gonna smack of predestination anyway, and anyone even trying to bring that pitch needs to have it come pre-loaded with major explanations and displays of subversion off the bat. You need that concept PLUS the Real Moral and shit, and you're gonna need that before anybody humors ANYTHING. Then you gotta unpack how you gonna get the budget to do Tour De History without being a joke.

That's just one example, in the SPN relevant ones, because it's easier to use that as a language you guys understand. But I hear questions as far as like "if GK does well and Two Face is popular, will misha get a spinoff?"

And like, no. Stop. One, Two Face is already hugely popular and already has a variety of special POV content in the franchise. If you are interested in DC or Two Face, go enjoy the content that already exists. If you are interested in GK, I would hope it encompasses more than Misha in your head, even if he is super important. But of all the shows to get a spinoff, it's gonna be the younger kids.

Now, there's a likely chance Misha becomes a recurring Two Face face for a corner of the franchise, like berlanti's new verse. That's not really a spinoff, it's just staying the faceclaim as it builds out. That's likely. But if you're coming in asking, before a show airs, and disregarding the EXISTING popularity of that character, if your favorite actor is gonna Get His Own Spinoff From It, odds are, you aren't really thinking about the ramifications of your wishlist there any more than the time traveling Castiel AU. And you're definitely not thinking remotely about the other performers.

Yes guys, Misha is very important on GK. No guys, he shouldn't be the only thing you care about to the point you disregard the core of DC canon and its content or popularity Before Your Fave Was Ever Involved.

TV is hard work. Having an idea about your favorite actor doing your favorite things is awesome, but I hate to say it guys, that's what Ao3 is for. And the way thoughts arrive on Ao3 is VERY DIFFERENT from the way thoughts arrive broadcasted on your television during primetime. Your stories are great for you, and fun to tell or read, those ideas can be great, but I need everyone to start breaking down this new idea where Every Idea Is Worth A Spinoff just because Jensen made one and Jared followed suit. We're in a new age where shit isn't ordered like that just for the fuck of it anymore.

So basically, begging people to THINK. If you're asking me because when you compare it to reality, it sounds like a pipe dream, and you hope I'm gonna reaffirm your pipe dream, don't ask me based on that, because you probably won't get the response you want.

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archive2394934 · 1 year

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Hi! I find it so weird that people try to mock me just because I think the Mind Flayer is a sentient being, and that Dustin was right in S4. They think I'm suggesting that Henry is a mindless puppet and not a good character/villain anymore... So so weird.

So u think it was Henry who shaped the UD? Hm, not sure about that, but hey, could be. But then why is it not only stuck on the night El opened the gate but at the moment the demogorgon got Will? 8:15 PM. Took me a while but I found evidence that that's exactly when he disappeared, and also his visions of the Mind Flayer happen at 8:15. What happened that night? What could it mean?

Also curious to hear your thoughts on Will's role in S5. We know he'll be central and his connection to Henry and the Mind Flayer is important. I can't wait to see them interact.

I'm not smart enough to explain what is wrong with this fandom exactly but its definitely something. I think its got a lot to do with the fact that so many folks in fandom in gen nowadays live breath eat sleep and shit fanfics and all their good "nuanced" takes are regurgitated bullshit from some woke zoomer on twitter who draws their favorite gay smut and whatever said zoomer did say was probably about something in the narrative relevant or some element relevant to some other fandom they were in and they just took and think it applies to this one too because it sounds smart enough. This shit about how you cant be telling a story about ""human evils"" through demonic eldritch terrors and monsters wah, wah, wah is so funny like the horror genre has been doing this for as long as it has existed. Henry doesn't represent the "human evil", either, its his mother who neglected and abandoned him for being "different", and the people like Brenner that exploited, abused and experimented on him and the corrupt systems of power in place that allowed such a thing to happen that represents the "human evils" so if they'd like to get that straight as well that'd be cool too. A lot of stranger things fans aren't horror fans also. Thats another big part of the issue, imo. The horror genre isn't their point of reference when they look at themes in ST. I'm not hating on these people but like you don't like horror - you don't know horror and therefore your analyzation on this piece of horror media is severely lacking to say the least.

But then like I've also legit stumbled on people insisting Henry's hair isn't naturally blond and that's hysterical. Completely hysterical. Like, this isn't even 'different takes on canon' thats just straight up wrong. His hair is literally blond lmfao, I'm literally?? BUT ANYWAY TO THE ACTUAL QUESTION.

The reason I think that is because, honestly, there is no way Will has any powers the way this fandom thinks. I've tried to entertain that idea to be nice to folks but they aren't nice to me so fuck em. I'm not being nice about it anymore. He wasn't born like El and while its debatable whether or not Henry ALWAYS had his powers or if he got them exclusively when he came to Hawkins, Will definitely doesn't have ANYTHING going on NEAR the caliber of what Henry has going on. I LOVE Will too, but thats just not it. Canon has explicitly shown us that Will's "powers" are that he has a link to the hivemind. Thats it. The VR game has also basically explicitly said Henry shaped the Upside Down (Also in the short trailer we have we can see this is going to be a big point of the game. You're playing as Vecna and shaping the Upside Down. While I don't know how canon the game is gonna be it does make more sense to me and would tie in with other things, like serve to explain why the hell Vecna wasn't personally involved in the early seasons. It would explain why he had to get Elevens powers to apparently restore himself since we have previous canon that tells us El and Henry are like batteries and they can exhaust their powers and need to be charged up again. I'd say shaping an entire dimension is pretty exhausting and probs why Vecna didn't get tagged in again properly until s4. And on that note its therefore comical to me that anyone in this fandom can think ANY CHARACTER possesses the SHEER AMOUNT OF POWER Henry/Vecna does. Like He Did All That. El's still finding herself exhausted from moving heavy objects.)

In season 1 Will also basically tells us the the Upside Down has looked like a dark, cold version of Hawkins ever since he got there. Henry is the one who talks about shaping worlds in canon. His words to El about shaping the world how they see fit foreshadows the eventual state of the UD. As for WHY the UD is stuck on that day, I'm not really sure what way canon wants to throw that and I'm not confident saying anything exactly because it could be too many things. But I am kinda curious now cos maybe I missed it, but where did canon say that the UD is stuck on that time specifically? I thought it only gave us the date, rather than the specific time. (Like I said I might have missed it and if I did lmk where I can find that info bc I wanna see lol) Imo, the date isn't significant to the day Will disappeared particularly, its the date El opened the mother gate. For me being the date the gate was opened has more importance than being specifically about Will. Time in the UD isn't working the same is all we can say for sure though imo. Years have passed in the human world but the UD hasn't moved past the day the mother gate opened.

Like I said I don't know what way canon is gonna go with that as an explanation for why but I doubt Will is as important to that in particular as people think. ST has got a lot of mythology references going on and the UD has often been likened to the biblical depiction of hell (or purgatory as well) through tons other symbolism as well and I know there is a concept that "damnation is eternal" and thus time "doesn't move" or "time is frozen in hell." I haven't been bothered to dig too far into any of that personally bc this fandom doesn't deserve me and my thoughts, imo, I'm sick of being indirected and mocked when I'm like the only one actually making sense out here most the time.

This is also all kinda tied to Will and Henry's particular avatars from the DnD universe. Will is the Cleric. Clerics get their powers from contact with a deity. (Will's brush with the UD/MF gave him the ability to perceive the hivemind and the creatures in it- Henry and possibly "the mindflayer" itself in particular because they seem to be the only other creatures hooked up to the hivemind that are operating on a human level intellect. ) Vecna was an extremely special case in DnD lore as a human that had some bizarre connection with this deity called the Serpent that not only gave him powers UNLIKE anything else but it also was the one that TOLD HIM how to transcend humanity and become a lich and a demi-god. ( This is almost literally what happens with Henry, and the Serpent in DnD is also portrayed thundering cloud with lighting coming down from the sky, like, is this fandom fr in doubting this?! Thats the important thing about DnD Vecna in his relation Henry. Theres other magic users in the DnD universe who "mastered" some part of "the Serpent's gifts," so to speak, but none like Vecna. No one got it like him, even as a human he was built different and "the Serpent" is the reason for why, for Vecna unlike other magic users in DnD the Serpent is not just something he "uses", or borrows power from, its said rather to "speak" to him, it chose him in particular. His connection with it is personal and unmatched by anyone else. )

I've made other posts about this ( here and here and here in partic- I also think I made another one but I cant find it rn lol ) but in a nutshell, to me, Wills role in Season 5 is going to be that he can perceive Vecna's memories. This will play a vital role in humanizing him further and probably in understanding his motives and provide the means to "stop" him. We saw this same thing with Billy in s3. Billy had no one and he was largely looked at as a bad guy, until El was able to get into his memories and understand WHY and what made Billy into Billy and how to "undo" the damage, so to speak, if only briefly.

We've been shown through the series that positive memories weaken the MF's influence. We were shown in S3 that Billy's "mind" after being flayed was just like Vecna's is shown to be in S4. Billy's mind was taken over by a raging storm, which we know is a manifestation of the mindflayer in its original form. Billy's "mindscape" is exactly like Henry's, except Henry's is more eroded for obvious reasons. I dont think the story will show Vecna being 'fixed' or 'saved', but I think if anyone is gonna be able to "get through" to him and weaken him in whatever way necessary for Eleven to 'stop him' or whatever, its gonna be Wil because Will can perceive Vecna in a way no one else can. (Which also makes sense since they're mirrors of each other in so many ways as well, which would probably actually make Henry more sympathetic and relatable to Will)

A lot of the stuff this fandom thinks of as canon isn't canon. Particularly surrounding Will. Its all fan theory and most of it ignores a good chunk of the canon in season 4 particularly about Henry/Vecna, or heavily twists it to be something its more than likely not in the wider canon context. Anyway I hope I dont sound mad at u cos I'm not I'm just v tired. Not with you-- or any of my followers or folks who support this blog- nope, we're the smart ones, contrary to popular fandom opinion on us. Which is why the frustration from me.

#henry creel #vecna #001 #william byers #billy hargrove #el hopper #jane hopper #byler

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queer-as-used-by-tolkien · 6 months

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Hot take, but I don't think making criticisms of a character strictly "as they appears in canon" and saying they's shallow or bland or in any way lacking in qualities or traits (as opposed to making judgments about qualities or traits a character DOES have or debating which specific traits or qualities a character has) - makes any sense in the context of consuming media.

Because by the sheer fact of excluding anything not said or implied in canon, you are thoroughly breaking suspension of disbelief. By suspension of disbelief, the audience sees a character and assumes that traits are there, even if there are very few onscreen. This not headcanon because the audience is not coming up with what those traits are. The audience is only assuming that traits of some kind must exist that make this character a Real Person, because in suspension of disbelief we are behaving as if this is Real Life. And if you knew a person who was bland or shallow you wouldn't say they were bland or shallow; you would say you didn't know them that well.

So. Character A is not bland or shallow, they simply haven't been shown on-screen enough. Perhaps the creators haven't come up with any such traits yet, perhaps because they're not good at their job or perhaps because this character isn't built to do anything besides exist as a plot device. But the traits still exist, because suspension of disbelief is a superpower that makes everyone a Real Person with hidden struggles and secrets and flaws that they don't let anybody see or that the audience has just so happened to never see or that the screenwriters and producers carefully edited out to be just offscreen bc they don't know what those traits are either!

Now suspension of disbelief does take effort and not everyone is willing to put out that effort to reach a place where they enjoy the character. Maybe the character has very few redeeming qualities regardless.

Saying a character is two-dimensional, bland, boring, etc. is not a valid criticism of the author. It is only a valid criticism of your ability or willingness to suspend disbelief. If you want to enjoy the content, why aren't you enjoying it? And if you enjoy it for other reasons 'but this one character - ' why are you shattering other people's suspension of disbelief for them?

(Rabbit-holey and incomplete rambling about the mechanics of suspension of disbelief and how much people are willing to suspend disbelief and how much work the authors have to put in versus how much the audience puts in, below the cut.)

Some characters do require more suspension of disbelief than others. Major characters with too few traits are a turn-off to some ppl bc they don't want to have to put in the work of assuming traits where there are none (because there aren't; the person isn't real). If someone dislikes a character already that puts them further at risk for losing their suspension of disbelief. If a character isn't compelling or doesn't evoke an emotional response? By all means. Characters who don't naturally evoke responses need more work put into them by the authors.

Author and audience meet halfway. Sometimes a character evokes a response by being compelling or emotional, and then the author can get away with less filling-in of the blanks bc the audience is invested enough already. But if the audience isn't invested, the author needs to provide more content about the character so that the facade - that this ink on paper is in any way equivalent to a real person - can be maintained.

Now the more important a character is in the story, the more work the author needs to put in. If a character has two lines in the story, the author only needs to write the two lines, and the audience assumes this is a full-fledged person with a full array of traits, without question, because those traits never become relevant or impact the story in a meaningful or compelling way that would require explanation.

But if the character is a major love interest, the audience needs more substantiation of the claim that they is a real person with traits, because this character is impacting the plot and other characters. A love interest needs more than two lines to be accepted as a valid love interest. A main character can only swoon for an unexplored love interest with two lines so many times before the audience asks, why does she like him anyway? We don't know anything about him! At least tell us what he looks like or if he's shaved today or if he's done anything swoon-worthy for her!

A character may also have traits without them being related to the impact they has on the plot; e.g. the love interest used to have a stamp collection when they was five (and this never becomes relevant and the main character who is falling for him does not herself have an interest in stamp collections). That's a trait, but it is not a helpful one insofar as understanding the impact a character has on the plot.

And in addition to giving substance to the claim that a character exists, traits enable the audience to relate to and care about a character, which is the real bread and butter of enjoying a story and being impacted by it. I won't go into that tonight bc that's a whole new topic.

My point is that of course characters need SOME traits, and relevant ones, and preferably in proportion to their role and impact on the plot. (Just as a major love interest with two lines is unsatisfying, a two-line character with pages of backstory is similarly boring.) The line can be hard to strike for an author, but we can help them out by developing a robust ability to suspend disbelief.

So an amendment to my hot take: sometimes characters CAN be criticized for their trait-to-relevance ratio. And then the question is yours: do you put out the effort to suspend disbelief or not?

If we're not willing to put that level of work in for the level of enjoyment that would generate, well, maybe find a different story or at least stop criticizing other people's fav characters for being boring. (It's a lot harder to suspend disbelief when people are actively breaking it. But! That's what unfollowing and/or blocking is for!)

Remember everyone: the secret to enjoying media is suspension of disbelief. If someone shatters that, remember you can get it back if you're willing to try again.

#I find fandom in general to br destructive of my suspension of disbelief #Bc the fandom image of a character can be so off-base to my image #Or it just clouds the air with many different interpretations #There is no longer an amorphous blob of 'Here Be Traits' that you unconsciously assume #It is filled with defined traits #It's hard to step back and see the original appeal of a character with more unknowns about them #Hard to see their original facade #Hard to assume this is a Real Person when all the unfilled hints in canon are filled by fanon #All that remains is Character. No more unknowns or questions to explore #No more suspension of disbelief #No wondering #The driving force of fiction is Big Moral Question and How Does Character Answer?#What Does Character Do In X Scenario?#Does Character's Values Extend THIS Far?#How Much Will Character Sacrifice For This Value?#WHAT Will Character Sacrifice For What Things?#Does Character See It As A Sacrifice?#What Choices Will Character Make in X Circumstances?#Without the questions there's no story #No compelling #Is bland #So fandom fills the gaps of those questions and I need to get away sometimes and ask the questions again and answer differently #But THAT just goes to show that characters can't have All The Traits #They would no longer have any capacity to be compelling in the future #Anyway I digress #Writing #Suspension of disbelief #Narrative theory #Story theory #Wow this all turned into big rambling lol

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valkerymillenia · 1 year

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I’m only on chapter seventy-eight of CBDS so this might be addressed later, but do you have a specific timeline for the story? I know you’ve followed the general New Earth timeline for the Batfamily (Killing Joke, then Death in the Family, then No Man’s Land, etc.), but I’m unsure how much of that general canon timeline applies to the Titans. In chapter seventy-seven, Dick mentions that Donna and Terry still dated. In New Earth continuity, I know Donna got married at nineteen, had Robbie around twenty-one, and divorced Terry around twenty-two. Garth and Dolphin also got married and had Ceridian when Garth was around twenty-three. I’m unsure when Wally and Linda were married, but I assume that Wally was in his mid-twenties since the West twins were born shortly before Final Crisis. I know Lian is the CBDS universe and Roy still had her around twenty-one. So, did Donna still marry Terry/Garth still have Ceridian/Wally marry Linda/etc.? What aspects of the Titans’ lives exist in your universe? (This is my my very long-winded way of trying to figure out whether or not the other Titans babies still exist or will exist in universe, or if it’s just Lian.) I hope this ask makes sense.

Hi!

I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!

It's a very loose timeline, I'm not following all the arcs to the letter and I'm switching several of them around into different points in time and I'm changing a lot of things simply by making it Dick's POV and by changing his timeline and showing how he would influence certain plot points if they were relevant to him and his relationship with Bruce. I pick and choose arcs I like to use and that fit the story, and I mix references from different media formats/continuities so don't get too attached to any of the original timelines.

As for the Titans, you might have noticed that there's a lot of inconsistencies (like Rose and Joey's roles, for example, Rose pops up so much sooner here and Joey is alive all the way) but that being said- yes, some of their kids will pop up later, even though right now they aren't all that relevant to the plot.

I don't plan for Donna to have had Robbie in this universe because of reasons but she might still come with surprises. In the current timeline Garth already had Ceridian but Dick doesn't know it yet. Roy has Lian (and might have another kid later). Wally is dating Linda but it hasn't been mentioned yet, they will have the twins though. Kori might have a kid too but that's connected to another Titan. Some other Titans may or may not be dating each other.

Also, Jon pops up, he's as important to the plot as Lian.

#CBDS #cbds fic #cbds spoilers #titans #sorry if my reply isn't very comprehensive #I'm sick and very sleep deprived #and trying not to spoil #not even sure i made sense

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teaveetamer · 2 years

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I really appreciated your in depth answer to my perma death question earlier. Since you made a great case for why it's good for gameplay but bad for narrative, I have a follow up question/s. Do you think AM would have been "better" if all the Blue Lions had been "un killable" to guarantee their role in the plot and thus lessen Byleth's necessity? What's the max and min # of characters in AM do you think should be granted that un killable status to make it the best possible story? (Part 1/2).

For example, Byleth + the 8 Blue Lions means minimum 9 characters have "immunity" here. If we add Lions adjunct relevant characters too, I'd throw in Gustave too (he's important to several Lions). That's 10 total now at minimum. I think that's a decent amount to solidify the AM plot while keeping perma death for every other recruited unit. However, units like Catherine, Seteth, Flayn make sense too, b/c Faerghus has strong ties to the church. But now it's 13 total, etc. Your thoughts? (Part 2/2)

No problem!

Honestly it's kind of hard to say. Obviously we'd have a very different game if most, if not all, of the AM cast were unkillable. I do think it would be better, but that's just because AM's biggest strength is already making the characters feel interconnected and important to each other. If you created a narrative where they're all allowed to do that without restriction, you create a better narrative.

If you don't mind I think I'm actually going to demonstrate how I feel about this topic with a tier list, because I really think I have several categories characters could fall into.

I think, at a very very bare minimum, Dedue and Felix should have been unkillable. They're probably the two most essential characters to Dimitri's arc. It would have allowed Dedue's return in AM to have actual narrative impact and meaning, since as is he mostly comes back, you get a special extra scene between him and Dimitri if he does, and then the game goes right back to pretending like Dedue no longer exists to account for his possible death. Imagine if instead Dedue's return marked the beginning of Dimitri crawling out of his mental blackhole of self-loathing, and it allowed him to be ok again at a more gradual pace. Imagine if Felix were actually allowed to be present for the death of his father and have reactions to it outside of optional story dialogue and explore lines. Imagine if both of them got to react to the information about who facilitated the Tragedy of Duscur. Also, I know Rhea can't die in AM as it is, but I do think she should have had a bigger contribution to the plot so I'm including her here.

The next tier are characters who, if kept alive, could contribute a lot to the plot, but they aren't top priority like Dedue and Felix. Sylvain could have a bigger role as the Lions' strategist if he were made unkillable, but I understand if that's not top priority. Ingrid, Sylvain, and Gilbert are all in this category for their obvious connections to Dimitri, Felix, and Dedue and (moreso for Ingrid) to the tragedy of Duscur. Seteth and Flayn are here for the lore + connection to the church. Catherine is here for her connection to the Kingdom and the Church, which could contribute a lot to the narrative if she were ever allowed to be important.

The next category are characters who would be nice to keep alive, but they're probably the most expendable of the core cast. You could absolutely write them in a way that contributed more, but as AM is, they're probably the least connected to Dimitri and you'd need to do some legwork to build up his relationships with them. Cyril is also here because I don't think he's really canon fodder, but he's just not that meaningful to the AM narrative. He could have interesting contributions to any Rhea additions. I'd put him higher if we were discussing VW, though.

Canon fodder is just the recruitables, basically. There's no space in the narrative for that many characters, and they can be sufficiently important on their own home routes so they don't really need to take up room in AM's narrative.

And the last tier just because DAMN those dads are fiiiiiiiiine

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mystical-blaise · 2 years

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I don't know if I missed something, but when did SJM say the ACOSF side characters (Gwyn, Emerie, Merrill, Illyrians + others) were only introduced to tell Nesta’s story and had no real relevance to the overall main plot of the series? I saw some people claiming that on Twitter and I genuinely cannot remember her saying that at all.

Oh, Anon, as soon as you said you read that on Twitter, I knew what the problem was.

You can't recall because SJM never said that. In fact, she specifically said in a Live with Steph after ACOSF, she looks forward to writing more about the House and pegasus. What character would be associated with both of those things? And said, after Steph brought up the E/riels dumb, baseless claim that Gwyn is a child (even though Illyrian males compete in the Blood Rite in their early 20s as a sign of reaching adulthood to achieve warrior status and Gwyn is 28), SJM made a disgusted face and said would now think of Gwyn in Pampers "everytime I write her." Meaning, she's going to write her more. Outside of Nesta's book. Their constant need to make Gwyn a side character is simply telling and stunning.

Now if we add in what happened in CC3, it's cemented that there is immediate importance to at least two of those characters you listed in your ask.

Do yourself a favor and stay off Twitter. That place is it's own particular hell-scape on a good day, but the Twitter E/riels are their own particular breed of rabid crazy.

They read the parts they want to read and ignore canon. They twist canon to fit their dumb ship narrative, pretending it's true and spreading canon misinformation to new readers. Some actually actively search out Gwynriel accounts on Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, and Twitter like a bunch of stupid 12 year-old mean girls to screenshot to mock, harass, and bully together like it's an exclusive clique. Whatever you want to call it. Others aren't as openly offensive, but don't say a damn thing to call out the real jerks. All this, over a fictional character ship... To real people.🤬

I mean, ao3 and FF and Wattpad exist because people wanted to see canon content of a show or book series was cancelled. Or canon divergent content if a TV or book series went off the rails and they want to fix it. I just don't understand why they can't live in their happy little e/riel content world and call it a day.

But, I digress. Just another day living in this fandom dumpster fire.

#gwynriel #gwyneth berdara #gwyn x azriel #azriel x gwyn #gwyneth x azriel #azgwyn #gwyn berdara #gwynriel supremacy #gwyneth berdara x azriel #pro gwynriel #azwyn #my asks #ask away #my ask box #fandom fuckery #acotar fandom bullshit

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roseverdict · 2 years

Text

TAKE TWO I GUESS

HATE THIS HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT

ANYWAY CLIFFNOTES BECAUSE I BARELY GOT INTO ANYTHING BEFORE IT GLITCHED AND ERASED HALF AN HOUR OF EXCITED DETAILED RAMBLY TEXT

(hi. calm me is back. near the end i start getting into some major pirate spoilers so once you see me talk about gazpaccio, if you're worried about spoilers you might wanna click out)

THESE ARE TWINS

YOU CAN TELL THEY'RE TWINS BECAUSE THEIR FACE AND ALSO THEIR HAIR

IN CHARACTER CREATION WE GET TO PICK HOW THE PIRATE LOST THEIR PARENTS, WHERE THEY WERE RAISED AS A RESULT, AND HOW THEY GOT ARRESTED AND LOCKED INTO THE BRIG OF THE ARMADA™

MEET THESE TWO SPITE-POWERED CHILDREN WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE OTHER ASIDE FROM RECENTLY:

THEY BOTH LOST THEIR PARENTS IN SEARCH OF TREASURE

ROSLYN WAS RAISED IN GRIZZLEHEIM (BEAR SCANDINAVIA) AND AMBER IN MOOSHU (ASIAN STEREOTYPES THROWN IN A BLENDER)

THEY WERE ARRESTED FOR DUELING/BRAWLING WITH EACH OTHER (OVER A MISUNDERSTANDING), THEN RESISTING ARREST TOGETHER WHEN THE ARMADA™ SHOWED UP

IN THE GAME DUELING AND BRAWLING DO NOT OVERLAP BUT I DO WHAT I WANT

ANYWAY THEY GO THROUGH THE TUTORIAL LEVEL AND COLLECT THEIR FIRST COUPLE CREWMATES (WHICH WERE DETERMINED BY THE REASON THEY WERE ARRESTED)

INSERT WIZARD HERE

NO LIKE. JUST PAST THE END OF THE FIRST WIZ101 STORY ARC

YEAH LIKE THAT

so through a series of Events that aren't made clear until waaay later on, (and aren't particularly relevant to this specific backstory except they kinda are??? look up the zafaria boxes event and just know that, as far as daygem is concerned, that happens AFTER the rest of this madness. and it's inadvertently the reason somebody got it in their head to yeet her) daygem gets picked up right before the wiz plot can start thickening up again, and she gets yeeted into skull island a short while before the pirate plot reaches capt gunn's gold

for those who do not have brainerotte101, both games happen more or less simultaneously. the characters do not realize this until they figure out the series of Events that culminated in the yeeting of daygem, but she was yeeted all the way back to the moment she was isekai-ed into the spiral in the first place

oh yeah the wizard isn't a spiral-born human

this is an important detail for the delightful hurt-comfort that is to come

so anyway daygem just got isekai 2-ed: pirate boogaloo-ed and is kinda freaking out. it's never mentioned anywhere in either game's canon but i'm making the captwins 14-ish and daygem a few years older when they first meet. so.

anyway daygem winds up joining up with the captwins to find a way back (i can't port home or to the commons or ANYWHERE AAAAAAA)

i do not see the transportalers. they did not exist when i started playing pirate and they shoot this entire plot in the foot just by existing

so the squad goes through the pirate101 canon more-or-less the same as a regular player would, just with a high-powered wizard who...kinda can't do physical battle. like at all. not a "oh i don't like fighting" though that's part of it. she's just very bad at hitting things without magic. this way she doesn't blow up half of the first world with one attack

i could go on about plot points such as daygem going off to do some research while the rest of the crew is off breaking mustang sally out of jail, and the subsequent "i'm a healer but" punching of a cat, but the backstory just kinda simmers in the background for most of it

some interesting tidbits here:

one time daygem remarks that the captwins get up in the morning like clockwork. this draws horrified shudders, an explanation that any comparison to The Clockwork Armada™ is a bad one, and a frantic apology on daygem's part

daygem and one of the companions that every pirate gets, old scratch, start off on the wrong foot. their magic is very different from each other and daygem is gun-shy after dealing with malistaire mcnecromancy so having an undead person on the boat is A Time. she kinda goes overboard on things though. like. there's avoiding someone and then there's antagonizing them. one of the subplots is that daygem gets over herself and figures out that old scratch is really trying and could she PLEASE do the same??? once things settle down on that front they become ride or die magic bros though. everybody on the ship is pleasantly surprised by this. until the two of them start waking people up with magic explosions on the deck but that's another story

over the course of the story roslyn works out that he's trans. i still haven't thought of a new name for him though so for for the time being he'll still be referred to as roslyn. anyway daygem is supportive of this and says that no matter what happens, she's behind the twins all the way

"but rosie," you may be thinking, "what do all these have in common?"

WELL I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED

y'see, near the end of pirate101, we run into this dude called gazpaccio. it comes to light that gazpaccio:

went to el dorado (the place the pirate has been trying to get to before The Clockwork Armada™ can this whole time)

personally knew the pirates' mother, jenny, who was also on the crew that went to el dorado

took advanced technology from el dorado and created a clockwork son. however, he was extremely bitter at the time, and his son absorbed that bitterness and multiplied it tenfold

that son is kane. the leader of the armada.

yeah

well this is certainly a bunch of bombshells dropped in rapid succession

but wait! there's more!

you see, this is where my brain started going bananas.

in a near-endgame fight, i decided i would make everything a thousand times worse :)

one of The Armada™'s soldiers gets a lucky hit in on one of the twins.

this makes her head spin around like a cartoon character.

the other twin, gobsmacked, doesn't see the axe coming until it's buried in his chest, where crunched gears can now be seen under his skin

THAT'S RIGHT

I WENT THERE

this brings the fight to a screeching halt for a moment.

then bishop, this guy-

-the higher-up Armada™ guy that's there at the time, starts getting taunting at the twins. "all this time we had no idea how you kept up with us, when in reality it was because YOU ARE ONE OF US"

amber nichols's voice is just straight up muted after taking that one hit, and roslyn's is catching on itself on nearly every syllable, but both are horrified and having every possible existential crisis at once

except then daygem yells and draws all attention to herself

the twins use this time to shakily stand up

roslyn starts sloppily swiping at bishop

bishop backs up, still laughing because roslyn is twitching and on the verge of collapse

roslyn, in the cheekiest possible tone for the situation: i'm just the distraction, pinocchio! *knees give out*

nichols, leaping over roslyn and shoving/tackling an unsuspecting bishop over a rail and into the endless air because the spiral doesn't have oceans like a normal galaxy: >:OOO!!!

whether she overextends herself or bishop snags her, they both go falling.

mind you, the twins are both still having existential crises. they were just trying to buy their crew time to escape. they hadn't thought ahead to "we've endeared ourselves to these people too much and they won't just leave us when the being gets tough"

so when daygem curses in an earth language and dives over the side looking like this except lower-levelled-

-they're both pretty gobsmacked

then they pass out and the mechanic on the ship gets to work repairing them as soon as the remaining crew members collect all the pieces and run back to the boat

bishop can keep falling tho lol screw him

once awakened, the twins start Having A Time. they just found out they're Clockworks™, for pete's sake!

and daygem brings up that "not a spiral-born human" tidbit for the first time. outside of like, one person other than her own mental narration, anyway. they'll figure out why the twins are so different from the Armada™ and they'll make sure they stay that way, because they've got more soul than pretty much the entire Armada™ combined. except maybe kane but he's just an asshole regardless and the twins are Not

anyway many hugs are had and daygem just goes "guess i'm a big sister now"

and while there's a whole lot of Big Plot Hours between that scene and them figuring it out, i do have the explanation all thought out already:

i threw a little mini-crossover in for spice, way back when Jenny PirateMom was still sailing around, and i had stanford filbrick pines (age Sometime In The Multiverse) show up in the spiral and tag along for a bit.

he showed up after the el-dorado-ening, and he ends up striking a bargain with jenny and her crew: they'll let him tag along if he helps fix things and build things along the way

i also decided he's the one who finds tiny jack russell (the crewmate the player gets if their parents were lost in search of treasure, but like, babie form) and brings him into the crew because it would be funny if they ran into each other post-canons and did the spiderman point

eventually he gains their trust enough that jenny and her first mate bring him into one of their biggest projects: jenny brought home some el dorado tech, too, and she wants to build kids of her own with it. unlike gazpaccio, however, she isn't very bitter about things at all

also unlike gazpaccio, she is not a clockwork genius a la da vinci

between the three of them- jenny's love and designs, her first mate's insane amount of hand-eye coordination, and ford's interdimensional science and tech know-how, they build the prototypes

before they can finish activating them, however, something happens that i haven't thought of yet. might be an Armada™ attack, might be news of a treasure that would be helpful in building the kids, who knows. but it results in most of the pirates being lost, ford getting yeeted out of the spiral, and the few remaining pirates deciding they have to luke-and-leia the situation so the newly-made Armada™ can't get their hands on the kids' tech

and when the twins are finally powered on, they're on separate worlds with nothing of their parents but what their caregivers can tell them. the remnants of jenny's crew still have trouble seeing the kids as people instead of Clockworks™, though, so they don't tell the twins that they're twins when they really kinda have the right to know

yeah it's like 1:15 am now so i think i'm gonna go to bed and queue a reblog for the sane morning hours

#ROSIE BABBLES #PIR101 #PIRATE101 #ALL CAPS #FOR THE FIRST PART ANYWAY #YOU'LL BE ABLE TO TELL WHEN I GET PAST THE POINT WHERE I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE I'LL CALM DOWN IMMEDIATELY #also an unexpected #gf #gravity falls #ford pines #he only plays a. well i wouldn't call it a minor role but his role is long-finished by the time the games101 start

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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years

Text

Part 1 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Miraculous Jewels

Alright! I promised you meta and now I deliver!

I feel like people mostly watch Miraculous for the romance these days. Shipping is all everyone cares about. I wonder why? Probably because writers themselves don't take their worldbuilding very seriously and because they don't put much effort into making the audience care about something other than Love Square, like the mythology behind the Miraculous, or motivations of the main villain, or some pretty heavy topics for a kid's show that they bring up and then refuse to touch again. You know, all the good things. And this is coming from someone who is a passionate multishipper. I have lived through several shipping wars in different fandoms and came out victorious after all.

I am probably the only person out there who cares about the big picture, the overall storyline and the worldbuilding of Miraculous in addition to all details and implications that could develop into fascinating plotlines relevant to the main story. It is a rather lonely fandom experience, I must confess. But, hey? Who cares? I am here to have fun and bring to the table discussions no one wants to have.

So, let's talk about the basics.

If you, as the writing team, are capable of keeping only 1 thing consistent, then please, I beg you, let it be the basic concepts of your universe. Because in this case, one has to actively put effort into writing characters and conflict resolutions badly. And also because nothing can save bad worldbuilding.

I don't have high worldbuilding standards for Miraculous. They certainly aren't as high as the ones I had for Legend of Korra (which was a badly written trainwreck, that ATLA doesn't deserve as a sequel) or the ones I currently have for Dragon Prince. Therefore I won't be too harsh in my criticisms. Granted, I think that Miraculous has better worldbuilding and lore consistency than Winx Club for example (I haven't seen the reboot yet, so writers might have fixed their worldbuilding at least a little bit). Even though I enjoyed Winx when I was younger and some elements of this story still attract me.

Both serialised and episodic shows as well as movies to the lesser extent must have some flexibility in worldbuilding and plot because you can never be 100% sure where your story is going. Maybe, you'll get money for more seasons, maybe not. However, you must never lose sight of your basic concepts. They have to stay the same no matter what, because rewriting lore and retconning major developments every new season is not and never will be called good writing.

Forgive me for using architectural metaphors, but you need a solid foundation to build any kind of structure. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

I like to apply this logic to writing as well. When designing a world where your story takes place, you must lay a few ground rules. It's especially important if you have a magic system. What kind of ideas absolutely must exist? What kind of conclusion do you want your story to have? Does your magic system has limitations? Where is the grey area? Could you introduce new elements later on?

And I feel like the writing team of Miraculous Ladybug did not ask these questions. This may feel like I am nit-picking canon material and looking for problems that simply aren't there, but I promise that I am not. You see, things that I am about to point out only seem small at first glance. But these details are actually the source of the largest plotholes in the series. And their presence negatively affects character development, conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts.

That doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the magic system of the show and its elements. There are a lot of great ideas and concepts. And some of them have the potential to contribute to the delightful story.

Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Camouflage

I have to give credit where it's due because the idea of camouflage and shapeshifting for Miraculouses is brilliant. It seems like Miraculous can't fundamentally change its type of jewellery or accessory. The ring will always be the ring but with a different ornament, colour or shape. This is true most of the time (Monkey Miraculous is an exception since it transformed into earplugs/headphones/headband/circlet) It makes sense and avoids plotholes. Grimoire doesn't have the pictures of each Miraculous in disguise for identity protection. That was very neat too. I have no comments. This concept was very good.

Also, since Marinette wore a nose ring of the Ox in "Kwamibuster" without any problem and Adrien wore Ladybug's earrings in "Reflekdoll", we can assume that you don't need to have piercings to wear a Miraculous. Miraculous just magically passes through your skin.

I'm interested to know the following. Can Kwamis recognise a camouflaged Miraculous on a person? Can the holder order them to confess the identity of this person? This shouldn't be possible for identity protection just like with Kwamis sensing each other. But more on that in later posts.

Power Levels

For a long time, we assume that there are only 7 Miraculouses. Turtle belongs to Master Fu, Gabriel has Butterfly and Peacock, Marinette and Adrien have Ladybug and Black Cat. Everything is pretty straightforward. Then it's revealed that there are more jewels and more boxes. It makes the worldbuilding interesting, but it also majorly complicates things, making them inconsistent.

Their position in the Miracle Box implies their power levels. Creation and destruction are the most powerful forces in existence, therefore they are at the top. Moreover, it makes this Box the most important, the most powerful out of all others. Su Han in "Furious Fu" calls it "Mother Miracle Box". Fox, Turtle, Bee, Butterfly and Peacock have less power than the main pair, but more than the Miraculous of the lower Zodiac tier (since they correspond with animals of the Chinese Zodiac).

1. Ladybug can create anything out of nothing (Lucky Charm, which gives what you need the most at the moment). This Miraculous can resurrect the dead, reverse the effects of the Cataclysm. The power of Miraculous Cure or Miraculous Ladybug can work in several ways:

it simply repairs the damage (puts stuff back together, heals injuries and so on)

it reverses time for the matter, restoring things back to the state they were before the destruction occurred (however, the Cure doesn't erase people's memories of everything that happened unless they were mind-controlled, frozen in place or transformed by Akuma into something else - this is an important point that I'll discuss some other time)

How does Miraculous Cure work when there are no supervillians? In NY Special Marinette just says this.

Excuse me, what? What was that? You can't do anything when the villain is gone? What the hell?

*insert here every scene where Ladybug fixed Paris after destroying akumatized/amokized object (this action causes the Akuma victim to detransform/sentimonster to disappear - villain is gone) and purifying butterfly and feather*

It was such cheap angst. I couldn't even be upset when Adrien gave up his Miraculous, because that whole situation is just stupid. But, never mind. We aren't talking about that today.

Apparently, Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure only work when summoned to battle a specific villain. What is the point then? Huh? You can't tell me that Ladybug has the power of unlimited creation and then say that she can't repair the damage without a special Lucky Charm that was magically synchronised with specific big bad of the week.

Ladybug also can purify Akumas. It makes sense for Ladybug to have the ability to reverse the magic of less powerful Miraculous. But this power can't be applied universally. How does this power of reversal apply to different situations where there is no evil Butterfly holder? Can Ladybug reverse the magic of any Miraculous?

The unlimited power of creation introduced in season 4 ("Mr. Pidgeon 72") is another fascinating thing. On one hand, it's logical and proves the status of this Miraculous as the most powerful. On the other hand, by introducing this power, you have created a plothole. Look, Marinette can create the charm which repels Akumas. If Ladybug can create anything then what stops her from creating a tool for finding Hawkmoth (like special glasses for discovering identities or a compass)? I mean, the show says that the power of creation is unlimited, it means that the creation of such tool is possible.

2. Black Cat can destroy anything with Cataclysm, even other Miraculous. He can kill living things and turn them into ash, but not himself. This Miraculous is supposed to have other special abilities that we don't see. And they should be equal to powers of Ladybug, both in number and in potency. Unfortunately, after 3 seasons writers didn't give us anything. It makes laughable the idea of balance between Ladybug and Black Cat.

Now, to the second tier. These Miraculouses have a singular ability, but they need a second one to keep the power balanced between Zodiac and the main pair.

3. Butterfly creates champions with different superpowers. But how does the time limit of children work for Butterfly? In theory, the countdown should start right after the creation of the Akuma since for Ladybug and Chat Noir countdown starts after activation of their powers even if they don't use them. However, if the countdown of the Butterfly begins after Akuma creation then there's no point because the holder has to stay transformed to guide their champion. The charged butterfly won't have time to even grant powers before the transformation of the child-holder drops. This issue is never explored because Gabriel doesn't have a time limit. However, I feel like it should be addressed in flashbacks of past Butterfly holders for example.

This Miraculous should be less powerful than Ladybug and Black Cat. It's often not. Some Akumas are too overpowered. Stormy Weather can move the Earth away from the Sun, Timetagger can send people through time and jump through time as well, Chat Blanc destroyed the world with a single energy blast, Miraculer could steal powers of those more powerful than her by default. These are the most notable examples. One could argue that Chat Blanc was a different case. Hawkmoth simply gave the most powerful Miraculous a boost. However, we know that even without a holder (the wildest and the most powerful form of uncontrolled Miraculous magic) Plagg's Cataclysm can't destroy the universe just like that (he presumably wiped out dinosaurs and sunk Atlantis on his own without a holder). I think that the less powerful Miraculous (Butterfly) shouldn't be able to increase the power of destruction to such a degree and give Black Cat the power to destroy celestial bodies and galaxies.

Writers want us to see Hawkmoth as the formidable villain. But it's not easy because he is less powerful than your main heroes by default of your worldbuilding. Sometimes writers make the Butterfly more powerful than creation and destruction to raise the stakes, breaking the laws of their magic system. So, how do you solve this? Let Ladybug and Black Cat keep their status as the most powerful and instead of giving Hawkmoth more magical power, make him smarter, more cunning, inventive. Gabriel is a fashion designer, whose creativity makes him a very good Butterfly holder. He has a life full of experience, he knows much more about things than the main teenage characters. Catalyst was very interesting for this very reason. Gabriel sort of discovered a cheat code to boost his powers. Show us how he experiments with his powers, how he analyses his past Akumas and tries to find the most effective ones. Maybe Gabriel tries to design Akumas that can specifically neutralise Ladybug and Chat Noir. This exploration could also give writers an opportunity to explain how the powers of Butterfly work. Can he control the type of powers he grants? Can he control the appearance of Akumas? There are many things to be explored.

4. Peacock creates sentimonsters. I remember that fans were very disappointed when the power of the Peacock was revealed at the end of season 2. I was one of them. The concept of Amoks is far too similar to akumatized butterflies. Other Miraculouses have unique abilities and keywords for their powers, while Peacock just looks like Butterfly 2.0. That glowing mask effect just adds insult to injury.

You have to start by figuring out the powers of the Peacock in a normal situation. If a holder is a good person, then how does their power work? For example, make them related to sight (because of the "eye" pattern on feathers). Maybe, Peacock grants the ability to see the several possibilities of the future, but only a few minutes ahead. Maybe, this Miraculous gives you the ability to see through someone's eyes for a few minutes (and the victim is completely unaware of the intrusion). Perhaps, Peacock allows the holder to use feathers (or tiny peacocks) as cameras one at a time and be all-seeing. These feather-spies can be destroyed by the holder or disappear on their own after some time. Such power could be devastating when used against heroes in canon.

5. Bee can paralyze. This power is pretty straightforward. Once I read a fanfiction focused on very vell done Chloe Redemption, where she fights alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, she grows and becomes a better person. This fic ends with an Akuma battle, where LB and CN are trapped and Akuma is ready to kill them. But Chloe uses a second power of the Bee on the villain - Miraculous Stinger. It's deadly both for the holder and for the victim (because bees die when they sting someone). Chloe kills the Akuma with a Stinger before it can get LB and CN, but she too dies making the ultimate irreversible sacrifice. I will add a link if I find it again.

6. Turtle can create a shield. I don't have much to say on this either. It feels underpowered compared to others in the second tier. Maybe Turtle can also slow down opponents (because turtles aren't the fasters animals out there).

7. Fox creates illusions and acts as their puppeteer. In order to create a balance between other powers, these illusions must hold for as long as the holder needs them to. I propose this mostly because we see that Venom of the Bee lasts very long, the shield of the Turtle lasts either until it's destroyed or the holder wants to remove it, same goes for Akumas and sentimonsters who disappear only when the holder wants them to or their affected object is destroyed.

Let's talk about Zodiac tier. Miraculous of the third tier shouldn't have the second ability like more powerful ones. These powers are the most inconsistent. Even if we haven't seen all of them yet.

8. Mouse can create many small clones of the holder. It is unclear how these clones communicate with each other and how many of them this Miraculous can create. The holder can control the number of clones. This power was very convenient in "Kwamibuster" and it makes sense symbolically for the mouse. What activates the time-limit for children? Marinette didn't have any problems with it when she became Multimouse.

9. Snake can create a 5-minute time loop and has the ability to come back in time. This Miraculous feels a bit overpowered for the Miraculous of the Zodiac Tier. The holder can reset the time as many times as he/she needs to. It's was a good source of drama and trauma in "Desperada". I was honestly surprised that Adrien was capable of fighting after spending months in a loop. But this doesn't change the fact that Snake is overpowered. You can give this Miraculous the power to hypnotise or keep the time ability but place a limit on the number of resets. How does the lyre work as a weapon? Who knows? No one!

10. Dragon can shapeshift into elements: water, wind and lightning. It has the coolest transformation words hands down (Bring the Storm and Open Sky). Apparently this Miraculous doesn't have the time limit.

11. Rabbit can time travel or jump through alternative realities, even writers aren't sure. Time-travel in this show is so badly written it gives me a headache. This Miraculous shouldn't exist just like its powers. Snake belongs to the same tier, but 5 minutes and whole centuries of time jumps aren't comparable in power levels. They are not and this is the hill I will die on. Give the Rabbit powers related to its symbolism in China like an ability to de-age people, heal them or give them a speed boost in contrast with Turtle who might have the ability to slow down.

This Miraculous is so special that its Kwami - Fluff can live separately from his Miraculous in a Miracle Box for millennia (Fluff lives in the Box in "Sandboy", but his Miraculous, pocket watch, was passed down for generations in Alix's family). This is a discussion for a separate post, however. There's a lot to unpack. We'll do that some other time. You will suffer with me but at a later date.

12. Horse can create portals. They could lead anywhere, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, this power is not very useful in direct combat, especially when it's used by a child since we can have only one portal per transformation.

13. Monkey can cause a malfunction in powers of other people. What is the point of this? This power was specifically created by writers to defeat Akuma in "Party Crasher". That's it. What if your target is not magical? How does this Miraculous work in different circumstances?

14. Pig shows people their greatest desire. Both the holder and the recipient of this power can see this desire. Chat Noir wasn't impressed in "Guiltrip" and neither was I. It's underpowered compared to other Miraculous in this tier. Also, why does the tambourine can shoot energy beams? Why?

That's all I have to say on the matter. I'll update the power analysis as needed.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous transformations #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #mt of lb and cn #miraculous jewels

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transmasc-wizard · 3 years

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How do you plan your stories? Like characters, character dynamics, relationships, personalities, plot, storyline, etc etc??

!!! i'm a hardcore plotter & i love this question. it is however very complicated and will be very long. also i assume this is a "how do you do this, i would like Advice" type question so i'll both be describing my process and some little advice tidbits. Also usual disclaimer that i'm Just Some Guy on the internet and what i say might not work for you.

(oh also i have a post right here about plotting when you haven't before & my "plotting levels", which could be relevant?)

onwards!

CHARACTERS:

i have a post that describes my character-making process a bit here, but to half-quote: "I find their “life saying”, which is basically the saying they live by, & find what makes them break it. Then i find their motivations, deepest fear, biggest want, and some personality traits. Then i consider their nonsense vibes, sexuality, age (maybe) and gender, then let them run around in my head doing stupid shit until i know them. Then they get a name, and are gently lowered into the story and the chaos i have created." (i added the bolding so you can see the steps. Also these don't have to be in order but typically lowering-into-the-story is last and life saying is first.)

By "nonsense vibes", i mean random little things that make me think of them. Once again shamelessly stealing from myself, i gave angel's nonsense vibes as an example: "bowling alley carpeting shirt pattern. Eat the rich. Black and white snakes. Girls bite back. the devils are here. Bring a knife to a gunfight. Shiny pink aviators. Cinderella gone wrong. Pineapple pizza just to be contrary. A sign that reads 'con artist!' in glitter." yk? It helps me think of them as An Entity for some goddamn reason.

Also!!! letting them run around in my head is a VERY important part of the process!!! i currently have a "golden heists" character prancing around. i don't know her name but i know she hates cheese and stabs people. Most nights i fall asleep to little nonsense scenarios with my characters; they'll never happen in canon (whether it's because it wouldn't fit plot-wise or it's literally impossible such as wifi and GFS characters) but it helps me SO MUCH to let them just... exist. Like mental fanfic of your own work.

(I don't actually think up backstory as backstory? it's like plot to me. i'll explain that later though)

PERSONALITIES (under the cut so i don't clog dashes):

my personality process is... incredibly informal. I start with the first character i think up (they DONT have to end up being the MC), and pick a handful of traits. Let's use... serious, wry, observant, hypervigilant, & quiet. Similar personality traits tend to group together. (it is possible to have, say, a loud and serious character, but it's harder.)

So i have my first character, then i make a second that kind of mirrors that one--let's have a goofy, fun, easygoing, loud girl. LG (loud girl) and CH (cheese hater) are almost like foils. But how do i add a 3rd/4th/whatever character, you ask, if that's the way i make them? i take more traits that aren't being used (and some that are!!! it's always good to re-use traits, just not entire personalities). So i'll make a selfish, aloof, money-driven, analytical little bastard of indeterminable gender. AB (analytical bastard), LG and CH aren't going to be my only characters, but i think you get what i mean now. I then shove the three of them through my character making process.

CHARACTER DYNAMICS/RELATIONSHIPS:

so you have characters!! but how do they interact with each other? this is where personalities are really important to know. Think about your IRL friends & people who annoy you; why? why is your dynamic like that?

In Six of Crows (when possible, advice posts should reference published books, not just their own wips), Inej does not like violence. kaz, on the other hand, sees violence as a great tool to be used liberally. This fuels many of their interactions, because inej is fundamentally someone who wants to be a pacifist, and kaz is not.

in my wip, Golden Heists, it's clear that LG, CH, and AB are going to have areas where they get along and areas where they don't. LG is cheery and nice, so AB will probably be annoyed by that, but also use it to their advantage. Being aloof and being serious can be quite similar, so CH and AB will understand each other's dislike of pointless chatter or long conversations. however, CH will probably find AB's selfishness and drive for money a bit grating.

Also, think about how they're connected. Why do they know each other? Childhood bffs, co-workers, one saved the other's life... etc. And why do they stay around each other? they're forced to, they like each other's company, they need to work together on something, one is mentoring the other, etc.

If by "relationships" you meant romantic ones... sorry bud, i don't know what the fuck i'm doing, i'm aro as hell. I tend to create people who's dynamics are 'they're friends, yay' & then make them Smooch. But i think @she-who-fights-and-writes has something on that.

PLOTTING YOUR PLOT:

i have some basic steps: 1) daydream. 2) think "lol this would be cool" or "lol this would be FUCKED UP" about one daydream. 3) think "hmm.... story idea". 4) repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 with more specific situations in the story. Branch off from more and more daydreams until i have a bunch of little scene ideas. 5) start an outline--how i do that is in the post i linked wayyy up top. 6) do step 4 even more.

seriously, daydreaming is SO SO helpful. it's absolutely at least 80% of my plotting process--the other 20% is just writing it down as a bullet-point outline. Don't let anyone tell you that daydreaming is a useless part of your day. As a writer, it's incredibly valuable. (Also! write down your daydreams. i promise you're not going to remember that thing that's 'so cool, i'll definitely remember it in the morning...')

Also, since i usually think up complex characters before complex plot, (because i like characters best), a lot of my plotting is thinking "ok, i have these people and their personalities, and i have the basic things that kick the plot off/the basic big events. now what the fuck do these bastards do that gets us through the story?" I string it together like one big mess. And don't be afraid to plot out of order!! as long as you know roughly where things go by the end of outlining, you can leave wiggle room. (I don't even write in order, but that's a topic for another day.)

STORYLINES:

i assume this meant "plotting/planning/putting multiple storylines in one story at once". And it's a very important thing!!

Most stories have a main storyline and then subplots. In Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle, the main plot is finding Glendower. Subplots include Adam getting away from his family, Henry and his backstory, Ronan and Cabeswater, Whelk and Czerny, and Maura in the cave thingy.

When juggling storylines, i suggest keeping some sort of chart or graph to make sure you're not giving a weird amount of time to a subplot that doesn't need it, or neglecting a plotline that needs attention. You don't want to focus on a subplot so long that people forget what the Actual Point of the book is. Also, make sure they're connected in some way. Whether it's an important aspect of the character's life, an off-shooting problem from the main problem, or something else, you want your subplots to still feel like the same book.

BONUS: you didn't ask about this, but backstory:

i do backstory kind of at the same time as plot & characters. Like... in the middle, but more with plot. Because to me, backstory is just "plot that happened before the book starts". I do it the same way--basic concept (for GH: someone Did A Crime), what characters did to influence it (didn't run fast enough, were arrested), daydream & come up with new shit (the crime was arson), repeat.

If anyone's read this far, i really hope something i said is helpful! again, i'm just Some Guy, and again, feel free to ignore what doesn't work. I tried to make the stuff like character dynamics applicable to drafting too, btw. Also, don't feel the need to plot Literally Everything if that's not what works for your brain! (And if anyone else has questions, i'm always open to answering!)

#asks #writblr asks #anon #planning #writing advice #outlines #outline #plotting #characters #character dynamics #long post #nico yells writing advice into the void #writblr #writeblr #i am. so tired #but i hope this is helpful

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galaxythreads · 3 years

Text

Suggestions on how to improve fanfic writing:

I was talking with @angelfishofthelord recently (not that recent, time is a concept that escapes our collective grasp) and I jokingly suggested that I make this post. I am in the middle of an insomnia night, so. Here be us.

Characters use the same nicknames and phrases inside their head as speaking. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re sharing the humor they’re speaking. I.g.: For SPN, I see a lot of people write Dean as a little careless in his POVs, because that’s just how he portrays himself, but Dean, I think, while having a dark sense of humor, isn’t actually very funny in his head. Same goes for MCU and Tony Stark. Funny characters does not always equal happy head space. :)

Nicknames--this used to bother me to no end, because nicknames were never something in my family, and people shortening down the names felt wrong. But you nickname what you love. If someone has given a nickname (and not in mockery) to a character, chances are, they call them that in their head. Like in MCU Clint calling Natasha "Nat", or SPN Dean and Sam calling Cas "Cas" however, with that said, unless the nickname is self chosen, most people will use their full name when narrating. Castiel, Natasha, etc.

Headcanons! This is going to sound a little backwards, but headcanons have always helped me sort between characters. I know that some fic authors are very against headcanons, but to me, you HAVE to make these characters and their world your own, at least a little. You need to understand how their brain functions, and headcanons are a wonderful, wonderful way to do that. So long as you can conceivably fit them into canon, I think you’re good. One of the ones I have about SPN Cas is that he doesn’t actually give off body heat, so he’s constantly room temperature. It’s a detail for people that’s not Cas’s POV to notice. So getting some headcanons like that will help differentiate between POVs because it’s different things for characters to acknowledge.

Mimic writing that you admire. (And ask yourself WHY you like it) I really, really love the way that TFW/avengers team is portrayed in some stories, in others, I’m like “meh.” Write to please yourself, first and foremost, on how to read these characters thoughts. Those who agree with you will flock to be your audience, and they’re who matter.

Language/word choice is really important for POV change. Again, people talk like how they think.

POV change? Treat the character whose POV it is like they are THE most important person in existence. Their reactions get a front seat. Their five senses are your concern. What they notice about a character may not be true, but it's what they notice. They are human, not omniscient, ergo, they'll get things wrong. Even if the story is written with a completely different character in mind, this character is still the most important. POV's time to think, talk, panic, angst, express, etc. That chapter was about how they felt. That’s why sometimes, even if I really do want them to talk or something, a character might think “please don’t say xyz” because THEY don’t want that, and how I feel as an author isn’t relevant here. Remembering that they’re human, and need time to process/react to things is huge.

Practice, practice, practice. It does get easier with time, and effort. I promise. All of you would laugh at my first few weeks of diving into fandoms. That stuff is garbage.

Conscious stream of thought is generally the best way to engage readers, and the most enjoyable. This is how we immerse ourselves into the story. We become a part of it because we follow their thinking. It is always ideal to start where you are the most comfortable, whether that's 3rd omniscient, 2nd person, etc, but, in my opinion, you don't get that true "click" with the characters until you've conscious stream of thought them.

Research. Lots of research. Don't know how long battieres could last in 2002? Look it up. Don't know how to do stitches? Google it. Try to avoid making things up.

Look guys. Everyone understands that you are most likely NOT a doctor or have any semblance of a medical degree. This is fiction. Research what you can, and move forward carefully or vague it out with the rest. The worst that can happen is someone correcting information you got wrong.

Please, please, please stay within the range of human limitation. (Or whatever creature/being you are writing for) You can't lose more than five pints of blood. You CAN die from pain. Infection spreads quickly. I'm sorry. I just. Have read so many fics from newbie writers who push their characters past extremes that is almost impossible. You want to hurt them that bad, break a bone or something. Just. Please try to be realistic. (Don't misunderstand here, I love me some well-done whump.)

Again with the "you are not a professional thing." Those diagnosed with mental illnesses know that you may not be writing from true experience. This is okay. But please, please do not avoid using any words or phrases common with the illness as you try to "vaguely" write it. The more authentic you are, the less likely you will offend someone. Look. I would be so frustrated if someone tried to write about an ED and just... Avoided words like "starve" "binge" and "hungry" because they didn't want to trigger me. Like. Sweeties, I appreciate the thought, I do, but it's more frustrating that you can't even SAY it than actually putting it into your writing. So. Please just. If you're going to write about a mental illness, do so with the intent to WRITE it, not skirt around the bush.

With that, if you are not diagnosed with the mental illness your writing for (or suspect that you have some form of it) that's okay! Google symptoms to get a basic idea, and search for first hand accounts. People's experience is a lot different than the definition. For example, some of the most hilarious people I know are severally depressed, and Google will just tell you they are sad.

Write write and write. You are building a skill. You have to practice that skill frequently.

Do not be afraid to ask for feedback. Betas are wonderful. Asking for advice is wonderful. Being too shy and afraid of criticism for asking for help is perfectly okay. (Hello fellow traveler)

If your search history doesn't have you being watched by government organizations in the next few months, you aren't researching enough. ;)

Take your time. Quality over quantity. Do NOT conform to the update fairy that demands updates frequently. Look. I love my readers. I do. But you HAVE to take your time to finish things in order for them to be worth reading. If this is six hours or six years, that's that.

Do not give everything away. Stop answering questions. We keep reading because we have unanswered questions. Anticipation = good. Knowing everything at once: bad.

Do not put in funny for the sake of funny.

Insults should be insulting, not make people want to cringe and duck their heads.

Dialog should serve as people communicating... Like actual people.

Siblings (unless otherwise said so by canon) DO NOT address each other as "bro" and "sis"

Not a native English speaker? Cool. Natives would love to help you learn their language. :) English grammar sucks.

Analogies should make sense. They should flow smoothly into the writing. If they pop out, you've lost the attention of your writers.

please, please don't glorify rape, racism, homophobia, mental illness shaming/glorification, abuse, sexism, and other crappy things. Thanks. People came for a story, not to get their souls crushed.

#fanfiction #fanfics #fanfic writing

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geek-gem · 5 years

Text

Let's talk about Hilda's dad

As you've seen from my latest posts. I've made stuff concerning Hilda's dad and I've mentioned him before. But now I'm speaking more about him. Especially after finding out he does exist in canon.

Many minutes ago or so I got a message from someone by the name of @smol-maru55 who I was nervous to speak to because I worried I might of bothered people with my posts. But Smol was very polite and actually offered me information that literally Luke Pearson himself answered in a review. I thank Smol for sharing me this because this changes quite some stuff.

Especially what's amazing this was before the show aired on Netflix. Including I think this is where the wiki on the show got this information. Luke talks about other stuff but he talk about Hilda's dad. If you guys don't mind I'm gonna share what he said. But I'm gonna keep the link to the interview to show where it came from. Especially he said other other interesting things too.

Luke Pearson: "There are too many stories about absent/crappy fathers turning a new leaf and showing everyone that they were always a good guy really. It's not something I'm interested in getting into. Hilda's dad's never been there for her, and his absence doesn't define her or her mum in any way, so I don't see him as an important character. I may touch on what his deal is eventually, but he's not going to get to swoop in and take up a lot of panel space."

That's what the main man himself said. Including like I said it changes my mind on some things. But I understand where he's coming from.

Related to the topic and I have spoke of this before. I do have head canon on Hilda's dad and it was around the early days of when I was in the fandom and they still are relevant.

Basically I had this idea for why Hilda's dad wasn't around was because of some reasons. Yet it's honestly like I joked about what the fandom would think would be quite depressing. Even for a show like Hilda. While it has it's serious moments. This would of been a bit much.

The idea I had for Hilda's dad is at first he did love his family, he loved Johanna, and he loves Hilda. But over time as Hilda grew up and became more adventurous, something changed.

Hilda's dad never liked the supernatural and how it was so normalized it was. Especially his daughter was embracing it and her attitude actually annoyed him. You have things like Twig living with them, Woodman visiting without permission. Including other things out there.

So I decided I guess at a point and reading a Johanna X Reader story(Yeah I'm saying that I'm not saying where) featured Hilda's dad and he left the family when Hilda was 5.

Basically he left her at a young age, told Johanna he just couldn't handle the stuff that was going on. He wanted a normal life. The guy left to go somewhere else most likely join the military. Which was something I wonder if I should make a thing but it's official I put him as a SAS which is kind of ridiculous.

He literally left because he didn't wanna deal with Hilda's adventurous attitude and other things. Which kind of says something....if the guy can handle one of the most harsh training for one of the toughest special forces in history, and he passes with flying colors....

But he can't handle Woodman and he almost tries to kill him with an axe. Which I joked about with @simonxriley that Hilda's dad wanted to kill Woodman at one point but Johanna got to stop him(because she even knows that's wrong and Hilda wouldn't want that). Especially it didn't phase Woodman and that freaked Hilda's dad out. Also Hilda found out later when Johanna told her.

The story for him I had was he would go to Trolberg after Woodman told him what happened. He visits them and it be this arc of how he wants to do better and be with his family again because he realized he was selfish. But it doesn't go that Luke talks about. This is part of the depressing part.

So the idea of the story of Hilda's dad trying to get together with his family is showcasing after years without them. He tried change but he can't. Because he thought everything would of been normal now in a city but Hilda didn't change and it's some what worse in Trolberg when he finds out the adventures Hilda has been in.

Especially Hilda's dad revealing to Hilda he actually left because of her. Because he didn't want a daughter who embraced the supernatural and all that around her. He has this prejudice against that stuff because it bothers him.

With the lesson being sometimes dad's aren't always as they seem. Even after they left they sometimes won't change and you have to move on from them. Because if they can't change why should you have them back in your life if they won't change for the better.

Basically with Hilda doubting herself that her own father abandoned her because of her personalities. But because of her friends and Johanna she learns it's okay and it's her dad's fault.

Hilda's dad was supposed to be an antagonist in a way. But not a villain despite he's a SAS ex one or not that's scary. He's a guy who can't mature and change, and just appreciate his daughter of who she is.

I wanna make this clear not every dad is shitty, their have been bad ones. But not every dad is bad I want to be clear on that. It was the concept of Hilda and Johanna moving on from him because he couldn't mature and be at peace with everyone. Especially how his daughter grew up.

Thinking in the end he just leaves, tells them goodbye and realizes this never worked. But seriously that sounds depressing like maybe that he does love them but he can't handle it, yet he can handle being an SAS.

Honestly thinking on this I definitely see why Luke didn't wanna do something like this. Even with my intentions being a different outcome. It's just a bit much unless the show takes on more serious subjects if Luke wants to or not.

In fact I even predict and think I could of made something like a reaction to Hilda's dad is that everyone if you love Johanna, if you ship Johanna X The Librarian, or if you love the show a whole lot and every character. The whole fandom just bands together to hate Hilda's dad because why the hell would you abandonded her own daughter because she loves flying on Woff's and she loves wilderness and everything it has to offer? Hilda is literally the best thing ever and a child that's a blessing.

I do think or yeah I remember. Their was an idea I had for an extra character. A younger male who would be a babysitter if Johanna wasn't around, and has a crush on Johanna and it's sort of like a child having a crush on a teenager at first. But basically it turns out that babysitter this guy that really cares for Hilda and her friends is basically the dad she always wanted and the kind of man Johanna always wanted because he actually cares despite he's weird, he tries his hardest.

I'm sorry for rambling, but again I totally get Luke on why he doesn't on go into detail of Hilda's dad. Especially the fact he admits it never had such a huge affect on Hilda and Johanna's life and they aren't defined by it. God I love he actually said mum but he is British.

Still would of been funny if well I originally wanted Craig Fairbrass as Hilda's dad but I want Kit Harington now so I can see all the stupid but funny headlines of how Jon Snow is in Hilda and people getting into the show and I'm like, "Me and a whole bunch of other fans were here first" it be this funny thing.

Also the younger babysitter guy would be voiced by Tom Holland or KJ Apa.

Really I would like to hear what was Hilda's dad's deal of why he's not with his family anymore. It's probably not gonna be like this but I keep thinking he and Johanna weren't a good match and he's actually a good guy. But still that's the thing Luke doesn't like.

I want him to be a good guy now voiced by Kit Harington because my God if a character like that existed on Hilda, he would probably be the worst character because he's more of a selfish jerk than other jerks like Trevor or the Marra. Especially Trevor is just a kid but still though, hope he develops in season 2. Especially the Marra are the Marra, their jerks, but they just want to cause nightmares for folks. Even though Kelly seemed to be alright because Frida showing some kindness towards her after giving Kelly her bunny back. Which might of well not fully changed but had Kelly appreciate Frida more.

Also Victoria Van Gale just kidnapped a baby weather spirit which was shitty. But considering her place was destroyed. She probably learned her lesson.

An asshole dad who left his daughter because he didn't like how she was is a bit too much even for me or....something.

Anyway I wanted to share that. I'm sorry this got long and me rambling.

#hilda netflix #hilda the series #hilda #johanna hilda #hilda johanna

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