#it just. let's the characters exist and builds plots around the characters instead of the other way around.

[vsaintsin]

Writeblr Re-Intro

Yo! I'm V Saintsin. Or V or Vin or Saintsin or whatever you want to call me that sounds right on your tongue. I'm a self-proclaimed Social Media fumbler who got a late start to the party and has never quite figured it out. I hate how hipster and edgy it sounds to say "I'm bad at social media" but like I used to work with some people who actually managed the social media accounts for the business we worked for and there were rules and whatnot and damn, I think online media is just not my medium. That being said, here I am! Hah

I'm an author and general mess who's hoping to be the miracle man (somebody who makes a living writing silly little stories). I do use a pseudonym but please hear me out when I say I didn't realize how edgy it sounds, it just has some sentimental value to my personal life. I'm so sorry that I sound like I'm in my emo phase HAHA

About me -

He/Him Transguy from the American Midwest (arguably the south, depending on who you talk to, but the older people still say "Sodi-pop" and "ope").

I'm dysautonomic, bendy, permanently sleepy, and a survivor of Crappy Doctors Who Suck At Doctoring.

I like DnD, Pathfinder, Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk, Dragon Age, and other things in that vein.

I do make art of my stories and characters (Tablet is currently not working so I'm in a dry spell).

My writing background is predominantly ancient, dusty RPs from as far back as the foopets days and fanfic writing on Quizilla - I am an old and wizened elder of the net.

My formal education was music performance and behavioral neuroscience, I don't really know how I got where I am.

This is not my first rodeo with tumblr but it is the first time I have anything to SAY instead of just lurking.

In the event of malfunction, you can put me outside for 5 minutes and I'll probably factory reset.

My existence as I know it hinges on a massive number of sticky notes plastered throughout my room.

What I'm lookin' for -

Idk, whatever? I'm down for most things. Did you write it? Cool, let me see. I'm not too bent on genre or anything, just fascinated by the art of storytelling.

A bit tentative with fanfiction but that's just because if it's not a fandom I'm familiar with I am rather clueless about what the hell is going on and if it's a fandom I am familiar with I HUNT DOWN THE DEEP LORE.

I like art a whole lot, including fanart. Also art advice, love seeing things from different perspectives and learning something new.

Mutuals, really, for any reason. Building better connections on here, getting to know people. I am hideously bad at this but I try.

What I write -

Science Fiction with heavy subjects that matter to me - trigger warnings on a story-by-story basis.

High Fantasy (eventually books I think?) characters and their backgrounds for DnD and Pathfinder - I have been tempted to share these to help people get ideas or just for free use?

Things that I delete because I have crippling imposter syndrome and publishing makes me nauseous (doin' it tho).

Stories that I hope will make people feel less alone or that people could relate to, stories that I wish I had when life was worse and I was reaching out for anything I could find to keep me afloat, stories that try to be critical of things that SUCK in a way that's any helpful.

Lots of curse words and cussing (that's just how people talk 'round here), dubious science, things that I hope might make you cry but in a good way though.

Character-Driven stories that revolve more around the development of the person and less around the plot itself if that makes sense.

I've put blurb things below for my primary project/series which features a grumpy, queer, 37-year old chain smoking Frenchman and his misadventures with life and love and unbridled rage. If any of that sounds cool stick around and hang out? (This part is a plug bc I did a thing and I'm proud of it) And if my books sounds interesting the first one is 99 cents on Kindle and you just need a phone and a free app to read it!

THE SECRET OF LIFE (Published) - Sci-Fi/Psychological Thriller, Bi M Lead, Lovers to Enemies, AI but the oldschool cool kind not the real world thing that's stealing our future

Carlisle-Trystan Antoinette is a mercenary on a hard road, navigating life and death itself in an infinite cycle started by powers above his understanding. He has one mission - warn The Dianican Space Station of the coming threat and put a stop to a war that would encapsulate the whole of the Sol System before it can ever begin. Unfortunately for Carlisle, reality is a tenuous thing, made up only by our understanding of it. At least, according to his Psychiatrist, who tells him that there is no war, that he was never a mercenary, and that what Carlisle is experiencing is a severe but manageable psychotic break. Stripped of his combat enhancements, his bio monitor, and everything he's every known, Carlisle has a decision to make. Does he give in to the thoughts and memories, so real that he can almost taste them, or does he live a life of comfort and ease, returning to a husband and daughter that he left behind?

TWs: Domestic and War Violence, suicide, rape, medical trauma, grief, drug use

THE SILENCE OF ANGELS (Due July '24, TSoL 2) - Betrayal and Rage, Learning how to love again slow-burn romantic subplot, Learning how to Dad, A general inability for any one thing to just go right

(Quick Rough Blurb that offers no spoilers for TSoL) Making connections isn't easy for somebody who's accustomed to burning bridges. Isolation has always been Carlisle's mantra for surviving his life. Playing a role comes second nature, pretending to be the man that everyone else wants to see in him. When an old friend is murdered Carlisle finds himself as the primary suspect with all evidence pointing to him so clearly that even he calls to question what he is capable of. Unwilling to believe that he could commit such a heinous crime, Carlisle sets off to find the truth of his friend's death - was Carlisle framed or does he truly have the capacity to bring such harm upon those he loves? Old and new bonds will be tested, faith broken, and the future of everyone called into question as lines are drawn and sides are picked.

TWs: Violence, mentions of SA, graphic character death, more grief, more death

I don't know what else to say... Later!

#booklr #lgbt fiction #writeblr #writeblr intro #authors

[tea-earl-grey]

lower decks is the best star trek show. i'm not taking constructive criticism at this time

#HOLY SHIT #no spoilers but. oh my god the latest episode is SO GOOD #i knew we were going to get at least a part of mariner's backstory this season and IT DOES NOT LET DOWN #really season 4 has been banger after banger #A Few Badgeys More was the only episode i was kinda eh on #if you asked me how i would rank lower decks after just watching the first two seasons i would probably say like. high mid #it's funny but not that deep #but in the last season it's quickly rocketed to be one of my favorite shows. certainly my favorite of new trek #idk it's just rare that a show seems to perfectly straddle being largely made of references and specific star trek jokes #while also having incredibly strong characters. not just of the main four but also the bridge crew. t'lyn. even compelling one offs #tbh i think the reason it's so successful is because it actively avoids the BIG GALACTIC DESTRUCTION plots that disco picard and prodigy do #(though prodigy much less so) #it just. let's the characters exist and builds plots around the characters instead of the other way around. #anyways sorry for rambling. the latest episode just. gave me feelings. #lower decks #my posts

[mysterycitrus]

What was so horrendous about the Dick Grayson cop storyline? Is it just that it happened?

there are two foundational issues with officer dick grayson as a concept — the first is that dick grayson being a cop is a bad character choice, and the second is that chuck dixon unfortunately exists.

the latter is obvious — every single thing dixon touched in the nineties reflects his own turbo fascist politics. he’s so misogynistic he wrote both iconic queer men (connor hawke and tim drake) and devastatingly toxic yuri (babs and dinah) entirely by accident and has been angry about it ever since. thusly, dick being a cop wasn’t about dick himself, it was another explicit example of dixon’s belief that it isn’t the system that’s flawed, it’s simply flawed people in positions of power. it affirms his thin blue line, borderline authoritarian ideal of what society should be.

it’s a shame, because i think nightwing’s strength as a series is one with a large civilian supporting cast, and having dick opposing a corrupt commissioner is a good way of exploring that. think about amy and gannon and clancy — all interesting characters that help flesh out bludhaven as a city, making it stand out against gotham.

otherwise, u cannot convince me dick grayson would ever want or even consider being a cop. “dismantling the force from the inside” is not a practical, long term solution to corruption, and because dick isn’t an idiot he would know that. dick being a cop means he’s placidly involved in the crimes the bcpd commits, no matter how strongly he opposes them. additionally, the character beats are kinda boring — there’s only so much of dick pretending not to know too much and people being amazed by him that i can tolerate. that’s even ignoring that i don’t think he would, realistically, view the police force as a necessary good. consider his background, consider that unlike bruce he wasn’t born into wealth and power, consider that dick has always operated very low on the street level, within a community. he should not like cops.

ideally, if we wanted to rehash this plot, it could be fun for dick to do something like be an independent reporter instead of a recruit. it’d be a cute homage to clark, it’d give him an excuse to hang around a crime scene, and he could practise actual detective work and build trust with the people in his community. let him punch a cop!!!

#all my homies hate officer grayson #dick grayson #nightwing #dc comics #the ask and the answer

[reinedeslys-central]

kotlc things that I keep thinking about that are never really addressed by canon

there is a complete replica of sophie's bedroom and perhaps countless other rooms just. somewhere in a building in mysterium that the councillors just know about.

alden and other telepaths were instructed to monitor the citizens' minds for signs of dissent around the time the prentice thing was going down

they regularly torture prisoners and dissenters into literal insanity that they can't come back from

they also have a super weird prison only accessible by quicksand (????) to house said prisoners

there is an ENTIRE DUNGEON OF WEIRD LAB EXPERIMENTS DOWN BY THE VACKER HOUSE?

okay. how - how big is havenfield?

the entire thing with - is their name twix? the person dex was working with for something. why do we not get to see that more. why is dex the criminally underrated goated character and WE DON'T GET FLESHED OUT CHARACTER ARCS FOR EVERYONE

linh flooded. atlantis. linh song FLOODED ATLANTIS hello what do people think about that?????????? do they see her on the street and whisper? what's up with "The Girl Of Many Floods"? Where else did she flood?

What is up with the song family (tong? their name changed after their grandmother or smth got famous with their music right?) that both their children not only have two very powerful elemental abilities, but are also crazy skilled with said Talents.

why are music, art, and culture not a bigger thing? like yeah, plot, obviously, but that's just worldbuilding!!! I wanna see!!!! art hanging on the walls! Defying gravity! more sculptures! more music playing in the shopping centres!! If they have imparters why don't they have long distance radio? are there mandatory dance lessons? what's the etiquette like besides what we already know?

more animal husbandry at schools. speaking of schools: we KNOW foxfire and exilium aren't the only schools. are smaller schools more specialised? are their community colleges or academies dedicated to specific career paths? universities?

okay but the polyglot ability is SO COOL???? tell me about the archaic variants of the enlightened language. there's no way that's just the elves' one language and the other species picked it up due to their 'superiority' or wtv. the goblins have cities of gold and metal and the trolls age backwards, you're not convincing me of anything.

secret societies in the other species. that has to exist right?

.....is squall dex's mom or not? I genuinely can't remember.

anyway remember when she froze gethen's fingernails off, yeah that happened (I think)

so instead of rehabilitating teenagers who have dangerous abilities and not much control over their powers, we just do....whatever the council did with gethen, ruy, and linh ig

hey, um...are we just not going to talk about dex casually HACKING INTO A GOV DATABASE WITH SOME RANDOM BITS OF ROCK AND TWINE? he can just do that. okay. okay. that's - yeah, okay.

did he match a frequency or something? how does the signal network even work in kotlc when everyone is technically all over the world in unplottable locations and they get around by LIGHT LEAPING???

ON THAT NOTE. light leaping. yeah haha funny let's just teach our kids to casually break down their very particles and hold onto their consciousness to travel at the speed of light using quantum mechanics and crystals that are specifically cut to project light in such a way that'll take you only to a specific location nvm im not thinking more about it.

flickering? is apparently a skill you can learn even if you're not a vanisher? remember in book two when fitz got prissy at sophie for knowing how to do it apparently b4 we figured out that she's a teleporter

keefe is a fun loveable goofball and I've always been on the sokeefe train but now the more I think about it he's really um.... yeah, uh, sophie? darling, please just don't date any of these people. obv you can make your own decisions but at least not now, okay. take care of yourself hon

the fitz hate is kinda weird ngl. wdym you don't want your problematic traitor brother to move back in to living literally with your family after supposedly losing his memories and that's a bad thing? wdym your close friend/crush is hiding things from you when yall are supposed to be cognates and she's kinda gaslighting you since, forever? wdym your father's been shadily telling you to stalk this girl in the human world since you were a kid? yeah definitely he does pull some weird stints throughout the series. but the bigger things i see ppl hating on him for are. hmmmmm

the council themselves choose to lock away the government secrets and wipe them from their memories. hey, um - recordkeeping is great, obvious, but - wiping those secrets from your minds isn't gonna help you lead while accounting for those parts of history, is it? nevermind how dangerous it is when there are huge species-wide secrets that NO ONE remembers. society-threatening incident waiting to happen.

the concept of vociferators. that's just kinda funny lol even if it is weird

are their schoold for diff abilities?

what's the genetics of talent inheritance? why are 'stronger' abilities rarer? In my opinion, p much every talent is goated, I don't see why more characters aren't more creative about it.

banning talents is just a bad move. like. are you serious? how is that going to make it better? that's how you get brant. brant was a pyrokinetic, without getting into the primary issue of the whole talentless/talented discrimination discourse, the secondary issue is he wouldve been able to marry jolie as two talented elves. would he have cracked if his ability was just a bit better handled by society?

grady is a mesmer. how - that's a really powerful ability???? how do you even train to use that? what do you even use it for?

same with whatever that lady councillor is that tried to seduce alden during his own wedding. fun times, yall.

rainbow fire??? cool????

so we have the sanctuary, do we also have a gigantic library of alexandria-esque thing? a botanical garden?

according to jolie's wiki she died at twenty as a level 8 at foxfire. so... hang on a minute. okay, sure, numerically that could make sense since sophie, at 12, became a level one - but are you telling me she went through the whole matchmaking process and was planning to get married that young????

hey, here's an idea - in a relatively stable society where economy is great, trust funds exist, people work to have something to do with their lives, birth rate is generally low (now through prejudice as well as societal comfort and ease/cost of living), why are they marrying so young? WHY ARE THE KIDS STARTING THE MATCHMAKING PROCESS IN THEIR TEENS???? the elven society has p much every mark of a stage 5 developed country? help? middle-high school human geography??

if they apparently live so long, show me the funny messy family trees with couples having children generations apart.

so, trust funds of lusters??? lustres?? (which we barely ever see. why is there little-to-no use of money?) which equate to roughly one trillion USD (in value? are you. are you - um. are you....serious?) exist. but I guess inflation and relative currency value from mass money printing doesn't count in this world, as well as the fact that there's only one currency for all the elves.

I wanna see a divorced elven couple now. how does divorce law work??????

if there's such a low BR and low population and people are yet still encouraged to have less kids to 'not dilute the genes' (that's my next point btw), I'm guessing matchmaking is encouraged younger to make sure population stays stable/growing? obv you need it to ensure genetic diversity and no incest, but if it's heavily encouraged for elves to have children like this, are queer elves mandated to have children with a surrogate/other couple even if they have a same-sex marriage?

i'll probably edit this or reblog it to include more stuff (character limit lol) as i remember the books bc it's been a hot minute since i read them.

#kotlc #thoughts #headcanons #meta #questions #the series is actually really interesting worldbuilding-wise #shannon messenger #what's going on????? #keeper of the lost cities #sophie foster #grady ruewen #edaline ruewen #jolie ruewen #fitz vacker #biana vacker #dex dizznee

[flower-boi16]

Hazbin Hotel Is A Show That Exists

So...after five years of waiting, Hazbin Hotel is finally out. I had very low expectations going to Hazbin - not only because of the current state of Helluva Boss (Its spin-off show) but also because of all the things I was hearing about it from people who saw the leaks - needless to say, it wasn't very positive. I was expecting this show to be a complete disaster on every single level, though deep down, I did want to be excited for this show - as I did used to briefly be a fan of Viv's work until I realized HB's MANY writing issues, so I went in with low expectations, expecting the show to be awful while deep down hoping that MAYBE It'll MAYBE end up being good. And after watching the first four episodes I can say that...

The show isn't awful nor is it that good. It's just...PAINFULLY average. In this post I'm going to give my current thoughts on HH based on the first four episodes that are currently released. Note that these are only my current thoughts on the show - there's a chance that MAYBE the show will improve in the second half of season 1. But for now, here are my current thoughts on the show:

1. The Animation & Visuals

The animation is...fine. The characters definitely look very rigged at times, but the animation is at least pleasant to look at. An issue I have is the camera work - sometimes the camera work can be VERY off at times. The show would constantly cut to different perspectives in some of the scenes and it becomes a headache to look at. It's especially bad at the beginning of the Happy Day In Hell song - where the camera looks like it's having a stroke during the sequence as it constantly cuts to different perspectives a LOT.

That being said - the camera work is mostly fine throughout the rest of the show so it's not too bad. So overall, the animation looks fine. I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

2. The Comedy

The show's comedy is...actually pretty ok. There were a few jokes that got a good laugh out of me, especially in episode 3, the episode that isn't written by Viv, so it therefore is the funniest episode of the show so far. I am surprised by the lack of sex jokes in the show which is at least a plus. That being said, a lot of the jokes in the show don't really land - mainly the ones that Angel Dust makes. So really, the comedy is OK. I don't hate it, but I also don't love it either.

3. Worldbuilding & Plot

So now let's talk about the main plot of the show as well as its world-building. Ok so the main conflict for the show is that due to someone killing an Angel during the last extermination - the exterminations are going to happen twice as fast now (6 months instead of one year). The mystery of what happened to the angel...lasts for about two episodes before we're given an answer in episode 3, and then it's just resolved like that.

Aside from that the series mostly revolves around its premise so far which is good. Alright, now lets talk about the lore and worldbuilding - basically Lucifer used to be an angel in Hevean but was seen as a trouble maker and Adam demanded that Lilith fuck him (or something Idk Idr) and Lucifer and Lilith fell in love blah blah blah Lucifer gave an apple to his new lover Eve blah blah blah the apple was cursed blah blah blah the apple created hell blah blah blah It sent evil to the world and Hevean was pissed about that so they banished them to hell blah blah blah Lucifer became sad blah blah blah Lilith didn't blah blah blah Hevean started doing exterminations because they were afraid of Hell's power.

(Semi-accurate description of the opening exposition dump). Ok so a few things; 1) I already asked this in another post but why did Hell never choose to fight back against Heaven when Heaven shouldn't have any power over hell because Hell was a realm created by Lucifer? Also, why does Heaven even have any power over Hell to begin with? and 2) So Heaven is eeeevil now and is going to kill all of Hell. Like I already said, it would have been more interesting if Heaven wasn't evil, and it also would've been better than this Hevean v Hell war we're probably going to get in the finale.

They even changed the reasoning to why Heaven started doing the exterminations, instead of it being because of an overpopulation problem now it's because Heaven was afraid of Hell's power...

...which contradicts the pilot which is canon to the series. But then the show just goes back to the overpopulation problem as the reason for the exterminations???? Like??? Which is it, is it because Heaven is evil or because of an overpopulation problem??? PICK ONE!!!

Hell is also kinda boring of a setting, it's just our world except red. That's it. So the lore and worldbuilding is kinda eh, Heaven is just evil cuz ofc it is and the lore has some problems. Its funny to how one of the lyrics of Adam's big villain song is "its all black and white", and since Adam is the bad guy and Charlie's goal is to redeem sinners, the show is trying to go for a "it's NOT black and white" message, but that's kinda ironic considering that this Heaven/Hell conflict is very black and white in it of itself; Hell good Heaven evil. That's it. Not saying black-and-white conflicts with a good guy and a bad guy are bad, most shows can make them work and be interesting, but Heaven would have been more interesting if it wasn't evil, at least IMO.

4. The Voice Actors

A lot of the discourse surrounding Hazbin until its release was the new voice actors. Let me just say I don't dislike the voice actors here; I think they are fine and they fit the characters decently well. Their singing is also decent as well. So I don't dislike any of the voices, they are fine for the most part and fit decently well with the characters.

5. The Songs

The songs so far are...fine. If there was one thing that HB consistently got right, it was the songs. Even if I dislike HB, the songs are actually pretty good (for the most part...). Hazbin's songs are...decent. There aren't any songs that I can say are bad, though I have some issues with the show's music; mainly the fact that the show sometimes shoves in songs...for the sake of having a song.

If you want to make a musical with songs you need to make sure each song has a distinct purpose for the story; take "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. Before this song, it's pretty easy to infer that Ariel has an interest in the surface world - with her collecting human stuff and all. But the song further shows us her desire to see the surface - to see what it's like above water. It shows her desire to see the surface in the form of a song - it has a purpose within the story because it tells you something about the character.

Hazbin Hotel meanwhile sometimes has a problem when it comes to shoving in songs for the sake of meeting the song quota; the two biggest examples are "Hell is Forever" and "Respectless", as well as "Whatever It Takes". These songs are all completely unnecessary and they give us information that could have been communicated through simple dialogue rather than characters bursting out singing.

"Respectless" in particular feels less like a song and more like the characters just...singing a conversation with each other. The song is completely unnecessary and is just there to fill the song quota per episode. None of the songs I've mentioned are necessarily bad, but they suffer from being unneeded (HB also sometimes has this problem in season 2 mainly in episodes 3, 4, and 7).

Aside from that issue - the songs are...fine. None of them are bad but some of them are kinda useless and don't serve much of a purpose. I at least liked Happy Day in Hell and Poison, aside from that most of the songs are...ok. I just don't find most of them that memorable.

6. The Characters

Now, let's talk about the characters. First I'll talk about the main cast then the villains.

Charlie - I think Charlie's...fine. I always like overly positive and happy characters for protagonists so I was going to like Charlie anyway. She's fine; she's easy to root for and she's likable enough.

Vaggie - Vaggie's also fine. I do like her snark in episode 3, but aside from that there isn't much that interesting about her.

Nifty - Nifty's cute. Nifty's funny. I like Nifty.

Angel Dust - sigh Ok so I didn't like Angel Dust in episode 1 because of the fact he was another character whose one character trait is being excessively horny. And I also find all his jokes painfully unfunny. I'm not really in a position to judge how well his abuse from Val was handled so since I held a poll asking SA victim's thoughts on episode 4 and most of them voted no I'll just say that they didn't handle it very well and move on. So ya don't care for Angel Dust.

Alastor - Ah yes the creepy radio demon. He's also fine, I like his whole style and stuff.

Husk - Husk's whole purpose in the first three episodes is pretty much just to be pissed off at stuff, I kinda liked the scene where he talked to Angel Dust in episode 4 but aside from that, Husk is kinda just..fine...like everyone in this main cast.

Now let's talk about the villains so far!

Adam - Don't care for him. Sigh look Adam could be an entertaining villain but so far his dialogue and jokes are just painfully unfunny and I don't care for him as a villain. I could talk about his sidekick whose name I forgot but she's gotten so little screen time I can't form an opinion on her yet.

Also isn't it funny how HH was meant to be a female-focused show yet the males get more focus so far (As I've already talked about)? Ya, I thought so too. Anyways, the characters are...fine. I don't hate any of them, but I also don't really love any of them either. None of them are that interesting so far to me.

That's pretty much what I can say about everything in this show so far; I don't hate the animation but I don't love it either, I don't hate the comedy but I don't love it either, I don't hate the songs but I don't love them either, I don't hate any of the characters but I don't love them either.

7. Conclusion

So, that's my current thoughts on HH based on the first four episodes. Well...it's certainly a show that I watched. It's amazing to me how a show could be so consistently painfully average in pretty much EVERYTHING, from the animation to the songs to the comedy to the characters, to the episodes themselves, Hazbin Hotel is the most painfully average show I've watched so far. It's not bad so far, but it isn't good either. Again, maybe the show will improve when the latter half of season 1 comes out...

...or it will just get worse. I'm expecting the latter unfortunately due to the trailers making it look like there's going to be a Heaven/Hell war which means the show is probably going to abandon its premise like its spin-off (...that came before the main show was released). But ya, Hazbin Hotel is painfully average so far, probably a 6/10 so far, expecting the show to probably get worse, goodbye.

#hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism

[iamtotallyfineokay]

A new game?

-

Hey guys, I decided to change the idea for a bit. In one of my last posts, I mentioned my idea of Yandere FNAF UCN. In another previous post, I also said my how Yandere UCN is just Ultimate Custom Night slowly becoming Ultra Custom Night, while the robots practically simp for reader dangerously. However, I realised how it might not be appropriate, as the creator of Ultra Custom Night would probably not want their game being used for x reader fanfics with the storyline of Left4Dead Lovesick FNAF edition in an office. So I tried to change it! Instead there is a FNAF fangame I made up in my head based off the FNAF community’s stuff, like fanmade animatronics and fangame characters for example. I’m still building the plot, so please ‘bear‘ with me. Enjoy!

-

You are (Name). You work as a small streamer online, with you gaining an adequate amount of subscribers and followers on Twitch and Tumblr, due to the FNAF content that you created. People like you for your SFM and Blender animations and your occasional FNAF memes. You even made fanmade FNAF merch which was pretty good. You recently requested your followers what FNAF games they want to see you play. Some of them began requesting games like Five Nights at Candy’s, Dormitabis or Animators’ Hell. Others stick to requesting original games like Pizzeria Simulator, FNAF World, and Security Breach. You then start playing the games your followers requested the next day on Twitch.

As you finish your run on Ultra Custom Night, you cross it off the list of requested games that your followers asked you to play. However, there was one odd request you were curious about. This request mentioned a game called The Last Terminal at Freddy’s, which you went on to find on Gamejolt in your free time. However, it didn’t exist(?), only having a Page Not Found screen on your computer.

However, according to the anonymous requester, they proclaimed that, like Ultra Custom Night, this new fangame has a lot of animatronics as well as new mechanics. The requester said, in a nutshell after that, the game is just if the whole community stuffed FNAF games, fangames, book and fanmade animatronics, all put into one game that is programmed and formatted like Ultimate Custom Night. They even mentioned that if The Last Terminal at Freddy’s was compared to Ultra Custom Night, UltraCN would be only about a percent of the content that The Last Terminal at Freddy’s has, as animatronics far and wide across the FNAF community are out in it, with the original FNAF animatronics, to the FNAF AR skins and animatronic variants, to wonderful fanmade animatronic variants, to even the smallest things like the FNAF easters eggs, loading screens and such.

Even though you were excited for it, there were other followers that responded to that requests, saying that the game is probably not real, it will be cancelled, or it might cause problems like lag or a virus being installed. You, however, like the naive Let’s Play player you are, had faith and waited for this new fangame, since the anonymous requester stated that the release date is around tomorrow, late at night, the time after you streamed your playthroughs of FNAF games. As you say goodbye to your followers while you shut off the stream, you were excited! A new fangame is coming! You then go to sleep, before waking up the next day, preparing a small meal, and going to Gamejolt to check on your computer to see if it’s there.

It was! It was released around midnight, showing impressive small leaks that weren’t enough to reveal much of its contents but just enough to show small gameplay clips and pics, with one image displaying a roster with instead a width of 15 characters! You grew giddy, straight to opening the game in the process. You then dive in blind as the first thing that pops up is a title screen reminding you of the formatting of the Animators’ Hell title screen. 6 animatronics take up each side of the screen revealing a middle showing the title of the game ‘The Last Terminal at Freddy’s’. You then notice that whenever 5 to 10 seconds has passed, a random animatronic on the title screen will be replaced by another one that isn’t on it. You then press the ‘Enter’ button on the screen. The roster was huge. It seemed like it never ended no matter how far you scrolled down your mouse down. It was always filled with only roster posters of animatronics taking up the screen. You saw a setting where cheats can be turned on, where there is no system to worry about running your run, and a system where you can’t die. You turn on these cheats, set the animatronics’ AI to one, and dive into your run. After that, you were met with piles of jumpscares frame by frame, before having to purposefully ending the night by turning your oxygen mask system off.

After that, you tried some fun challenges like ‘Candy’s Franchise’, where only FNAC 1, 2, and 3 animatronics are turned on, ‘Malhare’s Invasion’, where Springbonnie and his related variants hunt you down, and ‘Hot, Hot, Hot!’, where you mostly try to make your temperature as cold as possible, trying to prevent any fire-related animatronic come into the office to kill you. You were having a lot of fun in this. So when you checked the time, you were surprised it was getting pretty late. You also realised you didn’t turn on your camera to record this. Oh well, you can do it tomorrow on stream, it’s not like you played much of it anyway. You left the game, shut down your computer, then went on the rest of your day, although you can’t help but have a small gut feeling something strange might happen, so you try to shrug it off.

-

Loading. . .

. .

. Loading successful. . .

Turning on title screen. . .

-

A bright flash of light awoke these haunting robotic mascots in a jolt like a shock. All they now see is black. Then, a dozen random animatronics see a face through bright mist against a dark background, while the rest stayed in their blinded state. A new player? Odd. The last time they were turned on was when a darkened figure tapped something in front of them, before all of them seeing black. However, they decide to stay put, though some of them were having a glitching effect after certain time intervals, before being swapped with another animatronic. This new face seems to have a jumpy, positive expression. Curiosity gets ahold of them. Let’s see who you are.

Numerous surprises await. You seemed quite happy to be in their presence, chuckling at certain animatronics who you adore secretly, complimenting the mechanics of others, while whole-heartedly just playing the game. This is new. It’s like facing childish innocence in an adult form, all grown-up while being jolly. The positive reaction they could get from players before you were the occasional comment of how this game is only a bit good while lacking content that could improve it.

This fun lasted so long they even forget time went on. To them it’s was hours and hours of fun, but to you, it was just only a few. Then there it was again. You greeted them goodbye, before pressing something in the corner and them seeing black. Oh.

Oh.

Oh well.

That’s sad.

It seems good things don’t last very long.

And it was quite tiring to be trapped in here after a ghost child named ‘Cassidy’ and a wicked old ghoul named ‘William’, battled each other and fought and fought and fought, only to eventually trap each other in this hell.

There were whispers of the vengeful spirit Cassidy hurling insults and blames onto William while the now-turned murder ghost himself sweared under his breath that the fault and outcast of this place was the golden girl who was given a second change at life and a deep hatred for William.

Each hour, these two fought and fought, until their voices crack and choke, broken from the constant negative words hurling at each other. However, a new player came in. A new one. A vessel. One so sweet that one could have their teeth rot in an instant if this new player becomes a candy.

Cassidy and William, putting their foul arguments aside, now went to their own companions about how a new potential vessel will be there now. A vessel of a perfect, self-imagined future, with good use, with Cassidy having a plan of the destruction of William Afton himself, not caring an ounce for the other animatronics stuck in this game, while William imagines a day where he will shred and kill and burn his future victims to the ground, after getting rid of the golden girl herself first. -

Charlie: But Cassidy, isn’t this a bit too much? Your spirit has reached a state of mind where vengeance takes over your thoughts and feelings.

Cassidy: But Charlie! Look at this! We are trapped in this stupid place because he was the man who started it all! If we get our hands on that person, we will be able to rest, or even better, end Afton himself!

-

William: Baby, my daughter, I display a deed for you. I seem to have found an appropriate vessel. One that’s so naive that they probably won’t realise they are being controlled. All we need to do, is request Malhare for the help of controlling this vessel, and we will continue the reign of hurt and fright!

Baby (from the books): Of course, sir! May a reign of newfound terror be shown through a new vessel. Shall we start it when this little one comes on again?

-

These prideful spirits and trapped animatronics are torn in a constant state of acceptance and anger. However, a bigger tear will form, as one’s desires can get in the way of things. Cassidy might not see the destruction of the man who murdered her, while the murderer himself, might not see another drop of blood again. The animatronics might gain awareness slowly, while the other spirits watch from the side the chaos that they foresee and partake in. Maybe the spirits of the angered victim and the murderer might change their plans, though their results might turn out far more gruesome than before. But overall, the main thing you will notice is a fate for our dear (Name) that will not end very well for them.

-

…-- ….. …--

-

OKAY THAT WAS LONGER THAN WHAT I PLANNED TO WRITE. But I hope you guys enjoyed it. This was longer than what I expected.

#yandere fnaf #yandere fnaf ucn #yandere fnaf x reader #fnaf x reader #cassidy fnaf #william afton #afton family #fnaf books #circus baby #charlie fnaf #platonic #x gn reader

[blues-valentine]

it’s still a bit frustrating readings pws claim to this day that portwell “was meant to be endgame” because it’s like they don’t understand those characters and the underlying premise of “their romance”. there was not romantic undertones to them on season 1 and their romance on season 2 was doomed before it even started. pls media literacy i beg.

I believe one of the main reasons PW/Rinis cling so hard to the whole “real endgames” thing is because they are so used to teen shows staying with the “core 4 ships” formula so they refuse to acknowledge the writers changed things because Rina ended up being more dynamic.

This amazing channel did a really thought out explanation about how PW was doomed from the start. Check it out. It has one of my favorite analysis about the show, especially Rina.

But let’s discuss for a moment:

As you said, there weren’t romantic undertones between Gina and EJ on Season 1. They had a common goal. She wanted Nini out of the role of Gabriella and EJ was jealous of Ricky being around Nini. Gina didn’t care about EJ getting the role of Troy. She was actively advocating for Ricky to keep it. The homecoming situation was a plan Gina came up with thinking Nini would be there and get that frustrated she’d quit the show — she was wrong so she took it out on EJ. And instead of the episode ending in some common ground between Gina and EJ, it ends with Gina leaving with Ricky and connecting with him over feeling like outsiders — which kick starts their whole journey. After that, she stopped pursuing her plan with EJ or seeing him all together. They had a whole conversation about Ricky. And later, another argument used to implicate PW was romantic. The plane ticket. That situation wasn’t about Gina. It was about EJ doing good things and becoming a better person and he was inspired to do so by Nini initially. I won’t say that Season 1 doesn’t end with the potential to turn this dynamic into a romantic one — and they did. But it wasn’t aimed as a endgame build up, and that’s made even clearer once you know the existence of that 206 opening night flashback taking place.

EJ starts Season 2 claiming he feels older than the rest of the group. Already making a point that EJ is moving towards a different life stage. His arc started with college applications and the first hint that he might have a crush on Gina comes suddenly on 205 [conveniently after Gina and Ricky had a fallout]. And the narrative never really says why he liked Gina in the first place. And I feel like in a way it was a distraction for him. I’d say it was easier to see why Gina would develop feelings for EJ. This is why I said pairing those two together felt like a plot device for Gina/Rina than it was to serve EJ’s own arc. He was there when she needed it and one thing about Gina, she craves the attention she lacks from her family unit. Gina liked EJ because “he showed up” and I feel he represented a band aid to her feelings. Just like Gina was to him.

The famous sofa scene, the one PWs claim is the epitome of understanding and connection. But as the person from the video says, it never really showed them being connected to each other — it does the opposite. Gina downright says she doesn’t understand him or what he is dealing with but it’s allowing him to dump his problems on her. She sympathized with him but cannot empathize with him. That scene only showcases how different their lives are about to be and how Gina isn’t at the stage EJ is at yet but at that point in time, it felt like they were the only people willing to listen and be there. And having Gina downright say “I don’t know” to EJ’s issues was straight up a parallel to Gina saying “I know” when Ricky open up to her.

And people claiming the miscommunication issues came out from nowhere are really not paying attention. The only reason Gina and EJ got together was because of Ashlyn’s initiative to clear their misunderstanding. If it wasn’t for her, they would have ended with that in mind. And it showed from the get go EJ assumed and let it awake his insecurities instead of speaking.

Another interesting thing the video points out, that I also noticed right away is how Season 2 is framed as a before and after. Divided by 206, which is the flashback episode but also the moment Gina decides to cut off her friendship with Ricky. It’s not a coincidence 205 sets PW up and 206 makes the argument there’s clearly unspoken issues between Ricky and Gina. But mostly, it sets the “I never do things right the first time, Ricky” thing in motion. I said it back in 206 that this quote had a deeper meaning. And after 206, the narrative insists on letting the audience know EJ could be Gina’s first date, first boyfriend and first kiss. They were spoon feeding you the narrative. EJ was going to be the first, just not the last. 209 is a Rina coded episode and I also pointed it out back when it premiered (X). The episode points out Gina was not over Ricky. It has Jack advising Gina to “care less” in her next relationship. An advice that she takes into consideration. And we also got Jack telling her to pick the safest seat on the plane (planes, a metaphor that has been used for Gina’s feelings about Ricky). Gina ended up this episode already with the mindset that she was going to go forward with a more carefree attitude because safest choice (EJ) = less potential pain. @curtsies-from-princess-ashlyn makes a great analysis on how 209 is an episode divided between Ricky and Gina plus their paralleled/individual arcs (X).

The Season 2 finale ties all of this together with second chance, which I said it was a Rina coded song and here’s this lovely analysis (X). Ricky and Nini having the verses about new beginnings because both of them had moved on from their relationship vs Gina and EJ having the verses about shutting down emotionally with Gina saying she’s safer on the run and EJ saying he isn’t sure about what he wants. Neither Gina and EJ started their relationship in the best mindset.

Now, Season 3 premiere, they bring back the “never do things right the first time” analogy again by hitting you with Gina’s “summer of firsts” = “first boyfriend” “first summer camp” and “firsts” continues being a theme all season. Then, we have Gina sub-conditionally saying a person could interfiere in her relationship with EJ, which is a way to say, Gina is not over Ricky. Like, it was so obvious and it was insane people were still holding onto the idea the season would culminate in a love confession with them.

A lot of Gina’s relationship with EJ started by the fact she was compromising her ambition to fit into a role that was more likable for others. She said this to Nini at the end of Season 2. And you can also tell by the way Gina interacted with EJ. It felt like Gina was trying her best to fit into the role of girlfriend, because she didn’t want her first relationship to fail. And this was noticiable with Sofia’s acting choices. And the fact she later confirmed this was an intentional choice means that there’s awareness there.

I’ve said before, Gina and EJ’s relationship was going to fail for a lot of reasons. Their different stages, the fact Gina was not really herself, the fact she still had unresolved issues with Ricky. Gina needed to date EJ to experience her first relationship and even out the dynamic between Ricky and Gina. Gina was pinning on Season 2, then it was turn for Ricky on Season 3, so they could meet in the middle when they were ready. In fact, Season 2 was the season that made me confirm they were serious about Rina because that level of detail isn’t given to non-endgames.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts season 4 #hsmtmts s4 #gina porter #ricky bowen #rina #ricky x gina #anti portwell #asks

[frownyalfred]

I am hoping you can help me better understand something about my Zach Snyder feelings, because I know you have enjoyed his work.

I have conflicting feelings and I THINK it comes down to a different imagery language and some unnamed thing in his storytelling. It's mostly the unnamed thing I'm trying to ID.

When I describe broadly the plots, character motivation (obviously as I understand them), and events, I find myself very interested in his movies and what they have to say. Then I rewatch and I don't feel the same way. It feels dark (desaturation or whatever that filter is called), overly dramatic in a way that feels cartoonist or silly instead of meaningful, or boring and slow. There are some engaging moments some that are action some that are pretty or funny. However, few that move/engage me.

I know people often love or hate Snyder but I mostly feel his movies exist, have a few interesting elements but overall if they weren't about characters I was interested in, I just wouldn't watch. I don't hate or love it. I don't think it's the greatest or the worst.

Example of a storytelling concept that I get and liked in theory but not execution. The Martha, why did you say that name moment. Snyder is connecting Bruce to Clark's "humanity" in a way that hits Bruce in a place where he is always vulnerable and is primal/basic. When people mock this scene I have the urge to defend because I understand (in my way) what he was going for, but I can't because at no point in watching or rewatching that scene do I feel that. Even though he rehashed the Wayne's death in the beginning, then connects back to it during their fight about what his parent's taught Bruce. It still FEELS out of place and "falsely" dramatic.

That's all I can think to give as an example and not make this longer (sorry this is long). But if my descriptions click something for you as a writer and fan of Snyder, please let me know. I just don't know what it is about his storytelling and it's annoying to not understand why there is this disconnect.

Thank you for your patience, if you even get thru this, LOL.

I'm not a film major and I am definitely no expert, but I've been thinking about this ask. I agree with a lot of what you brought up, though it is hard to describe what that exact disconnect is with Snyder's films, and you'll get a million different opinions depending on who you ask.

To me, Snyder's DC films always feel like movies that were excellent plots on paper wrapped around a series of interesting and awe-inducing visuals and scores. There are scenes he does well -- one of my favorites being the initial scene in BVS where Bruce runs into the Battle of Metropolis -- almost because they feel like a separate, isolated moment in his script. There are scenes that drag, exposition dump, and feel dark and strange.

There seems to be a disconnect between him, the writer, and him, the director. He's good at both, don't get me wrong -- but there's something missing in between.

People on reddit will tell you the problem with BVS, at the end of the day, is all the plot holes or the cheesy dialogue. I mostly disagree. Especially after seeing Oppenheimer recently, I think Snyder struggles with building and maintaining the pace of his plot and the emotions he's trying to cultivate in his viewers. Continuity is key -- scenes building up on each other, revealing new layers of meaning and importance, leaving viewers guessing only on the least-obvious plot points.

He has all the pieces -- decent dialogue, powerhouse actors, amazing CGI, a script most people wouldn't laugh at on paper -- but they don't quite form a whole.

I did a quick review of some the things I like about BVS, thinking through this ask, and I think it's pretty revealing that most of those things are pieces, not overall themes.

The Battle of Metropolis flashback

Ben Affleck visually as Bruce Wayne

Lex's scenes with the Senator

The score

Kryptonite/Training scene

Lex's entry into Zod's ship

Diana

Bruce at the fundraiser

Warehouse fight scene

Alfred's dialogue

Lakehouse shots

Knightmare scene

As for the Martha scene, my inclination is that it's rarely out of place or strange when written correctly. In fics, I've seen it done very well. But Snyder doesn't use it for what it is -- a climax of Bruce Wayne's anger and misguided actions -- because he never truly brought the viewer all the way along with Bruce.

TL;DR: I don't know either. But I agree and commiserate with you on this. I still enjoy watching BVS and other Snyder films, but seeing other films -- especially Nolan's, which I'm not saying are theoretically better -- makes the difference very jarring.

#zack snyder #batman v superman #bvs #asks #batman v superman: dawn of justice #batman vs superman #bruce wayne #batman #dc #clark kent #superman #long rambly imperfect thoughts #I'm sure people will disagree with me on this but #alas #I am no film major

[aro-geo-turtle]

TMA’s narrative structure and its reflection in character dynamics

With the end of @a-mag-a-day, I though it would be a perfect time to post this meta-analysis I’ve been thinking about for ages! Its always fun when a story’s ending wraps back around to its beginning in some way, and TMA dips into this a tiny bit via the “can I have a cigarette” moment, but I think the wider narrative structure and parallels in TMA actually get way more interesting than that. Long rambly analysis below cause I’m a writing nerd, and also remember this is purely my own personal interpretation.

I have three main points to make here.

A: season 4 is a twisted mirror of seasons 1 and 2, which act as a singular narrative unit, while season 5 is just like season 3 but more so in every way.

B: these parallels and mirrors between seasons are symbolized through Jon and Martin’s ever changing relationship.

C: the grand finale of Last Words feels like such an abrupt ending because it breaks the pattern established for how season finales are meant to work.

So let’s look at this chronologically:

Seasons 1 and 2 can be viewed a single unit in the overall narrative structure. They follow the same basic premise: Jon in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, trying to find out the truth about the supernatural. They both have a very slow pace, with only a handful of plot-furthering episodes among mostly world-building statement episodes. Then we have a cliffhanger leading into an action-packed climax, and then a calmer epilogue episode to clarify exactly what just happened and set up the new status quo for the next season. There are obviously differences (added supplementals, the paranoia, Gertrude’s murder, you know), but they follow the same general format. We also see the classic Jon/Martin dynamic established and shared between these two seasons: Martin reaching out to care for Jon, Jon rejecting and pushing him away. 

Season 3: Status quo? Out the window! Jon’s out of the Institute, traveling the world, we’re gone from the traditional 3 assistants to 4. The goal is no longer vaguely learning about the supernatural, we got most of those answers from Leitner. Instead we’re building towards the Unknowing from the very beginning. And the pacing here speeds up dramatically. So much happens, plot moving forward most episodes. This is where Jon and Martin’s dynamic first changes, too, finally becoming a lot more friendly. Some parts of the format stay the same, though. The ending is still made up of high-action climax episodes followed by an epilogue episode to set up the next status quo.

Season 4 is a return to the format of 1 and 2, but all twisted and reversed. Jon is in his office at the Institute, alienated from his 3 assistants, but it’s a totally different set of assistants (Tim, Sasha, Martin to Melanie, Basira, Daisy). We’re back to the slower pace, but after the mile-a-minute speed of S3, it feels agonizingly slow, a waiting game. The characters spend a lot of time sitting around. We know how the supernatural works, and now Jon’s looking for answers on what he’s meant to do about it. Of course, S4 also sees the reversal of Jon and Martin’s early season roles. Now it’s Jon reaching out and Martin rejecting him. And then we hit the finale and the tension that’s built up all season suddenly snaps. Once again, it’s a high-action climax followed by a slower epilogue that sets up season 5.

Season 5 is obviously the biggest status quo change of all. Literally all the rules of the normal world are shattered. It’s season 3 but even more so. We’re not at the Institute (there is no Institute), we don’t have the typical 3 assistants (that role doesn’t really seem to exist anymore). Like with the Unknowing, we have a clear goal from the very start: get to the Panopticon, kill Jonah, bring the world back. While the pace of 3 is rapid-fire, 5 is a steady march forward, episode by episode. Jon and Martin are once again friendly, and even more so, have finally connected and realized their feelings. And then we get to the grand finale. I think the reason the ending feels so abrupt to me and many others is because it finally breaks the format of season finales. Last Words is the action-packed climax episode but it has no epilogue episode. It just ends.

So, yeah! Those are my points. I just find looking at this all very cool.

#Tma #tma meta #the magnus archives

[defining-skyology]

Defining Lore(bible).

Did you know TGC confirmed to the Lore community that the story isn't just being made up as they go?

Lore theorists were getting pretty upset around late 2020, because a nihilistic cultural movement was swelling amongst us over a question:

If the story was never fully created/fleshed out, then are we just theorizing about a story... that doesn't exist?

[[[Longer read ahead]]]

[[[Continue reading]]]

We are back

It's been quite an agonizing week and all I've wanted to do for so long was just get back on this. Even now that I'll barely be approaching our topic of the day/week, the question still lingers: how long does working on a single article take? Though the writing portion of the production process takes 2-4 (idle/distracted) hours of writing, I spend an entire week beforehand searching up, on average, dozens of philosophical and scientific wikis and official research studies, panning for things to help me distinguish my arguments in interesting ways. I've come to really love reading, and while I haven't been able to write; I promise that we've been reading.

Why do these articles need such thorough and often unconnected briefs and research just in order for us to post them? According to the amazing community-control dev Ash from Lorechat, we know that there is supposedly a 'canon' story that TGC's team works together to ensure is still cohesive to the 'grand plan'; fleshed out much greater than most aspiring theorists would/do believe. (Supposedly). When first announcing this to an absolutely livid Lorechat in late 2020, Ash called it "The Lore Bible". The devs have the Lore Bible. But we don't.

The Lore Bible, the original story of Sky; the descriptive, canon history of the Ancestor kingdom, was written before Sky officially launched in 2019. Which means that Ash is suggesting to the Lore community that Sky's story has always had its 'full details', with none of the major plot points of the fall of the kingdom excessively changing. There is an Answer. But to most theorists, we will never come remotely close to confidently knowing we have it, not without help anyways. But I don't think that's true. I don't think it's impossible. And I think, help or not, we can keep taking steps closer towards Knowing.

Because Sky is just a Story. Sky is a fictional world, with a structured civilization and exhaustively-planned ecosystem. They had to have come into having these ideas from somewhere. They had inspiration, and now we do too. We can decide what their inspiration was, and we try to rebuild the Story in our mind from the ground up. We've always already tried to rebuild the Story in our heads from the ground up. But I'd like to verbalize in a different light, for a different view.

Here on this blog, we won't be rebuilding this World, this concept of what a Kingdom looked like. Instead, I want to tear it back down. I want to strip the fabrics apart by their seams, and see every way that they have sewn this together. I want to peel it back until it was just a thought in their heads.

We have to reverse-engineer the entire thing.

The point, is to not start creating the entire world. I'd rather not do that. So many Sky theorists try, and it often just doesn't always work perfectly. Why? Because of the loose ends. They built their characters; their interactions, their plot, climax, falling action; relationships; tender moments; bitter tears.

But in the end those characters, those emotions, all stand on loose gravel, in quicksand, their ankles getting pulled in by the unbuilt world they've made.

This is why world building is so important, and the missing step we've been disregarding all these years. We need to prioritize creating the foundation before we can stand up on it.

The Answer is out there folks. So let's keep looking.

#sky children of the light #sky children of the light lore #sky cotl #skychildrenofthelightlore #skycotl #skychildrenofthelight #sky lore #sky game #sky cotl lore #sky rambles

[nellasbookplanet]

Actually loving how the different critical role campaigns exist in relation to themselves, each other, and the world at large, and how their different narrative structures ripple outward.

Campaign 1 was story driven. Not to say the characters weren’t deeply important and dynamic, but their growths were largely driven through and by the plot. They were on a mission and grew along with that mission, and as a mission driven archetypically heroic party they also left very few loose threads by the end.

Campaign 2, meanwhile, was more insular and character driven. Where Vox Machina traveled all over the world and planes outside the main setting of Tal'Dorei, the Mighty Nein largely stayed in Wildemount, allowing for a more intimate and political look at it’s cultures. Instead of story and characters revolving around plot, plot revolves around character. We only got to see Yasha’s tribe in the epilogue, because her growth didn’t require facing them. We didn’t face Uk’otoa, because Fjord’s arc culminated in embracing the Wildmother, not in facing his former patron. Similarly, while the entire Assembly was an antagonistic force, only Trent was dealt with directly, because he was the only one directly tied into one of the pc's arcs.

The larger world building let us know about Molaesmyr and Ludinus, about the Luxon, even about Ruidus to some extent, but the Mighty Nein weren’t a typically heroic party here to save the world and solve every mystery, but a group of broken people finding it in themselves to heal, and to end their journey ready to face greater threats in the future. They were still getting the Assembly and Uk'toa, they just weren’t doing it in the main narrative, because they were irrelevant to the growth of the characters. Of course, that also left a lot of threads hanging, which brings us to campaign 3.

By now, it seems pretty clear that campaign 3 is another plot driven story rather than the more meandering, character driven narrative of c2. That leaves the cast free to pick up on the many larger mysteries in world building left in the wake of the last campaign. What is the nature of the Luxon? Of Ruidus? Of Aeor and the aeormatons? Half the party was just plopped down not far from the ruins of Molaesmyr, Ludinus' former home - will they go there? One of them is tied to the Luxon and dunamancy, another to Ruidus and Predathos - will we get to know the true nature of these entities?

Much like c1, the characters of this campaign are driven and shaped by events rather than shaping their own events. The difference is, c1 began as a blank slate, whereas c3 has history. Powerful allies and enemies alike are tied to former campaigns because such is the nature of the world. Mysteries left to solve were introduced earlier but approached only now because this is a campaign whose narrative and characters are served by approaching them. The world is dynamic. Alive. One story merges into the next, and new heroes are born on the shoulders of the last, ready to be shaped by their own narrative.

#critical role meta #critical role #cr3 #cr2 #cr1 #you know the drill time to go insane about narratives again #any of these plot threads could have been pursued in campaign 2! #most of them - the luxon‚ ruidus‚ ludinus‚ even molaesmyr (if they go there) - had plot hooks! #story wise it would have made sense to go there #but character wise it would not‚ and c2 was a narrative all about character #its been said before but every mission they took on after mollys death was about character #going to the ocean for fjord and xhoras for veth #saving the empire for beau and caleb #facing obann for yasha #fixing the grove for cad and hosting travelercon for jester #facing lucien - and saving the world - for the friend they lost and who shaped all of them #were their party more like vm it's likely they would’ve taken the plot hook of the war #There’s also a whole post i want to write about the nature of c1 vs c3 #and the fandom idea that c3 isn't centered on marquet enough #when i feel they are about the same in terms of travelling to and invoving other places #c3 just happens to come off the back of the much more insular c2 and as such the difference is very stark #anyway. put a pin in that. maybe i'll write it later #nella talks

[thecluelessdoctor]

How would you write/rewrite Exes and Oohs? Aka. episode that exposes Moxxie's mafia backstory.

OH HELL YES OK

First let's start with what's wrong with the episode.

My major problem was that again, tone was terrible. It wanted a imitating tone anytime crimson was in screen, but it made him a fucking joke.

Chaz also felt lazy, like I don't mind a character that only cares about dicking down, its hell after all, but chaz felt like a terrible plot element for drama, especially because they made him be the ex of both Moxxie and Millie, which is just crappy. And how would Millie and Chaz meet?? We have no evidence Millie left wrath before joining IMP, same with Chaz. Chaz in general just didn't need to exist

So, how would I fix the episode?

It's not a bad episode, but it isn't good either. And for once backstory doesn't feel forced because Moxxie has been shown to be incredibly good with weapons, and know alot about them, so it kinda makes sense we was once apart of a mob.

Anyway

Rewriting the episode

The episode will begin the same, I.M.P getting a call to go to greed. Moxxie seems uncomfortable with the idea, but they go anyway.

They end up at crimson's place, crimson not being there, but they are instead greeted by someone of the mob who only refers to crimson as Boss. Moxxie recognizes the place instantly, and attempts to back down. Blitz being blitz, makes him go anyway.

The mob person brings them to a meeting room, with very little lighting other than the green light through the cracks though the curtain, a dark figure sitting behind a desk, a plume of smoke making it even harder to see who it was.

Moxxie seems almost scared as the trio is shoved in, and the door shuts behind them. Crimson, the figure behind the desk talks to them about why they are really there. He's very blunt and says he wants Moxxie.

Blitz objects, saying mox is one of his best employees. Crimson obviously isn't happy with this answer, and with a snap both Blitz and Millie are dragged out, leaving Moxxie in the room with Crimson.

The curtains are opened, allowing Moxxie to see crimson.

Crimson talks about what Moxxie cost the mob when he got caught, and then completely left the Mob for some cheap job. The mob was on Mammon's wanted his, and Moxxie was going to pay. Moxxie retaliates, threatening crimson. Crimson is unamused, and has Moxxie dragged away, and locked into a room separated from Millie and Blitz

Cut to Millie and blitz, who are in two separate rooms, stripped of any and all weapons. Blitz is trying to think of a way out. They couldn't get through the door, with it being locked and plenty of gangsters outside, that wasn't a option. The window wasn't a option from them either seeing how they were on the 2nd or 3rd story. Millie is in despair, desperately trying to break out.

Cut back to moxxie, who's on a first floor room, locked in, without any weapons. Luckily the person who through him in there didn't check for the window being locked or barred.

Moxxie escaped through the window, sneaking around outside. Luckily not to many gangsters were out. He had to find a way to get Millie and blitz out

Que him being caught, and completely bad ass fight scene because he deserves it. He takes the weapons off the Hellborne gangster. Now he had a way.

He had two guns, both full, and four mags, and a knife. He found another unlocked window that didn't lead to a room, and he broke back in, checking as many doors as he could.

He manages to find Blitz's room, and shoots the lock, alerting gangsters in the building. He gives a gun to blitz, as well as a mag. Que bad ass fighting scene

They manage to find Millie in the fit of battle. Moxxie tosses Millie the knife and more fighting.

They make their way out of the mansion, but not with our a encounter with crimson, who shoots Moxxie in the arm and horn. Very painful

Crimson claims he will get his revenge, planning to shoot Moxxie fatally, before blitz shoots him. Not accurately, but good enough to wound crimson enough to retreat. They steal a car, and attempt to get to the nearest hospital.

The episode ends with moxxie in a hospital with Millie beside him, asleep.

outro

THE END

Naming this episode 'Close Call'

#helluva boss blitz #helluva blitzo #helluva boss fanart #helluva fanart #helluvaboss #helluva loona #helluva fizzarolli #helluva boss #helluva critique #helluva redesign #helluva rewrite #helluva boss asmodeus #hb fizzarolli #helluva boss fizzarolli #fizzaroli helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss rewrite #helluva boss redesign #helluva boss review #helluva boss critique #helluva boss exes and oohs #Helluva boss exes and oohs rewrite #helluva boss criticism #Helluva boss Close Call

[sweetchcolate]

I know both series have already started, but between Doctor Elise or 7th Time Loop which one do you like the most and also have you read their manhwa and light novels respectively?

Ooo tough question tough question!

Mind you, I read 7th Time Loop (the LN) around late summer 2023 or not too long after the anime was announced, while I read Surgeon Elise (the webtoon adaptation) about 2-3 weeks ago, so the latter is fresher in mind. Keep in mind that a lot of what I will say is also subjective and up to personal taste.

tldr: I prefer 7th Time Loop best. If I had to sum things up simply, I started reading Surgeon Elise for Elise and stayed for Elise (and Linden to an extent), whereas I started readin 7th Time Loop for Rishe and stayed for Rishe, Arnold, Theodore, Rishe's previous lives, the intrigue and the world building.

More under the cut for details:

Imo I prefer 7th Time Loop because it does a great job of balancing and progressing its plot, its world building and its interpersonal relationships.

Rishe is a wonderfully competent, sharp, and kind female lead. It's always a surprise to see how Rishe'll react to meeting familiar faces, and her dealing with people she knows from previous lives (yet who aren't quite the same as she remembers) and it makes you excited to see what's next. Trying to gauge how much of herself and her knowledge to reveal and how much to keep under wraps is also part of the mystery and the charm.

But the characters who surround her (Arnold, his brother, the people from her previous lives) are just as interesting and important in the story. They all shape the world Rishe lives in through their actions/words, and their existence has repercussions on the story.

On the other hand, the most developed characters in Surgeon Elise are Elise herself and Linden (which makes sense, they're the main couple, so of course both parties will get developed). The other characters kinda take a back seat or only serve a purpose for early plot points before kinda... being forgotten? For example, in early Surgeon Elise when she's doing volunteering at the hospital, Graham is lauded as a medical genius and prodigy and is meant to serve as a way to measure/showcase Elise's prowesses. He supports her early on, but is quickly pushed to the side once Elise progresses past his skills (he does show up again during the war arc, but his role is much more minor to the point you could write him out without missing much).

(In other words, if you gave me a bonus chapter focused on Graham or other side characters in Surgeon Elise, I guess I would read it, but if you gave me a bonus chapter focused on Theodore, Michel, Kaine, etc, I would devour it asap).

Another element which 7th Time Loop does incredibly well is the world building: it plays a very important part in everyone's lives instead of just being relegated to the background. Political, religious, geographical and economical considerations all come into play because they give rise to the obstacles Rishe and Arnold must face while also shaping the solutions they come up with (this makes more sense if you've read V3 or V4 of the LN). However, it's all introduced gradually and always tied with new characters (so let's say if chara X from country Y shows up in the story, Rishe will give a brief description of that country and its ties/importance to Galkhein), so it doesn't feel like a lore dump.

You couldn't just swap country X for country Y, because each country is unique in its geographical location, its environment, its natural resources, and its relations to Galkhein and other neighboring nations.

To be fair to Surgeon Elise, the focus of the story is on Elise herself and the advancements she brings to medicine, so there's not quite as much place or importance for her country's internal or external policies compared to 7th Time Loop. It's a much more self-contained and character-driven story, so the span of the world buiding is also more concise and focused on the roles/classes of the immediate people around Elise (for example, her brother getting circumscribed in the war because he's a noble in order to bolster the army's manpower)

(In other words, take out the lore in Elise and you wouldn't miss much, but take out the lore in 7th Time Loop and there would be a lot of holes/missing pieces).

It's important to note that I've compared 7th Time Loop the LN to Surgeon Elise the webcomic. It's very possible that some of the things I found lacking in Surgeon Elise is because of its medium (I suppose a webcomic has less time and space to go into details into characters's personal motivation, backstories, world building, etc than a light novel), but the story was still cute and entertaining enough :P

#surgeon elise #doctor elise #7th time loop #sweetchcolate's nonsense of the day #anonymous #thanks for the ask! #:>

[mdhwrites]

Boscha Ask: If people like seeing bullies slowly not be jerks, why not allow Boscha to have an arc? It could have been really compelling.

(I accidentally posted this ask when I meant to queue it. Wanted to post it later so sorry the full ask isn't here. I've included the main thrust and relevant parts of the ask for my response.) You're absolutely right that it can be extremely satisfying and worthwhile to watch a bully become a better person. To see them let their guard down and see the worth in others. For them to go from defensive and worried about any weakness to being able to open up.

TOH had one of those already and her name was Amity and we all saw how that worked out right? And she was a genuine, primary member of the cast. THAT'S why I argue that the show in S2 actually used Boscha well. She appeared for a couple gags when it was the right time to do so and otherwise vanished. Her role was after all as a small time antagonist and a marker for Amity's progression. She is not Sasha who has a deep, personal tie to both Anne and who Anne was before Amphibia and that is the point of her existence. That's why I say that after Winging it Like Witches, she has no reason to be here anymore because Amity is past Boscha, past most of Hexide, and this ISN'T Amity's story.

Or hell, how about a different character who after their main narrative use was up decided to stick around, albeit briefly: Lilith. She got mistreated AWFULLY by the show because she got in the way of Hunter's narrative purpose. She couldn't continue to be a character for the sake of the new villain. She could only be a joke. And while Boscha is just the romantic interest's old bestie, this is arguably the second main character of the show's SISTER and the PRIMARY ANTAGONIST of the first season.

Just covering a proper redemption for Amity and letting the fallout of S1 actually have an effect on the show, including what should have been Lilith's rage at Belos, could have easily taken up the main plot of at least half a season. Hell, in the show we got, Lumity IS the focus effectively for S2A plotwise with how little movement is in that half season. S1 sets up threads with just those two, ignoring Eda, Luz and Hunter, that are connected to the world building and drama of the world and plot itself that evaluating it... Making someone who is almost a one off in S1 and a supporting member of a supporting cast member seemed like the wrong move to me even when I was writing her before S2 came out.

And here's the ultimate rub: I AGREE. There IS a story there. I wrote a fuck ton of it with The Power of Love. Little Miss Rich Witch flips main character's perspective over to Amity, not Luz, and makes it her story in an original context. And do you know the part of TOH's identity that story focuses primarily on? The school drama, where a school bully can be a primary, ongoing member of the cast. TOH wants instead to have a plot that's grand fantasy and that's NOT where Boscha lies, even if she would have made sense as a member of the EC eventually.

Which, tangent, for as much fun as Sport in a Storm's scene is with her, I did one off for it at one point, it also creates the problem that Boscha didn't see Hunter and try to sign up for the EC despite having no reason to not want the power that would give her.

The problem with your position is a problem with a part of modern ship culture. You love a character so OF COURSE including them as a main character would have been great for the story overall because you'd get more of them. But... Is that actually true? I love Boscha. I think she had a lot of narrative potential that was never tapped into but that was for the best because this isn't a romantic school drama.

It's an adventure, fantasy comedy and the fact that we got Boscha at all out of that is almost condemnatory of the series as much as it is praising it. Sorry.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #boscha

[showtoonzfan]

Something I’m noticing about Vivziepop’s darker elements to Helluva that bother me (ESPECIALLY with the recent episode) is that she just dumps it all onto you and expects you to go along with it, without letting the scene sink in or linger, and like I said before, doesn’t have the proper buildup or development in the first place. It’s really an issue, because as a writer you’re stuffing too much in your audience’s faces, and this circles back to how Viv is just too ambitious and impatient. We meet Moxxie’s father, Crimson (a character who by the way, could have had WAY more buildup and hints since he had a huge negative impact on Moxxie’s life) and in the same episode we meet him, we also see Moxxie’s childhood, and what Crimson did to his mother, again….something REALLY dark that’s just piled onto us. Even on paper this doesn’t sound good, it all feels so rushed.

What I feel like the show should have done was buildup Crimson more in season 1, then in “Ex’s and Oohs”, we finally meet him, but don’t immediately dive into flashback territory. Set up that Moxxie cut ties with him and wants nothing to do with him, that he left the crime business a long time ago (and yes, let’s ignore that this sounds very similar to Angel Dust) much to Crimson’s dismay. What I actually liked about the sort of first half of the new episode was that Crimson was actually kinda subtle. You could watch the beginning of how he interacts with Moxxie, and there’s this uncomfortable eeriness that something is clearly OFF between them, but you can’t tell why. A normal viewer would assume that Crimson was just not that good of a father at a young age, hence why they broke ties and don’t see each other anymore, Moxxie IS the show’s punching bag after all, so I just assumed Crimson thought his son was a weakling and that’s why the awkward uncomfortable banter was there. However, that wasn’t the case, but just because a show subverts your expectations, doesn’t mean it’s automatically good.

If you wanted the idea that Crimson killed his wife and practically made Moxxie do it at a young age, fine, just don’t show that in this episode. Why not cover Moxxie’s mother’s face in the family portrait, hint to the audience that she passed. Meanwhile have Crimson not mention her at all or even acknowledge her, but show that by just looking at her covered face in the portrait, Moxxie is at unease, even terrified. Let us see that he acknowledges her existence through body language, while Crimson doesn’t. Build the suspense more for this episode, keep the awkward uncomfortable banter between the two, instead of flat out revealing that Crimson is an abusive murderer only 11 minutes into the audience meeting him for the FIRST time. I would have also changed the premise of this episode. Get rid of the dumb marriage for money plot, and have it be focused around Crimson trying to convince Moxxie to come back into the family. He himself said that he heard a lot about how successful IMP was, so what if the episode opened with him seeing their jingle commercial, and arranging the call? What if he at first thought Moxxie was a weakling, but after seeing how skilled his son was at his job, he tries to get him back into the family or…mafia business or whatever for his own personal gain? I’d also take out Blitz for this episode because he didn’t need to be here, you could have a flashback scene of them meeting where Moxxie first gets the job, but Blitz doesn’t need to be here in the present. Crimson would only invite Moxxie and Millie, since they’re married, and Chaz. Get rid of Chaz being Moxxie’s ex, and only make him MILLIE’S ex, so there could be an A and B plot for this episode. The A plot focuses on the relationship between Crimson and Moxxie, and the B plot focuses on Millie and Chaz, so Millie can actually get some fucking development and focus for once. I had the idea that Chaz is only there coincidentally, he initially joined the business for money, but once he realized Crimson was in debt, he wanted to leave but couldn’t and is forced to be with them.

Then, after Moxxie obviously rejected the business, end the episode the same way with Crimson throwing the knife at the portrait, only THIS time it’s the first time we see Crimson aggressive with his mask off. The next time we see him, THEN show the flashback, either from Moxxie’s perspective, or Crimson’s perspective, revealing how abusive he was as a father, and how he killed his own wife. OR…another thing you could do is while we’re away from Crimson, we see Moxxie reflect on his mother, maybe see the flashback without Crimson around. I dunno guys, FUCKING ANYTHING to build suspense and conflict for the characters, and make Crimson more terrifying, and to get rid of all the stupid unfunny comedy. It really disappoints me how by the numbers and lame Vivziepop’s abusive characters are, and how none of these writers can’t build suspense or take any of these dark matters seriously without cracking a cringe dick joke or having a character be SA’d. The way Moxxie couldn’t have his victory and properly stand up to his abuser and yet Stolas can for some reason is fucking disgusting. Let Moxxie have his moment. Let him prove to his dad that he’s not some punching bag who can’t do anything for himself. Let him prove to his dad that he’s not going to take his shit anymore. But no….we can’t have nice things with this show at all because the writers are too horny. At this point guys, just write a porno, because we all know that’s what they really care about.

#vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #helluva critical #vivziepop criticism #rewrite #Adam Neylan #vivziepop critique #rant

[amozon28]

Spy x Family has done a really good job when it comes to slow burn developing all its characters and world building while still keeping the story interesting and enganging. and with the slow but steady way the characters and plot is being developed its clear to me that Endo has plans for this to be a long term series.

And while this type of story telling is very obvious with Twilight slowly letting his walls down around his family and falling inlvoe with his wife and loving his daughter through as his denials and “for the mission”s he tells himself i actually want to talk about Yor a bit here because her development is far more subtle.

for how happy and loving Yor is its very easy to forget or not notice how incredibly sad her life has been. she didnt get a chance at a childhood because at  very young age she had to become a parent to her younger brother, so much so that she developed her entire life around him. and once he became an adult and didnt need her anymore, she didnt have a life of her own.

and this is where we meet her at the beginning of the series, having no real friends, being told constantly by her coworkers that shes not normal, living in humble furnishings and only owning practical clothing despite having the money to treat herself and live comfortably. and shes still being an assassin despite not needing to provide for her brother.

and this is something she directly confronts during the cruise arc when theres a moment when she thinks she may die, and is at peace with it because up until this point her entire reason for existing, caring for her brother, had been fulfilled. and while she realizes shes still needed by her fake family, that isnt really a healthy substitute for how she values her life

and at first a lot of her development is around her insecurities around her new role as a mother and wife. which is understandable given the time period and the comments she has recieved from coworkers and others that see her as “lacking” in that regard. however everytime she expresses this Loid reassures her shes perfectly fine, and infact she stops thinking this way after the park bench conversation she has with Loid after knocking him out.

this panel is especially interesting to be because it really highlights WHY Yor has so many insecurities about what others think of her, she spent so much of her childhood alone and working instead of playing with other kids her age or having parents to take care of her. shes doesnt have a lot of socialization skills to help her navigate throught the world. its honestly why i think she clings to the title of “mother” and “wife” so hard because those roles has rules and expectations for how to act that she can figure out. but when it comes to just being “Yor” she doesnt know how shes supposed to be

which is why im REALLY excited for the future arcs involving the Ladys Patriot Society. Because all these ladys love Yor for being HERSELF, they praise her for her mothering skills, they think shes awesome and funny and sweet and genuinely enjoy her company. even when she fails or makes mistakes they dont put her down, because everyone makes mistakes thats normal

Yor has been the sole provider for her and her brother, and being in a league of assassins is mainly a solo job. she doesnt know how to work with others and always thinks she needs to carry her own weight, which is where a lot of her insecurities about not measuring up and having such a low sense of self worth comes from. but the ladys clubs dont treat her like that

im so excited so see how Yors arc of self worth outside of what she can “provide” for other people and just learnt o love herself as she is.

#yor forger #yor briar #spy x family #sxf meta #sxf #spy x family meta #sxf commentary #mine