#twc critical

[lykegenia]

So there's somthing about the M romance I haven't really seen people talking about, and it feels like one of these things that gets overlooked because there's an expectation to play the M-mance a certain way: flirty, sex-first, friends-ish with benefits catching feelings. Nothing wrong with that. And M's development in Book 3 as a character recognising there's something different in their feelings here (like actually having them at all) is great and really well paced, and it's really what sold me on the idea when I played it with Rhiannon.

However.

If you play the M-mance the way I did with Rhiannon, as someone who rejects M's advances and expresses disinterest in having casual sex, it gets pretty uncomfortable after a while. Because even with no encouragement, M doesn't stop 'flirting'. I put that in quote marks because M's behaviour towards the MC includes leering, unsolicited sexual comments, invasions of personal space, and a bunch of other stuff that makes pretty solid ground for an actual sexual harrassment complaint to Agency HR. That's literally the definition of their behaviour. It's not even subtle - they do this in front of the rest of UB and even in front of the MC's mother. If they were not the love interest for that particular route, they wouldn't be able to get away with it. They would be treated by the narrative the same way as Bobby, who shows a lot of directly comparable behaviours if they're the MC's ex and is framed as a creep for it.

I don't know if this is more frustration with M as a character or with Mishka's style of writing that makes it clear she's not expecting you to say no to M's advances. The options to ignore M's propositions are there, but they don't really have any effect on how the story plays out. At no point until the scene in Haley's in Book 3 can the MC have a proper, negative reaction to one of M's comments, and even then there's no option to tell them what an arsehole they're being, or that their advances make the MC uncomfortable. There's no option to even be uncomfortable because the MC automatically gets flushed and tingly whenever M gets close.

To be fair to M, that moment does make them change their behaviour, and it does make me believe that they'd have backed off earlier if told to, but it's a shame that the MC never gets a chance to properly call them on being inappropriate with a colleague. Even a throwaway comment from another member of UB suggesting they tone it down would be welcome. Maybe it's just being an ace that makes me notice it more, and I do appreciate that would be an unfair amount of extra work to put on Mishka to write in what amounts to two versions of the same romance, but I can't help miss the wasted potential in what we could have got if we'd just been able to tell M to fuck off on day one.

#i may be writing a thing #the wayhaven chronicles #specialist agent m #twc mason #twc morgan #twc critical

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

why did I play wayhaven chronicles book 3

A list of grievances and observations as I played this heck of a game

Spoilers for all of it because I don't care and you shouldn't either

How is the writing getting worse. HOW IS THE WRITING GETTING WORSE. DON'T YOU HAVE EDITORS? BETA TESTERS? AUGH.

there's so much stage direction it's unbearable. people smile, smirk, chuckle, roll their eyes, shrug, scoff, groan, all of it, always, often for no reason, often to just fill word count, often so unnaturally it reads like they're all robots.

descriptions and dialogue are repetitive as fuck, and the prose quality is so poor. i feel like you could write a better game faster if you just had a better editor. or AN editor, really.

It really is a game that bit off more than it could chew so it didn't chew anything at all and just spit this back out.

I encountered like 3 major bugs in my first playthrough that would've broken the plot/game, if any choice actually mattered and the vampires didn't just swoop in to save my ass no matter what I did, so I guess no harm done ????

MAKE A SMALLER GAME THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY BOTHER TO PLOT OUT AND CODE

You can't keep bragging about how much you loooove adding variation when seemingly no or very few options actually impact anything

No seriously, the amount of times player agency is discarded just because nothing is allowed to matter is staggering (why couldn't the detective confess their love for Mason? well because it would change the dynamic uwu!)

Speaking of Mason, look how they slaughtered my boy!

I refuse to believe M is this fucking stupid, they clearly know enough about romance to realize that some other people might want more than they can offer (in fact they say this exact thing if you reject sex in book 2) so like ?? why wouldn't they be able to recognize or even entertain that that's what's going on? sorry i get not realizing initially but the longer it goes on the more annoying and less realistic it becomes

But that's a non-issue right? Because the romance develops in this book? Sure, it does, and that's one of the few good things about it, that there's visible romantic development with M at least, but it also just completely doesn't care how you approach the romance at all. If you try to approach M's romance as a slow burn, it's not taken into account. Because the game doesn't seem to track which kiss is actually your first, ANY of them could be, so they're all written as equally important, meaning none is allowed to be more important than the others

Same goes for the sex scenes. You're waiting until the best in-character moment to fuck M? Well fuck you. it'll be the same as any other. This was the first time? cool cool, the game doesn't care. headcanon your own emotional weight of the moment, asshole. first time my detective had sex with Mason was written with pretty much the same weight as any previous ones I read, and we didn't even get a morning-after scene when Mason ditches their ass. I'm sure your slow-burn, slow-to-trust, emotionally motivated detective is tottally chill with their lover leaving in the morning after they finally brought their guard down and let Mason in, right? no? well fuck you. it's a week later now and they have no comment to make.

"oh but it's sooo hard to code alll of these variations! you can't expect the writer to take your headcanons into account!" they're not headcanons. i can reject Mason's advances at every step of the way, but the game doesn't care about this beyond the next page where the rejection actually occurs. anything else plays out like it does regardless of whether it's your first time doing anything or not.

Here's a simple, cure-all solution to writing choices that are too complicated for you to handle: don't! just don't put them in if you don't honor them! DON'T FUCKING PUT THEM IN IF YOU DON'T HONOR THEM.

Speaking of fuck you, if you're playing as a nonbinary detective and you have sex with M? congrats on having ghost genitals. your "detailed" intimate scenes are so vague and noncommittal that it's difficult to tell who's doing what with what body part. it's all so vague and bland that there's really no point in picking the option at all. Pro tip, cissies: nonbinary people have genitals, too. I know! Wild, right?

What's funnier, you always get to pick if you "initiate" or not (I assume this is code for topping). But if you're NB, regardless of what you pick, you don't really find out what your character is doing, even though Mishka gave herself a perfect out to write player-based variation. Everyone's got holes, man. It's not that hard.

Basically the game insists you have sex with M ASAP because there's no material reason not to, but if you dare to be nonbinary and fuck M, good luck on figuring out that sex scene, bitch!

Rebecca is still getting so many excuses and second chances that it's getting genuinely triggering to read at times. Your character keeps having to confront her about their relationship and it's like it wants you to forgive her because it's #feelgood. Plus, if you decide not to work with her at one point, you get a shorter climax where you're a cringefail idiot who can't do anything right. If you work with her, everything works without a hitch and you get to waltz out being all cool and badass. huh? huh ? huh ???? i hope this is just something me and my pals who played this are missing and maybe there's more variation??? but man oh man the Rebecca stanning going on in the narrative is so uncomfortable :')

We really peaked with Falk. This new villain is barely a presence and doesn't even get named until like halfway into the story. We meet him once and then he's defeated.

Sin, who got a lot of hype and buildup ... is not of any consequence. He just leaves.

You don't even find out what his deal is if you go the combat training route. Oh you thought this was vital info that would be delivered to you regardless of your personal character choices? fuck you.

Addie, the face of the victims of these gruesome kidnappings? comes back at the end as a non-speaking character you never even talk to personally.

The whole entire kidnapping+human/supernatual trafficking thing is just so ... bad. It's all so poorly constructed and not thought-out at all. Why would you go here with your silly vampire detective romance? Who thought this was the place to do that?

The detective's emotional breakdown is triggered by a random nameless victim who never comes back into the story again

The detective's emotional breakdown involves them being naked in a shower with their LI. This is (in M's case, at least) never brought up again and barely has any impact on the romance (because you can avoid it, so it can't matter too much<3)

The blood drive that was set up as being a potential major issue and would maybe tie back into the alleged "main plot"? Easily avoided, explicitly in-universe boring, and literally of no consequence

After all this, after three books of being dumb as shit for no reason other than idk cringefail cheap angst? Mason confesses his love for the detective via a NEVER-HAVE-I-EVER DRINKING GAME.

NO REALLY. I'M FUCKING SERIOUS DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME I AM 100% TELLING YOU THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW

This is, of course, not touched upon at all and the detective (who, at this point, is pretty much aware they're in love with M) barely reacts at all

THE FAMOUSLY EMOTIONALLY IMMATURE HORNY SLUT CHARACTER, WHOSE REALIZATION SHOULD ALLOW FOR SO MUCH ANGST AND JOY IN ANY GOOD ROMANCE, CONFESSES THEIR LOVE VIA DRINKING GAME

honestly it wouldn't be so bad if it were acknowledged or discussed afterward or if it had any fucking effect on anything ever but it's barely even played as a joke so we can't have that! Why????

Because the book is over. if you're an M-mancer the book ends with a drinking game indirect love confession and you don't get to react to it at all

But here's a cheap stinger about the detective's relative who's totally evil and will totally be a main antagonist eventually!

did you have fun??? no?? well fuck you.

#twc spoilers #twc critical #shoutout to my lads in that one discord server for helping me compile this list #there was ... a lot

[queerbrujas]

okay i'm in a mood so we're gonna talk about my thoughts on the N route in twc book 3. they're not good so look away if you don't wanna read that etc etc

so i'd known for a while that i was going to have to bring in an oc that wasn't eva for this route because in the meantime i'd developed her enough and thought about her enough that she just didn't fit the route anymore anywhere other than in my head. i still tried it with her and i didn't like it one bit, but i thought hey, my own problem.

so i made a new detective.

let me tell you about tatiana.

tatiana is the definition of a uhaul lesbian. she's head over heels in love with nat, absolutely crazy for her, totally willing to gloss over any sort of conflict. exactly the kind of narrative the story wants you to go for (and we'll come back to this).

things that happened in tatiana's playthrough:

she confessed her love to nat only to get absolutely NO response, an attempt to initiate sex, and no commentary whatsoever in the narration on how nat didn't say anything back. like, i'm very sorry to mishka who seems to think that initiating sex is a satisfactory answer to that kind of thing and the Ultimate expression of love but i think a normal and expected reaction to this would be 'wait they didn't say it back'. i am NOT trying to say that N needed to say it back at that moment, before anyone comes for me, there are a million reasons why they wouldn't (i even had a theory that they'd freak out if they heard it!!!) but the fact that the narration absolutely does not acknowledge that fact is so excuse me what the fuck. i've been so pissed at this that i've been working on a fic purely out of hatred for that choice.

let's talk about the sex scenes. they're bad. i'm sorry, they're bad. not only in execution (who cares) but you are not going to tell me that what is essentially a quickie is Enough for a character who has been built up as an over-the-top romantic when it's supposed to be their first time having sex with their partner. i won't buy it. it's like mishka spent these past three years marinading in the asks about agent suavewell and how smooth and sexy and horny they are and when it was time to write the book that was all she wanted to write.

it all just feels so shallow. where is the romance, for fuck's sake. it all feels unearned. beat after beat after beat with nothing to make me care about it.

and, once again—this is playing the ideal version of this route. the 'head over heels' version of this route. i don't even want to touch the other variants that continue to exist despite it being increasingly clear they are Not how the story is meant to go. i'm absolutely someone who supports authors doing whatever the fuck they want with their stories, the fact that there's a playable MC doesn't mean the player gets to dictate every single aspect of their arc or personality, but don't offer the option of things if you're not gonna commit to it. don't tell me i can be hesitant about a relationship when the narrative is gonna fall apart if i decide to do that etc etc.

IDK MAN. i'm very very happy for anyone who enjoyed this route, love that for you, but also, what the fuck.

#twc critical #twc book 3 #silv.txt #i am Ranting with a capital R so scroll on if that's not what you wanna read

[unhingedwaffles]

I understand being upset over people not enjoying or criticizing a piece of media you personally enjoy, but isn't it wild to tell people not to post their thoughts and criticisms of it where you can see when you're literally on an app that's built for that express purpose? I've seen quite a few posts criticizing people who don't have glowing opinions of TWC3 and yes as someone who personally loves the series and will continue supporting it, it's sometimes difficult to read through scathing criticism of it but people paid real tangible money that they worked for to pay for this product and they're unsatisfied with aspects of it, and while these people didn't enjoy TWC3 they will generally genuinely love the series, the world and the characters and they can be just as open about their thoughts as we are with ours

#the wayhaven chronicles #adam du mortain #a du mortain #f hauville #morgan #n sewell #twc3 #twc critical

[amlovelies]

some lightly critical twc thoughts/musing under the cut

had a conversation with a friend trying to figure out why I was feeling disappointed and frustrated with book 3, and I think I've figured it out. it reminds me of the dialogue choices in dai, like so many of the choices don't really feel like choices and don't really seem to change anything or go anywhere, and there are so many started conversations/incidents that we don't get any real follow through on, they happen in the scene and then we just move on and it isn't always reflected in the next scene or conversation, and just yeah it remind me of dai

#wondering if anyone else agrees #not trying to start drama or anything #and I'll tag this as critical #twc critical #the wayhaven chronicles critical #if you enjoyed book 3 a lot thats great! #there are parts I really enjoy #but I also found it a very frustrating experience #that just left me feeling disappointed #and I like to try and figure out why that is #like why do these choices bother me #but other ifs which have pretty restrictive choices don't #sky speaks

[ambrosykim]

I never like to speculate on what writers have experienced in their personal lives or not,but it's so clear that Sera has no idea on how to write a bad parental relationship. Like,as a survivor of child abuse, I (and just anyone) can tell you that child neglect is CHILD ABUSE and in no point of the series this is mentioned because the narrative clearly pushes the forgiveness narrative onto you and even guilt trips you constantly for not wanting to forgive Rebecca. She constantly ignores the detectives wishes of not wanting to do anything to do with her outside of work (even when she says she understands). Something someone else brought up on a post a couple months ago that I found very interesting is that when she visits you at the beginning of book three,she does it at the detectives workplace,the one place that we cannot leave if we don't want to talk to her,she basically corners you into having a conversation with her. And her actions in book one about keeping Murphy's identity from the detective and essentially getting two people killed (one of them being a teenager) are never brought up again.

i haven't even thought about rebecca coming to the detective's workplace holy shit

also, she might be thinking that the detective appearing in her life is a sign that they actually will have a relationship and then tries to force the mc to talk to her and sg but????? the book's literally an interactive fiction where we are supposed to make choices that alter the story and give flavour to it???? so why can't we actually do that with her??? when she's forcibly such a big part of the book??

but yeah in general, i just appreciate that we at least get to talk about her critically here, if not in the actual books themselves, because she does deserve to be criticised

#she doesnt care about the detective she cares that she asserts herself!!! #also here u go anon have this 💖 #nett asks #twc rebecca #twc critical

[ostagars]

my thoughts on twc book 3

spoilers ahead! feel free to drop ur own opinions on things in my ask

anyways let’s get into it. this will be long-ish

so i will just say that book 3, much like the previous books, does read like a young adult fantasy book. which does kind of makes sense given mishka has said in the past that twc was going to be a book at first, iirc. also the amount of GRRRR GROWLING these vampires do........ like all the time

the blood drive... why was it included. i don't understand because it turned out to be such a Non-Problem. which it was never a problem to begin with, seeing as there are 2384923 legitimately normal reasons the detective could've come up with to Not participate in the drive. i genuinely would've loved for the auction to have lasted Wayyy longer and to have been wayyy more nerve-wracking than it actually was.

i do feel like the slow burn of M and A's routes have been...... Not as slow as i expected? while i did actually enjoy both of those routes, particularly M's, A's in particular felt... a bit ooc at times? in my opinion, the outward denial of A's feelings should've lasted longer, at least until book 4 or 5. especially since it's still only been, what, a few months since they all met? some of these vampires have lived for centuries. they wouldn't just Give up on repressing the feelings and admitting them after less than a year of knowing the detective?? especially when there's 7 books in total planned. there's still plenty of time

i feel like a love confession with F would've made more sense than with N. i really wish we were given the option with F, and not with N. i also have a lot of grievances with N's route in this book, particularly because they can admit their feelings to the detective while still omitting the part of themself they apparently don't want us to Ever Know. i understand the fear N has. it's just like...........,,,, how can N love the detective ALREADY when they can't even be completely honest with them about their past yet? in my opinion, it'd make more sense for a love confession to come after N telling the detective everything.

in terms of the tina bff route, @cekorax referenced something to me that made me even more uncomfortable with the flirting between tina and the agent sent to watch over her undercover as a police officer. firstly, it just feels weird, consent feels to be an issue here since tina doesn't Know they're an agent. and they're flirting with her. what my friend mentioned specifically was something that happened in the uk: undercover policemen sent to spy on activists ended up Marrying them. obviously we don't rly know where their ""relationship"" is gonna go (we CAN make likely assumptions tho lol) but it does make me nervous if this person is to be tina's love interest

rebecca............... i feel like there's usually 2 ways people feel about the relationship she has with the detective, and it seems to come down to one's personal experience. in my opinion, the detective holding something over rebecca's head that happened on their birthday at age 7 is a bit odd. but again this is coming from me, someone who did not have a parent who was similar to rebecca in any way. i will add i would've liked to have the choice of the detective to choose not to say anything about it, because mine wouldn't have even thought about it????? idk it just felt weird to me

lastly, i personally would have preferred to choose whether to stay detective & human liaison rather than have No Choice and have to become an agent. most of my detectives would've declined the offer. it kind of felt out of left field for me, i was veeery surprised when i read that scene. i didn't expect it

ok thank u for ur time <3

#twc spoilers #twc book 3 spoilers #twc critical #<3 #disclaimer: i do generally like the book because ub are like my comfort charas rn #but u can be critical of something u enjoy

[magebastard]

Would you be willing to expand more on the choices that felt weird or janky? The book was pretty meh to me but I feel pretty alone in that sentiment

ya!! im still kind of muddling through the different routes so here are just a few things (spoilers ahead):

you suffer the most in this book by a WHOLE LOT and that doesn’t feel like it’s very. important. it just feels like bad things keep happening and it’s onto the next. it’s frustrating bc these are things that fundamentally change people.

wildly enough n’s romance (how I played it) might be. my favorite? in this book. I thought abt myself and my friends and ppl I know for a minute and was like “ya I’ve told people I love them very early in relationships maybe that’s fine I can live w that” and ive just rolled with it but the option even appearing DID feel a lil wild and out of pocket even with my mental gymnastics

a’s romance is trying to achieve sth that’s pretty specific in that tortured, sweeping soulmates kind of way. the push and pull was broken up in moments for A that felt. out of character for the sake of giving you romantic content. it felt rushed and sometimes, frankly, not cohesive w the character as previously written. some of it felt bizarre.

you can snap at tina but you can’t snap at the spy who’s leading her on.

why can’t you realize that you’re in love w f who you are IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH???

the tension w rebecca is rough bc everything w the chamber felt like it existed for the purpose of Introducing The Chamber and also showing rebecca’s ass as a liar. she pretty much tells u she didn’t raise u bc she didn’t know how to and you can’t challenge that you can’t freak out you just accept that info or get mad abt this lie that doesn’t feel like it matters that much

rebecca also said she didn’t have the clearance to know what happened to rook but she???? ran the agency?????? I get some of the other reasoning that’s like “it hurt too much to know” but be real be serious right now. Let me call her out.

AT LEAST let me call out. idk just facts? as they come up. the big bad referring to someone as a ‘she’ who scares them should immediately click for a detective w deductive skills as the leader of the rogues.

idk! I think a lot of romance should have been sidelined in this book. the detective should shift and be a little more characterized by what’s happening around them and I think the LIs could be huge as side support in that. THE BEST FRIEND ROUTES COULD BE SO GREAT FOR THIS TOO?? THOSE AND THE TINA VERDA CONTENT WERE GOLD

overall so much of the issue is very weird pacing

that’s a bit of where im at!

#twc critical #twc book 3 spoilers #anonymous

[twc-thoughts-you-didnt-ask-for]

I know I'm late and you've already made a post but I'm curious if you have any new thoughts about book 3? I always love your observations!!

Never too late :)

Honestly, I wish I could say they have changed but they haven’t a whole lot. I enjoyed book three lots and I look forward to book four but there’s just a lot that seemed off or I just straight up didn’t like.

I think the thing I’m most upset about is the shift of the detective becoming an agent. I’m not happy about that at all and it just seems like so out of no where and last minute. I would have anticipated that could have been something that was decided for like the epilogue or something, not three books in. I think it really ruins some of the charm for me too which might be dramatic but this was my comfort series for years so I’m opposed to certain changes. I would have been fine with it if we remained the detective while being an agent but we don’t which leads to questions of like why stay in Wayhaven at all then. We would be safer just traveling around and then Wayhaven would be safe because they’re after the detective not Wayhaven.

I think part of that decision is made from Sera really putting a lot of energy off the original cast (in a way- that’s not how I want to phrase it but I can’t think of a better way at the moment) and starting to focus on the new supernaturals she’s creating because she enjoys them herself. You can see it a little bit with Falk and a lot a bit with Sin. I personally disagree with how much was spent on Sin because I would have preferred that time with UB but that might just be me. With her turning a villain into an RO in book 4 I don’t think this will be something that changes or will get better any time soon. I can respect her wanting to do more stuff with the world she’s created, but I think it would better suit TWC to be less books then and expand the world with different characters/series for that focus on new characters or dynamics she thinks of.

I also feel a certain type of way with some of the romance choices she made. The only one that felt like it was perfect to me was M’s and A’s to a much lesser degree. N’s felt so out of order and out of character for me that it was like whiplash and I don’t recognize it in comparison to our book one and book two romance with them. One thing that felt off for me in N and F’s route was how… brushed off the intimacy was in their routes? You would have assumed they’ve been physical since book one for how… not special it all felt. The quickness of it and how quickly they had to get dressed and go right after made it very one-night-stand-y which worked for M’s route in book 2 only. I think F’s is the more egregious example because F, depending on choices you make, shares that they are not exactly ready for intimacy yet just for it to happen shortly after and to really just kind of be like “whatever”

There are parts of book 3 that I really, really enjoyed don’t get me wrong but it was definitely lacking for me at lots of points and has me questioning further decisions or implications of decisions made.

#twc critical

[nabulsi]

A criticism of TWC maybe, but A’s demisexual, right? But I feel like the author could’ve explored this in game better than she has done, especially with how negative some people in the fandom are about A’s sexuality; alongside the fact that the author has said that A’s trope with the detective is love at first sight which I didn’t think matched A’s route and sexuality.

Honestly, as a demisexual myself I do agree.

I think its an extension of the fact that the asks on the Seraphinitegames blog are almost another world compared to what's in the actual book.

And I do wish it was explored a lot more in the books or even explicitly discussed by A du Mortain themselves how they don't necessarily feel sexual attraction unless an emotional connection is formed.

Like you said, the "love at first sight" of it all really obfuscates things like.... if they're already in love then there was never a point that they aren't sexually attracted to the MC and so Sera doesn't have to worry about actually representing it or something. And that feels like a shame.

Especially because there are points (again) in the Seraphinitegames blog where parts of A's sexuality are discussed, including how they prefer non-sexual intimacy and have a low libido + how they haven't had any sexual partners in centuries.

Like it's there on the blog, but in the books it's not discussed. And I agree with you, anon, that it's so disheartening. Especially because the lack of explicit discussion of A's demisexuality in the books allows fans to be dismissive and aphobic about it all. If it's not in the books, it might as well not be canon. They can just ignore Sera's blog and imagine A as allosexual.

#anonymous #twc critical #twc #twc a #paptalk

[bawbii]

It doesn't make sense to have problems with the trafficking in book 3 when in book 1 the depictions of the murders were extremely gruesome, including the child murder. As well as with indications of torture.

Not to mention the kidnapping, torture and experimentation of MC.

If these sensitive topics weren't a problem in book 1 why is it a problem now? It makes absolutely no sense.

#twc critical #seraphinite #the wayhaven chronicles #twc

[giantbukonut]

twc is a silly little vampire kissing simulator at the end of the day so i don’t expect literary genius from it or anything but also i had to read the words “throbbing pleasure point” in a sex scene and i’m like okay the bar is on the floor but we do not need to dig under it 😔

#twc critical #im not angry abt this or anything i was just like ah okay that was underwhelming #twc spoilers

[birdianna]

gonna go ahead and say those of you who make it a hobby to just completely disparage Wayhaven, certain routes, and the fans for enjoying this media are corny and wack af. there’s plenty of IFs that might fit your fancy. the bullying just isn’t necessary. critiquing constructively is welcomed, but the way I see some ppl hating on Wayhaven like it’s they motherfuckin day job? embarrassing! seek help!

#and will happily use the characters for clout and engagement but simultaneously claim how low quality and stupid Wayhaven is #it’s giving bird brained fr #there is other media to indulge in if you’ll just never be satisfied #again this isn’t referring to the people respectfully having discourse #twc book 3 #a du mortain #f hauville #n sewell #specialist agent m #twc critical #some convos are best left for the groupchat #idk id just never publically do such a thing #let people enjoy things

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

When I played the book 3 demo and it was so bad it retroactively made book 1 and 2 worse and made me realize how they had always been kind of crap, I knew book 3 would have to get real good to save the franchise, or else people would start realizing the same thing and the "it's just a demo" excuse wouldn't save it.

Now that it's out, and obviously hasn't fixed any of the issues the demo had while also introducing new ones with the finished product? I'm seeing so much criticism in the tags, phrased very mildly and coated with "well I still enjoyed most of it" or "it was good that it was ambitious even if it failed everything it tried" but still very surprising to see in the main tags.

Like it's ok girlies. Let hatred into your hearts. Admit to yourselves you were seduced by sexy vampires and now you're realizing it's not gonna be everything you imagined in your fics. That it's gonna take 4 more books of deeply sub-par prose and poorly constructed plot points to get to the end of your detective's story. Books that will take years to complete and even longer to wait for. Books that will be impossibly long and thus barely edited and sloppily coded.

Are you in for the entire ride? :) Or are will you jump off before it's too late?

Ok but forreal y'all, even if you're a diehard stan, you will not be able to keep up the emotional investment for the years it'll take for this story to finish. We're only on book 3 and the fandom has bled so much already that its release didn't even trend on tumblr. I have no idea how this series/fandom is gonna end up anywhere but the toilet tbh.

#twc critical

[movingclouds]

ok I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about it but. maybe just a bit. this is just my opinion so if u don’t wanna read criticism just please keep scrolling.

it frustrates me because like it’s a supposed lighthearted story not meant to be “too serious” and then it touches upon trafficking and kidnapping and we don’t know any of the victims or face any consequences? I do not remember a single thing about the girl - Addie ? besides she talked about being supernatural on the internet. if you’re going to tackle subjects that are a bit deep for a “dating game” then at least be a bit more serious about it. nothing feels meaningful. what about the aftermath? if we failed the mission, did we not have ANY reaction to being almost sold ? why is it just … Welcome Home Detective? why is it just… ok we can bang / kiss our RO?

and what about the boy we saved/met when we had the decision to split up the team or whatever. we didn’t talk to him at all? we didnt try to bond? we didn’t have a moment like “wow I actually see the supernatural kids that are being taken away and this makes me sick/uncomfortable/angry and this makes me even more guilty if I didn’t save them”? just a quick joke and scene change?

there’s so much variation yet I feel very little of it means anything.

EDIT: at least with Murphy, we still see the detective affected by everything if the reader chooses to be(nightmares, trembling or freezing up, etc). and we had way more interaction with him than anyone who was kidnapped and the main villains in book 3. it was brushed under the rug too quickly to be explored in game.

#I was clouded by M for a few days but actually. I wanna talk abt the story #bc it’s disappointing #we don’t talk to sin much the villain hardly makes an appearance other than the rushed ending and the MANY POV changes #twc spoilers #twc book 3 spoilers #twc critical #twc #I’m hoping we can choose to be affected by it in book 4 but #if this book IS considered a transitional book then lol… idk #mine

[primrivere]

tbh mishka really needs to hire some editors that arent fans of the series cause a lot of the stuff ppl are (justifiably) complaining about could easily have been fixed if someone actually looked at her work critically beforehand

#like i didnt think the book was BAD #i mostly enjoyed it (except for n's route) #but there are so many things that feel off compared to the other two #twc critical #luiza talks