#Utilized in only the ways needed and interesting to the plot and character interaction

[beardisable]

REAL!!! REAL SHIT!!!

Understanding this is I feel a prelude to understanding the end of homestuck itself tbh... Like I can't say I know for sure if the type of ending we got was planned from the beginning or if it came about on account of how difficult it became to finish. But I've seen so many analysis/opinions of the ending like "oh this is bad" "this is nothing, lazy" "nobody besides x got a good arc" "it was unsatisfying" "they left before the epic boss fight???" etc etc. And those complaints and criticisms are valid from the pov of an audience reading a story and idc if people feel them. But I also so strongly feel that they've missed the whole point...

They left! They got the fuck out! The surviving characters saw the regimented story structure/heroes journey for what it is and fucking left!!! They don't owe us shit, they don't need to complete satisfying arcs for some kind of end goal. They don't need to complete the game properly or 100% it for our lore satisfaction. The thing they always wanted to do was get out and live peacefully with their families and friends! Like Dave said, real people don't have arcs. And to themselves they are real people!!!

They completed the "requirements" of the game in a more convoluted and circuitous way than expected(based on how it parallels the growing up process, could reflect for instance how in reality people take a longer time getting through school, or pursue alternate education, trade school, get a job immediately, do something else than a conventional job to aquire money, leave their family early... Etc ways people subvert the expected growing up process in different ways) and got the fuck out!!(free to live a life they want with their chosen family and in their chosen ways. But which based on beyond Canon will still be influenced by their upbringing and instilled values) and they deserved to fr!

Idk I guess you can make the case that this theme is not conveyed properly thought out the comic, and yeah maybe... But tbh imo you cannot properly understand homestuck unless you read it about 3 times at the very least, and intentionally seek out authors notes like this and background context to this decade+ old work. And yeah you could say that makes the comic bad or unfriendly to readers ig. But idk imo some media is just more that you can get one one read/watch/playthrough... And it IS supposed to imitate a video game with splitting timelines and game overs and different endings after all

OK idk yeah I had thoughts here they are

If someone wants to add on to this/reflect off my thoughts to continue ily, but also disclaimer that I Do enjoy Beyond Canon and am fascinated by its developments and how it adds to this theme, despite how it kind of breaks the ending(well it is still presented as just one of a possible way to continue and not the ultimate Canon so imo it doesn't break it any more than any other fanadventures do) and do not wish to engage in unnecessary bullshit discourse, criticism and discussion is fine

this is one is important as fuck i see so many people not understand this and it drives me crazy

"Sburb ruins, mythic challenges, and personal quests generally tend to come off as shallow busywork, stage props, or set pieces in a spurious Hero's Journey. Rose either faintly glimpses this truth at this early stage, or she's just hitting her rebellious teen stride. Either way, she doesn't take the surface value of the quest seriously at all, and only wants to smash it apart and loot the secrets. My sense is that the average reader reacts to this impulse unfavorably. Because readers watch the formula play out so often, they are trained heavily to respect the journey of the hero, to anticipate and crave its fulfillment, to see it as something verging on contractual in their relationship with a story. So a gut-response to this recklessness is like, "ROSE, NO! STOP THAT! You simply must complete your quest and play the rain!" What comes with this view is the feeling that her evolution as a character is only being delayed for a bit while she gets some anti-narrative foolishness out of her system, and then we'll get down to business and watch her do her quest, play a whole BUNCH of rain, and reap the narrative satisfaction. There's just one problem: she never does that. This candy-coated Kiddie Kwest is at no point ever taken seriously by Rose or the narrative itself, nor should it be.

When trying to parse character arcs, we look out for certain beacons. So when we hear "play the rain," we're like, ah, GOT IT. That's Rose's arc. Once she finally gets over this destructive teen bullshit, she can wise up, play the rain, and her arc will be finished. Wrong. This is almost a red herring arc. Her quest on this planet, its patronizing presentation, its intrinsic shallowness, is a mirage surrounding her that represents a fully regimented series of milestones for achievement and personal growth, much as society dubiously presents to young people in many forms. The true arc-within-the-arc is actually an upside-down version of what it appears to be. What Rose is doing now, which seems to be misguided recklessness taking her further away from the truth of herself, is actually better seen as a good start to her real journey: breaching the mirage of regimented growth, exposing it for the charade it is, and pulling the truth out of it. The real conflict in her arc comes not from the fact that she refuses to take it seriously, by destroying it and taking shortcuts. It's the opposite. It's that, upon trashing her planet, she continues to have this nagging sense that she should be taking this quest seriously, much like how a young adult may have a nagging sense of guilt that they aren't "being an adult right" by the time they approach adulthood. And this nagging, unanswerable guilt arises from the truth that the regimentation of adulthood is completely fake. It was always a mirage. Learning this, making peace with it, is part of the growing process for many, and it is for her too." -Andrew Hussie

intrinsically queer as fuck, too, btw

[choshashio]

12 Writing Exercises to help develop your character and their voice.

Editors note - There's a lot of boring writers drivel. So, to spare you from the headache if you're not interested, your characters individual voices and personalities are important for engaging stories and interesting plots. You can skip down to the end for the exercises.

Think about the people you know, the people you love. What's one thing they have in common, besides the obvious? They're all uniquely different. Everyone in the world is different in some way, even in media. Books and movies all have unique sounding characters that are different from each other. In Harry Potter, for example, All of the characters have their own voice, even the Weasley twins are different in their own ways.

Complex and unique characters that sound different, interact and speak differently, make for engaging books and dynamics.

I don't know anybody who would want to read a 50,000 word novel about two boring characters, who're exactly alike, and talk in the same monotonous tone. You can have a character who is "boring." who speaks monotonously and still have an interesting novel that people would read.

Having different characters who come together to create funny, interesting, or weird dynamics makes for a readable piece. Take your monotonous character, by themselves, they're kind of boring. They're not engaging to follow. But, introducing different characters to come and interact with your "boring" character, creates funny and memorable dynamics.

Think the anime Saiki K, or Veronica Sawyer from Heathers. If you took only those two characters, and stripped away all of the background characters, they wouldn't make for very interesting stories. Saiki would be happy, living his days in peace and quiet. Veronica would just be a normal edgy high school girl. But if you bring the side characters back, you bring the story and their conflicts back. Saiki goes back to being annoyed by his weird and goofy friends, wishing for peace and quiet. Veronica goes back to being tormented by JD and the group dynamic in the Heathers clique.

These stories utilize background characters to create conflict in their main characters' lives, and makes fun and interesting stories and dynamics with them.

Without further ado, here are 12 exercises to help you develop your characters, and get you thinking.

Ask your character what they want, and have them monologue about it.

Think about who, in your life, does your character remind you of.

Ask yourself, What does my character want, and what does my character need? How do they conflict with each other, and how does this affect my story?

A good exercise to help you write characters interacting, and practice dialogue is to do the ABCD exercise. 

The ABCD exercise is writing a full page, or 500 words, of dialogue between two characters, character a and character b, talking about what they think character c thinks of character d. Then, write another page depicting how character c actually interacts with character d.

Write journal entries from the pov of your character.

Think about your character's habits, nervous tics, or tells, and write out a page where they do those things.

Think about something your character holds dear to them, and give the item a backstory.

Think about how your character interacts with other characters, and write a page for each interaction. 

Think about a belief or opinion your character has, and write a page of dialogue, where your character is explaining their belief, and why they believe in it, to another character.

Write a page about your character reminiscing, or talking, about a cherished memory from their past, or childhood.

Write a page of dialogue about character a telling character c about character b, whom c has never met before, what kind of things do they say? What do they think of b? Then write another page from character c’s point of view, what are they thinking? How do their thoughts of b change? What do they think of character a? How do they imagine character a and b’s relationship?

Write a page about a character being forced into a situation with their greatest fear. Then, if you want to go a step further, write a page of the same thing, but introduce another character that the first holds dear to them, or wants to protect.

[seaglassmelody]

Here's another Veilguard Critique:

I wish there were more opportunities for approval/disapproval, but not in the sense of like "I want to be rude to my companions!"

I like approval/disapproval systems in the sense that they're an additional level of character-building. I think this is something BG3 did very well- small actions, dialogue options, and ways you interact with the world (even when not plot-relevant) trigger minor amounts of approval/disapproval, which very much informed you of the type of people your companions are and what they value.

It doesn't always land- for example, in DAO, Morrigan disapproves if you reject the Tevinter magister's deal to use blood magic to empower you at the cost of the elven slaves he's captured. When you're playing a Tabris Warden, that disapproval strikes a very odd chord because it makes it feel like Morrigan is disapproving of you literally saving your friends, neighbors and FATHER over empowering yourself. Given her line of dialogue beforehand, it's clear she thinks it's interesting from a magical perspective and we know blood magic isn't like. Inherently evil? But the disapproval still feels extra off-putting in that situation.

That's one of the approve/disapprove system shortcomings- it can't always take into account the nuances of player character decisions/backstory and how each player roleplays their MC. This is one of the reasons I think BG3 manages ok- the MASSIVE amount of choices gives it many opportunities to come up, which I think allows for more space for nuance because of the sheer variety of things people are reacting to.

And this is something that I wish Veilguard had a little more of. Not in the same sense as BG3- I don't need my companions having an opinion on every minor decision I make ALL the time or anything- but like. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that's a major chance for companion disapproval is how you decide to deal with the First Warden. I've run into a few small dialogue options that trigger disapproval (one where you joke about Lucanis during the funeral arrangements with Teia, and one in the Taash-Emmrich squabble) but otherwise there's not a lot in there.

I get why the game is the way that it is- it's a hard line to walk with "are there consequences for too much disapproval" and "we need all of the companions to trust Rook as a leader in order for the story to work" and I think they did the best that they could.

It's not a "the game is overly positive" problem for me so much as it is I wish we got a little more insight into what the companions like and dislike with it. It's an extra dimension of character building that I'm not sure the game utilized to its fullest.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi how are things! I wanted to know how I could improve a marriage discussion scene. I feel like it's very monotonous and I would need more body language, I just don't know how. Thank you so much!

Creating Interest in Conversation Scene

There are a number of things you can do (besides just adding body language...)

1 - Consider Character Emotions - Before you can really add body language (posture, gestures, and facial expressions), you need to have a good understanding of how your characters feel about what they're discussing, how they feel about each other, how they feel about the environment, and just how they feel in general. How they're feeling will come out not just in their posture, gestures, and facial expressions, but in the tone of their voice, what they say, and how they say it. The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is is a great resource for how to portray emotions using both external and internal cues.

2 - Consider Sensory Description - Sensory description can be a great way to add interest to a conversation scene. Think about what you characters see, hear, touch, smell, and taste during this conversation. How does this sensory input affect their mood, their relationship/interaction with the environment, and their relationship/interaction with one another? How does in influence what they say, think, and do? How does it affect their body language? How can you convey this to the reader?

3 - Consider Interaction - We talk about using body language to avoid "talking head syndrome"--where the conversing characters seem to be just talking heads without bodies--but another way to do that is by having the characters interact with themselves (smoothing out a wrinkle in their skirt, twirling their hair, scratching their arm, taking a sip of a drink), with other characters (handing someone something, giving someone a pat on the shoulder, taking someone's hand), and with the environment (setting something down on a table, picking something up to look at it, moving something aside, utilizing a tool or object). This not only adds realistic action to the moment, but it also brings movement and visual interest to the conversation.

4 - Consider the Subject Matter - One last thing to consider, though, is that even without these things, your characters' conversation shouldn't feel "monotonous." If that's the case, you may need to take a closer look at what they're talking about. Why is this conversation important for them to have? Does it move the story forward or contribute to character development? Does it tell the reader information that they need to know in order to understand the plot? If not, you may need to consider trimming this conversation or figuring out how to make it pull its weight in the story.

I hope that helps!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[ur-mousey]

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The Coffin of Andy And Leyley Should We Really Care About the Incest? !!!

Plot Summary: A water contamination scheme keeps the brother-sister duo, Andrew and Ashely Graves, locked in their apartment on the verge of starvation. They discover a way out through demonic shenangians. Can these two grow past their childhood identities? Or are they destined to be each other's demise?

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Overall Thoughts:

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*Warning* These are my thoughts. Do not take them seriously. You can disagree all you want in the comments below. Enjoy!

First hearing about The Coffin of Andy and Leyley left a sour taste in my mouth. And it's probably for the same reason most people refuse to engage with the story being told by creator Nemlei. The notion on Twitter (or X, ew) dubbed this media as just the 'incest' game unfairly and failed to appreciate the themes being showcased by the siblings.

I believe that The Coffin of Andy and Leyley will grow in popularity by the release of the third episode. And this game will be a cult classic in no time, setting new records for storytelling in future indie projects.

I deep-dived into Nemlei's gameography, and dare I say, those other projects walked so Andrew and Leyley could run. There's only praise that should be afforded to Nemlei based on their improvements.

Watch or play through No-Good Noelle, which had come out three months prior, and see the differences. I also recommend Divilethion for those yearning for Nemlei's storytelling/art style.

But what those two games have in common, is that there's less to do for the players. While Andy and Leyley have the mechanics within its gameplay to be 10x more interactive for audiences. No wonder it had grown in popularity.

Now, to address the incest.

You do not have to like taboo topics. You do not have to engage with media that showcase it or be a part of a hate campaign because you don't like something. And as a society, we should bring awareness to media forms that encourage/promote dangerous ideology. Which in most cases does include incest.

However, art forms can get away with handling these taboo topics because they turn them into tools for driving a theme forward. And they aren't inherently romanticizing dangerous ideals. With that said it can be tricky for creators to handle these topics with care. You can hold the opinion that The Coffin of Andy and Leyley didn't utilize the concept of incest effectively in its narrative.

But, most people who've 'criticized' the game, dog pilled it because of the incest without understanding its importance to the themes. I get it, okay. It's disgusting that these siblings are down to bone.

Yet, as a writer, Andrew and Ashely are stellar characters with unique relationship dynamics. The theme of codependency is heightened by the pair's familial ties. Here's a little exercise:

Imagine Andrew and Ashely weren't siblings... They become slightly less interesting. Mainly due to the fact, they cannot uphold their OG purpose.

Episode two has two endings, Decay and Burial. Both hinges on the siblings making a choice to either let the past go or hold onto Andy and Leyley, their childhood nickname, now a source of resentment. Ashely idolizes the past while Andrew strives towards the future. On paper, they are foils of one another. These characters can work while not being related.

They could've been childhood friends if Nemlei wanted. But, then the plot would need to change.

Episode 2 wouldn't have worked to flesh out these characters equally because it was a murder scheme against their parents. Both Andrew and Ashely's interaction with their mother and how the events of the murder played out, heightened the themes of willingness to change or the lack of. And subsequentially, the codependency of the siblings.

At the end of the day, creators should be encouraged and pushed to create narratives through uncomfortable lenses. Sometimes a story can only stand out with that unique perspective. Nemlei's rap sheet as a game developer has never been taboo-free, however, it was this game that got them hated, bullied, and doxed.

Because of implied incest -from what I'm concerned. Aside from the dream stuff.

I'm not shocked, just disappointed that people took to the internet to be hateful about a game with merit.

I hope Nemlei takes this in stride and comes back to the platform with the release of episode 3. I am in love with The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. There are many unanswered questions. And I can only see a bittersweet ending for these characters.

Join me next time, when I give my thoughts on Andrew and Ashely Graves. I will deep dive into episodes 1 and 2 as well in the future.

⚰️🔪⚰️🔪⚰️🔪 Thoughts on Ashely Graves:

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⚰️🔪⚰️🔪⚰️🔪 Thoughts on Andrew Graves:

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Thank you for reading! Request rules are here! Follow my ig = lil.thoughts.xo! Do you agree or disagree? Comment down below! Future fanfics are in the works so follow me. 🥹

I recommend checking out my character thought pieces on Okazaki Kei and Shiraishi Kageyuki from Collar X Malice.

[3gremlins]

ahhhh i finished it last saturday night (11/9) (this will post from the q so after other q'd things)! it was really enjoyable tbh, i really liked it. it was good (if we don't get another da game, i am fairly satisfied) not perfect but few things are. def stick with it if you're not sure, there's a LOT at the end

spoilers for the end of veilguard- initial notes after the cut, not particularly organized

not me figuring out the varric reveal like 5 minutes before it was actually revealed tho XD tbh i was expecting him to die from the trailers and then he didn't and i was like "oh perhaps they're doing something else with him?" so they got me with the bait and switch and i was properly horrified. good job, you got me bioware. (as an aside, i still don't think varric was a strong enough choice as solas' friend for the intro section, like you never get the impression they are friends in dai at all. varric was stronger friends with anders than he was with solas, despite weird dai retcon about it. I wish they'd centered the narrative around someone else there- cole would have been a good choice? or cole and varric even since that's the most interesting interaction varric has with solas in dai) i'll def have to watch the cutscenes with him in subsequent pts. I kinda wish they'd done a follow up with him somewhere, maybe like the endings in that one fade book you find in trespasser (like at that fade bar with alistair/the warden/hawke/etc, would have been nice). got some solavellan conclusions, more than i expected and it was pretty good all things considered (i would have loved more, but also this was much more than we've gotten from other cameos of previous protagonists).

(is this the most awkward screenshot ever? possibly XD look she loves him so much, she'll even kiss his blight-y mouth and go live with him in the fade) i do wish they'd figured out a way to keep cole in (esp since spirit cole has that sad line about needing to help solas at the end of trespasser) somewhere. it was still pretty good honestly, i cried (this whole game made me cry at various points tho). I do think it could have resolved with them both living outside the fade and just his life being tied to it but i also get them wanting to literally tie up loose ends with this particular narrative.

it feels very mass effect 2ish (esp the end game section), i think most people will like it but i did find the end game section kinda stressful (where you have to pick the right person for things). Also for a dragon age game, usually by the end you have your team so having to break up the team so they live is not necessarily what i want in a DA game (i can appreciate it narratively while disliking it in practice lol) The format is also very mass effect-y in how it doles out companion stuff (esp romance stuff)- it's paced around the plot which is for the most part a good thing (but it also made it hard to tell where you were with things). I definitely like how they utilized the factions better than DAI or DAO tho- even tho only their rank mattered, having the characters in cut scenes and as npcs you can chat with at the end was really nice. I don't know if it's just lucanis' romance or all of them, but i kept thinking i'd missed something b/c of how long they make you wait for private time alone with your partner (the parts we get are really good, don't get me wrong, it just made me wait FOREVER to smooch him or get more than burning looks lol). 100% worth it tho. will romance many more times probably

(aside: getting to have a rook who's got a body like mine and a flat chest and have another character look at them desirously was just gender euphoria really. like okay actually their chest is nicer than mine -i have to do more pushups- but STILL. THANK YOU BIOWARE FOR INCLUDING NON BINARY PEOPLE SO MUCH IN THIS NARRATIVE and integrating us so deeply in all the bits, not just pronouns and basic shit) Like it wasn't even before the first "final" mission but before teh for realskies final mission ish (and i got more dialogue towards the end too). Real Return of the King BUT WAIT there's more vibes with the end (past the point of no return warning). I wish there was a little bit more romance partner time in act 2 even if it was just vibing? I did get a lot of good companion banter about it which i love (i live for banter and the banter in this was so good) i think my biggest note is i didn't feel the music helped it that much? idk i wish they'd just gone with one of their previous composers so it felt more dragon age-y (the zimmer score felt a little generic except when it did reprises of previous dragon age themes). Sometimes it felt too bombastic and sometimes there was not enough, idk, it just didn't have quite the same feel. i did like that they reused the bard music from DAI in the cities, made me smile hearing the sera song esp. i also wish the approval/tone system was a little more like dragon age 2 where you got unique dialogue choices based on which you chose more. Also sometimes the "sassy" answer wasn't that sassy or felt mean, there felt like a little bit of a disconnect between what i would have expected from the choice and what was said. The approval system was a bit weird too - like there were no approvals early on and then suddenly people reacted to things (but it didn't seem to impact their bonds). It felt like that could have used more tweaking or been more obvious anyway. It also felt like it required your character to code switch when talking to different companions since some of them responded to the different tones differently- which felt really weird and a little clunky. I def wished for more of the DA2 style where your companions just accept that you are a fun or kind or straightforward and you can rp that for the whole game.

i really liked the art direction (tho i did sort of miss the persistent splatter gore) and loved all the companions! the story was overall pretty good tho it suffered from a few pacing issues early on (you could sort of tell it had been reworked a little bit and bits were still a bit weird- but tbh all the games suffer from this a bit).

the combat was fun! i wish the targeting was a little better (as i've mentioned) and toward the end of the game, i got some stuttering when a lot of things were hitting rook at once (so it wouldn't register my dodges correctly). I played as rogue rook and it was super fun, glad i went with my actual fave class on my first pt (i always think i should be a mage and then want to be a rogue so im glad i can finally be like no no, i love knives and arrows!) The optional bosses were the most fun/challenging. Finished the game with the poison squad ofc but most of the companions felt reasonably balanced when I had to use certain parties (i'd say the warriors felt the weakest in their skills, have to see how player warrior feels, rogue rook was awesome). i loved that you could refund your skill tree at any point for no cost and also that it explained the bits of the tree (bursty, control, etc) so you could work out your own build for it. I wish the super special rune you get for beating the optional questline wasn't presented as your last ditch effort thing- i got confused by this dialogue and was a little afraid to use it at first (i thought i'd have to use it at a particular time in a fight, but nah it was just a really good rune with a normal cd) Obviously there's still more questions (the "secret" post credits scene) and i kinda wanted a post credit party scene? Maybe if we're lucky we'll get one like we did for bg3 i'm pretty satisfied, already started some more rooks and ready to make some fan art! [im also pretty sure my first pt had the most bugs since i started it on release date and didn't get the starter quest achievements until my 2nd rook, so we'll see how it plays with war rook and mage rook)

[blackstarchanx3new]

On a scale of 1-10 how much do you dislike the canon manga Red?

This turned into a rant lmfao.

Gotta make Red simps hate me more than they already do X'D

Like a 5 at least.

The problem mainly boils down to how I perceive him due to MY OWN PERSONAL READING OF THE TEXT.

So, the start: I'm not a fan of those types of "i'm so cute teehee" characters to begin with but for Red specifically...I just hate how inconsistent and poorly utilized he is.

He just morphs to be whatever the narrative needs him to be instead of having a real character.

He's a plot device more than a character tbh and it's why I struggled SO MUCH with figuring out a direction for him in FSR.

because...all the plot is character driven.

And I literally had no USE for a character who's soul purpose was filling in gaps when there weren't any with this cast.

His behavior isn't ever fully dived into like the other three.

I've mentioned this before: I think they cut a stand alone Red Chapter somewhere in development because the way his scene ends to where we see him later after they split up is SO WEIRD.

Funnily enough I find Dark Link and Red very similar. (Which is a huge problem but I'll get into that some other time)

Except Dark Link's inconsistencies and overall character loops back to his creation and he himself being a conflict of interest in Vaati's mind when he created Dark. he WANTED HIS Link back the only person he felt a connection to who he last had on good terms with, paired with wanting to HURT and destroy the current incarnation of Link.

making a twisted as hell individual who simultaneously embodies Link and is Link's twisted mirror image.

Naive uncertain and full of inner turmoil due to his purpose.

But when Dark REALIZES what he is to the truest extent he has to justify or crumble under the weight of his reality. There's a reason i described early Dark link as "Delusional" because he was.

Red just...doesn't have any of that kind of retrospection or intrigue in cannon.

Dark's innocence comes from his naivete but where the fuck does it come from with Red? (and it's proven to be fake anyway because he's the first one to stab someone who they think is their knight friends buuuuuut-)

Red's just canonically a contradiction with no real point and it's never pointed out in the narrative so like...it's just weird and kinda unnerving.

Like I pointed out, he literally acts like Lil Gideon before the reveal he's a crazy maniac.

Except we never GET the reveal for Red.

Red doesn't have any flaws that aren't him playing up his baby persona and fucking shit up for the others. He's just stupid af sometimes and helpful others without much rhyme or reason.

...Again I've said this before but if he was smart in areas Vio was dumb in (liKE IF THE DIRECTIONS THING WAS MORE OBVIOUSLY A CANNON THING IDK IF VIO BEING DICK WITH DIRECTIONS WAS JUST SMTH THEY ACCIDENTILY REPEATED A FEW TIMES OR A REAL INTENTIONAL TRAIT OF HIS) it could have been a fun dynamic but Vio and Red barely interact.

Honestly most of the dynamics I find myself WANTING with Red revolve around Vio...

And, imo his persona is blatantly fake from how often he just...drops it when the plot requires him to or when...idk it's just not NEEDED?

Him not shedding a TEAR when Shadow dies continues to creep me out.

because everything we know about Red tells us he should at least LOOK sat but he just...isn't.

And you can't be like "Oh but Shadow was their enemy"

bLUE GOT HIS ASS KICKED BY THIS ASSHOLE SO MANY TIMES AND HE LOOKS SAD. WHY DOESN'T RED WHO CRIES OVER KILLING ROCK MONSTERS IT'S CREEPYYYYYY.

Like no, I didn't want Red to dramatically burst into tears and ruin the moment, but dude didn't even look SAD.

Didn't look sad a dude with his face DIED.

Burned Blue's ass after JUST CRYING about him being DEAD and just WALKED AWAY.

Like if he had any depth to him this shit would be dived into but he's as shallow as a puddle and I dislike it strongly.

Like if ANY of this shit was even addressed in the manga I'd like him WAY MORE.

but it feels UNINENTIONAL which is the issue I have with Red as a character.

Long as hell walk to say:

I don't wanna spoil stuff but I do think you could have fresh ideas with Red being VERY DIFFRENT from link but my main issue with him in the actual cannon manga is:

He doesn't feel realistically like a part of Link due to my interpretation of the text and it's storytelling, and the WAY the text WANTS portrays him doesn't line up with his actions, and I don't like it.

[castlebyersafterdark]

To that anon who was talking about misogyny - I sympathize with your feelings but i don’t think it’s misogynistic to be bored of a character that we literally know everything about at this point just because she’s a woman 😅 I could watch Nancy, Joyce, Max, and Robin all day, but I wasn’t crazy about El even before byler was a thought in my mind. Unfortunately I think this is due to bad writing where they’ ve sucked all the mystery out of her character and use her to win the fight every season with her powers. Meanwhile we have poor Jonathan who is just… there. Lucas’ struggles with racism only gets talked about in a book. And it’s been 3 seasons without us knowing literally anything about how the trauma of being in the UD and basically being mind raped has affected Will. This isn’t El’s fault as a character, but you have to admit the creators choosing to spend this much time on her takes away from the other characters.

I think this is a main thing with the "El fatigue" - of course she is a part of the show and should still be a part of the show - but when you compare the screentime she gets compared to some of the other characters with very unique stories as well (in particular, Lucas and Jonathan as mentioned here specifically) there's just not as much variation with her and so much of her when other interesting characters get so much less.

As for anon - I'll ask we be civil and respectful and hear each other out if you do want to continue.

Here's some potential ideas of what I'd envision for El in season 5 - first, explore the connection between El-Will-Upside Down. In some way. I am hazy on the lore and plot. But it should be done. Another - break up her and Mike. Independence arc - which does not necessarily mean she's alone. El alone is the problem. She needs to interact with other characters to grow and continue to be engaging on screen - utilize the cast more. That's a big El problem - so much of her stuff is away from the ensemble and I think the solo stuff gets tiresome to a point (maybe there is a logistical point to this hmmm anyway). But El shines when she's with Max. Mindscape/Void/saving Max storyline. Team-up with Lucas a bunch. Full circle from season 1 where he was distrustful and skeptical of her in the search for Will and he split off on his own. We should see Lucas and El now teamed up to save Max.

Another storyline based on rumor and plot prediction from filming - something is going on with the military and the children of Hawkins. I think El while in hiding from the military, could also be taking risks along with the whole ensemble to save other kids - kids who might be stolen to be experimented on or something. Full circle to take back agency from her own time as a lab experiment.

That's her independence arc - forging a life path. Being that good person, not monster. I think a theme that needs to happen for El to grow is a storyline based on saving people and preserving life rather than being a monster, a weapon, killing, hurting. She's from an environment where violence is the way. See: her attack on Angela. Not justified. El needs to grow and we can't leave her like that, still acting that way. I want to see Vecna defeated some other way than brute force. Especially to combine with Will's story, him taking back power and coming into his own, and he's not some action fighter. Something else should happen to defeat the evil. In some way. They need to defeat him together, and not by sticking their hands out and screaming in unison.

[mumpsetc]

Here’s some object show criticism if you please:

I don’t give two shits if HFJONE was supposed to be a commentary on object shows and the object show structure a la never finishing, failing to develop characters, whatever. I didn’t come to ONE for the commentary, even if it was a super interesting facet of the show; I came for the mystery, and the mystery ended up disappointing me HARD.

When you set up plot points and emotional beats with absolutely zero payoff, you inevitably create a sense of disappointment and a near betrayal of the audience’s trust in you. Hfjone could have been a magnum opus of the OSC, and by god it still might be, but it fell into the same trap of mediocrity every other object show does when they lose sight of the storytelling.

There’s not even really any real tragedy (even though that’s what the show sacrificed its narrative cohesion for), because applying logic for a second mitigates any questions we might have of where the characters will go next. When there’s only one or two answers available to any questions asked by the open-ended ending (will they get out? Probably, if they wait long enough! Is Liam gonna turn into Airy? Sure would be a poor writing decision if he did, cuz “facing similar traumas automatically turns you into your abuser!” Is bit of a bad take imo!) it’s not really so open-ended, is it? I physically couldn’t be too sad about how the characters ended up, because giving it a even little thought already routed out how the rest of their arcs and lives might go.

I don’t know. There’s so much that HFJONE could have done and been that it just genuinely ended up not becoming, and I was really saddened by it, because I know it’s not for lack of trying. It was purposeful storytelling that it ended up how it did, and I feel like it was the wrong decision.

Also, the complete under-utilization of Amelia as a character was probably The largest detractor of the show. Dangle her presence and significance to the story in front of us then grant her like, a minute and a half of screen time. For someone so critical to the themes of the show she really ended up hardly existing, which inadvertently says something about the themes of the show (that being that they hardly exist :shrug:)

I've Been Rewatching One With Friends Lately and I've Run Into a Lot of Similar Qualms You Mentioned. I Will Admit to Being a Lot Softer on One, Both for Emotional Attachments Because I Am a Sap, and Just Out of Respect for Doing a Lot of Osc Firsts, But Yeah I Do Think It Held a Lot of Punches, Esp in Regards to Amelia.

I Don't Think Cheesy Was Misogynistic on Purpose But Her Writing, and a Lot of S2's Writing in General is Unintentionally Pretty Misogynistic. I Think There Were Ways to Keep Amelia's Role as the One Who Knows Nothing and Gets Beaten Down While Still Giving Her Anything to Do, a Friend Pitched the Idea of After Credit Scenes Done in the Black and White Style With No Dialogue Just Kind of Showing Her Subcumbing to the Monotony of the Plane and I Love That Idea.

However I Will Say I Do Still Love the Ending and the Themes are Enough for Me Personally. I'm a Huge Sucker for Very Theme Centric Work and One Scratched That Itch for Me, Though I Can Definitely See How a More Mystery Focused Viewer Would Be Disappointed. You're Right the Ending Isn't as Open Ended as People Like to Pretend But IMO It Doesn't Need to Be. I'm Just Happpy That the Final Time We'll Ever See the Characters is At Their Absolute Lowest, I Think That That's a Very Interesting Final Note and At the Very Least I Respect the Hell Outta Cheesy for Sticking to That in a Community Who's Barely Interacted With Bittersweetness at All.

[dlaugh]

How I Create Original Characters for My Fanfiction (That Readers Seem to Love)

The general consensus for fanfiction is to not like original characters. And honestly, I totally agree! I'm here to for the canonical characters. I'm reading fanfiction because the characters who I love/find interesting/want-more-of already exist.

However...

Sometimes, as a writer, you take the story in a direction where it's veered enough away from canon that you kind of write yourself into a corner. You need a character to do/be something very, very specific. It is essential to your plot. But that specific character doesn't exist in canon. And you can't have a different existing character stand-in for the role either.

That's when I have no choice but to make up original characters.

When I create original characters, I actually take great care not to overuse them. They are, essentially, there to to advance the plot—which always revolves around a canonical main character in my stories—and there for the advancement of plot only.

But what's the point if you don't make your original characters interesting too, right? Just as I love the canonical characters, I want to love my original characters just as much. I put the same amount of love, care, and thought into all of my characters, canonical or original.

I fit them into the world as if they had always been there. Them being there, interacting with the canon characters, existing in the world they're in, has to make sense, has to feel natural.

It sounds easy, but it's actually a delicate balance. And the whole time, I need to remember first and foremost that the character is only there for a specific reason. They're only supposed to be a supporting/minor character. (Because otherwise, fanfiction readers would dislike them.)

I could expand upon the theory more, but the title of this post is "HOW I Create Original Characters for My Fanfiction (That Readers Seem to Love)."

So, I think the best way to explain would actually be to take you through my step-by-step process for creating an original character. Here we go!

My best example of an original character (so far):

In my current long-fic (a Catwoman/Batman story called In Another Life), my original character is named Grace Crowne. Now, if you're a big Batman fan, you'll know that the Crowne family exists in-universe but not very much is known about them. Well, that made them perfect for me to base my character on, then.

Here's where I started: I needed a character in my fanfiction to give Selina Kyle a job. Specifically, a job that would allow her to interact with the wealthy elite while also plausibly allowing her to be Catwoman. That was the utility of this character.

Without getting into too many of the tiny details, a rich socialite character who's lax on working hours was the perfect fit for what I needed. But I also needed that rich socialite to not be in the same social circles as Bruce Wayne (because otherwise, he and Selina would have met already!).

So, I made Grace Crowne a sixty-five-year-old woman in my story—far enough removed from Bruce just by age that it wouldn't be likely that they would be close, and old enough that she has complete agency over her own life to do whatever she pleased (like start a foundation and make Selina the director).

After that, it was just about crafting a believable personality for Grace to have her end up giving this job to Selina:

As part of the Crowne family, Grace is a seasoned, wealthy Gothamite who has lived there all of her life and chooses to stay. There's a certain practical recklessness that comes with that, so I colored her in with little details like Grace carrying a tiny rose-gold pistol in her tiny, ornamental couture clutch purse (studded with actual jewels).

Once I had that, then, it only makes sense that a person who carries a gun around in a couture clutch would be fearless and confident and stylish—would love the spotlight, actually.

That character would have flair (so much flair), so I write her to be as dramatic as a Golden Age Hollywood starlet (which is just as much an act as it is her personality). And underneath her larger-than-life personality, I emphasize how generous and caring and truly wanting to help the people of Gotham (because she has that foundation, remember) she is.

You see, my original character Grace Crowne has her own life and wants and motivations even though she's basically there to be Selina's boss. And she fits in with the established Gotham uppercrust so well, while also being so uniquely herself, that readers don't mind when she appears. (I dare say that the readers of my fanfic may even like her.)

At the very end of all of that, I decided what she looked like. In this case, I based her on the actress Grace Kelly because I had already named her Grace (because of the religious motifs in my story). So, she looks like this in my mind when I write her (just older):

And that's how I create original characters for my fanfiction, and how I created Grace in particular.

But hey, if all you want to do is create original characters and stick them in a canon universe (or you write OOC or self-inserts or Y/Ns or whatever else there is), then more power to you! It's all up to you, fanfiction writer. I'm just writing from a "mainstream" fanfiction perspective (however much fanfiction can be mainstream, I guess).

Still, I hope this post helps you in creating your own original characters. (Plus, I've gotten questions from readers in the past about my original characters, so I thought I would write this out now and just direct them to this post in the future lol.)

(*Special thanks to @daydreamerwonderkid for inspiring this post!)

[ashitakaxsan]

Unmasking Winston Wheeler: The Double Agent's True Allegiance and Global Implications

My tumblr readers ,it's a been a year for us since the thrilling Mole Hunt Arc. In the Spy x familyverse it's 3 months.Handler Sylvia's reasoning is that the enemy's having a mole, inside WISE.Ordering the methiculous,silent investigation led them to a high ranking WISE officer:Winston Wheeler!

*Interesting that WISE HQ are modeled on the British MI6.

“Winston Wheeler, Westalis Intelligence Communications division. He may well have been behind all the recent spy purge that's done so much damage to our Operations."

Yes,a talented spy whose abilities are praised by Twilight himself. The WISE agents make their way to Wheeler's supposed destination, northwest Ostania,Shellbury.

Immediately twilight utilizes his techniques of disguise,booby traps up against SSS agents,and disguised as Yuri comes to hand-to-hand combat to Yuri.And then to combat up against Wheeler.Actually Frost chan is the only who comes saves twilight ,and beates Wheeler.

Endo sensei drew in amazing way the tiension of the fight,and how Twilight's suitcase is a weapon.

Twilight,Fiona and WISE Agent leave Shelbury having the the defeated SSS mole:Wheeler.They bring him to WISE secret base for interrogation.

Btw don't get much hyped about Leutenant Yuri's intellect and his deducive skills:Cause Twilight remembers he was shot in the right arm earlier that day, and he could be detected by Yuri.So when expectadly forces to roll up Loid's sleeve(to check for bandages or the wound)he finds it alright.Twilight had really anticipated this.So he disguised the part of his arm to seem absolutely normal.Yuri's still a shallow one,and he lost a fine chance of nabing the great Spy Twilight.

"Looking back on it Twilight turned to Wheeler Western minister cabinet. he doesn't need to be close to someone to copy them. he's that good".

Not all are over

Let's delve into the further implications of the arc

Wheeler,before his defeat,said to Fiona: "Are you western spies really so sentimental?"A cryptic remark to Fiona that raises eyebrows.. It's as more he said he may be Ostanian,posing as Westalian.

He might actually have been all along an Ostanian posing as a Westalian.If this gets confirmed it would be a major plot twist.

When did it begin? How was it carried out and Westalian counterintelligence didn't notice it? It would mean that Ostanian intelligence has deeply infiltrated Westalis’s operations, posing a significant threat to their security and missions.This twist could lead to a broader investigation into how many other moles might be embedded within Westalis and its allied organizations.

Expanding the International Reach

International Collaboration:

The threat posed by Wheeler’s infiltration could necessitate international collaboration between Westalis and other intelligence agencies. These agencies would need to pool their resources and expertise to root out moles and secure their operations.

This collaboration could lead to joint missions, with agents from different countries working together to dismantle espionage networks and prevent further infiltration.

New Characters and Alliances:

Introducing new characters from other intelligence agencies could enrich the narrative. These characters might bring new skills, perspectives, and resources, creating dynamic interactions and alliances.

Some of these characters could have their own hidden agendas, adding layers of intrigue and complexity to the story.

Potential Story Arcs

What about the cryptic hints, in Spy x Family chapter 98.5. ?

The Forgers are paying a trip to London,the intriguing part is when they attempt to infiltrate the HQ of MI6.Then again the attempt is real clumpsy,not a master Spy's way,such as Twilight. I wonder what sort of hint is this for a future arc? Maybe it's intertwind with the extend of Wheeler's infiltration.

A funny detaile:Ins Spy x family chapter ,the director of WISE says to his assistant ' I'm sure will get his report saying "the cherry blossoms bloom" soon enough". ''And what does that mean,sir?" "It's acode we borrowed form the orient".

Now why in this omake twilight acts on a similar way?Quoting a knowledge of Japan to yor,where to her Japan is entirely unknown.

So WISE is familiar with the far East.

Uncovering the Mole Network:

The story could follow Twilight, Fiona, and other agents as they work to uncover and dismantle the mole network within Westalis and its allies. This arc could involve intense espionage, infiltration, and high-stakes operations.

They might discover that the infiltration goes higher up the chain of command than initially thought, leading to confrontations with powerful and well-protected enemies.

3.Or even Twilight one day, might be lured by SSS, to rescue Jeffrey:A mole of WISE, captured by SSS.

Due to Twilight's successfull infitration-with Bond's valuable assistance- in Bourne labs the SSS is deprived of the truth serums. If the SSS had acquired them it would have a great advantage, on easily forcing anyone to spill out everything he/she knows. Mayby the SSS is in uneasiness how to force Him talk-I'm not optimist about.However it could work as a central arc, with Twilight and his team devising a daring plan to infiltrate SSS facilities and extract him. This mission could reveal further secrets and set the stage for larger conflicts.Successfully rescuing Jeffrey could also bring critical intelligence that helps unravel Wheeler’s plans and the depth,extent of Ostanian manipulation.

It's Summer.So Endo sensei deserves to take a break time so he can return fresh to the work.

[sarahsfixations]

Anime and meee

For a while I had a fair bit of insecurity and weirdly anxiety (???) over watching like fictional stuff idek. So I don't really watch movies or shows but anime has proved an effective pathway for me mainly because its more involved but also animated, and also has subtitles I can read along with (my verbal processing unit is... not the greatest) So I've been able to watch more anime now with not as much 'anxious pause' and 'apprehension' to starting up again although I've only seen 46. My myanimelist: https://myanimelist.net/profile/SimmyS My anilist: https://anilist.co/user/SimmyS/animelist This is roughly what my 3x3 probably looks like. The ordering is supposed to be left to right, top to bottom I feel this could change over time in not too long (because I've been having great fun with stuff like Cardcaptor Sakura)

A brief comment on each one and why I like it

Steins;Gate: It's been a while since I've watched, although I plan on a rewatch. For me it has to be the best because it simply stands apart: theres no hidden 'anime rules', it transcends that. It builds a world and everything that follows is both very interesting and yet a natural consequence of it, both surprising and well justified. The atmosphere is very particular and it helps make the world well deeper, like something the characters are in and are affected by. And it has the defining aesthetic, this like mix of science and delusion, this investigative approach to time travel. It just does everything in a different way but extremely solid. For that reason, it must stand out.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: I'm not sure strictly speaking I can say it this high enough. I find some of the animation and phrases repetitive and a bit in 'I'll learn to like more' zone. But the dynamics feel different to other anime and the ideas were very interesting, even if I feel I understood 30%. To me it must have this honor because its the second one I've really thought to analyze.

Madoka Magica: This one is one that I feel I forget particulars on how good it is but I remember really adoring. Like its cover does not convey its highly unique style. This one to me is significant because of one, the more emotionally complex roles magical girls are given. And for me personally, it has had some of the more impactful life messages in context of its plot.

Hunter x Hunter: What makes this one good is the sense of style, world building, and writing. They understand Gon's motive is naiv and the world almost fits to match this reaching to the heaven feel. It's hard to describe but it makes all 'anime fighting tropes' actually work in a very solid and interesting manner.

No Game No Life: This one just has the most definitively cool victorious style and music. It has the best 'reveal' moments of any anime. Sora and Shiro aren't mind gaming for their pride but doing it because they like doing it. And they reflect on it towards their personal values towards humanity that I love.

Code Geass: This is the one I binged through the quickest. There's lots of interesting political dynamics that feels in proper coverage on the whole, that leave things in an interesting grey and characters reactions to it all is for the most part reasonable. A part of me has worried on a few contrived plot armor points, might need a rewatch.

Konosuba: Lots of comedy anime are just bad but this one, despite being on the 'trashier' side of things, I actually feel is very well written and utilizing the cast of characters effectively and in varied ways that always make me laugh out loud. Everyone is exaggerated but the exaggerations make contextual sense given their character, and its enjoyable seeing how those interact.

Re:Zero: It's honestly been a long time since I've thought about this one but I just love how they go through this loop and add different angles to the story, and the despair conveyed is excellent. For some reason though the style doesn't resonate with me as much, it feels too notably like 'an adaptation'.

Serial Experiments Lain: This is a bit of a throw in as I don't think I have particular attachment to it but it stuck out to me at least because of its ideas and some of the mind fuck going on there with whats real and whats not. Some take that to be analogous and predictive of modern internet but I didn't take it so deeply as I like to focus more on the exacts of its theory and world building. But, its still pretty cool.

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.37 thoughts

[And the Winner is...]

CLASS A SWEEP, BABY!!!

As if anyone is surprised. Honestly, the bigger surprise is that it happened this fast, but considering that Nisio is a huge fan of anti-climaxes, this was a shockingly strong finale for this battle

Looking over the course of the Trilemma, though, this really was the perfect spot to call it. I talk a lot about narrative utility and focus in these reviews, and this arc is a great example of how those concepts function

Consider what moments in this battle we were and weren't shown

We saw:

Class A capturing enemies (Anonymity vs. 3 Class B students)

Class A evading enemy capture (Nohime vs. 3 Class D students)

Class A losing a guard battle to release their captives (Iroha vs. Rikukeito)

Class A winning a guard battle to free an ally (Iroha vs. Hakanage)

Class A capturing a single enemy (Iroha vs. Yonakiuguisu)

We didn't see:

Class A getting captured (Anonymity vs. 3 Class F students)

Class C capturing Class D students (Yonakiuguisu vs. Class D)

Class A failing to capture a target (Yosaimura vs. Rikukeito)

Class A evading capture again (Toshusai and Yugata vs. Zakuroguchi)

With the exception of Iroha vs. Yonakiuguisu, all of the phases of the battle we saw were wholly unique, and all of the phases we didn't see would have been in some way redundant. We didn't need to see Anonymity's or Class D's captures because we've already seen a capture happen, and simply knowing that they happened is much more dramatically important than dedicating time to watching them happen. Same with Yosaimura failing a capture or Toshusai evading capture; we've already seen that process happen, so aside from the character interactions that likely occurred, those scenes had nothing to offer that would justify drawing out this storyline

Plus this battle hasn't been particularly character-rich in the first place, mostly giving us breadcrumbs that will likely lead to a much bigger payoff later, so I highly doubt that we would have gotten anything mindblowing in the interactions that were skipped. Fights for the sake of fights only create bloat, and it seems pretty clear that this isn't intended to be the venue where the fights exist for the sake of character development

Instead, this was our way of being introduced to the other CLPs rapid-fire beyond just learning their names. No one got a ton of attention, but every CLP laid out the starting points for how they'll contribute to the plot going forward

We already knew Zakuroguchi's goal from her conversation with Kogoe, so she didn't need a lot of screentime here

We learned that Anonymity has a connection to Class F, and Hakanage clearly had another agenda in her fight with Iroha ("I tortured out a ton of lines I wanted to hear")

Rikukeito was the only CLP aside from Iroha who was willing to risk capture to free their allies and delivered a powerful thesis statement for this arc ("You think we can't see people's faces if they aren't visible?") which I'll be taking a closer look at in a moment

Yonakuguisu clearly has some kind of connection to Iroha, and Iroha has requested a deeper conversation later; this is likely going to be the transition point into the next arc and will give us much more opportunity for learning about Iroha's past (which is ultimately more important than spending page time to learn about any other given character)

Of course, I'm always more interested in an arc that uses all of its moments to further each character involved (ex: the Election Battle in Medaka Box developed the heroes, villains and the plot itself with each fight), but the fact that Nisio didn't insist on doing that here strongly suggests that this arc is meant solely to be the preparations for things to come, not the goal in and of itself

This lines up with how the first arc went and what I've been saying would happen this whole time (at least I think I mentioned it...): each arc is meant to be expanding outward. In the first, Iroha was a fish out of water who was viewed as an enemy by his class. In the second, Iroha has become well-respected in his class, but now is an enemy of the rest of the school. While there's still likely some animosity for the moment, this should be more or less resolved with the Baumkuchen baking to come (though I'm willing to bet there's going to be a complication in there), so for all intents and purposes, the next arc will start with the school on Iroha's side and another, greater enemy coming along. Will it perhaps be a rival school? Or will it stay closer to home with Kogoe making her move? Kick Attack Planning? The Nohime Group? Whatever the next step is, the final phase (if we make it that far) is undoubtedly intended to be the Damoclesian World War that keeps being alluded to, which will require all of the allies that have been and will be amassed in the meantime to make it through

Cycling back to the thesis of this arc, I will once again remind everyone that while the first arc was an Effort Arc, this one is a Friendship Arc. The two driving themes that reinforce this are "understanding" and "togetherness," and they're tied together quite beautifully

"You think we can't see people's faces if they aren't visible?"

Iroha began this battle noting that nearly everyone else in the competition was in some way hiding their faces, either through masks, makeup, costumes, or generally distracting accessories, making their expressions harder for him to read. While he took this to be an immediate handicap to his main skill, he was able to apply this lesson immediately and effectively upon learning it, using information that was omitted or obscured to not only save Anonymity from Class F, but also to win the entire Trilemma

I had actually been wondering for a while what the win condition actually was, as I couldn't remember it ever being explicitly stated that the team with the most captives would win, and sure enough, Iroha realized the same thing because he was the only one who was able to understand and grasp the actual point of the contest that the teachers wanted to impart

"Unless everyone's safe, [victory] means nothing to me"

I've mentioned that Friendship, Effort and Victory are all related concepts before, and this is an excellent illustration of the concept. What makes one the victor of a war? Killing the most enemy soldiers, or having the most to show for your efforts? If Iroha had managed to capture Yonakiuguisu but eschewed the opportunity to save Anonymity, then both Class A and BC would have five surviving members and the deciding factor would have been the number of POWs, meaning that Class A would have lost. The reason that Class A won in the end was because Iroha was willing to take a risk for a friend, to ensure that his allies were not abandoned for the sake of a potentially Pyrrhic victory

Of course he still needed to capture someone from BC, as otherwise their number of survivors would have been tied and BC would win because of their POW count again, and that's where Effort comes in. Iroha couldn't just sit around and rest on his laurels, he needed to take action in order to win. This is the main reason that Rikukeito needed to free the captured Class B students, since it forced Iroha into action (if she hadn't done that, BC would only have three surviving members and DF would only have four since Yonakiuguisu was always going to capture the D girls, securing the win for Class A)

By both being someone who would fight for a friend and would only take calculated risks that don't endanger his team, Iroha proved that he was a cunning strategist with the ability to understand his friends, enemies and the situation as a whole, and by extension proved that among the CLPs, he's the one most fit to being the leader of the school, just as he did when he proved to Anonymity that he was the one who could best lead Class A

Iroha continues to be such a great protagonist, I really hope that he ends up getting a similar reputation to Undead Unluck's Fuuko by the end of this story. They're both so endearing, I love them so much

I anticipate that our next arc will be a Victory Arc, but I also get the feeling that we might not be done with this Friendship Arc just yet, and it might end up being a Friendship Saga. Or we'll fluctuate back and forth between all three values until the final arc either settles on one to be the most important or finds a way to perfectly balance all three. Hopefully, CA will stick around long enough for us to find out, and if this week's color page and every volume getting a reprint are any indication, we may just get to!

It's definitely surviving this round of cancelations at least, since one has already been canceled and two others are clearly scrambling towards their own rushed conclusions, so while I mourn for those losing series they wanted to see flourish, I am grateful that one of my favorites gets to live another day

[randum-famdoms]

Well. Sometimes this is true. Please keep in mind that for a lot of things, OP is fully correct and fannon definitely needs to be a hell of a lot better in a LOT of fandoms.

But, sometimes, I’ve seen fandoms where the fannon is better than cannon in a lot of ways. This can be small things, like expanding on a one-dimensional character, or adding to the worldbuilding or lore, or even small things like personal headcannons you’ve created with friends that add nothing to the story but they’re fun. Cannon doesn’t need to be tossed out entirely - if we did that there would be no story, and all fannon is based on cannon in a fundamental way.

I sometimes say fuck cannon, fannon is my new cannon. I usually say this for fandoms like Harry Potter, because JK rowling is a terf who writes largely one dimensional characters while leaving huge plot holes and not taking advantage of amazing worldbuilding (I am still bothered about her not utilizing parseltounge after book 2). I say this about BNHA, because imo it went really downhill after season 3 and everything after the class A versus class B fight featuring Shinsou was absolute trash and the story has been dragged on to the point of snapping and the characters have no depth beyond maybe 5 characters and I could rant about it for hours - but I digress. Fannon in that fandom is honestly also pretty shit a lot of the time, because the fandom is pretty shitty itself (not all of it, but still). But there are still parts of fannon that I love. Kaminari being adhd, being fluent in English, and loving classic literature. Dabi having Marie Antoinette syndrome. Red Shoe Theory. Dad for One. I could go on.

Sometimes fannon can be predictable, because we as humans often long for representation of some kind or another. In all fandoms you will see fannon of characters being queer or POC or neurodivergent. That is not a bad thing. It’s also not all of fannon. A lot of fannon expands on lore and worldbuilding, it gives characters hobbies, it retcons deaths and makes conspiracies about family ties (hello, Todoroki).

And you are right that a lot of times fannon can verge into infantalization of neurodivergence and queer identities and racism, because a lot of fandoms can be toxic in those ways. Bnha is a great example of this. But you can ignore that. You can ignore “Mina Ashido is Afro-Asian and [insert racist trope here]” and only interact with “Mina Ashido is Afro-Asian because that community needs better representation and a lot of the fandom supports this headcannon out of a genuine place”. Block the assholes, if you will. It isn’t perfect, but nothing in life or fandom is.

You don’t have to accept all of fannon. You can pick and choose what you engage with. “Fuck cannon, fannon is my bestie” isn’t how most people in fandoms actually feel, it’s just fun to say. Sometimes that is how they feel, because sometimes cannon really is that shitty, for one reason or another.

But above all, I love fannon because of how it can bring a community together. These thousands, millions of people with this shared interest looked at this thing and decided that this made up thing about it is now a universal shared truth. They saw these one or two little things in cannon and built an entire headcannon around it and the rest of the fandom saw that and decided that it was great and that is now their cannon. Fandoms do this to the point where there’s sometimes an entire new story in the subtext. It’s beautiful, it is a microcosm of culture and if I had the credentials time and money then I would love to do a scientific study on it. We have been doing this for centuries, this is how religions start, this is how language is made, this is how culture and media and stories and humanity is built.

I’m not trying to tell you that you are wrong. I’m not telling you that the way you engage with fandom and cannon is incorrect. I’m simply trying to give a different perspective, from someone who loves the ways that fannon can build up both a piece of media and the people who engage with it.

I think I dislike ‘fuck canon fanon rulez’ takes because time after time I see how boring and predictable fanon is and how often it reinforces racism and misogyny etc. in ways canon never did

and I think having to work around canon and with canon to make something new usually ends up pushing people to make something weirder and cooler

[legendaes]

 001.    indie, mutuals only league of legends multimuse ft. muses from both the league of legends game and arcane. mixture of canon & headcanon!  low to medium activity.  my activity & inspiration fluctuates. i work full-time in healthcare so my availability also greatly varies from week to week. some verses, threads, etc. will take priority as i follow my muse. i rather write one reply than none. some days i may write 5-10 drafts, then go days without. i do utilize queue to try to make sure i'm not spamming the dash.

  002.    tag triggers & nsfw. racism, transphobia, homophobia, blue lives matter, maga, etc isn’t tolerated. cut posts. unfollow / block as you need to. i will not participate in call-out culture. all political things here will be fictional; real world politics will not be present here. in-universe references to violence & war will not be tagged as it will be at least referenced within the majority of the content written on this blog: follow at your own discretion.  source material / headcanons have several darker & potentially triggering themes: war, violence, death, politics, mental illness, etc. anything explicit will be tagged or graphic depictions will always be. if you need anything tagged, don’t be afraid to tell me. while things like violence & death may appear – rape, incest, & abuse won’t.

  003.    i am shy & struggle to be the first to reach out to partners to plot. i'm working on it. my introversion does not reflect my interest! i strongly prefer to send memes, like starter calls, etc. however, if you prefer to plot: i am happy to! again, i just struggle to initiate.

  004.    mutuals only means that i will only actively write and interact with people i follow & who follow me back. while i am primarily in the runeterra universe, i am also open to crossover interactions. i love to interact with ocs! if it’s clear you don’t support ocs, female ocs, muses of color & trans muses, i probably won’t follow.  do not follow if you are a minor, or engage with writing incestual plots.

  005.   i am fairly open and comfortable with shipping. explicit nsfw content will not appear, but implied content / mild visuals (i.e. lingerie, not porn) may appear. i do love ships though and am happy to explore more!

  006.   runeterra is a huge world in which i do not know every character/storyline well, which means that i may sometimes mess up things with lore, timeline, etc. let me know if this happens, especially if it's in a way that messes up things with your character!

[lavelllan]

 001.    indie, mutuals only the inquisitor aka ellana lavellan from dragon age: inquisition. mixture of canon & headcanon!  low to medium activity.  my activity & inspiration fluctuates. i work full-time in healthcare so my availability also greatly varies from week to week. some verses, threads, etc. will take priority as i follow my muse. i rather write one reply than none. some days i may write 5-10 drafts, then go days without. i do utilize queue to try to make sure i'm not spamming the dash.

  002.    tag triggers & nsfw. racism, transphobia, homophobia, blue lives matter, maga, etc isn’t tolerated. cut posts. unfollow / block as you need to. i will not participate in call-out culture. all political things here will be fictional; real world politics will not be present here. in-universe references to violence & war will not be tagged as it will be at least referenced within the majority of the content written on this blog: follow at your own discretion.  source material / headcanons have several darker & potentially triggering themes: war, violence, death, politics, mental illness, etc. anything explicit will be tagged or graphic depictions will always be. if you need anything tagged, don’t be afraid to tell me. while things like violence & death may appear – rape, incest, & abuse won’t.

  003.    i am shy & struggle to be the first to reach out to partners to plot. i'm working on it. my introversion does not reflect my interest! i strongly prefer to send memes, like starter calls, etc. however, if you prefer to plot: i am happy to! again, i just struggle to initiate.

  004.    mutuals only means that i will only actively write and interact with people i follow & who follow me back. while i am primarily in the dragon age universe, i am also open to crossover interactions & have several verses to reflect that. i love to interact with ocs! if it’s clear you don’t support ocs, female ocs, muses of color & trans muses, i probably won’t follow.  do not follow if you are a minor, or engage with writing incestual plots.

  005.   i am fairly open and comfortable with shipping. explicit nsfw content will not appear, but implied content / mild visuals (i.e. lingerie, not porn) may appear. my portrayal of ellana is pansexual. i am fairly open to all of the companions but my default assumption is that she pursued a relationship with solas; unless otherwise plotted. this does not mean i will assume ships with any solas writers, that will always need to be plotted if wanted by both parties, so much as it means it may be referenced within other threads ( particularly post-inquisition ). i do love ships though and am happy to explore more!

  006.   dragon age is a relatively new interest for me, which means that i may sometimes mess up things with lore, timeline, etc. let me know if this happens, especially if it's in a way that messes up things with your character! i have only played inquisition & veilguard, but plan on playing origins relatively soon.