#specially from a character development standpoint

[j-psilas]

Will we ever get anything quite like Code Geass again?

I don't think it's possible.

Code Geass is Japanese nationalist propaganda disguised as a global political drama, disguised as a military mecha show, disguised as yaoibait, disguised as a teen melodrama, disguised as a high school romcom, disguised as a Pizza Hut commercial...

...except those layers aren't layers at all, but are instead comingled in a giant snake ball of insanity.

The lead writer, Ichirō Ōkouchi, only ever worked as an episode writer for other shows prior to Code Geass, and never took the helm of an anime series ever again. And it shows. [EDIT: Several people have pointed out his other lead writing credits to me. So I misread Wikipedia—sue me. I maintain that this guy is a better episode writer than he is a lead writer.]

The minute-to-minute pacing is impeccable from a mechanical standpoint, with tension and stakes rising to ever-higher peaks, balanced out by the slow simmers of the b-plot and c-plot. It keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat at all times. Meanwhile, the large-scale plot is the most off-the-wall middle school nonsense I've ever seen, continually surprising the viewer by pulling twists too dumb to have ever have been on their radar—and therefore more effective in terms of raw shock value.

"Greenlight it!" was the mantra of this anime's production. It must have been. It has, in no particular order, all of the following:

Character designs from CLAMP, the foremost yaoi/BL group in Japan at the time—for characters who are only queer insofar as they can bait the audience, and only straight insofar as they can be more misogynist to the female cast.

Speaking of the female cast, hoo boy the fanservice. We've all seen anime girls breast boobily, with many cases more egregious than Code Geass, but there's something special about it happening immediately after—or sometimes in the middle of!—scenes of military conflict and ethnic cleansing.

Pizza Hut product placement everywhere, in every conceivable situation. High-speed chases, light slice-of-life scenes, intimate character moments, all of it. Gotta have Pizza Hut.

The anime-only Pizza Hut mascot, Cheese-kun. He wears a fedora.

The most hilarious approximations of European names—which I would love to see more often, frankly. Names like, I dunno, "Count Schnitzelgrübe zi Blanquezzio."

A depiction of China that is wholly removed from any modern reality, with red-and-gold pagodas, ornamental robes, scheming eunuchs, and a brainwashed child empress. There's a character named General Tsao, like the chicken.

Inappropriate free-form jazz in the soundtrack, intruding at the most unexpected times.

A secret cabal not unlike the Illuminati, run by an immortal shota with magic powers, holding influence all across the world, at the highest levels of government. They matter for approximately three episodes.

An unexpected insert scene of a schoolgirl using the corner of a table to masturbate. She's doing it to thoughts of her crush, the princess Euphemia—because she believes Euphemia to be as racist as she herself is, and that gets her off. This interrupts an unrelated scene of our protagonist faction planning their next move, which then resumes as if uninterrupted.

Said schoolgirl, in a fit of hysteria, threatens to detonate a worse-than-nuclear bomb in the middle of her school. She then goes on to develop an even more destructive version of that bomb, and become a war criminal, in a chain of cause-and-effect stemming from the moment she finds out that Euphemia wasn't actually that racist.

A character called "the Earl of Pudding."

A premise that asks us to believe that the name Lelouch is normal enough that he didn't need to change it when he went into hiding as an ordinary civilian. "No, that's not Prince Strimbleford von Vanquish! That's our classmate, Strimbleford Smith."

The collective unconscious, a la Carl Jung, within which the protagonist fights his villainous father for control over the fate of humankind. After this is over, the anime just keeps going for about ten more episodes.

An episode in which a mech tosses a giant pizza.

A gay yandere sleeper agent who can manipulate the perception of time.

Chess being played very badly, even to the untrained eye. Lelouch frequently checkmates his opponent by moving his king. This goes hand-in-hand with the anime's crock of bad chess symbolism.

A fictional drug that can most succinctly be described as "nostalgia heroin."

Roller-skating mecha in knightly armor, and some of the most sickass mecha fight choreography that I've seen.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. This anime is what the average Westerner in 2006 thought anime was, and it was made in a confluence of factors that cannot be replicated. I've never had so much fun watching something that I found so... insulting. Repugnant. Ridiculous. Baffling. I love it sincerely.

Catch me cosplaying Lloyd Asplund at a con sometime, or maybe even the big gay loser himself, Lelouch vi Britannia.

[katapotato55]

how to make your writing be remembered forever and possibly be well loved.

(incredibly stupid and silly fanfiction line at the end of this post) I know that title is incredibly daunting but listen, its very simple. you ready?

MAKE STRONG CHARACTERS

"but kat! surely its not that simple! " nononono listen. bear with me. I want you to think of your favorite thing. Now ask: what do you remember the most about the thing you love? I will go first:

I love team fortress 2. and guess what: this game has been around since 2007, and was in development hell since before I was even born. The game has been around for 16 fucking years. And guess what? in the strong year of 2023 team fortress 2 Is STILL getting memed about. and do you want to know the crazy part? the character designs to the naked eye are not special at all. ok sure from a designer standpoint, these are very well designed characters made so that you can easily tell who they are based on their silhouette. but from the average joe.... tf2 is iconic but overall it looks ok. it doesn't seem special to a stranger to tf2. look at this completely random and arbitrary example of a game in the same genre:

I don't know shit about the characters in overwatch. Yeah i have a BASIC idea on what their personality is like based on voice lines and some videos i guess... but in-game they just exist. these characters are brightly colored, they have beautiful unique designs, hell they have even more diversity such as robots and people from other cultures! but i don't remember shit about these characters. Maybe I remember the ice lady and tracer, but nothing else. and yeah part of overwatch struggling right now is incompetant development, BUT: The characters in team fortress 2 are SO remember-able because the characters have such a vibrant personality. I am an orange box owner, its been a decade and a half and I am still remembering this game and enjoying art about it.

"but kat! that is a comedy game! Overwatch is a very serious game! are you saying comedy is needed to make a character more noticeable?" no. though I think allowing your characters to lighten up every now and then would humanize them. Not full on goofy, just give them something that makes them likeable. and if you cant do that, you can STILL make a compelling character even though they are mostly seriousness. I have an even more awfully thought out example:

kung fu panda is a masterclass in making a serious comedic movie somehow work. Master Oogway.... he isn't a comedic character at all. Yeah we made memes about him, but ignoring that, he is a wise and resourceful person. He is at calm and has faith in this intuition. there are a lot of characters like this. What makes Oogway stand out is that he is also a little bit kooky and sassy.

this youtube clip sums up what I mean. It is a funny line, it fits the character, and It doesn't ruin the seriousness of the moment. Some of the most successful series in history have something about them that has appealed to people. In my opinion: characters with strong personality and interesting traits is always a good way to ensure your writing is successful. The second most important is the characters bouncing off of each other in terms of their chemistry with each other. There is a reason why I spent years playing the first Destiny game and all of the DLC, but I remember fuck all about the characters. I think I maybe remember the bootleg star lord robot guy.

A writing exercise

here is an exercise to get you in the spirit of character making. step 1- get a random character from a random bit of media. In this case let me bring you master Oogway. Step 2- Get a completely different character from a completely unrelated series. I am going to give you Scout from team fortress 2. step 3- write a random ass thing about them interacting. Think about how the characters would react to each other and why. Think about each characters values in life and think about how they would bond and conflict with each other. Think about characters similar to the character they met in the past and how they reacted then, and if they have never interacted, make something interesting with it. Step 4- keep experimenting. Once you get into the spirit you can apply this to any new character you could want to make anyways thats it byeee- "arent you going to do that ?" do what? "make a writing thing about oogway and scout. " ........

Scout: let's go turtle you got nothing on my speed- Oogway: The one who first resorts to violence shows that he has no more arguments. Scout: that sounds like chicken talk! come on tough guy let me have it- Oogway then proceeds to make scout eat shit before vanishing in a cloud of cherry blossoms and dust from the desert. If this post isn't popular I want you to know my dignity was lost for nothing.

[sky-chau]

Eyepatch Representation

Hi, as of the time of this post I am 30 degrees crosseyed and I've been wearing an eyepatch for six months or so. In that time I realized just how much representation matters, as unlike being gay or neurodivergent no amount of headcanons can really do eyepatch representation. It never dawned on me how often characters are crosseyed as a shorthand for being stupid. When my animal crossing character wears the "post op eyepatch" sometimes one of the villagers will say "Woah, you scared me there, I know it's just pretend but the thought of you getting hurt like that worries me!" Or something along the lines of. I don't know how to take screenshots on 3DS. And like, that's really demoralizing. The only representation I got reliably was in pirate media. And with Pirate media it's frequently the butt of a joke. Which the longer I think about it the more sad it gets. Like I feel the need to emphasize the fact that despite being an adult I'm getting this surgery in the pediatric ward. This is so common in children that when someone is crosseyed and the general surgeons don't feel comfortable the defacto experts are the pediatric eye surgeons. It's REALLY common for kids to be crosseyed and wear an eyepatch. And I'd also like to point out that eyepatches are typically accompanied by or attached to a pair of glasses. Which is where there's the largest void in representation. I can't make myself in the sims without using the pirate costume which cannot be worn with glasses. And it's just sad because unlike other forms of disability representation this would be a simple matter of adding a new accessory. (Which is not to say that wheelchair users and amputees don't deserve rep in video games like the sims, only that I understand from a developer standpoint why those features are hard to include retroactively.) I've never seen anything where the person with the eyepatch had an eye under it. Kids media could do with this. Heck, I can totally see a show like Arthur making a special episode out of it where Arthur has to wear an eyepatch for a week under his glasses. I forgot what point I was making with the drawing but here it is.

So I guess TLDR, if you're writing, especially for younger audiences, consider giving a main character an eyepatch + glasses.

[megsiepoo]

UNHOLY ALLIANCE THOUGHT DUMP

Spoilers below cut

So admittedly I haven't been able to pay coop yet so my thoughts are purely from a single player standpoint and stem mostly around new additions to preexisting mechanics and the storyline of the game.

The final touches they placed on the bishop storyline brought them to what I consider a satisfying conclusion. I appreciate that while the Lamb healed the bishops, it wasn't in a way that removed their injuries and in the process the consequences of their actions. It felt like a peaceful conclusion when the Lamb was gathered with the bishops and Narinder and that while the whole cast had their differences, everyone was able to accept what happened in the past and find peace in the present. I especially love that Narinder got a special bishop trait at the conclusion. While it doesn't seem to affect his actual in-game character, it feels a bit like an ode to his role as the Lamb's devine the Lamb became the last god in the lands of the Old Faith. Also the small design touches to the healed bishops were very nice.

Obviously I also haven't been able to actually use all the new tarot cards/relics yet, but they seem like great additions based on description alone and the few that I have used were very fun. My biggest complaint is that outside of the coop unlocks, everything that's new from relics to tarot cards to decorations has to be unlocked through the Mystic Seller. Frankly, I hate that so much of the post game is based around a glorified slot machine, and not everyone is going to go into the update with 70 god tears because they were previously trying to complete Purgatory. It's a small annoyance, but I feel like they could have found a better way for players to access these things. If it had only been the decorations, I don't think I'd personally find it as annoying.

Onto the new buildings, there are two! The nursery is rather self explanatory, though the baby will leave it at a certain point before reaching adulthood. The knucklebones table is very neat though! I don't use it a ton just because it's not a huge appeal to me, but I love that your followers will play against each other. The Narinder in my save seems to have a bit of a gambling addiction lol

The new fleeces are cute! One is purely decorative. The cowboy fleece is very fun though. And I've definitely developed more appreciation for the blunderbuss after Purgatory kept throwing them at me.

Lastly the Goat! It took me a minute to unlock them just because it didn't register at first that I'd have to commit die during a crusade to access them without coop. The cuts cutscene for it was very cool though and leans a lot into the energy of the initial teaser trailer. I was kind of hoping they might have some sort of special ability once unlocked, but I suppose that would defeat the purpose of them essentially being a dark doppelganger. Regardless, I can't be mad because they're just so gosh darn cute.

Overall, I'm enjoying this new update! I'm excited to eventually drag someone into coop with me. The new mechanics look very fun. Would love to hear everyone else's thoughts as well!

[punkeropercyjackson]

'Ghostflower is Percabeth' is wrong objectively standpoint because i'm not sorry but Gwen's not Annabeth in anyway,blonde lighteyed girl is not a personality type and it's textual that Annabeth hates being reduced to her hair color so ummmm yikes on y'all,and there's already a canon fitting Ghostflower-coded dynamic in Pjo and it's NICO and Percy.This isn't 'pedophillic/incestous gay ships are so much better than those icky boring hets' but me saying trans girl Gwen is canon since i have brain and aknowledgement of Percy's accidental trans woman-coding that's backed up by literally every transfem i've met in the fandom and the Siblings!Ghost Flower(which is just as valid as romantic Ghostflower)agenda

Nico's a beyond optimistic softboy who's super nerdy and has a big snarky side,a fast food lover and much better than he gives himself for and Percy is an older punk girl who's a lot more sour on life than him and expresses it through being sardonic,pretending not to be affected by anything and having anger issues but also a big gooey soft inside.Nico's also got a black color theme and wears a huge jacket and Gwen's world is watercolors as Percy's the daughter of Poseidon and they both have streaked hair

Nico and Miles met Percy and Gwen while attending a weird school they didn't fit in at and they were there because they were part of the supernatural world they were about to join and thought was cool as fuck beforehand so when they met the first hero(ine)from it they instantly developed an idol crush.They gave them babysteps but after part 1 of their adventure that included the destined death of a relative,they were seperated for a whole year and ached for eachother because their time together may have been short but it gave them a special one of a kind connection.Nico and Gwen snuck into Percy and Miles' room's on the day of a special party and they talked tons to catch up on hero work and on eachother and they fed them their Mamí's food they'd never had before and they linked up again with their friendship and love for eachother getting stronger and more of a grounding to it

Nico and Gwen were homeless at the time thanks to abusive corrupted dads and thought they were helping Percy and Miles out of manipulation by shitty adults and were sad but not resentful when they were lashed out at because they understood them as the bigger victim's and that they played a part in it out of not thinking things through enough.The latter two could never hate though so Nico and Percy made up and stopped holding up pedestals and are way better for eachother for it now thanks to seeing eachother more than ever and doing proper work to make up what happened and bond unbreakably.Just like Gwen and Miles are going to in Beyond The Spiderverse

Across is a love story between Miles and Gwen but they won't stop being irreplacable to eachother if they become platonic as soulmates don't stop counting when they're not romantic.Pjo is Percy's story,not Percy and Annabeth's,and she wants Nico to be a part of it no matter what canon says and it's been that way from the start for once unlike with a lot of other characters she's met.Miles and Gwen just like Nico and Percy fr fr

[milijanakomad]

Product design and psychology: The Role of Grinding in Video Game Design

Keywords: Grinding, Video Gaming, Game Design, Player Engagement, Psychological Manipulation

Abstract:

This paper scrutinizes the utilization of "grinding" as a technique in video game design, particularly as a method of psychological manipulation that affects player engagement and behaviour. Case studies are explored to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the practical application of grinding and its implications, all from a product design viewpoint.

Introduction:

The design principles governing video games frequently incorporate mechanisms intended to stimulate player engagement and prolong interaction time. One such prevalent mechanism is "grinding," defined as the practice of executing repetitive tasks within the game environment to achieve specific objectives. While grinding can evoke a sense of achievement, it also carries the potential to induce exhaustion and frustration among players. This study endeavours to explore the intricacies of grinding, its role in game design, and its influence on player experience.

Explanation:

Coined from the concept of persistently "grinding away" at a task, the term "grinding" in the gaming context implies the undertaking of repetitive actions by a player to attain certain results or to advance within the game. In numerous instances, such actions may not directly correlate with the game's primary storyline or objectives but are aimed at accumulating experience points, in-game currency, or specialized items.

Grinding is an omnipresent component across a vast array of game genres, with its prominence notably manifested in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). In these games, the player's progression and performance are often gauged based on their character's level, skills, and available equipment.

From the standpoint of game design, grinding assumes several roles. It serves to extend the game's lifespan by instituting goals that necessitate substantial time investment. Additionally, it fosters a sense of accomplishment and progression and can encourage social interaction in multiplayer environments. Despite these advantages, critics contend that grinding can lead to monotonous and ungratifying gameplay experiences. The considerable time commitment required by grinding may propel some players towards purchasing in-game enhancements using real-world money, thereby generating additional revenue for game developers.

Further, there is an ongoing discourse concerning the psychological implications of grinding. Its repetitive and rewarding nature might precipitate addictive behaviours and excessive consumption of time, mirroring the effects typically associated with gambling disorders. Through the exploration of these aspects, we aim to shed light on the complex dynamics of grinding in the context of modern video gaming.

Grinding in Gaming: Conceptualization and Design

Grinding typically refers to the act of performing repetitive actions in a game to attain a specific goal, often associated with levelling up, obtaining items, or advancing in-game skills. Although it can give players a sense of progression, it can also serve as a roadblock, encouraging players to consider alternative paths to progress, such as microtransactions.

Case Study: World of Warcraft

Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft (WoW) extensively employs grinding. Players often engage in repetitive tasks like fighting the same enemies, repeatedly battling against non-player characters (NPCs), or completing the same quests to increase their character's level, to gain experience points, in-game currency, or rare items. This grind contributes to a sense of achievement but has also been criticized for sometimes leading to a tedious gameplay experience.

Case Study: Candy Crush Saga

King's Candy Crush Saga uses grinding as a monetization strategy. As players progress and levels become harder, the option to grind through the game becomes more attractive. Alternatively, players can buy power-ups and boosters to surpass the grind, effectively translating grinding mechanics into revenue for the game developers.

Case Study: Destiny 2

This game provides an example of a 'loot grind.' Players repeatedly complete activities like strikes, raids, or public events to earn 'engrams' – randomized gear drops. The goal is often to collect more powerful gear to increase a character's power level.

Case Study: Old School RuneScape 

In this MMORPG, players might grind by repetitively performing tasks like mining, fishing, or woodcutting. These actions, though monotonous, boost the player's skill levels, enabling them to perform new tasks, quests, or create new items.

Implications for Game Design

Grinding, while a tool to extend game playtime and potentially drive monetization, must be thoughtfully implemented to avoid player fatigue or burnout. Game designers should strike a balance between meaningful progression and repetitive grind, ensuring the game remains engaging and satisfying.

Conclusion

Grinding, as a mechanism of psychological manipulation in video game design, can greatly impact player behaviour and engagement. Striking a balance between challenge, satisfaction, and repetition is vital to ensure a rewarding gameplay experience. As the video game industry advances, it will be intriguing to observe the evolution and refinement of grinding mechanisms and their psychological impact on players.

References:

Sicart, M. (2013). Grinding in Games: Understanding the Appeal. Philosophy of Computer Games Conference, 8-11.

Hamari, J., Alha, K., Järvelä, S., Kivikangas, J. M., Koivisto, J., & Paavilainen, J. (2017). Why do players buy in-game content? An empirical study on concrete purchase motivations. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 538-546. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.045

Blizzard Entertainment. (2004). World of Warcraft [Video Game]. Blizzard Entertainment.

King. (2012). Candy Crush Saga [Video Game]. King.

Bungie. (2017). Destiny 2 [Video Game]. Activision.

Jagex. (2013). Old School RuneScape [Video Game]. Jagex.

Yee, N. (2006). Motivations of play in online games. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(6), 772-775. doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.772

Johnson, M. R., & Woodcock, J. (2019). The impacts of live streaming and Twitch.tv on the video game industry. Media, Culture & Society, 41(5), 670-688. doi:10.1177/0163443718818363

King, D., Delfabbro, P., & Griffiths, M. (2010). Video game structural characteristics: A new psychological taxonomy. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8(1), 90-106. doi:10.1007/s11469-009-9206-4

Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining "gamification". MindTrek '11: Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, 9-15. doi:10.1145/2181037.2181040

[the-peak-tmnt]

HI PEAK! I got some questions for you!

Firstly, is there going to be a POV change at all in the future? As in, someone asides from takes over as the main story teller, or will it say as Raph?

Secondly and a much more technical one, how do you go about pacing your scenes/ and or do you have any tips for writing scenes?

Hey! Thank you for the ask!

Firstly, is there going to be a POV change at all in the future? As in, someone asides from takes over as the main story teller, or will it say as Raph?

Reciprocity will always be primarily from Raph's third-person limited POV. The brief Leo POV at the end of Chapter 14 was kind of a special circumstance. I wanted give readers a little peek at just how dire things are for Leo, especially after what he did to Raph in Chapter 13.

That being said...there will be some unusual things happening with the POV in Reciprocity because of the ability that links the brothers together.

We've already seen Leo's thoughts, feelings, and even skills leaking through the mind meld in a couple instances without Raph understanding that's what's happening.

Very soon, things are going to take a turn for Raph. Once he finally confronts one of the biggest issues holding him back, his own control over the link will begin to develop.

...and then things are going to get very leaky.

Secondly and a much more technical one, how do you go about pacing your scenes/ and or do you have any tips for writing scenes?

Okay, this part is much harder to answer!

I have a BA in film, so the only writing I really know is screenwriting. I'm also pretty dyslexic and am a very slow reader, so most of my inspiration and style comes from film and television. When I write, I'm usually thinking of each chapter from a cinematic standpoint. I try to envision how I would both shoot and edit the scene if it were being filmed.

For example if I'm at a part in a scene where it would cut to a closeup of a character, I instead write a line describing the character's expression. If I would use a medium shot or cowboy shot, that's when I focus on describing body language. If a shot would linger, I add add a line about awkwardness or tension. If there's action and things are happening very quickly, then sentences become short, clipped, and direct.

I am fully aware that this is useless advice if you're not into film much, so I'm really sorry 😅 But if you are, then my advice is to try thinking about a scene from a movie similar to the scene you're trying to write. After all, the entire history of cinema is just filmmakers borrowing from the ones who came before them. Even the No Diggity fight montage in Mutant Mayhem is inspired by the hallway fight scene from Oldboy!

The other thing I'm trying to do is to lay foundations for future scenes and plot points. Some details that just seem like fun little pieces of world building will come back to be important much later. It's taking every once of willpower I have to not point some of them out right now, but it makes it all the more satisfying for both you and your readers when the characters finally trip the land mine you laid x number of chapters ago!

[valyrfia]

RE: this ask

Sorry about to go off on one, gender studies and online fan culture from an academic standpoint is a special interest of mine because being film and literature student wasn't annoying enough (participatory culture studies my beloved) 

From a general standpoint, I think the reason M/M ships in fiction have always been more popular is because male characters are historically more developed and complex. I think it’s only in recent years have their been an influx of popular F/F ships, with the added development of women on screen (e.g Clarke and Lexa, Kara and Lena, Regina and Emma, Nancy and Robin) - I think there is also a point to be made this has coincided with gender expression, genderqueerness and more general knowledge of being outside the typical gender spectrum. 

I can’t explicitly say that being in M/M fandom spaces encouraged my personal discovery of being transmasc but it certainly helped to have an avenue where I could project onto these “male” characters and see myself in them. I was so uncomfortable in my own body and what I didn’t know at the time as dysphoria, I can see why I didn’t go for F/F ships. 

There are of course a lot of “fandom elders” but young (early to late teens) afab people do make up a large bulk of it and I get why  it may be easier for them to fixate on M/M ships as a, sort of method of exploring their own sexuality and gender expression. F/F ships may hit too close to home and F/M ships are what they are trying to escape from so it leaves M/M ships to project onto. Which, unfortunately then can become warped by the persons own comphet and/or binary ideas about gender. 

A male character may have more stereotypically “feminine” traits (in terms of interests or emotional reactions) and I can see why people who also have those traits would project there own insecurities onto them, reinforcing the feminisation of the male character but not being comfortable enough in your own gender expression to genderbend the character or write them as trans. 

It’s the same reason I think mafia romance, dark romance etc etc is so popular with cishet women because they can read about a fantasy where instead of the very real every day misogyny and violence they face leading to abuse, assault and death, it brings “positives” ; protected, loved, a happy relationship. 

Which, side note. I think this has A Lot to do with y/n, self insert fics becoming “cringe”. Because, I think a lot of people just want to fuck/date a character and feel like they can’t write a self insert anymore, so just project massively onto one character, leading to a lot of these issues. I don’t think Tony Stark/Peter Parker would be as popular as it is if people just let young women write their self insert fic about being Tony Stark’s sugar baby and then we wouldn’t have the wildly mischaracterised version of Peter Parker that we do! 

But, all this being said. I’m talking about fiction. Dean Winchester isn’t actually affected if people online only talk about him in a stereotypically “female” way. 

RPF is a different kettle of fish (and I’m not going in RPF ethics that’s different - I have no issues with rpf creators/consumers to be clear, I am one) because a real person does become affected. Even if you are keeping your fan works and discussions to private spaces, it can leach over into how you speak about the actual person. That’s where it becomes so incredibly important to remember that your RPF version of celebrities are just as fictional as Dean Winchester is. 

sorry I used mr. supernatural as an example, 13 year old me is still alive and kicking in my head somewhere. 

I love to hear your perspective on it with a trans worldview (and academic credentials), and I do agree that that might be a big driver of some young people only wanting to engage with MLM fic and feeling uncomfortable with WLW fic. You've brought up so many great points so I'll try and address them all.

I can add the perspective of a lesbian who was closeted for the first two decades of my life, came out less than five years ago, and still struggles on and off with comphet now. MLM fics in my teens were a way to consume queer content and relationships without having to think about the implications of enjoying consuming WLW content, and I think that's true for a lot of young closeted teens so it's no surprise that some comphet/hetnorm/cisnorm stuff bleeds through there because it's a framework the authors haven't managed to detach themselves from yet.

But yeah, I agree the issue lies with people wanting characters to be self-inserts partially so that they can experience sex, sexuality, and romance without any of the hang ups of thinking about patriarchy. And I agree with your solution: make y/n fics cool again! The ability we have to hallucinate while we read is magic! You can put YOURSELF in as a character's love interest, how cool is that?

Ultimately, yeah. There's nothing wrong with RPF as long as it isn't actually affecting the person that the RPF is based off, but I've seen a lot of takes escaping containment so to say (ie. leaving this website) with takes about the actual racers so obviously picked up through RPF. The main culprits are Charles, Lando, Max in my experience.

[sesshy380]

Time for my breakdown of the four main characters for my WereKat AU! (Forewarning: This is going to be a long post and there will be a lot of images)

Throwing a tag to @resuri-art! You are the reason this AU appeared in my brain, therefor you must suffer the consequences! 😂

I'm going to start with Bakura, since he's kinda the most 'normal' out of the four (I use the word 'normal' very loosely)

(Click each image for better viewing)

Bakura is the only Human in the group. He's not like most Human's however, as he was found and raised by Naga when he was very young. He knows he obviously had a human family once, but he doesn't remember them.

His Naga family had to learn a lot when it came to raising a Human child ('They eat HOW many times EVERY DAY???'). Can you picture little Bakura trying his hardest to unhinge his jaw like his Naga sister, Dia, so he can eat a rat whole? He developed some rather unique eating habits due to this, which is how he first met Ryou.

Being that he's Human, walking into a butcher shop that specializes in Therian meats got him some very unpleasant looks. The proprietor wasn't very thrilled either, and was giving him a hard time. Cue Ryou's entrance.

Ryou is a Vampire (despite his very not-vampire aesthetic). But he's not just any Vampire, he's from one of the most highly respected Ancient lines: Necrophades. Despite his elevated status, he’s never felt like he belonged among Vampire society. He’s viewed as an outcast since he doesn’t share their hierarchical standpoint on things, but because of his status there is nothing the other Ancient lines can do about it.

Ryou doesn't follow the typical Vampire tradition of feeding off thralls, but instead prefers other, more ethical sources. His meeting with Bakura came about when he went to visit his regular butcher, who he pays well to save the blood of the animals he harvests.

Ryou found Bakura to be quite intriguing, and after some time the two began dating and moved in together.

Humans are notoriously monogamous, while the other races (due to their longer lifespans) are known for having polygamous relationships whenever it suits them. Being that Bakura was raised by Naga, his views when it comes to relationships is similar to Ryou's. Which is why he eventually found himself with not one, but two partners.

Say hello to the little spitball of energy and attitude that is Kat.

(Second image is to show off her markings when in her standard appearance)

Kat is a Felidae, which is a feline Therian (were-beast). She's pretty secretive about her background, only mentioning that she is the illegitimate offspring to a Kemati noble.

Bakura met her at the very popular casino/popular hotspot, Geal'drache, where she works as a cocktail waitress serving drinks to the patrons. She didn't treat him with the same disdain most people treat Humans with. They started talking, and as soon as he mentioned his boyfriend being into tabletop RPG's, her inner nerd flooded out.

No one really knows when it happened, but it started out with Kat coming over for campaign nights, to coming over to plot new campaigns, eventually staying the night on occasion because of how late she and Ryou stayed up plotting new nightmare mode campaigns, to her just suddenly living there. Somewhere along the way, Bakura acquired himself a Therian girlfriend. He's not really complaining. Everyone's cool with it, so why should he?

Then Ryou's old boyfriend, Amir, came back into the picture.

(Yay! Amir has markings too! He was my fave to design! His hair so floof!)

Amir is a Leona, which is a lion Therian. His brother, Marik, is the current King of the Kemati nation, and their older sister, Ishizu, is Marik's advisor to the crown. The three also have an older adopted Pantera (panther) sibling, Rishid, who is Marik's personal guard.

Long before Ryou met Bakura, he and Amir spent some time together as a secretive couple. Due to the politics involved in Amir's life, he couldn't be openly seen with Ryou. When Marik ascended the throne (due to a very unfortunate 'accident' that befell his father one night), Amir felt stuck between his duties and his secret lover. Ryou made the decision for him and told him if and when things changed, to come seek him out.

It's been ten years, but Amir hasn't forgotten what Ryou said...though, ten years isn't much when you live for centuries.

Amir found Ryou again, but was a bit shocked to see who he was now living with...and openly in a relationship with. He always knew Ryou to be a bit...eccentric...when it came to who he dated, but Amir never could have imagined Ryou with a Human.

Amir, like most everyone else, sees Humans as less than the dirt beneath his feet, and tolerates them simply because that was what one did. The idea of being in a relationship with one? Disgusting.

But, he hates the idea of losing the person he cares about most due to his own prejudices, so he simply tolerates Bakura's presence for Ryou's sake. The fact that same Human is also dating his childhood friend/devils advocate has nothing to do with it.

Seriously...his old flame and his childhood friend??? What's so special about that human?????

And there you have it! Four crazy people that are now living together and have their own weird relationships with one another!

Oh, bonus! Forgot to add that Therians like Amir and Kat have TOE BEANS (which is why their shoes are designed the way they are, so that not only is there room for toe claws, but also so there is room if they shift into a full beast).

(I cheated, because I can't draw feet any more than I can draw hands. Pinterest image that I used as a base trace here)

[anyothercomments]

Idea no xxxx for my miraculous rewrite that I’ll never write

I wish so bad that Master Fu was more than this stereotype of asian mystical ancient power man and its annoys me to no end. You’re telling me you have this 200 yr old man who managed to destroy the order of the miraculous as a child, single handedly guarded the miraculous since then and then randomly decided to endanger a bunch of children and you’re not gonna like fully flesh him out? No. I think not.

There’s 2 ways I’d go about rewriting his plot line. 1- make him a great guardian to marinette and adrien. When adrien finds out his father’s gabriel agreste either i’d have master fu adopting him bc i want my man adrien to get to know the lore like he deserves, or just acts as the father figure he’s been so desperately needing. For marinette, we already know in the show that she trusts him so i’d develop their relationship more from a cultural standpoint bc we need to change marinette’s attitude towards her chinese half ok. I think it’d be great if she had to start learning mardarin or something for the guardian duties because even though the book’s written in the guardian code maybe some scripts or stuff r written in mardarin and then they can have cute bonding moments. Also this would lead to marinette’s motivations to go to china for the special to not be so actually disgusting (jeremy why would you make your main character half chinese when you hold so much racial bias against chinese people actually get a life). Basically option one would be found family trope.

The other way I would explore him would be to big up the whole reckless endangerment thing. Like yes maybe there’s some mystical reason as to why master fu had to chose 14 yr old in my first option, but isnt it just so much more fun if i make marinette trust this unreliable adult just for him to undergo the whole memory loss thing much earlier on when she doesnt have anywhere near enough knowledge or experience and just give her trauma. Like make her aspire to be like him despite his terrible teaching methods and also not let her know of master fu’s failings until way after he loses his memories, so she finds out from the other guardian guy and she’s like wait this old man didnt really think i was special he was probs just and old geezer who dumped way too much onto me. Idk something about imperfect adults that r trying their best but still end up falling short is so poetic to me.

Anyways I apologise for any spelling mistakes cus i’m not about to reread this and check

[blueskittlesart]

PLEASE elaborate on the mario movie i want to know how bad it sucks

i took notes while i was watching it because i'm insane so here's what i wrote down:

objectively bad. especially if you are not a mario fan. sorry. specifically that special illumination flavor of bad. despicable me bad. you know what i mean

clearly more emphasis was put on aesthetic/worldbuilding than story. the spectacle is incredible but the story is barebones at the best of times. several plot points seem VERY rushed and very few character relationships are given the time or attention they really need to have the character-driven story that this movie clearly WANTS to be

ESPECIALLY mario and peach’s relationship is not given nearly enough time. they get a meet-cute scene in which peach instantly takes mario in for seemingly no reason and then one training montage (both within the span of about 30 mins of runtime) and after that they’re sharing intimate secrets with each other and we’re supposed to see mario as a potential romantic partner for peach. the relationship is not NEARLY established enough for any of this and the audience is left to assume that a ton of development must have happened off screen, which makes the relationship seem REALLY rushed and flat.

the only genuinely well-written relationship imo was mario and donkey kong and they fucking hate each other

that being said the world design is REALLY good and it’s clear the designers were fans and put a lot of effort into it!! it just kind of makes it more obvious that the story is bad when it’s painted over such a fantastic backdrop

the way the references to the games were built into the environment was, again, very well done. every reference i got was well-placed and funny. i just wish the story that held all the references together was good lol

peach’s body proportions were throwing me off for the entire movie. her head is SO huge in comparison to her tiny skinny body that it’s super distracting

sometimes chris pratt makes an effort to sound like a new york italian and sometimes he just Is Chris Pratt and i genuinely don’t know which one is worse

peach’s voice honestly threw me off more than crisp rat it just does not fit her at all

animation is over rendered in that new age disney-pixar style that i really hate. i think that a movie based on retro pixel-art video games could have benefited a lot from a more stylized art style instead of so much realism

the soundtrack is incredible tho

bowser is the best character in the whole movie (we knew this)

final fight was very good. that’s all i have to say about it it was good

i honestly think this was doomed to happen with a movie like this because mario as a game doesnt have a ton of story to hold it together so any story you try to make out of it is inevitably going to rely on game references over plot ESPECIALLY if you have diehard fans writing for you. i think they could have benefitted from a few writers who DIDN'T know or care about mario to look objectively at the script as a narrative because if you take away the game-reference spectacle the story is just. not great unfortunately. I don't think it was AWFUL per se but from purely a writing standpoint it could have been WAY better than what we got imo.

[kijosakka]

how. how would i even write out a proper fic of dramaturgy au,,

cutting this off bc i got too caught up in myself and rambled

ok umm,, dramaturgy as an au is just so character study-ish and generally character-focused,, plus the initial developments made on island are kiinda important to the cast dynamic?? so as i see it there are a few options:

A: rehash/go through the unchanged plot of island, the TDDDDI special, some eps of WT, using it to develop the Situation from other characters perspectives while maybe having one or two to emphasize noahs characterization

it gives a lot of time for character developments outside of noah himself, and time to reinforce noahs own characterization using that outside perspective,, but could potentially get boring/long-winded, since nothing different happens and its literally just Characters Having Screentime

^ maybe sub a full going-through with character vignettes and specific scenarios throughout island/the special/celeb. manhunt or after TD/eps of WT??? i guess you could also slot smth like this in with the other ideas aswell

B: begin the hypothetical fic post-jamaica challenge and leading into london, use it to exposition some minor things and generally establish characterization before getting into challenges and actual canon divergence

it doesnt drag on (as much atleast), gives you enough time with enough cast members to establish what the others think of noah and what noah thinks/how he behaves and why (probably slot in his distrust of alejandro here??), more challenges gives noah more chances (and reasons) to break character, though the character development has to be slow and conflict should probably be built up (but im kinda partial to this one ngl)

C: kindof half-baked but beginning in london (i’m imagining literally at his eel line), where hes eliminated that episode, but comes back via comeback challenge; arc kicked off by being so pissed off that he has to come back and do the Same Shit yet again (and probably because of producer-rigging. again.)

the conflict/character dynamics would move a little faster, its less to trudge through and figure out canon changes like the butterfly effect of noah staying in the game in london, but having less characters to have relationships/interactions with (but making the ones had can be more developed/rounded as a result), less Time in general, the original idea of noah ‘unmasking’ alejandro is kiiinda less impactful this late into the game?? slightly i feel like

or D: even more half-baked than C and kinda just 'possible' and feeling out of place, but you could have noahs arc happen in all-stars instead (smth smth the audience was vv dissatisfied with how he ranked in WT and so he gets brought back)

^ this is mostly bc i like the motif of noah having eel-pond related scars and seeing it as a physical reminder of where 'acting like the camera isn't there' can get him (but you could potentially fit this into the C idea, posing it more as a bitter feeling/theme rather than a motivation to continue his facade)

i dont really like this one from a storytelling standpoint, and it doesnt make much sense since theres no character motivation via unmasking alejandro since everyone already knows at this point?? idk it is there though

umm yeah thats all ive got, i guess you could also mismatch ideas like B&C so the fic starts post-jamaica but noah still gets eliminated, or have noah eliminated after london but still winning the comeback challenge and coming back swearing vengeance (within his own head mostly) or smth like that

i kinda wanted to just put this Out in the World and let it simmer before i start combing through WT to make the allotted ‘official’ canon changes of this au lol

(and not to mention theres still the issue of the actual Ending,, does he win?? is his winning both symbolic and the first genuine, intentional break of character he makes, to the audience and his peers beyond the unintentional ones hes made along the way???

smth smth character growth, hes learned how to let himself break character but now hes learning to do it intentionally too??? < im partial to that but im also biased towards noah and any hypothetical win of his

^ or does he lose?? and his ending watching the finalists parallel the island bit where he Did Not Care but now??? idk idk the longer i think the more i like the whole symbolic win thing but in terms of storytelling/the Themes, does it Work. i do like to think so

the original draft of this idea has noah not in fact winning but it also had a strangely,,,,, vindictive tone?? that might not be the word but the Themes were different and noah was more scheme-ish rather than defense mechanism-having so im thinking the ending should change as well)

[lollytea]

Thoughts on the finale overall?

It was fun.

Luz, Eda and King really are the beating heart of this whole story, as is the raw overwhelming love and adoration they have for each other and this finale really drove that point home. The emotion in their scenes together were palpable. Considering they were so much of the episode, there's simply too much to even talk about. But I will say I'm going to think about that scene of Luz dying and Eda and King going primal fury mode every day for the rest of my life.

Of course I'm kinda disappointed about Gus, Willow, Amity, Hunter and Camila having such a tiny subplot that basically serves to just shove them out of the way for the majority of the episode. But I think I'm more disappointed from a personal standpoint than an objective one, because I'm so attached to those characters. Like I can't blame the show for focusing almost entirely on Luz, Eda and King for the finale. I really can't.

I had very high hopes for Gus (and to a lesser extent Amity) that didn't end up going anywhere and I think I'm always gonna feel a little irked by how incomplete that character arc feels, especially in comparison to Willow and Hunter who both got huge moments of development in the final specials.

The Collector stuff was FANTASTIC. Holds them in my hands.

Rip to the Belos/Brothers Wittebane/Evelyn enjoyers that wanted some lore. Or another little look into Belos' fucked up mind. He felt very standard antagonist in this one until his final scene. And admittedly I was somewhat interested in knowing more. However I'm also like.....man who cares? Who cares what his reasons were for doing the things he did? He did them and that's all that matters. I think that's what the show is trying to say. I LOVED his death scene. His pathetic grovelling, transparently manipulative and slimy until the very end, grasping at Luz's ankle and she doesn't even give him the satisfaction of a response. His death was so undignified and stupid. Loved it to bits.

Also epilogue.....my beloved epilogue....🥺

[castleaudios]

hi castle! the new Beth sleep aid was so so good! shes the best girl and I love the ways she loves.

but it was also almost more exciting to learn more about Sight and Seeing and the different protocols for differentiating dreams and visions! I'm a sucker for a Seer character. Will we get to learn some more as time goes on (and as I'm sure more visions tie in with plot...)? and is there any info about Sight or Seers you would be willing to divulge, even something silly and fun? How much does the pack understand about visions, and how rare are Seers/Oracles compared to other types of magic wielders?

Thank you for your hard work, and congrats to CW!!!! <3

Thank you so much! Here's some overview about SIGHT that may or may not be explicitly talked about in an audio but is canon regardless.

SIGHT acts more as HR for Seers and Oracles, they provide specialized training and support as people develop their powers. They also provide ethics courses and hold general hearings for when seers have visions of dire disasters. It’s not illegal to refrain from registering with SIGHT, but it does exclude them from any help that the organization might provide.

Their name stems from the belief that every vision is tailored to each Wielder’s choices and the inescapable variables of others. Many visions can point to the same or different conclusions, so SIGHT works to help Seers not pin themselves at the center of the universe and look at their visions from an objective standpoint. There are various degrees of hearings that occur within SIGHT, ensuring that every Seer’s concerns may be dealt with so that none develop what is called a “Cassandra Complex”.

SIGHT itself was not a fully established organization until 1948 after WWII and hundreds of Seers were rendered almost incapacitated from years of bloody and inconsistent visions of an endless war.

The pack were given a general synopsis on Seers but only Beth, Simon, and Claire have the full scope of Beautiful's abilities.

[centrally-unplanned]

I felt strong kinship to Mekkah for his latest video criticizing Fire Emblem's support system; he did a good job verbalizing my thoughts. To outline the Ash-version of this take, Fire Emblem in the Game Boy era (when modern supports were born), had simple plots, from a sheer "quantity of text" standpoint. A lot of that was convention; a lot of it was limitations of technology. The supports were simple to match, and so they worked fine as a way to bolster the characters and connect narrative choices (who you like) to gameplay (on-field bonus for affection). The downside here is that those supports are about the two characters; they aren't connected to the plot of the game nor the actions on the field. This is fine when, as in FE7, the number of supports a unit has is capped at 2-3 people and unlocking them is hard. The downside is not observed.

Fast forward to Three Houses and the same system is breaking under the weight of modern, 40+ hour, long-form plot concepts and modern player demands of flexibility and customization. Every character can unlock every rank with every other character (mostly), unlock happens trivially, but this 20x quantity of text is still divorced from the actual plot. They are, by design, required to be repetitive fluff in some way. In Three Houses this was taken to the extreme as supports were over twice as long on average as the ones in Awakening/Fates, with even *less* ability to connect to the plot given the branching, timeskip nature of it. It was extremely common in that game to complete a level and have unlocked 5-6 new supports (aka reading text with no gameplay) that would on net take 20+ minutes to complete, none of which has connected consequences with anything else. Engage at least cut the support length back down, but its a band-aid solution.

Support ballooning also reduced its gameplay incentive - in Awakening at least, where pair-up is absurdly broken, you did have some support specialization. But in Fates/Three Houses/Engage (to a lesser extent) support bonus are largely aura-based, provide flat bonuses, and are more-or-less equal between characters. Given how many you develop it quickly becomes the case that each unit in your squad has a B~ rank with every other unit; meaning you can just send them wherever on the map, and they will probably get a similar-ish bonus no matter what. So you stop paying attention to them.

Now some of this is certainly inherent to how games have evolved, but I don't want to give the games a full pass here; there are a lot of changes they could make to mitigate this problem (branching supports, more story-progression-locks, integration of sidequests, etc) and they just aren't doing that. I definitely don't want the games to ditch their "dating sim" elements, the building of bonds alongside teams is a core differentiator of Fire Emblem. But overall I think fixes are a stopgap to just ditching the idea of support convos altogether, which the games should pursue. With the much-larger stories integrating the characters into that story directly is much easier, and Fire Emblem has a lot more non-combat gameplay mechanics these days it could use as a base for a new relationship system (As opposed to those simply being ways to grind relationship points for the - otherwise completely separate - support system). But I would take change in either direction for sure - its all about execution anyway.

[azuramarigold]

Hiya!

Just wanted to tell you that your cursed vessel fanfic is genuinly so Peak,like actual hidden gem between the many jjk fanfics i found here on Tumblr(most of them sadly to my disgust being smut fics......eughh)

I wish you good luck in developing the story,mate!

The old teacher and New female sorcerer in chapter 12 are really interesting!

I also love the bond characters have here,specially our little cutie patootie and his evil uncle lol.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read it! I'm glad you're enjoying as well!

I'm a sucker for "found family" type of tropes. I figured I would develop the relationships from the original JJK from an earlier standpoint.

And as for the "hidden gem", thank you for such a nice compliment! I mean, I enjoy a good smut fic as much as the next person, but when that's all I see I do go, "Huh.... that's a lot..." Slow burn fics are better with smut sprinked in are better IMO.

I hope you stick around for further development of "Cursed Vessel" - this is one of the nicest comments I've ever gotten from between here and AO3 😁🥰