#story critical

[lackadaisycal-art]

I'm getting so sick of major female characters in historical media being incredibly feisty, outspoken and public defenders of women's rights with little to no realistic repercussions. Yes it feels like pandering, yes it's unrealistic and takes me out of the story, yes the dialogue almost always rings false - but beyond all that I think it does such a disservice to the women who lived during those periods. I'm not embarrassed of the women in history who didn't use every chance they had to Stick It To The Man. I'm not ashamed of women who were resigned to or enjoyed their lot in life. They weren't letting the side down by not having and representing modern gender ideals. It says a lot about how you view average ordinary women if the idea of one of your main characters behaving like one makes them seem lame and uninteresting to you.

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[oposssumsaucee]

Listen All Systems Red is so so funny from Gurathins perspective imagine you grew up with Space Socialism and was hired to go help some pal with science but you weren't allowed to go unless you rented AmaTeslas Torment Nexus Alexa Dot and then when you get there you find out a whole continent of people got annihilated by their Tourment Nexus rentals so you take a moment to check yours quickly and find out it already had disengaged its Don't Kill People box, the only thing you've ever been told prevented them from mass homiciding their clients, something that LITERALLY just happened to people you knew a day ago, and when you say to your fellow socialist doctors HEY I think our Tourment Nexus is fucked up and it's files said it killed dozens of people barely a year ago and we should probably get the hell away from it the same doctors are like look at what you're saying. You're hurting the Tourment Nexus' feelings. The Tourment Nexus is just a little construct who likes Netflix Gurathin stop antagonizing it on the plane ride.

[tinysluttywizardwaist]

The Bright Queen sticking up for the Nein because one member decided to return a holy relict. This member is now living in a happy relationship with the man who stole the relict in the first place and is probably still wanted for treason by the Bright Queen. What a story.

[batbabydamian]

A Quick Guide to Damian’s Furry/Feathered/Scaled Companions

LEFT: R:SOB #1 Cover RIGHT: R:SOB #6

GOLIATH THE BAT DRAGON

Introduced in: ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015) #1

DAMIAN'S BABY AND BEASTY BESTIE!! On a mission during the Year of Blood, Damian kills the family of bat dragons guarding his objective. Goliath, despite being the youngest and last of his kind, forgives Damian. Goliath goes on to become one of Damian's most loyal companions, even featuring beside him in Batman Beyond (2016) #10, #11, #43-#47!

LEFT: B&R #13 RIGHT: B&R #4

TITUS THE DOG

Introduced in: BATMAN AND ROBIN (2011) #2

A Great Dane gifted to Damian from Bruce as an effort in fatherhood. Funny enough, Damian finds him a nuisance at first and briefly refers to him as "Dog". Titus is a good boy that follows Damian's every step, even joining Bruce on his mission to resurrect Damian!

LEFT: Batman Inc #1 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

BAT-COW THE COW

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #1

Bat-Cow, branded with a star signifying which cattle were contaminated, was saved from a slaughterhouse to run some tests (which they do find of a mind control variety). Damian declares himself a vegetarian, and calls her Bat-Cow! She also sorta has a running gag of literally standing in the face of danger to save the day.

LEFT: Batman Inc #6 RIGHT: Batman Inc #7

ALFRED THE CAT

Introduced in: BATMAN INCORPORATED (2012) #6

Considered a "hopeless case" by the animal shelter, Alfred gifts him to Damian. The cat is a bold lil guy, which Damian takes an immediate liking to, and names him Alfred (likely because tuxedo cat = butler lol). After hours of chicken, playtime, and scratches, Damian and Alfred become friends! He makes his first appearance alongside Damian’s first appearance as Batman in BATMAN (1940) #666

LEFT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #2/#1 RIGHT: Batman: Li'l Gotham #23/#12

*JERRY THE TURKEY

Introduced in: BATMAN LI'L GOTHAM (2012) #2 (Digital) #1 (Printed)

The Penguin unleashes an army of turkeys at the Gotham Thanksgiving parade which Damian turns into his own li'l turkey march by playing the trumpet. He ends up bringing one of them back for Thanksgiving dinner (as a friend), and Jerry becomes a fairly regular appearance in the world of Li'l Gotham!

*WIGGLES THE DRAGON

Introduced in: NIGHTWING (2016) #42

A sort of filler issue where Damian has been kidnapped for his blood by the "Crimson Kabuki" in Tokyo, and Dick goes through a series of boss battles to save him. The dragon's blood has been the group's main source of power, so it ends up teaming with the duo, and returns home with them.

Wiggles was originally named by a fan, "Shanootnoot" on Twitter!

*Goliath, Titus, Bat-Cow, and Alfred the cat have been Damian's main canon cast of furry companions, but SUPER-PETS SPECIAL: BITEDENTITY CRISIS (2024) may have just added Jerry and Wiggles!!

[appetite-pen]

Because they made me alive 💛

[ciderjacks]

despite Laios low self esteem making him think that if he’d been eaten, Chilchuck and Marcille wouldn’t have helped Falin,

theres a small part of me that thinks the reason Chilchuck stayed with the party and went back in the dungeon in the first place was because he didn’t want to leave Laios alone. That Laios was moreso the reason he stayed.

[mysticdragon3md3]

This thread reminds me how much Gronder felt so focused on the "tragedy of former classmates fighting", that it did things that made no sense, just go ensure that happened.

It's nonsensical for the Golden Deer to not use tactical retreats to avoid the Blue Lions, other than meta wargame reasons and a fixation on that decided tragedy trope. I still really wanted to see Claude do something like Takeda Shingen's "Woodpecker Maneuver" from Sengoku Basara 2009. Leading the Blue Lions into the Black Eagles would have been so easy, with Dimitri charging everyone forward and chasing without a second thought. And don't give me that "the fog would've kept them from coordinating areas they located the Empire forces with areas they located the Kingdom forces". Armies coordinate through sound, like battle horns and trumpets, just as much as visually. And they had wyvern riders with not only an overhead view, but could also serve as a central point of coordination. Is it really so hard to ask that one wyvern rider watch for different army locations, while Liecester shoots flaming arrows up through the fog to signal the locations of each army they encounter? ---Now I'm just going off into headcanons.😑💧

And then Scarlet Blaze had such a similar misguided focus on enacting the "tragedy of former classmates fighting", by making Claude jump into a 3 sided war again. This was the same game that showed Claude knows the tactic of letting 2 opposing forces weaken each other, THEN picking off the survivor. There was no reason to not let the Empire and Kingdom go at each other, by themselves, while Liecester sat out until necessary. And let's face it, it would again be more advantageous to team up with the Kingdom and Church, since no matter what, the Empire would be planning to conquer all of Fodlan, while the Kingdom has no interest in conquering Leicester, and if the Kingdom, Chirch, and Liecester go vs the Empire, that's 3 forces vs 1.

At least in Verdant Wind, the Empire wasn't as immediately ready for an attack from Leicester, and Leicester still has the same sensible motivation: the Empire is always looking to conquer other lands, so they'd have to fight the Empire eventually.

But in terms of Claude trusting Dimitri, i think that Claude's primary coping mechanism for his background trauma, as well as his motivation for his dream, is having hope in the best in people. I think that as soon as Dimitri demonstrably dropped his vengence quest towards Edelgard, to liberate Faerghus instead, that proved that the Dimitri, that Claude knew during the Academy, had returned. Or at least Dimitri must have returned to being motivated by his altruistic compassion again, as he had been during the Academy. (I'm reluctant to say Dimitri returned to the same as he was during the Academy.) I don't think Claude trusted Dimitri just because he rescued him at Deirdru. Claude must have trusted Dimitri BEFORE the rescue.

Though Claude may have trusted Dimitri on a personal level, i do think the rest of the Liecester lords woukd have fallen in line under Dimitri out of fear. Fear of Dimitri, fear of the Empire conquering them without Dimitri's help, &/or maybe knowing how Dimitri was capable of plowing through Leicester at Gronder, would've swayed them to believe the Kingdom could conquer the Empire, and it is best to side with the predicted winner. Even if the Liecester lords were coerced to accept Dimitri's rule because of fear, which Claude may have played into a bit, i still think Claude would have personally had faith in Dimitri...and Claude would've tried to share some of that hope in Dimitri, while convincing the Liecester lords. A kind of "good cop, bad cop", where Dimitri and the Empire are both portrayed as scary, but at least Dimitri rescued them and, according to Claude, has more chances of being benevolent (whereas, if you disagree with Edelgard, you'll be forcibly conquered or Hubert will sic his subterfuge tactics on you.)

Disclaimer: i too am not looking for arguments. I'm just venting MY reactions on MY blog.

[jadequarze]

So, there's this fic that involves an AU (werewolf/vampire) that's very dear to me and collab with my friend where we kinda go ham with ideas. GO CHECK IT OUT between raindrops written by the amazing @gaymerkree

Extra arts on the side

[towards-toramunda]

Liam O’Brien thank you so much for saying this (I was getting so tired of the “the tiny nod of the head was the only reason Delilah came back this is literally all Orym’s fault he knew exactly what would happen he personally caused Laudna’s suffering” bs cause… my lil guy isn’t very magically inclined, he didn’t know exactly what she was doing, he just thought she should take him out because if she didn’t he would’ve)

[shorthaltsjester]

watching the sdcc panel and i am just very :) about how sweet their answers to “what are some of the micro moments from the game that have stuck with you the most over the years?” are. taliesin saying what the fuck is up with that which was the first like The Party Gets To Know Each Other moments of c3. travis saying asking his wife if he could kiss her in campaign. marisha going way back to the cannonball competition in campaign one. ashley choosing the beauyasha date but also just the silly goat noise matt made. liam adding onto that to compliment matt roleplaying grass so well and then saying his favourite moment was writing a story for laura and reading it to her as caleb for jester. and then matt saying that was his answer, and that his favourite moments of the game are when they find ways to give gifts to each other whether tangible or not. and sam saying his favourite moments have less to do with the story and is more so when he can just. see his friends across the table from him. when marisha perches and when laura and ashley are (badly) drawing dicks and liam saying he loves when sam sneezes and ashley tells him to stop it and just. yeah. they Are an extremely popular online powerhouse, but i’m so happy that they’re also friends building a world together out of gifts to and love for one another.

like i Am so enamoured with the characters and the world of exandria but the moments when you can feel the love that those people have for each other reach out from behind the stained glass of their performances (to steal a metaphor from brennan lee mulligan) are so extremely special and i am endlessly grateful that they decided to share their silly little home game with the world.

[augentrust]

"essek stays away post-canon because he doesn't want to endanger the nein while he's on the run" absolutely valid, but also i raise you: essek knows about the one (1) time the nein were in charge of protecting an important mage and she survived approximately one week before getting violently murdered while they were — direct quote — "havin' bacon"

[xxprincess1x]

It was, in fact, a love story.

[essektheylyss]

presented without comment

[muirann]

all comic fans know how to do is: develop superiority complexes based on their personal perceptions of a character, eat hot chip, and lie

[willowbirds]

Honestly what is so fun with watching this cast play as gods is that they are both playing them as how they are described in the lore, but they are also adding their own twists to them and making them more then just gods.

They are making them Characters.

They are making them People.

Taliesin’s Wildmother being jagged and angry, always hungry, representing that force of uncontrolled nature while we normally imagine her as this caring motherly figure (as the name suggests)

Nick’s Dawnfather being this caring figure, giving hope and resources to those struggling, while also having a level of arrogance that we not only saw portrayed by Matt, but also in how the Dawnfather sees the Exandrian’s as children he lead towards ‘A better path.’

Laura’s Matron not only understands life and death and is what you would expect, but she was once mortal. She knows of the threat Aeor poses to them and is not afraid to tell the others that there is no saving it.

Ashley’s Everlight is this goddess of light and deeply cares for the people of Exandria. When she created her avatar she went all in and started a family. She is now so much closer to the Exandrian’s then any of the others, and if any of the gods there are going to keep fighting to keep the people of Aeor alive, it is going to be her.

All of these characters are going to be so interesting to watch, and I am so excited to see what happens!