#author decisions

[ardeawritten]

Big part of Dragon Sword is "everyone has a story." David's the main character and is going through a massive coming-of-age moment of his own, but so is everyone else, in their own way, and the whole cast is plotted to be the main characters of their own lives.

Unfortunately that means I am catching myself stuffing too much of other people's stories into Dragon Sword, which is purely from David's POV, and there are bits of other people's drama that are either slowing down the narrative or he wouldn't naturally be witness to. Mostly relating to Seth, who is my blorbo of the book.

David is supposed to be witness to his mentor's slow steady progress back to the respected and competent warrior he once was, but as the story stands now he's also apparently accidental witness to a lot of platonic/emotional intimacy between Seth and Kheris, the school's headmistress and Seth's former commanding officer, because me-the-author simply liked writing those scenes. The two have a very unique relationship by the time David is around, more like "Witch and Familiar" than anything else, and I'm trying to figure out how much of their story is going to stay "on screen" and how much really needs to go in Seth's book.

David needs to see Seth weak, grumpy and making mistakes, and he needs to see Kheris being endlessly kind, patient and forgiving with him, but he might not need to be in the room anymore for some of their deeper conversations or Seth's worst moments of PTSD/self-loathing. Fun as that is to write. It's being edited out of Dragon School and into a different word doc :P

#dragon school #Seth is great I need to change his name to something less Overused #Kheris keeps Seth's literal demon out of his head so she's pretty much in his head herself all the time day and night #and they have an understandable lack of emotional boundaries / privacy between the two of htem #but kiddo David wouldn't naturally be the witness to that nor is it exciting reading for a middle school boy audience #author decisions #just writing things

[author-a-holmes]

Hi Detective

How reluctant are you to change a character who has been the same way a long time? If you think of a change that will benefit the story, are you amenable or would you rather adapt the story to fit the character?

Hello Sleepy <3 How've you been?

Thank you for the ask! It's a REALLY good question, and I'm sorry it's taken me a week to get to it.

If I think of a change that I feel will strengthen a story then I will always make that change.

However, I'll make it with great reluctance and much, much, many, various groans, moans and complaints. Usually to @faelanvance on Discord.

I really HATE changing a story or a character once I've settled on a detail. I'll whine about it, and tell Fae about it, and talk it through, and then when I come to the inevitable conclusion that, yes, the story works better with the change, I'll grumble a bit more and go and rewrite things.

For the first month of outlining Changeling it didn't have Fey in the world at all. Lizzy was going to be a psychic vampire, and Booker wasn't Booker, but an entirely different character, another psychic-vampire, female, still Lizzy's best friend but with a whole different backkstory.

But every time I tried starting the story it was coming out.... wrong. So I changed it up. With a LOT of whining!

#Asks #Asks Answered #Friends #Mutuals #Sleepy #Sleepyowlwrites #Ari Speaks #Arista Speaks #Writing #Writing Community #Writeblr #Writeblr Community #Changeling #Lizzy Hail #Vampires #Fey #Making Changes #Character Changes #Author Decisions #I'm as happy about change as Lizzy is. #Lizzy is as stubborn as me.

[thissisatitle]

Chapter 12 deleted scene

#my art #rufus shinra #elena of the turks #ff7 #ff7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth spoilers #elena ff7 #elena #rufena #ruiri #rulena #the way she get so heated to the point we see her telling off a director on the board by using Rufus' authority or yell at Rude #a superior #& how vocal she gets about some of Rufus' decision while the others either just go along or enable him #despite being the rookie #I hope she roasted him during the ride back #love how they emphasized how fiery & intense she is to the point not many can handle her #it makes my love for rufus/elena even more stronger #which make sense when you remember how she was in BC & TKAA

[muninnhuginn]

The thought that goes into the fake science in dungeon meshi can be something so special actually. Using golems to explain crop rotation and how removing predators from an ecosystem can have knock-on effects. Talking about symbiotic relationships and parasites too! And characters are actually interested in the science so they keep explaining about it. Finally, some exposition I can get behind.

#I tried to google to see if the author had any bio/chem/agriculture qualifications but no luck with a brief search #but like. just from reading up to early vol 2 I'm seeing so many lines where the in-universe science draws from rl #this is so much better than Kill the Moon aka the ep of dw that was so bad on science it made me drop the series for years #(admittedly the really bad abortion metaphor also contributed towards that decision but shhh) #dungeon meshi #I should maybe make a readthrough tag but I feel like if I do that I'm going to intimidate myself out of reading

[a-vague-yet-menacing-agency]

Once Brennan specified to Riz that Kipperlilly didn't have a scar I knew exactly how all the revivifying would play out. To me it makes perfect sense that Kipperlilly is the only one to stay permanently dead. Not mortalistically, but remember this is a story. Penelope Everpetal and Dayne also stayed permanently dead too. Riz shot off Buzz's fingers. The key thing is Brennan said that Kipperlilly didn't have a scar, she didn't die and then chose Ankarna, she chose to side with Porter first. Similarly to Penelope and Dayne. Where all three of them ultimately still manipulated by other forces using them? Yes. But they fundamentally chose their side because of something they wanted to gain. When Brennan made that distinction between Kipperlilly and the others, it was obvious where that was going.

Brennan wouldn't have crafted a narrative of manipulation just to kill all the Rat Grinders because that wouldn't have been very satisfying, given that we knew so little about them why would we cheer for Ivy to stay dead or Mary Ann? Remember: The cast was only talking about Atonement and revivifying Mary Ann, but Brennan revivified all the others too even though they weren't shown to have a change of heart. This is because, while possibly jerks, the others weren't set-up to be so bad that their perma-deaths would have been all that satisfying.

In contrast, Kipperlily's beef with everyone was front and center and she killed her own party member. If Kipperlilly was going to come back and be redeemed after that it would have felt cheap. Not because of something inherent to Kipperlily but because no one did the work to make that a possibility. NOW, if someone had been in her dreams and putting in the work like Fig did for Rueben, it could have worked. But people didn't put in the works. FANS have extrapolated sympathetic angles for Kipperlilly but the narrative hasn't. Remember Aelwyn's redemption only came after Adaine was exploring it. Thus, since no one explored Kipperlily's redemption, it wasn't "text," it wasn't an angle present in the narrative that would have been satisfying because it didn't develop enough to have a conclusion.

Basically: Narratives have to be set up. Some permanent consequences had to be dealt to the Rat Grinders to feel satisfying given everything they had done to the Bad Kids. Kipperlilly was shown to be the most voluntarily antagonistic, and was the one set-up as having been antagonizing them and so she was the one who had die. If the players had made different choices, thing could have changed, but they didn't and so Brennan merely delivered on what was set up before

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high #hoping this can squash some controversy #ALSO wanting to explore different narratives (like where Kipperlilly lives) or thinking that would be a fun angle isn't the same as harping #on the cast for doing the wrong thing or at Brennan for his choices. Fanfic is all about new angles the authors didn't take! #It's important to respect BOTH the players and their choices and people's right to be curious about how alternatives could have played out #What I'm saying is that narratively the decisions made perfect sense and people acting like they can't understand why/how this happened are #maybe not really considering how a narrative is strucutured

[disastergenius]

by far the worst take i've seen so far post-ep19 of Junior Year is that having a week-by-week live play would have allowed fans to essentially influence the direction of the story in the way they want it to go and that would have resulted in the cast being more sympathetic to the Ratgrinders (ie getting them a redemption arc)

why do you feel the need to try and control this story? YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TELLING IT. if you want to tell a story please go write your own, or go write fanfiction to cope or whatever but you don't get to say that the players are telling the story wrong when it's their story they are telling

#not only would this actively make the story worse #but i truly don't understand why people think that this would then force the players to do what the audience wants #like i'm gonna assume that the people who want this are the same people who complain too much about bits (or at least there's heavy overlap #who's to say they wouldn't double down on their decisions and then you'd just have a whole new reason to be mad #also as stated earlier in really no way do i believe that audience influence would really benefit the story #like there is something about how attached the audience gets to certain things that the cast/crew couldn't predict because it is recorded #but i truly don't think there's many instances where fan influences to the author(s) has been in service to the story #because the second you do that you are controlled by the audience and any time you go against that then you've “betrayed” them #it just goes back to a lot of the conversations about audience and specifically fandom entitlement and the way that people consume “content #also to be clear i saw this take on d20 twitter which i do think has a whole different flavor of toxicity than d20 tumblr #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high #dimension 20

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Junior Year might actually be the scariest D20 season my fight-or-flight instincts were INSTANTLY activated the second Brennan said the word "MCAT" because that's the name of the actual real-life American medical school admissions exam and hearing that with absolutely no warning did not mix well with my "grew up with parents who view getting into medical school by 22 as the bare minimum of academic achievement" brain

#and here i was thinking i would be safe this season because 'i did pretty well in high school' #'i totally don't have any unprocessed emotions about academics' #i just know brennan named the mcat after a real test on purpose and i'm gonna fight him in a denny's parking lot over it #don't even get me started on gorgug's conversation with porter that was way too real #being so confident about a decision you've made for yourself until an authority figure shuts you down #and you can't stand up for yourself even though you know it's the right thing for you #nope get out of my walls i'm in this photo and i don't like it #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #dimension 20 #d20 #dimension 20 fantasy high

[cosmetichorror]

Me picking through my fics like a picky child as I ponder which one I want to write in

#there are nine to choose from #should I write in one I already have or should I start a new one #decisions #ao3 author #fanfic #ao3 fanfic #you feel me? #writer problems #fanfic problems

[jay-wasreblogging]

Fanfic authors be like

#this decision has changed the very foundation. stability and course of numerous fandoms #yes. this is about johnlock. #some of you johnlock authors are too comfortable putting out heart gripping. life changing. SOUL CLEANSING work and then just... moving on? #like come back and pick me up 😩 i be so emotional when a S-TIER fic i read ends like please erase my memory so i can experience it again! #ao3 #archive of our own #fanfic #fanfictions #fanfics #fanfiction #writers #authors #fanfic authors #fan fic #sherlock & co #sherlock #sherlock holmes #john watson #johnlock

[danmeichael]

"shen qingqiu is a liar who is lying about his feelings so we can't ACTUALLY tell how he feels about anything"

so you admit that you can tell he is lying and by extension you can actually discern what his true feelings on the matter are and that he's just unwilling to admit to them.

#svsss #shen qingqiu #i read fantl of a manhwa once where the translator changed a character saying “I hate that guy” to something to the effect of like #“I really like that guy but i don't know what to do with my feelings” #which was you know. just stating the intended subtext laid out very clearly by the story #however the translator said they thought it would be “confusing” and they didn't know why the author wrote that when it was untrue. #and i don't..... get it #like part of the appeal of subtext is letting your readers feel the excitement of being in on a secret #knowing something that even the characters don't know and feeling pleased with yourself #and adding a layer of frustration because you know what's REALLY happening and this idiot DOESN'T and keeps making decisions #that are logical when you examine their worldview of the situation!!! #but OBVIOUSLY DISASTROUS when you know what's actually going on. #and that's on purpose!!! you're supposed to be frustrated and feel your smugness turning into dawning horror #because you are omniscient but have absolutely fuckall power to do anything with that knowledge #and you have to watch blorbo ruin their fucking life. #more people need to have faith in their ability to interpret subtext #and more people need to have faith in the author's ability to write it intentionally

[hawkeyeslaughter]

blacked out and when i came to and there were tears on my face and this was on my screen

i’m SORRY if you’ve sent me a request they’re either in progress or on my to do list i’m just insanely unwell over them <3

#i’m throwing up #i feel like all the lyrics are self explanatory except the townhouse / crane ones so i’m going to be so obnoxious and explain #to ME the ‘ i know you never liked a townhouse ‘ part is like … henry hating being in charge and making decisions #ESPECIALLY when they’re difficult like the club i chose was him having to choose someone to go in rainbow bridge #and then ‘ i’ve seen you climb a crane at night ‘ is referring to the way he loves the 4077th and consistently sticks his neck out for them #against higher authority #i’m literally always fucking thinking about how henry didn’t even want to be in charge i’m going to lose my mind #he hated the army and authority just as much as hawktrap did btw #mash #mashposting #m*a*s*h #mash 4077 #hawkeye pierce #hawkeye #henry blake #colonel blake #henhawk

[incomingalbatross]

Unironically love the exposition dumps in LotR so much, because they're NOT exposition dumps, they're scenes of intelligent and thoughtful people making sure to explain the situation to everyone else affected by it, to make sure everyone's on the same page and can give INFORMED assent to the course of action on which their own lives and the fate of the world depend!

Gandalf makes SURE Frodo understands what the Ring is, what the dangers are, and what's at stake. The Council of Elrond exists so that the Free Peoples can be GENUINELY and FULLY united in risking everything on the destruction of the Ring. Good guys in LotR don't make unilateral decisions or overstep their own bounds of authority!! And sometimes that means explaining a lot of stuff even though you, personally, DO know what needs to be done next!!

#gandalf already knew everything that was covered in the council #and elrond and aragorn both trust him #they absolutely COULD have fixed up an expedition to destroy the ring between the three of them and skipped giving anyone else a vote #but they DIDN'T because they don't have the AUTHORITY for that #they went out of their way to give everyone a voice in the decision that no one else even fully knew existed #anyway. book council of elrond my beloved

[fromtheseventhhell]

I ignore about 95% of the conversations surrounding Arya having killed people because, outside of Arya stans, people refuse to include the context of the very violent circumstances she experiences + her trauma which influences her actions. She wasn't destined to be a killer and her being forced on the run, having to survive during a war (at times on her own), having to witness countless people being tortured and murdered, being enslaved as a prisoner of war, having to witness the deaths of her family, etc. are all hugely important factors. Not to mention the times when her life is literally on the line and she has to make tough decisions to ensure her survival. The only time her trauma is acknowledged is when people are using it to prove she's "too far gone", otherwise it's essays on how she hasn't suffered that much. It's so boring how people ignore well-developed characters just to reduce them to one or two aspects of their story. And this treatment is only for certain characters; let someone mention Sansa being part of the plot to poison Sweetrobin and all of a sudden, people can understand being forced to make questionable decisions under difficult circumstances.

#arya stark #asoiaf #fandom nonsense #I'm just so uninterested in the same boring repetitive conversations where people debate fanon characterizations...boring! yawning! sloppy! #Sorry?? I guess that she hasn't had the benefit of being in a castle the whole story with relative safety #but people trying to demonize a child who has one of the most harrowing and violent journeys for the decisions she's been forced to make #is ridiculous cause why are you more worried about how Arya reacted then to the actual situation she's in?? #If they're feeling especially faux-progressive they'll pretend to care about Daeron and cry about how innocent he was #but of course this never leads to criticism of Ned or Westerosi society...nope just calling Arya a psychopath and nothing else #At this point it's just jealousy because they know their fave never would've survived what she did and not only did she survive #but she showed off incredible skills and intelligence + has only learned and grown more + constantly gets her importance reinforced #yeah I'd be mad if she wasn't my fave either 🤭 #the disconnect between Arya antis and George is so funny cause they twist themselves in knots over how /evil/ she is and then there's #George calling her a character everyone will love ooooh shouldn't have picked one of the author's faves to hate on 🤷🏾‍♀️

[graveyardgremlins]

I like how whenever Danny cooks, Jason just sorta... shows up magically in the fanfic lol. It's like he has an alarm. "Attention! Attention! Cute dork cooking! Cute dork cooking!"

#dp x dc #dead on main #danny phantom #jason todd #danny fenton #dp x dc fanfic #dead on main ship #i know #you're thinking “but gray you're the one that wrote it how can he magically show up?” #you see despite me being the author I don't control anything that happens here #they make their own decisions #i'm just writing them down #tsdloo

[fighting-naturalist]

-I will become a great warrior. Like Neith. -You know, you can do that without a symbiote. -I can? -But you didn't hear that from me.

#daniel with children got me gnawing the bars of my enclosure #daniel jackson #michael shanks #s7 #ep10 #7.10 #***edits #almost like the person who wrote this episode had THEE best understanding of daniel's character <3 #in that he takes this girl seriously and facilitates her empowerment to make her own decisions for her own body #and then to speak to her sister about something only they could understand and that no one else had the authority to address #thank u for my life mr. judge

[normalbrothers]

TOMMY: Arthur, Frances was right. Linda was here today.

#peaky blinders #tvedit #peakyblindersgifs #don't like this at all but this scene is impossible to capture in gifs #had to omit a lot of tommy's (very anxious) reactions (like the cyanide capsule for example) #but it is such an interesting insight into their relationship and one that fandom tends to miss #any kind of 'authority' tommy has over arthur is the one he grants him (out of his own desire to abdicate responsibility) #he's not the cowed oppressed mindlessly servile party in that relationship #and the hierarchy here is telling as well #arthur threatens tommy because he knows he can do that and that it will work #tommy of course makes the dubious decision of telling him about linda's whereabouts; there's certainly a culpability here in enabling #his abusive behaviour towards his wife #but here's the reason for it too: if tommy doesn't help him get linda back he'll be tommy's problem. that *is* the threat #and tommy can't even bargain with him: he has to tell him now and not later. just gets completely steamrolled lol #it's not like arthur always acts like that but it's important to understand that he can and does