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necronatural · 1 year

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Yaoi Essay: It was Ice Age Okay

My friend @tshirt3000 organized a friend zine where we talk about yaoi that was formative to us. It's a sizeable 80 pages, and you can read everyone's formative yaois in the digital copy here.

My essay was written in a single night and primarily primes you to pattern-seek so you can see my vision. My divine truth.

Before I speak, I need to prime you with the knowledge that you understand me. Even if you think you don’t, you actually do. So.

In seminal AO3 fandombait television program Teen Wolf (2011), the main point of fascination is Stiles Stilinski; a doe-eyed ADHD obsessive who chases his every thought with a frenetic intensity that often steals the scene he’s in.

Stiles being a fascinating little creature means that people want to ship him. I’d say he has three main people to do that with, and the big ship on campus was none of them. It was practically mandatory to ship him with Derek, the dark, brooding werewolf anti-hero.

I don’t think the suffocating pervasiveness of this ship is really that deep. Derek is a sexy paranormal tall dark and handsome boytoy. I’ve never seen the Vampire Diaries but I’m sure he wouldn’t be out of place in the cast. And hey, everybody is already obsessed with Stiles. I don’t think people actually care about the text of the show, just the pretty men they’re fixated on. The shit they made in their heads is so obviously just a gay version of every romance ever at the time.

But there is a secret recipe at play. Because in 2011, alongside Teen Wolf, a film was released. It was called Thor. You know, from the MCU? In Thor, the titular character’s treacherous baby brother (adopted) imprisons Thor on earth to steal his position. On Earth, Thor meets the love of his life, her father, and a zany bit character added for comedic relief.

Now I love Loki an abnormal amount for someone who cares as little about the MCU as I do. I love pathetic men and pathetic villains. As an avid fanfiction reader, I spent a lot of time trawling AO3 for Loki content, realizing they don’t think he’s pathetic, and clicking away. And over the years, I began seeing a weird pattern. Loki/Darcy. The comic relief girl. Her quirky antics were somehow enough to warrant a ship in a fandom that only blows up mandatory Two White Guys couples. And Loki is clearly NOT a brooding paranormal romance boy, but the ship had that Sterek stink on it anyway. A lot of it.

It seemed so mysterious, yet I remember, now, that Sterek wasn’t just popular with paranormal romance swooners, but people who just like funny ships. A zany idiot tormenting that brooding villain. A genderless mass appeal. An Entrapta and Hordak. The raw impulse for Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint readers to pair Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyeok before they started developing any chemistry at all, simply by nature of the kinds of characters they are.

Okay. Listen man. I need to talk to you about Ice Age.

If you’re unfamiliar, Ice Age is about a cynical mammoth named Manford taking a great southern migration as a chance to be alone. When he rescues criminally annoying sloth Sid, he’s forced to share his newfound alone time with him. He is not happy. Meanwhile, a pack of sabertooth tigers is on a vengeance quest against the humans who hunt them by eating their tribe leader’s baby. One of them, Diego, accidentally lets the human mother jump off a waterfall to escape, delivering the baby downriver to Manny and Sid. Diego presents himself as a tracker who can hunt the humans down, and the three of them decide to travel together to bring the baby back to the humans, one way or another.

I will be clear; the homoeroticism exists, and it exists between Manny and Sid. The chemistry exists, and it exists between Manny and Diego. Manny is the heart of the film. And I don’t care. Baby’s First Yaoi, the thing that really boiled my brain, was Diego’s extremely intimate threats to Sid’s life and Sid baiting him like a barking dog. I’m sorry.

The film never really stops insisting that Sid is genuinely annoying — it starts with his entire family leaving him behind and ends with him being kind of a fuckup too — but he’s key to the synergy regardless. There’s no great moment that announces ‘well maybe they weren’t seeing Sid’s true value!’ because he doesn’t have any. He’s a lazy, annoying, unempathetic, impulsive, smug little womanizer. He never learns. The film proposes that well, he doesn’t really have to— Manny is a deeply isolated person (mammoth?) who drives people away, and he needs someone who’s annoying and can’t understand boundaries to teach him to open up again. No matter how much he swats Sid back, Sid is confident in their friendship. Just like how no matter how many times Sid’s family abandoned him, he still went looking for them. They are lonely people, and Sid being an obnoxious little pissant forces them together.

On the other hand, I can’t imagine a film with just Manny and Diego. They get along well and have a great rapport, with Diego’s bad boy fun uncle attitude and Manny’s asshole with a heart of gold routine. But the thing is that they are two dudes who mind their own business. They are only casually uniting, and Diego is only doing it so his pack of evil sabertooths can eat the baby. The warmth of friendship doesn’t exist, and it has to bleed from Sid terrorizing them. They need their idiot to unite against. And since they don’t actually dislike Sid, it can only become camaraderie.

Diego is aware Manny is a smart guy and will take any threat extremely seriously, but he acts like himself from the beginning with Sid. After a while, it becomes clear Manny doesn’t care if he threatens Sid — because Sid is annoying, and he himself has threatened Sid plenty of times — but he also doesn’t intend to leave Sid alone where he can get hurt. Diego is 100% serious, but after a certain point he finds his own threats also becoming empty teasing. By the end of the movie, he’s openly endeared and friendly. He gives death threats like he gives a noogie.

There is something so unreal, to be honest, about forcing a born killer to hold you in his teeth after he repeatedly threatened to kill you, and him holding you there against your will because he thinks it is so funny.

Diego’s heel-face turn is obviously inspired by Manny, but over the course of the film, it’s clear that he, too, was lonely, and he, too, benefits from an extremely annoying person filling his loner life. His pack is dog-eat-dog, ready to abandon him if he doesn’t do his job, but Manny is willing to die for him, and — this is key to my childhood brain — Sid trusts him unconditionally despite doing nothing to earn it. Sid would follow Diego all year if he suddenly abandoned him for migration. He is just that kind of person.

That’s the secret recipe. What made Sterek mandatory even for people who have no interest in paranormal romance hunks. Why Darcy was thrown at Loki. This underlying vein of True Yaoi, of a dynamic based less on actual relationship and more on the core of the kind of people they are, and the kind of synthesis that is possible between those two ingredients. The zany idiot and the villain have this chemical reaction you could see from space. TO ME!

You need a zany person to do a whole lot of impulsive shit, and you need that zany person to be stupid enough to not notice they’re unwanted, or in danger, or that their dynamic is shifting, or the subtext of anyone’s behaviour. You need the person tormented to be a genuine threat, and they need to not melt, but be worn down. The simple pleasures of having your day-to-day life filled with life and noise, your every interaction with the world commented on, to the point you allow yourself to be defanged.

Sid does this to Manny, sure but it didn’t click even with the gay jokes because Manny is a kind, caring Dad Friend kind of guy who would fold for anyone. Diego is a fucking baby-eating tiger. But he trusts Manny, and Manny is endeared and receptive to Sid’s constant noise because he is lonely, and because of that, Diego, who is also lonely, allows himself to be endeared too. He had Sid’s throat in his mouth, and all he thought was that it was a funny thing to do.

My friend Hyde tagged me in this post.

#yaoi zine #wheeeeeeeee

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sabrondabrainrot · 21 days

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Hihi! What are 5 things that make you happy? (bonus, ask the last 5 people in your notes :0)

TMNT - Seriously like every show and movie is GREAT and I'm currently reading the IDW comic. I've literally adopted each and every turtle as my own son.

Trigun - Vash the Stampede is my BABY GIRL and MY HUSBAND. I've been into Trigun since I was a lee wass. I love Vash so much. I got my dad to actually watch Trigun with me so it's something really cool to bond over with family. Trigun stampede is also like SO good. I also read Tri Max in the library and didn't publicly cry. :)

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle / XXXholic / Magic Knight Rayearth/ Clamp - I'm super into these classical shoujo series. They shaped how I am as a person to this day. Clamp was a lot of firsts for me in terms of manga reading so they're forever in a special place in my heart.

Scum Villain's Self Saving System - This book lives rent free in my mind. I can't believe how funny it is. It's so insane and I love every second of it. How am I somehow Binghe and ShenQingQiu at the same time, but lowkey I want what CumPlane have IRL. that's the ultimate romance to me and they're platonic .

Lout of the Count's family - LITERALLY go read it this series. Cale Henituse, young master silver shield, is EVERYTHING. That sweet man who adopts everyone is just like me FR except we're nothing alike BUT I STILL LOVE HIM.

My secret 6th - DO YOU KNOW Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint is written by a married couple???? Kim Dokja is apparently modeled after the wife??? Hello??? I'm not normal. I'm not sane.

I'm asking you next @noname-nonartist @wrathofnature @wallstoothin @wizard-finix @tinyballerinadancer1 :>

real answers below

Art/ Creative Expression! Being able to draw pretty neat stuff whenever I want is so awesome! It's more then drawing, I like writing and making stuff by hand too.

Super generic answer but my family! I have a pretty small family and a bunch of pets. We're all super close and they bring me joy. I like helping and taking care of them and I like it when they help and take care of me!

Another Generic answer, my friends! Sometimes they're the reason I get up out of bed! Friends are awesome like that.

Brainrot! Zoning out about my latest brainrot is my life copium. I like to imagine my current fav character being horribly tortured by the narrative but it's ok because my brainrots always have hurt comfort. Or I just imagine bundling up my Oshi in a blanket and giving them a warm bowl of soup. It can go either way really.

Cartoons, Anime, Movies, Media/entertainment in general - I can't get enough of them. They're just so delightful especially the ones with whimsy.

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sumeria · 3 months

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short webtoon reclist nobody asked for:

green = biggest rec; assume they all contain some degree of mature/triggering content but theyre good enough that i recommend them anyway | yellow = proceed with caution | red = contains very triggering content | pink = fluffy

you can find most of these on bato.to or mangadex; support the artists/authors where you can too

the king and his knight

i'll save this damned family

concubine walkthrough

your majesty, please spare me this time

sss revival hunter

for better or for worse

omniscient readers viewpoint (read the novel too)

lout of the counts family*

a stepmother's märchen*

secret lady

the broken ring: this marriage will fail anyway

another typical fantasy romance

i shall kill that sweet devil

how to survive as a maid in a horror game

i shall master this family

the pale horse

lady devil

it's time to change the genre

marriage of convenience

let's hide my little brother

not sew wicked stepmom

newer ones i like so far:

blue glass*

the bondservant

i wil become the villain's poison taster

post-possession damage control

* potential to become triggering based on spoilers

* there's a lot of fluff despite the overall heavy tone of the majority of the work

* highly recommended based on the few chapters out so far

#gasp.txt

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sillydestiny · 5 months

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Request Info

Please be as specific as you can in your requests, but don't make them very long! Just give me all necessary details that you think could help me get an idea of what to write for you. Also, please keep the requests simple in nature!!!

Don't resend requests either! I see all requests and usually do them, unless I don't have enough info. Please be respectful of the fact, that it might take me a longer while to complete your request too!

What Video games do I write for?

Genshin impact

Honkai Star rail

Project sekai

What Manhwa do i write for?

Trash of the count's family

Omniscient reader’s viewpoint

Solo Leveling

The novel extra

What Manhua do i write for?

Lord of the mysteries

What are things i will be willing to write for?

Fluff/Romance

Angst

Headcanon,Fanfic

What are things i will NOT be willing to write for?

Sexual Abuse

Heavy Gore

Non-con/Dub-con

Incest

Pedophilic themes

I hope this can answer any questions you may have. If not, please feel free to dm me or just send me an ask! I usually always answer!<33

》Have a nice day/Night!《

OPEN REQUEST

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ravs6709 · 8 months

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3 and 28!!

3. what is your preferred genre?

I love love love (high) fantasy, kingdoms and magic and all of that i eat that shit right up!!! Sci-fi is cool but I haven't read much of it. Or even if it's modern day I just want something interesting I don't like reading just plain contemporary stuff it's too boring (also because usually then the main thing that gets the focus is romance and I don't like romance as a main plot I want that happening slowly on the side)

28. is there a book that made you cry?

I'm not that much of a crier when it comes to consuming media tbh, but holy shit was I sobbing during my reading of omniscient reader's viewpoint (webnovel but close enough) it hit every beat to get me attached and knew exactly how to rip my heart and mend it in the best ways possible (1000% always trying to advertise orv <3)

#astra's asks #avery

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bloustorm · 1 year

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okay so now that I’m caught up on tcf and thriving tell me about orv because I see so many crossovers with that so now I’m curious

Okay Orv Omniscient Readers Viewpoint is very different from Tcf

Basically Kim Dokja (Which translates to only son and reader) is your "average" business man just living his live being a small part in the bigger machine of capitalism

He's very "average" and pathetic and completely obsessed with web novels, his favorite is 3 ways to survive a ruined world (might have gotten the name wrong) of which he is the only reader at this point.

Yoo Jonghyuk is the main character of this novel and he is a regressor who has to start over and over again in this twisted divine survival game. He is def not your average man.

On the day that the book finally has finished he takes the subway home and has a weird interaction with the author before suddenly a Dokkaebie (small fluffy demon) appears and starts with the opening scene into this entertainment show.

Kim Dokja realizes that this is word for word the opening scene of the book and has to face the fact that they will all die if he doesn't think of something. He also realizes he is not in the carriage with the main character.

So he does what he is good at and finds a solution in a desperate situation to keep himself and the ones he decides are worthy enough alive. (He also decides he wants to help the protagonist read the end without having to confront so much despair and losing himself in regressions but decides to go about this in the most weird way possible because none of them are normal)

They aren't in the first regression though, they are in the third, which means that Yoo Jonghyuk is of course very suspicious as to why the survivors of the other cabin have suddenly changed.

Whoops this isn't supposed to be a retelling

There is a big importance laid upon stories and their meanings, towards the reader and who they are about. I don't want to spoil too much just keep this always in mind

The whole thing could be described as a love story without love being the main focus. It is about love (not only romance) but it is also about so much more than that. And you can read it as a love story or not read it as one

I'm just going to stop here and post you can always come and ask more questions, I guess

#orv #blou talks to people #ninth my child #omniscient reader's viewpoint

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septembercfawkes · 3 years

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Scene vs. Summary & When to Use Which

When I was a young writer, I didn't fully understand what a scene was and what a summary was. Later, when I understood the difference, I wasn't always sure when to use which. These days, I occasionally help writers with the same things. They may use summary for what should have been a scene, or they may write a whole scene for what really should have been summary. Understanding the difference and when to use which can be key when writing a successful novel.

Sure, some of it is subjective.

But what might be surprising to some, is that most of the time, one is more . . . "correct" than the other.

Scene

A scene is a structural unit that tends to have these qualities:

- Happens in Real Time

A scene will largely happen in real time. This means we "watch" the characters move, act, and talk, as if it were happening in real life.

- Dramatizes (Shows > Tells)

A scene dramatizes. It uses showing more than telling. If a character is angry with a friend, we see that anger in action and conversation. We may witness her yell or kick a rock, for example. It's like watching a stage play.

- Concrete

Because it is dramatized, a scene will usually be more concrete. It will more likely appeal to our senses and the physical world and experience.

- Characters Acting in a Specific Location

A scene will have characters in a location (in some very rare cases, the setting or society may act as characters). They might be talking on a train ride, or exploring a cave, or dueling in the snow.

Scene Examples

(Because a full scene often lasts pages, these examples are passages from specific scenes.)

"This won't take long, Andrew," said the doctor. Ender nodded. "It's designed to be removed. Without infection, without damage. But there'll be some tickling, and some people say they have a feeling of something missing. You'll keep looking around for something, something you were looking for, but you can't find it, and you can't remember what it was. So I'll tell you. It's the monitor you're looking for, and it isn't there. In a few days that feeling will pass." The doctor was twisting something at the back of Ender's head. Suddenly a pain stabbed through him like a needle from his neck to his groin. Ender felt his back spasm, and his body arched violently backward; his head struck the bed. He could feel his legs thrashing, and his hands were clenching each other, wringing each other so tightly that they arched. "Deedee!" shouted the doctor. "I need you!" The nurse ran in, gasped. "Got to relax these muscles. Get it to me, now! What are you waiting for!" Something changed hands; Ender could not see. He lurched to one side and fell off the examining table. "Catch him!" cried the nurse. "Just hold him steady--" "You hold him, doctor, he's too strong for me--" "Not the whole thing! You'll stop his heart--" Ender felt a needle enter his back just above the neck of his shirt. It burned, but wherever in him the fire spread, his muscles gradually un-clenched. Now he could cry for the fear and pain of it. "Are you all right, Andrew?" the nurse asked.

- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Mrs. Reed occupied her usual seat by the fireside; she made a signal to me to approach; I did so, and she introduced me to the stony stranger with the words: “This is the little girl respecting whom I applied to you.” He, for it was a man, turned his head slowly towards where I stood, and having examined me with the two inquisitive-looking grey eyes which twinkled under a pair of bushy brows, said solemnly, and in a bass voice, “Her size is small: what is her age?” “Ten years.” “So much?” was the doubtful answer; and he prolonged his scrutiny for some minutes. Presently he addressed me—“Your name, little girl?” “Jane Eyre, sir.” In uttering these words I looked up: he seemed to me a tall gentleman; but then I was very little; his features were large, and they and all the lines of his frame were equally harsh and prim. “Well, Jane Eyre, and are you a good child?”

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Summary

A summary has these qualities:

- Condensed Time

Summaries condense time. They may cover a month in a single sentence. They may talk about recurring events over a time period, within one paragraph. They may relay a past event (or in some cases, a future event) within a brief moment. They don't happen in real time.

- Explains through Telling

Since the moment isn't happening in real time, the audience is told more than shown what happened. This gives summary a stronger, guiding, narrative hand. Rather than experiencing the passage like the character, it's more like the audience is being guided by a storyteller (generally speaking).

- More Abstract

For those reasons, telling is more abstract. It's more likely to express ideas and concepts, rather than specific experiences.

- Characters and/or Setting may Change Swiftly (or Maybe Not Even Be Present In Some Cases)

A summary may not focus on a specific character or stay in the same setting. It may move quickly through settings or may not even mention a specific setting.

Summary Examples

Mother came home and commiserated with Ender about the monitor. Father came home and kept saying it was such a wonderful surprise, they had such fantastic children that the government told them to have three, and now the government didn't want to take any of them after all, so here they were with three, they still had a Third . . . until Ender wanted to scream at him, I know I'm a Third, I know it, if you want I'll go away so you don't have to be embarrassed in front of everybody. - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me. He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh in my bones shrank when he came near. There were moments when I was bewildered by the terror he inspired, because I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions; the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me, though he did both now and then in her very presence, more frequently, however, behind her back.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

When to Use Which

Most novels are better written with more scene than summary. Scenes dramatize the story, so that the audience feels like they are experiencing and participating in it. Scenes are more impactful. Scenes are more likely to stir emotions. Because they are more concrete, they are more likely to stick in the reader's memory.

However, this is not to say all novels are better with more scene than summary. You can indeed find successful books with more summary. This can be particularly useful in books with huge casts and many viewpoint characters, books that take place over a long period of time (such as a character's entire life), or books with powerful, present omniscient narrators. Not all books that rely on summary more than scene are bad.

But most books are better told largely through scene than summary.

And pretty much all novels need some of both.

So when do we use which?

Sometimes I edit passages that are weakened because they are summarized instead of dramatized. Other times I read scenes that offer very little dramatic value and should have been summarized.

Scenes

A good rule of thumb is the more significant the moment, the more likely it needs to be rendered as a scene.

Big turning points and climactic moments should almost always be a scene--whether that turning point relates to character arc, plot, or theme.

This means that the climactic moments of the beginning, middle, and end, should almost always be a scene.

Anything we've been building up to in the primary plotline related to the arc, events, or theme, should probably be a scene.

If you are following a story structure, key moments in that structure should likely be a scene. The inciting incident should likely be a scene, the midpoint should likely be a scene, Plot Point 2 should likely be a scene . . .

Now, in a novel, there may be many plotlines besides the primary. The less important the plotline, the less likely you need all its turning points in scenes (or even on page).

Impactful moments should usually be scenes. If they are summary, sometimes the audience feels cheated. Imagine building up to the climax of a novel, only to have the author summarize it. It's almost always a letdown.

Sometimes newer writers do this sort of thing, because they are intimidated by trying to write the scene. They may feel unsure that they can write it well. Remember, you can edit, and edit, and re-edit the scene to make it better. Daring to write a poor scene and then edit it, will get you further in the long run than avoiding it altogether.

In many genres, you will have what are called "obligatory scenes." These are what they sound like. They need to happen. In a scene.

So in romance, you almost always need to have a first kiss scene. In a murder mystery, you almost always need to have an opening scene where a body is discovered. Obligatory scenes should be scenes, not summary, most of the time.

Summaries

On the other side of the spectrum, we have summary. If an entire novel were written with scenes, it would probably be long and boring. Not everything is important enough to be a scene. And if you make it a scene, it's a flat scene without any real turning point or change. This kills pacing.

Use summary when the audience needs to know the fact that something happened, but it's not important for them to experience it.

For example, the fact that Jacob didn't get much sleep the prior night probably isn't important enough for a full scene, but it might be important for the audience to know for the next scene. It might influence what happens in the next scene. That is a good time to use summary.

Use summary when you need to cover a broader length of time in a shorter amount of space. For example, you may have characters who need to trek to a distant land, which may take months. But the story isn't about the trek itself. Use summary to tell us about the trek, without making the story only about the trek. (Not to mention if the trek was all in scenes, it'd be overly detailed and likely boring.)

Along the same line, summary can sometimes be great for scene transitions--usually when what happened between the scenes is worth mentioning, but not worth dramatizing.

Summary is also important in providing context for the reader. Summary may be used to set up a situation or to provide additional background information that the reader needs in order to interpret what is happening in the story, accurately.

For example, you may summarize a short backstory to explain a character's current behavior.

Scene vs. Showing; Summary vs. Telling

Scene is mostly like showing, and summary is mostly like telling. However, the concepts are slightly different. For example, I may write in a scene "Emily was tired," which would be "telling" but I wouldn't consider it "summary." Just as I wouldn't necessarily consider "I felt angry" summary, so much as I would consider it to be telling.

Likewise, you may have a scene that is largely introspection, which may be showing a character's thought process as he summarizes events through telling sentences.

Yeah, if we get deep, it turns into splitting hairs.

Even between showing and telling, if you want to make yourself really crazy, sometimes you can use summary and telling on a small scale to show something on a big scale. For example, to show that a character has a habit of being late, you may use summary that includes some telling about his morning routine, to cover several such instances. However, one could easily argue that you could simply do a scene that shows him showing up late, and have another character use dialogue that implies this is a common occurrence.

But let's not induce headaches today! My point is, that the boundaries do blur, and things aren't always as clear cut as we make them sound.

Nonetheless, because summary and telling overlap, you can use many of the same technique that we use to write great telling, to write great summary. And rather than rewrite all those techniques, I have them in my article "10 Cheats to Tell Well."

Mixing Scene and Summary

In order to write a great novel, many scenes will include some summary within them. Like I mentioned above, you may need to slip in some backstory information through summary. Or perhaps in the scene, the characters are having dinner, but you want half the scene to be the cooking and the other half to happen while they are eating. Depending on how long the food takes to make, you may need some summarizing: "Don finished putting the toppings on the pizza and then put it in the oven for 30 minutes."

Similarly, if you are going to have a lengthy passage of summary, it's often effective to include scene-like moments--perhaps a paragraph that captures part of a conversation in real time, before going back to summary. Or maybe the summary includes a significant action that would be rendered better with a little more detail, like a half-scene.

In any case, we want to make sure we are using both scene and summary, and perhaps just as important, that we are using them at the right moments.

#writing tips #writing tips and tricks #writeblr #writing reference #writing tip #fanfic #written #editing

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blueteller · 2 years

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How I rate stuff (because, why not?)

I enjoy fiction a lot. While most of the time I don't strictly put things in categories (also, my tastes and opinions might change over time), I thought it would be fun to make a post about how I rate different series and works of fiction that I like – or don't like.

So here's a couple of examples, on the scale of 0-10:

(Remember this is based on my enjoyment, not objective criticism! Beside I'm a pretty lax critic, I truly start to dislike things only like, 3 and below. So have mercy on me! I'm just being honest)

10/10 - I have very few complaints, nothing more than nitpicks. Otherwise I enjoy everything about it. (Example: Avatar the Last Airbender - love everyhing about it)

9/10 - I have one major issue or a couple minor ones, but apart from that it's similar: I love it (My little Pony: Friendship is Magic - surprisingly, I love most of it)

8/10 - I have some issues which I consider visible, but still liked it a lot (Star Wars series - not all of it, but the best of it)

7/10 - I have a significant amount of issues, but still mostly liked it (Harry Potter series - my favorite bashing series, so many plot holes to tear through, it's hilarious)

6/10 - liked it, but probably wasn't a fan (Pokemon franchise - my childhood, but not nearly on the top of my list)

5/10 - I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't invested either (Star vs Forces of Evil - I liked the Eclipsa plotline at first but otherwise, ehh)

4/10 - something bugged me about this, so I dropped it (Attack on Titan - I'm like, nope, canibalism is a big no no for me, sorry)

3/10 - something bugged me and probably made me mad, definitely dropped it (the Twilight saga - the romance is GROSS, but at least it's so bad it's funny)

2/19 - I really don't like this and I have strong feelings about it! (Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian the movie - it's personal, they completely ruined one of my favorite books ever, why did they make Caspian and Peter into emo jerks??)

1/10 - oh I HATE this (that one Robinson Crusoe movie adaptation I saw once in class when I was 11, where they turned the MC racist for drama: I am still full of rage because that book was pretty cool, so like, whyyyy)

0/10 - I am in denial of its existence and happier that way. (Last Airbender Live Action Movie. There's no movie in Ba Sing Se.)

Other series I enjoyed:

Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga/Brotherhood): 10/10, very well structured, engaging, funny and 100% satisfying. Never gets old.

My Hero Academia: 10/10, love the world and the characters. Can't wait for the conclusion

The Chronicles of Narnia: 10/10, the first book series that wasn't for school that I ever read by myself. Still my favorite series of all time

Lord of the Rings: 9.5/10, I only love it less than max because it's very long and Narnia is my 10/10 fantasy series. Sorry LOTR, there can only be one favorite, even if I admit that LOTR is factually better quality-wise. I'm subjective, you know?

Danny Phantom: 7/10, it has many problems but the premise is GREAT and it has killer aesthetic. It's kinda unforgettable, even.

Some recenty found series:

Trash of the Count's Family: 10/10, recently found it, fell in love pretty fast. The characters alone are enough for me, but the story is honestly great as well

Solo leveling: 8/10, interesting, fun, simple in enjoyment. Not too long either. My biggest pitpick would be that the story was a bit simple, but it's exactly what it's supposed to be.

Suicide Hunter: 7/10, interesting, very funny at places, still too brutal for me (sooo much suicide and mindbreaking stuff... but I get why people like it).

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint: 5/10, don't kill me for this, I have reasons! It is interesting, and I like most of the characters, but I'm just not a fan of the main plot. There's just something unappealing for me about the whole "gladiator premise" (where a superior power creates the scenario where random people are forced to kill each other). Same reason why I never liked the Hunger Games (which I'd probably rate 4/10) and I'll never watch Squid Game.

The S Classes That I raised: 6/10, it is interesting, fun and hilarious in many places, but the supporting cast somehow didn't quite click for me just yet. The rating might change in the future, who knows?

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katcadecascade · 3 years

Text

Dumplings Before this World Ends (ORV oneshot)

*spoilers up to chapter 235

Summary:

First Murim is known for their dumplings. It's a shame that Kim Dokja mostly remembers that this place is gonna be destroyed later but for right now he'll enjoy the dumplings with Yoo Jonghyuk.

Kim Dokja is a bit ashamed to admit that he has never been asked out for dinner.

As a man in modern society that clings to traditional (heteronormative) relationships, Kim Dokja attempted to ask out a few women in his life. They all declined to no one’s surprise.

It didn’t discourage him to purse romance. It just reinforced his daily solitude to keep reading Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.

There wasn’t much else in his life to emotionally invest into.

So majority of his life is spent diverging into the words of a fictional world.

Then to everyone’s surprise, Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse became real. There is a lot to unpack there, the whole reality shaking knowledge of trying to understand how any of this is possibly and how so far Kim Dokja has not been dead.

Like permanently because he promised to his companions that he’ll come back.

Kim Dokja is still trying to make his way to them, currently preparing for the Demon King Selection. His plan right now is to get the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint on his side by shoving Yoo Jonghyuk back onto First Murin against the protagonist’s wishes.

It’s a good plan right?

So far, the only kink in the plan is the unexpected invitation to the Gourmet Association.

Oh and the fact that the Breaking the Sky Sword Saint forces Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Dokja out of her temple to go have dinner.

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is ecstatic of these turn of events]

A bit dumbfounded, Kim Dokja tried to refuse all of this but instead Yoo Jonghyuk simply started walking to the town district and said one thing as if everything was normal.

“Are you coming or not?”

Kim Dokja could’ve just go back in the temple, pretend that Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t just ask him out for dinner in the rudest way possible, and remain as a dateless nobody he has always been.

After all, who would ever ask out Kim Dokja?

But this is Yoo Jonghyuk, a protagonist that he has followed and practically knows like the back of his hand.

Kim Dokja accepts the invitation and starts walking by Yoo Jonghyuk’s side.

First Murin’s nightlife is a pretty scene to witness in person. No amount of written words it has been described in the novel matches the way Kim Dokja is feeling. He feels otherworldly for stepping into this supposed fictional world, a real tourist in actuality, but as much as he enjoys the scenery is can’t help but morn.

Both he and Yoo Jonghyuk await the fated destruction of First Murim. This place of forsaken tradition is simply not to be. One day this place will fall as depicted in the original novel.

But before then, dumplings.

Yoo Jonghyuk leads them to a hole in the wall restaurant. The restaurant perfectly matches the one in the book, a small place filled with many people and yet the power of the protagonist guarantees a table in the corner for them.

A server quickly gets their order for the all-you-can-eat dumpling special and thus leaves Yoo Jonghyuk and Kim Dokja in silence. Obviously, Yoo Jonghyuk opted to stare out the window rather than the awkward shape before him.

As mentioned before, Kim Dokja has never been asked out on a date and he’s hesitant to even call this one a date. He will always be an introvert at worst and yet with Yoo Jonghyuk he feels weirdly comfortable, sort of.

Any time they’re together it was only to barely make it past a dangerous scenario.

Right now, the biggest danger is probably making it through this night with Kim Dokja’s dignity intact.

“So,” Kim Dokja idly traces the condensation on his glass of water, “how’s earth?”

What he really meant was how the others was but he already asked that back in the Demon Realm. If Kim Dokja knows anything about Yoo Jonghyuk, and he does, then small talk is the last thing the protagonist will indulge in.

Yet this is Kim Dokja and he’s known to annoy Yoo Jonghyuk.

“I wouldn’t have to tell you if did not die.”

“Look, I was fated to die.”

“By the one you love most.”

“Do you have to remind me?”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyebrow twitches. “I killed you.”

“It was a group effort.”

“Do you have any idea,” Yoo Jonghyuk begins hotly but like a star it dies out fast with a muttered, “…never mind.”

“Huh?”

Before Kim Dokja could question further, a server delivers them a big amount of steamer baskets. Yoo Jonghyuk wastes no time to take off the lid, releasing a puff of hot steam of the most delicious smelling dumpling ever created in a once fictional world.

As much as Kim Dokja wants to copy Yoo Jonghyuk on just happily eating the dumpling, he wants something else first.

“You were gonna say something.”

Stubbornly, Yoo Jonghyuk ate a dumpling in silence. In retaliation, Kim Dokja did the most suicidal thing he could ever do (discounting all his previous deaths of course). He stole the next dumpling Yoo Jonghyuk was aiming for.

The protagonist glares at the reader munching on the savory dumpling. It’s very good. A part of him melts at the sheer taste.

Before Kim Dokja could pick out another dumpling, Yoo Jonghyuk says something that shakes the constellation to his core.

“They miss you.”

Kim Dokja remains frozen for an impatiently long time, long enough for Yoo Jonghyuk to grab the next basket for a new set of hot dumplings.

“Bastard, why are you shocked?”

“Because I am.”

If there was another curse in mind, Yoo Jonghyuk doesn’t say it. He just studies how Kim Dokja is currently working his brain in overtime.

Truly, he is shocked because this would be the first time he has ever heard that sentiment directed towards him.

(Did his own mother ever say that to Kim Dokja?)

The concept of someone actually missing Kim Dokja has never occurred to him. It is a genuine surprise to a person lonely and new to friendships. It’s a strange detachment to reality for the reader, especially since he techniqually ‘died’ before them all.

So not only do they miss him, they have grieved for Kim Dokja.

It really is a strange idea to think about, especially since it’s Yoo Jonghyuk presenting all these facts.

Kim Dokja know that Yoo Jonghyuk can’t ever know if anyone has ever grieved for him because the moment he dies, it’s a new timeline. Meaning his friends forget all about the scenarios and sufferings, they all endured. Besides, they usually die before Yoo Jonghuk.

It’s harsh to suggest that maybe Yoo Jonghyuk and the others should get used to Kim Dokja’s death. However, Kim Dokja doesn’t think like that. Instead, he still trying to comprehend the idea that people miss him.

He who is out casted and unremarkable. He who prefers the words of a lonely book. He who has made friends in the first time in his life.

Kim Dokja died for them multiple times already with no regret… well except for this new one.

A ringing ache settles onto his heart, still struggling against these new feelings of something soft and precious.

“I’m going to see them again.” He swallows down a lump of that weird feeling, “I promised them.”

“I know,” Yoo Jonghyuk glares, “You better keep your promise.”

Kim Dokja forces a smile, ignoring the present jumble of emotions trapped inside, “Did you miss me too?”

“You bastard.” Yoo Jonghyuk’s glare is harsher than ever.

The man’s insult is a relief to Kim Dokja. This blunt rudeness is more familiar to him than the warm guilt-ridden idea that his friends miss him.

He orchestrated them to kill him. It’s a bit difficult to remember it.

Kim Dokja will die by the one he loves most.

In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk did the last blow.

Kim Dokja thinks Han Sooyoung will tease him about this ‘poetic’ event.

“I miss them too,” he finally says.

Yoo Jonghyuk stops glaring and nods.

Under his breath, Kim Dokja adds, “That includes you.’

He stuffs another dumpling in his mouth.

It took a lot of boldness to breathe that out. Kim Dokja can’t look at Yoo Jonghyuk.

Yet over Omniscient Viewpoint…

[He missed me?]

If Kim Dokja looked up from his food, he would’ve seen the smallest of smiles on Yoo Jonghyuk.

[…that bastard.]

Eventually the rest of the dumplings are gone but that warm feeling remains inside Kim Dokja.

#my fic #kim dokja #yoo jonghyuk #dokhyuk #orv fic #orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint

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web-novel-polls · 7 months

Text

Aroace-spec Character Tournament Losers' Bracket

[Please vote for who you believe has the most canon evidence to be aroace-spec, not the most popular. It will never be acceptable to post "anti-propaganda" in this tournament or invalidate a suggested identity because "they're not aroace enough." You will be blocked unless it's clearly a genuine mistake / misphrasing.]

Propaganda underneath the cut

Jiang Cheng from the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission 1: romantic and sex indifferent aroace

I love that guy, he’s the most aroace guy I’ve ever met. and his outfit is literally the ace flag plus he’s like wearing a ring that looks a lot like wearing a ring that looks a lot like the ace ring. and the fact that he has no canon love interest and is never shown to want a romantic or sexual relationship. he gives me very “romance is something other people do, I just don’t care for it, I got other things to do” you get me??

Submission 2: Aroace

Despite people trying to convince him to get married/get an heir, in 13 years he never finds someone. His list of bride qualities is absurd to the point of "no one like this exists so I'll never have to get married". Is grossed out by displays of sexual attraction. Purple

Submission 3: Both

No spouse. Wears ace colors. Case closed.

Propaganda Link 1

Kim Dokja from Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Submission 1: demiromantic graysexual, romance/sex indifferent

bc yoohankim is the most qpr qpr to ever qpr

Submission 2: demiromantic graysexual

yoohankim is soo queerplatonic it makes my chest hurt. and ysa and kdj are THE qpr ever. also i read the submissions list and my jaw deadass dropped when i saw that someone else had the exact same kdj hcs as me like asjdnghfdhdbn!ksnk#**#*@*

#jiang cheng #mdzs #kim dokja #orv #aroace spec character tournament #aroace spec losers semifinals #polls #aroace spec character losers bracket #queue

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mister-brightside · 3 years

Note

Oooo I would love to read your rant about the lovely bones

sorry this took so long anon, there’s just so much to unpack here. also please bear in mind that I read the book years ago so I might be a bit fuzzy on the details. but the fact that I can still go on about it speaks to the enduring nature of my vitriol. ok let’s begin

in case you’re still unburdened by the shitty experience of reading this book:

it starts off with a 13 year-old (white, american, middle-class) girl named susie being murdered. the rest the story is told from her ghost’s viewpoint in purgatory as she watches her family deal with their loss.

sounds interesting, hey? except it’s not. for the majority of the book nothing of note ever happens. susie’s murder is never solved. as you can expect, her family grieves then moves on. her parents split up for a while then get back together. her siblings go to college, get married, etc.

you know those young adult fantasy books where the protagonist is so bland, she’s clearly supposed to be a self-insert for the reader? yeah the lovely bones is like this. except you’re supposed to identify with this family, which has the combined personality of a white picket fence.

okay maybe it doesn’t sound too bad so far. but as you read on you begin to realise. there’s absolutely ZERO POINT in having susie tell the story. because the girl BARELY REACTS TO SHIT. like, she watches her murderer walk around like nothing’s happened and she barely feels any frustration. she watches her mother have an affair, and there’s no outrage. not even any embarrassment, at LITERALLY WATCHING HER OWN MOTHER HAVE SEX. that’s right, susie feels NO GUILT intruding on her loved ones’ most private and shameful moments.

also, have I mentioned? susie can READ PEOPLE’S MINDS. for NO GODDAMN REASON. again, she has no hesitation in violating other people’s privacy. you know what, I’m realising just now that this is (probably unintended) foreshadowing for the book’s crappy ending. but I’ll get there later.

my point is. a lot of the story just ends up reading like third-person omniscient. LIKE THE AUTHOR JUST FORGOT SUSIE EXISTED. people complain about one-dimensional characters in fiction, but I don’t think susie even qualifies for a single dimension. introspection? growth? what are those? there is literally no point in having her there.

my earlier statement that susie doesn’t react to shit is only half-true, she has no feelings UNLESS THE AUTHOR NEEDS IT FOR A PLOT DEVICE. and then it’s emotions galore. I’m sorry but the human brain just doesn’t work like that.

ok but what really rattles my bones, what really gets my gears grinding: oh god, let me talk about the terrible, terrible ending.

so back when she was alive, susie had a crush on a classmate called ray. years pass and he’s now grown up and hot. somehow, SOMEHOW, susie’s spirit is expelled from purgatory and she’s now possessing the body of another former classmate, a girl called ruth. and USING RUTH’S BODY, SUSIE GOES AND HAS SEX WITH RAY.

THAT’S RIGHT. YOU HEARD ME.

and as if that’s not disgusting enough: susie’s spirit is now able to leave purgatory and go to heaven. you see, she was only unable to move on BECAUSE SHE WAS SO SAD ABOUT MISSING OUT ON SEX AND ROMANCE.

*inhale*

alright, I could understand if this was a satire about society’s obsession with romance, but no. IT’S COMPLETELY UNIRONIC. that’s right, RAPE IS THE ANSWER. being so hung up to the point of violating another woman’s sexual autonomy is somehow supposed to be PROFOUND and MOVING.

there are legitimately no redeeming qualities to this book. it goes nowhere. the police never find susie’s corpse (you know, maybe that would’ve been a better reason for her being unable to move on). they never find her killer either, but he dies in a car crash eventually.

like I said, I’ve read worse. but with every other book I’ve hated, it’s like, you can see the author had heart. you can see why other people might find meaning in it, or why critics praised it.

I have no idea why the lovely bones got as much hype as it did. I’m honestly BAFFLED. it’s just so incredibly lifeless. you can’t even laugh at how bad it is. I wouldn’t ever recommend this to anyone.

that concludes my ted talk, thanks for your interest anon!

#ask #anonymous #the lovely bones #personal

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ginnyzero · 5 years

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Main Character or Group of Characters

Single protagonist vs. ensemble writing

When trying to sell a story or summarize a book, a question I get asked a lot is “who is the main character?” For me, when trying to sell the Lone Prospect this is more difficult to answer than you think. The titular main character would be Gideon, the Lone Prospect. But, he’s not really the main character, he’s an important character. He's one character in the pack that is hiding in plain sight as a motorcycle club. There are other important characters too. Brand, the President, is an important character. Savannah, the Vice President, is an important character. So, they could be classified as main characters too. Because there is more than one way to write as story. There are single person stories and then there are ensemble stories.

Single person stories are the stories that most book readers are familiar with. Anne of Green Gables, The Hobbit, The Dresden Files, The Hollows, Harry Potter. Those stories are stories about one particular person. In movies, spy movies tend to be single person narratives, James Bond, Jason Bourne, the Taken films. The story is focused on their life and their adventure. The pitfall of single person narratives is that the main character has to become everything. They are the hero, the savior, the pinnacle, they are the driving force behind either saving the world or destroying it. Unless you’re writing say a romance series where your main character changes every book, in speculative fiction the main character of the story often becomes larger than life with a very drama filled life. They have to be special in some way in the minds of most authors in order to keep the reader interested. (There is a point to this, if the character wasn’t special in some way why would we read them but so many authors go over the top with this. The female is chased by four different men, her blood is special, she has special powers, she’s descended from some deity and so on and so forth ad nauseam.)

Ensemble stories in some cases are just as well-known but not really praised for what they are. Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, X-Wing Novels, Anne Bishop’s The Black Jewels. Ensembles are stories about groups of people. A lot of ensemble writing has gone to television where having a large group of people can be shown better. Seinfeld, Buffy, Firefly, Sons of Anarchy, almost all forensic style crime shows, Blue Bloods, Gilligan’s Island, MASH, Star Trek. Movies also get into ensemble writing, The Avengers, X-Men, Lord of the Rings again. (Which revived the ever popular argument about who is the main character of Lord of the Rings. I argue having a main character is not the point.) Heist movies tend to be ensemble movies, The Italian Job, Ocean’s Eleven, St. Trinian’s, Sugar & Spice. In ensemble writing, there are important characters and at different times during different parts of the story, some characters are more important than others. The pitfall of ensemble writing is that there can be too many characters and the reader/watcher can’t focus on any of them or can’t tell them apart. (Always bad.)

There are also buddy stories, Rizzoli and Isles, Rush Hour and any other buddy cop movie, Thelma and Louise, These stories are focused on a pair of characters and their interactions.

Writing an ensemble story and writing a single protagonist story are extremely different. They require different modes of thought at times. When I write a story and it doesn’t feel to be working as a single protagonist story, I have to ask myself some questions. What story am I really trying to tell? What am I trying to convey to the reader? Who are the important people to this story? What is my theme? Can that story, can that theme be told with a single character? Or do I need to broaden my scope and embrace the stories of the other characters? At some point, I sit there and go “Well, I can’t be everything. So, let’s focus on this story for now and work on adding more to it later.” Or else I’m going to be overwhelmed and the reader is going to be overwhelmed. But by answering these questions, I can get a feel for if I need to stick with one character or if I need to make a group. Or even write the group I have without worry about trying to stick to third person limited omniscient point of view.

It can and does start with the point of view. A lot of single protagonist stories in modern speculative fiction (urban fantasy) are in first person. Thus narrowing the viewpoint of the reader even further with unreliable narrators. Writing an ensemble story in first person requires having character chapters or even character scenes. Sometimes this happens even if the story is written in third person. George R. R. Martin and Anne Bishop do this. Ensemble stories tend to be written more in third person especially if they are not using individual character chapters. Ensemble stories will have different character arcs against an overall plot arc and the scenes of these character arcs are put juxtaposition to each other to further the overall story. So, while there are two characters doing one thing, another set of characters are doing another thing possibly at the same time and all of it pushes forward the overall plot. The Star Wars Classic EU X-Wing novels are really good at this. I recommend the Wraith Squadron arc over the "this is actually a story about Corran Horn" Rogue Squadron arc.

In an ensemble story, if the author wants to show another part or facet of their universe, they can spread it across to a different character, create another character arc that may or may not effect one of the other important characters. And in an ensemble story, that’s okay, you can get away with it. But in a single person story, if it doesn’t affect the main character, then it probably won’t be shown unless the author ties the story into knots to show it. Anne Bishop's Stories of The Others is this way, it started out as a single protagonist story about Meg, and by the fourth book had to twist itself into knots as an 'ensemble' story to show what was going on in the war of humans versus the others. It didn't work well because these characters hadn't been set up back in book one and so, as a reader, I didn't care about them enough.

A lot of times it comes down to a preference or even what the author is trying to convey. What is the story? What is the theme? Look no further than the Hobbit versus Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was a tale focused on Bilbo and an adventure he took to the Lonely Mountain and how he found the ring. Sure, there were dwarves and a wizard with him, but the story didn’t focus on them very much. It was Bilbo’s journey. But in the Lord of the Rings, it wasn’t just Frodo’s journey. It was Aragorn’s journey. It was Gimli’s journey. It was Legolas’ journey. It was even Gollum’s journey. The journey, the story, was bigger than just one person. The fate of the world rested with a group and Frodo could never do it alone. The tones of the two stories were different. The themes were different. The purposes were different. The audiences were different.

I’m not saying one is better than the other. They are both very valid methods of storytelling. They are tools in a writer’s tool kit. And the choice of to use a single main character or a group comes down to what serves your story better. Choose wisely.

Enjoy my blog posts, please think about chipping in and buy me a Ko-Fi.

#writeblr #wrtblr #writing #ensemble writing #main characters #writing advice #writing tips

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