#this episode was badly written

[fantasyfantasygames]

Worst Contact

Worst Contact, Space Swabbie Games, 2014

Here's the setup: You are the crew of an interplanetary trading ship in the implausibly near future. Humanity has expanded across our solar system. You pushed the ship too hard on its trip through the asteroid belt, and a small impact left you off-course, floating slowly to your death in deep space, too low on fuel to ever make it back. You have enough food and air for months, maybe years, you just have to hope someone rescues you. And then this D'deridex-sized ship warps in near you and hails you, asking if you want a ride home with the first aliens anyone from Earth has ever encountered. You get to make first contact.

The catch: this game was heavily inspired by Redshirts (which was released a year or two before). Your ship is full of misfits and losers who would fit in well with The Lower Decks and the funnier parts of Firefly. Hilarity ensues.

Characters are primarily defined by their Profession and Motivations. Professions are what you'd expect: engineer, trader, commander, helm, explorer, scientist, security, plus a make-your-own system available that works nicely. Motivations are actually more locked down. You choose several from a set of 12, including things like "money", "fame", "entertainment", and "escape from the law". Those get ranked. You roll d10s based on Motivations and add bonuses from Professions. It's vaguely Silhouette-like, nothing new. Success chances are fairly high. You get more luck points by playing into your Motivations, so you'll have a lot of them, and they max out fairly quickly to encourage you to spend them.

The game's best mechanical innovation is the Mistake Spiral, where every failed roll looks like a success but puts a mistake (a written-down fact) on the table. Every mistake makes it more likely that another failed roll - especially one where you spend a Luck point - will cascade into a disaster, with badness proportional to the number of mistakes there were. Every failure after that point is a critical failure until the problem gets fixed, at which point you reset the spiral. I like that you all get to look competent until it all goes to hell. There are separate spirals for physical/mental rolls and social rolls.

Art is minimal, mostly starship renders on a level somewhat better than Babylon 5 but not fantastic. Setting details are mostly generated by random roll. There are 20 alien species described in brief detail. Your ship has one of 10 standard technical problems. The aliens have five words from this d100 table that they definitely do not understand the correct definition of. There's a d100 random-roll table to determine your weird cargo that will never be delivered. It's all small details. The game is mostly social, unless you get stuck in the chompers.

Worst Contact could be a one-shot, and is probably intended to be 2-4 sessions. There's no XP system. I feel like it still has a lot of potential for a 10-12 session campaign. Even after you deal with the actual contact with aliens, there's the matter of what happens when you get them back to civilization. I would totally play it, but I also have a soft spot for sci-fi games that commit to their premise.

Space Swabbie Games put out Worst Contact on USB stick, which has never worked out well. At least they open-licensed it, so if you get the PDF you're more than welcome to pass it around to others. Just watch out for the malware on the thumb drives.

#ttrpg #imaginary #indie ttrpg #rpg #review #this episode was badly written #programming is like one big mistake spiral #no xp is sometimes the best xp

[mortysmith]

In theory i like the idea that rick is growing and developing as a person. In practice it ends up falling short though, because no one balances him out. rick is getting better while no one else is getting worse, and it causes the whole thing to end up feeling a bit stale. The biggest draw, at least for me, has always been rick and morty's shitty dynamic, but it barely exists anymore because rick has been so watered down.

The ideal solution is literally just to make morty into a bigger asshole. Essentially flipping the main characters' personalities would offer a wide variety of conflict into the show, and would also help keep it "fresh".

Instead it feels the writers are pretending that they can't possibly do anything with morty's character, that they have to keep him the same anxious idiot he was in season one. I've said this before, but it's incredibly frustrating to watch the show have no problem with expanding rick's character while struggling with keeping morty's heavily stagnated characterization consistent. Where rick has space to develop between multiple seasons, morty is constantly forced into one of two boxes (smart/stupid) depending on the episode.

#rick and morty #again i dont hate ricks therapy arc i just hate that morty doesnt have a parallel AntiTherapy arc #not to mention how. even if morty IS more bitter it usually only lasts for like an episode #there is no smooth progression or development. the show is just ping ponging between him being an idiot vs him being capable #this is why im sooooooososososo badly hoping the roy machine comes into play again. #otherwise this is genuinely offensive treatment of a main character #genuinely at the moment i feel like fandom understands morty better than the writers. #this is a half vent post to be honest im just so tired of the rick bias within the staff. Like make. a new show at this point #i also have thoughts on the way rick has been written these past few seasons and um . #well it feels lile fans are in the writers room and im afraid this is a negative. it sort of seems like the show is trying to- #sweep ricks past actions and behaviors under the rug #as if he isnt literally the worst person ever. up until recently i guess. #like its just frustrating seeing mortys abuse being handled so haphazardly? like the s5 2 crows episode #it just feels like the writers are trying to fill out a checklist instead of writing them as people. #“what we had was abusive dont you see?” who talks like this #okay im over it(lying) #rick sanchez #morty smith

[goemon-fan]

This was easily one of the best Lupin episodes

#there will be a rant in the tags that you can ignore #but it is so upsetting how modern/current lupin took away the depths of these characters and flimsily tries to restore their earlier depth #i'm one of those people who craves depth in what i watch and it's so difficult to like this franchise because it will be so close to doing #something interesting only to abandon it #this episode and part one as a whole was peak lupin in my opinion with each character having emotional depth yet flaws to overcome #yet modern lupin would have you believe that these characters don't desire to improve in any capacity #if we were to just focus on Goemon for example right here he shows depth with revealing hidden emotional maturity and empathy for Lupin by #comforting him and admitting he himself is afraid (which is a big deal for a character like him who is supposed to be unflinching) #but in modern lupin goemon will literally say that he's not afraid of anything and this is written without any hint of irony or depth #i'm okay with mindless entertainment and i understand that this is a series simply about stealing but the character assassination is so #disappointing #and when this series does try to be “deep” they pick the most triggering subject matter possible to depict to the point where it's #practically unwatchable (this is in reference to Part 4 and its constant SA plots as well as the rampant gratuitous child abuse plots #throughout the entire series) #i want so badly to love lupin the 3rd but it's a huge problem when fanfiction understands the characters better than the source material #lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin the 3rd #goemon ishikawa xiii #goemon #arsene lupin iii #jigen daisuke #daisuke jigen #fujiko mine #part 1

[queerbting]

rewatching nuwho and i'm rlly.... why is human nature / family of blood just racist hit after racist hit after racist hit against martha . followed by a heavy dose of classist (+ misogynistic!!!!) behavior directed against her afterwards where the humans of 1913 england treat her like a weird alien from another world (the doctor in human form included!!!).

also, why do they have the doctor a) be actively bigoted and b) fall in love with a racist nurse who specifically speaks down to martha (someone who the doctor cares for). they create this "unassuming" white woman character and then have her be awful to martha but we're supposed to believe that she is kind and sympathetic worthy of being the human doctor's love interest, more than martha being treated as a human being. (and then that we should cry over her lost love/future in the end)

like why. genuinely why. what is the point .

also objectively what function does the nurse serve that martha jones could not have. she's even a medical student like !!!!!! going undercover as a nurse would not be that far off!! and plus, i'm not even a tenmartha shipper but it would fit more for the emotional arc of martha's character to get what she wanted all season in human nature / family of blood (the doctor falling in love with her!!! wish fulfillment !!!!!! ) only to realize the cruelty of what this would be like in reality if she were never to open the watch (despite her finally having what she "wants"), and finally understanding and having to give john smith up. it could've been a really tragic, but human moment (like a lot of other things in dw!).

then 10 and martha's relationship could actually be on some sort of equal footing. bc martha had a taste of what it would be liked to be loved by him (or someone similar to him, at least), and chose in the end to let it go. it would give her emotional closure, etc. and would show her choosing the /actual/ doctor (not human) and the friendship she has with him, rather than a lifetime with a human that she fell in love with who happens to look like him.

could've been a really cool moment of both character development and then bonding between the doctor and martha afterwards in their newfound partnership, so half of martha's character is no longer swallowed up by her pining for him.

but no. instead they go and hide in racistville and martha is a servant who experiences racism/misogyny/classism and microaggressions from white people + aliens over two episodes for nearly no reason .

#like it's crazy #i think a lot of this went over my head as a kid because i did not know much about british history or nuwho's environmental contexts #so i didn't understand a lot of the unspoken dialogue and class-race implications coming from MULTIPLE CHARACTERS in these episodes....... #but coming back to martha's arc and hn / fob especially as an adult is just..... genuinely so awful #there's no narrative reason it's just racist #so so weird and uncomfortable to watch #it can't be too much to ask to treat her like a human being #martha jones #dw s3 #dw criticism #doctor who #dewpost #also her being written half the time this season as a love sick puppy who doesn't get it depends on the doctor for almost everything #instead of a resourceful and emotionally intelligent young black woman who is studying to be a medical professional !!!! drives me insane #sometimes they write her well but it feels few and fare between sometimes bc they want martha to be in love with 10 sooooo badly #rather than them being a kickass medical student (a doctor) plus The Doctor duo !!!! could've been so much fun #and instead we are left with this #human racist john smith with no narrative repercussions for viewing/treating a companion of his in a derogatory fashion #super cool bbc thank you very much #human nature #family of blood

[villainvillain]

oop ALREADY seeing cold takes that are just "i thought the finale was good so if you didnt you are clearly just watching the show wrong and you missed the point of everything ever" like ok can we just accept that the world is more nuanced than that and doesnt always revolve around ur thoughts and opinions

#fionna and cake #literally these two episodes are FINE i dont hate them or dislike them even #nobody is wrong at all for liking them and if you like the finale thats so cool #its mostly just pacing issues and some writing decisions that made the pacing issues a bit worse #but i dont think these episodes are badly written #i just feel like. something weird happened here #the eps feel very different from the others #and whether thats good or bad. well thats up to you #but dont go 'actually you just enjoy the show wrong' if somebody disagrees #thats not smart #jesus christ i cant stress enough i have no overt negative feelings on the eps #im just very underwhelmed #anyways cant wait for my very mixed up thoughts abt this ending to be boiled down to #'idiot is mad that the show didnt spel out every single thing in detail for him' #cuz nah thats not what im looking for when it comes to AT #honestly it kinda felt like things were. #being spelled out... Too much ? for me? #i guess thats the side effect of #a childrens story simplifying the main conflict down to smth digestable #for the main character to read #and then go #'oh. Yeah' #like i see whats there. i really do. i like whats there #i just dont find the execution or pacing very jazzy

[rexscanonwife]

Grrggh...good morning everypony = w = I rewatched the episode of the ppg reboot where Utonium gets a girlfriend...

#jane journals #self insert talk #🔬 starkissed scientist 🔬 #i woke up at 5 in the gah damn morning and MY HEADPHONES are gone so im gonna have to ride the bus w/o them >:[ #hell on earth 10 dead 4 missing!!! #and i choose to do this before i go ajfjg #anyways this sucks #like im not bothered by love interests but this whole reboot is ass and the characters are badly written #but theres like....at least one or two cute moments where utonium is smooth with it >//< #it cant even get the FIRST THING RIGHT ABOUT HIM THO #in literally THE FIRST EPISODE he says that spiders creep him out and they basically just. not even ignore but contradict it entirely #for why? the purpose of this ep where the love interest studies spiders and turns into one ig #they could say that hes PRETENDING to like them because he likes her. but they didnt do that #ALSO why spider? why not werewolf? that would be hot #and the love interest is that bland brand of 'adorkable' thats so disingenuous #on the other hand i DO like spiders. and the way she talks to one and like treats it like a pet...yeah id do that ._. #and idk they always write utonium as way more harsh than he'd usually be especially with bubbles #he wouldnt tell her shes being SELFISH by not wanting to give away her last piece of popcorn to a spider #especially when she barely got any #maybe he'd remind her that its GOOD to be generous BUT NOT CALL HER SELFISH #but yeah....theres maybe a moment or two 😒 #like when his love interest spoils a whole MOVIE for the girls and ofc theyre upset #but he holds her face and says 'everything i need to see is right here'...>//< #THAT was smooth #and idk they don't play with the idea of the girls wanting to break them up ENOUGH #they just write one fake email and its done. then spider reveal #it sucks maybe i shouldnt have started my day this way 😂😂😂 #whatever hopefully work is good!! #and i always have og utoniom to think about 🥺👉👈💖💘💖💘💖💘💖💘💖💘💖💘💖💘💖💘

[ssaalexblake]

13 not being particularly speechy is not bad writing. You may not like it. But it is not inherently bad. She’d rather pull teeth than declare her feelings in such a dramatic way because A) it’d involve talking about herself to actual other people and she has an image she’s Very intent on keeping up, and furthermore, B) she has No confidence in who she is, let alone what she’s feeling, and she’s also in denial Of some of those feelings she is having, so she sure isn’t gonna be declaring these things out loud. 

You don’t have to like it, but it ain’t bad. It makes perfect sense for her character. If she started speechifying her opinions and feelings all the time it’d entirely contradict with the story being told and her characterisation. She gets toothy and loud when she’s losing control and Angry. In thirteen, her getting that far is generally a negative character moment for her. She’s passionate in her negativity first and foremost, to the point it’s kind of ugly (love That) to people she’s angry at.  

In terms of people she likes, she is also shown to be able to Talk to them respectfully, it’s awkward as shit and she’d rather not, but instead of festering till it bursts out she actually does Try and talk it out like actual people do because she’s aware it’s the decent thing to do to people she actually cares about. Not saying she’s good at it, but this is far better in terms of social skills And character growth for the character in general than the doctor just being somebody who goes for the dramatics all the time?

Not every Doctor dramatically makes speeches all the time. She’s very much like Two, imo. 

Now i’m sure if 13 got a chance to rip the master a new one for how he treated Yaz in tpotd she would have, but in that episode Yaz was ripping the master a new one for how he treated 13 because Yaz Was The Doctor, there was no need for 13 to do it. 

i do not like =/= this is bad 

#dw shit #i personally am sick to shit of the doctor yelling in peoples faces every second episode #but that doesn't actually mean it's bad writing either #i don't like it #(though i do think it's a bad look to a point having some white dude yell at everybody all the time) #but i am rlly done with so many 'why was 13 written so badly' only to list subjective reasons for it #you did not like it #there's a difference #i dislike how 12's era is more aimed at the audience than the charcters #but it's not Bad

[silentlycrazy]

Y'know, I started listening to The Magnus Archives because Julia Drawfee said she was listening but didn't start at the beginning cuz it was bad. Which meant I had to listen to the first episode, for morbid curiosity.

Personally I enjoyed the podcast from episode 1 but I understand the desire to skip filler eps so no hate to Julia or anyone else who didn't start at the beginning but...

Now that I'm on episode 121 I can't help but ask: if not the beginning where do people start? Squirm? After Prentiss? I'm so curious.

#tma #the magnus archives #drawfee #julia drawfee #morbid curiosity #im also weird in that i dont like the action episodes where the recorders just pop on #it feels like a badly written found footage movie cliche #i think its creepier to just hear what horrible things happened told in a distacted monotone

[sleepygaymerdisease]

where does one get started with lupin i’m curious

i will always recommend the movie Castle of Cagliostro (1979) directed by miyazaki because it is the best lupin media ever in my opinion. BUT. the problem with starting here. is that it's kind of like the magnum opus. which is insane to say because it's the 3rd lupin movie ever made but it's like. ok. it's super good but the lupin characters dont ever have that same amount of depth ever again and it's not really mentioned anywhere because there's no series continuity. it's kind of like a retrospective of the series that would take place near the end of a hypothetical timeline. but there isn't a timeline. no continuity. so Technically you could start anywhere with no issues as long as you know the very basic premise. once you know the main characters you're pretty much set for anything. with varying quality. and trust me it varies a lot. to the point where i don't easily recommend it LOL. um but aside from cagliostro hmm. i really like part 1 even though theres a lot of issues with it because like, it's definitely aged but there's a lot of depth (miyazaki also worked on part 1 lol) and you can see how people became so attatched to these characters. to me its a really good mix of ridiculously silly and seriousness and dread. ok and other than that. uhhh. hm. Fuma Conspiracy is a really good movie (and a shitty rip of it is currently on youtube hehe). oh and animation-wise i'd rec Lupin III: The First (yes the name makes it a pain in the ass to talk about) but the plot is not particularly good and also theres nazis in it. theyre the bad guys but jesus christ its a lot. also disclaimer pretty much everything i listed will have guns + violence and sexism. like Extreme Sexism. i hate this stupid series sometimes. a lot sometimes. cagliostro has the least sexist portrayal of fujiko my best friend fujiko the femme fatale and theres a section on the wikipedia about fans complaining about the lack of sexualization. to give you an idea of where this is at. theres always a ton of other shit going on in the movies n shit too so lmk if you'd like any specific tws for specific medias i listed.

TLDR:

• there's no continuity so all you need to know are the characters who are always being put into situations. MAIN CAST: Lupin III, Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko, and Zenigata. gentleman thief, gunman, samurai, femme fatale, and the detective trying to stop them all. they're all crazy. that's all u need to know. congrats you're set. that being said.

• Start with Castle of Cagliostro. (which is my fav but it's different from a lot of lupin media 💔)

• after that I'd go with Part 1 i guess. it sets up the characterizations extremely well but theres also Problems and Issues.

• Fuma Conspiracy. a solid movie 👍

• Lupin III: The First. amazing animation. plot leaves more to be desired. it follows the general plot beats of cagliostro though. still havent decided how to feel about that but WOW HES 3D!!!

• after this you can do whatever you want but watch out. i dont think ive watched anything else i could rec to a normal person.

#im not kidding about tws like dear lord theres always so much. i think ill have to come up with a list someday. that being said even when #there isnt awful shit in episodes/movies/etc a lot of it is just like. badly written. and i still enjoy it but. i can genuinely only #describe it as cocomelon. its doing something to my brain and its probably harmful. have i mentioned the amount of lupin dreams ive had #where i talk to these fucking characters. or i AM them? unbelievable. i need to be examined. #anis gaymer moments #long post

[iamthekarmapolice]

so like am i reading too much into this or is the cannibalism in yellowjackets a metaphor for the specific ways women hurt each other as a way to survive in harsh unforgiving environments that fundamentally dont seem to want them there

#granted im only on s1 and theres not actually been any cannibalism so far other than the first episode #but yeah this show is making me a little bit insane #it reminds me of the best and worst parts of my school which was all-girls #now im in engineering and im the only woman on my team and i fucking miss being in a predominantly female space so badly sometimes #yes there was a lot of cannibalism. but also people noticed when you were sad and you could tell them why #and no one was explaining code to you that you yourself have written #yellowjackets

[botseeksbot]

food . water . vbros women being written well .

#beating my fist against the ground . MYRA <- my no.1 always my 2 episode queen #SALLY . idr how many episodes you appear in but smth barely more than 2 . #they should have been cunting it up s6 and 7 i see it in my head . #the vb that exists in my head and i draw art for . #genuinely like all the women . they have so much potential and its so sucks that theyre written so badly . #USUALLY FOR GUYS IDGAF ABT #everything w dr mrs and her issues w being guild council and her marriage issues being pushed asside s7 for . #the osi agent (who is a woman i'll give them that) and the fucking peril partnership guy . killing myself . WHY WAS THAT SUCH A BIG PLOTLIN #warriana just fucking off after s6 . hey remember when s6 was being written and people thought since the other members were working for #widewhale that she would be betraying brock like his biblical namesake and it was so cool and then it went no where she just fucked up and #was never seen again #idec for her that much but her potential . she would have been awesome #in my head myra takes hatred's place as the venture bodyguard s4 onward get that cretin out of here #then sally should have been beefing w everyone . she deserved it everyone treated her like SHIT #focus being on her shittier husband and then her somewhat shitty bf instead of her . DIEEEEE #sirena also is just . pushed aside for the twins is like . its so evil what they do to her babygirl i know youre better written than this #I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ON THE VB WOMEN . THEY GENUINELY ARE AWESOME [in my head] [if they were written well] #e.txt #SORRY I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABT THE WOMEN . EVEN NIKKI AND I HATE THAT EPISODE SO MUCH

[docholligay]

It’s hard for me to actually ANALYZE this, because it’s just right there. They put a book in front of us, ffs.

This is about characters leaving their stories, and the idea that once you leave your story, you have nowhere to go. That characters, having lived their entire lives in a world constructed specifically for them, can only tamp through a forest of darkness, ideas in a tangled lines of branches without having been made into anything at all. I think this is what it’s saying about loving parents, that we as authors ‘raise’ our characters to some extent, and whether we give them what they want, we give them what they need, narratively. And that is love. That is care.

Once a character escapes that, they lose the structure in which they were formed, and can’t find their way. This is why sequels are often horrible, and TV shows that go on too long.

Please note I have never seen this and am watching spoiler-free! Please don’t confirm, deny, or explain anything, even if it’s historical or cultural! Thank you!

#Doc watches Princess Tutu #PT episode 22 #I think a lot about what 'justice' for a character means #I thinks ometimes its taken to mean 'for them to be happy' #but some characters aren't meant tobe #sometimes their fates are written in the stars #this is part of what made the very badly written harry potter suck #you cannot look me in the face the whole time and go #this boy is born to die #and go 'technically ;)' #and have me call that good writing

[hauntingblue]

Omg sanji is trembling.... what did they do to my babygirl????

#i mean we kinda saw it but still... #do not worry princess... luffy is coming #do no worry girl listen to the sound they shoes make when they walk lmao #niji doesnt finish his food AND threatens a girl.... it's so over for him #reyju smiling at all this ajejas girl??? #talking tag #watching one piece #episode 800 #he is going to beat up his siblings one by one right.... youngest to oldest lmao #flashbacks aith zeff as if i didn't know.... do not recite old history to me witch i was there when it was written #omg luffy deflated.... it's so over... nami get here girl.... save him girl..... girl save him #he ate that shit!!!!! tell them sanji #episode 801 #cracker just clapping.... you should have tried being a dancer in dressrosa man #another girl falling for sanji.... OH THIS PIECE OF SHIT!!!!! #oh so they just make people??? jesus #BEAT HIS ASS UP SANJI!!!!!! FUCK THAT MAN!!!! #episode 802 #my tags disappeared for episode 803...... #i was talking about how i liked when the weaker character fights to protect the stornger one to protect them and they get badly hurt #but they never let nami get hurt so ofc luffy appears at the right time but still she got her moment defending luffy and sanji.... #also reiju cares for sanji at least and just follows whatever her brothers say #also sanjis dad just your mom is dead + you are weak + fuck your rat + you are dead + L + ratio #and still sanji calls for him and apologizes for being born weak.... #hell is not hot enough for that man #also the book about devil fruits.... he wanted one to be like his brothers i know it.... #also mom appearence #episode 803

[goldenkid]

ok now that wild blue yonder was actually good i can be honest and say i didn't like the star beast

#it just felt messy and badly paced and i didn't like side characters acting #and i didn't like the way they did the metacrisis #AND honestly biggest one of all i didn't like the way they wrote donna's life. like sure she's happy now she has a family who loves her #her mum especially has changed a lot and you could argue that has had a knockon effect on her overall self esteem and relationships #but the point of donna originially was that her self esteem was shit! and nerys didn't really like her but donna settled for a shit friend #and her mum was mean and lance was horrible but she thought that was the best she was gonna get #and then the tragedy of her ending was that she loses all the growth and confidence she got with the doctor and goes back to being shallow- #-because she doesn't think she deserves anything more than that. because that's all she thinks her life is ever gonna be. #gossip and hangovers and the first bloke who's 'quite sweet' are as good as her life is ever gonna get #and tbh i really really needed to see her growth and change EXPLICITLY. like her mum being better to her -> that having an effect #her having rose -> that having an effect #the doctor's subconscious -> that having an effect on her self esteem specifically #etc etc #i just feel like rtd kind of ignored the tragic ending was like look her husband is a himbo who loves her how cute! #like ok. good that she's had character development OFFSCREEN that goes UNREMARKED ON. #also her + the doctor didn't have enough interaction + the metacrisis ending felt cheap #i liked rose and the scene with donna dying and i liked the meep a lot and the trans conversations when they didn't feel shoehorned in #i thought binary binary nonbinary was stupid but fun and very doctor who #but that was mostly it #but yeah. wild blue yonder was good. solid. felt like a proper rtd episode aka well written and acted and paced. lovely lovely stuff #doctor who

[foulbearobservation]

it's paste where he shouldn't be o'clock. sir you had to parkour to the top of the fridge and then across all my cabinets to get there. why.

#also just gonna use the tags to vent for a second but good GOD is this currnt bit of writers block incredibly poorly timed #I mean there's never really a good time to have writers block but I need to finish a piece for the fe3h femslash exchange by next week #and I'm only a few hundred words into it #and I dont wanna let this person down but I feel like nothing I've written for it has been very good so!!!! AHHHHH!! #and my dad's coming this weekend and my cats probabaly have fuckin fleas #I have to edit 2 podcast episodes this week each nearly 2 hours long #like this is not a good week to be me #and like I want to create!!! very badly!!! I feel like a tiger stalking its cage #and I cannot do everything I need to do right now. so instead I will walk to the kitchen and get some water #then I am going to sit down and complete one work task that is purely word vomit #then I am going to go to sleep and try again tomorrow #because that is what tomorrow is for

[leatherbookmark]

idk maybe it makes me a child or Someone With Shit Media Literacy, but i feel like when people discuss fictional events that were good or bad writing, they often look to general fiction tropes rather than what makes sense for the individual story? like, oh, well, this is a [genre] story, and in these, it's either X or Y, so it's going to be either X or Y. or: this character technically could count as a [character archetype], so obviously they only have one very predictable ending. what wonderful, emotionally moving writing!

and like. are we writing stories, or producing products that check off all the most common boxes on the Successful [Genre] Story list? this is not to say that you can never kill off your mentors/father figures, or that your protagonist should never fail miserably in this or that point of the story -- sometimes it really is the most fitting and sensible solution! sometimes leaving a character alive would undermine or muddle up the message, if there is one, or it would simply make it more difficult for the writer. and it's fine. but when your reason for this or that writing choice is not "because it makes the most sense" but rather "because that's what happens in other stories", it's, uh, not good writing at all. it's barely any writing, really!

#shrimp thoughts #i still can't understand how people not only expected izzy to die but also found it satisfying. like. you have GOT to be kidding me #you have GOT to be closet izzy haters who thought that saying 'oh i was so moved it was so beautiful' would like. legitimize your #'grr grr stupid baka character want him to DIE' #it must have been said at least 49857 times by people way better at words than me but it would've been cheap and frustrating if it was #izzy ~redeeming himself~ to save ed and doing a very last minute u turn from the path of Villainy. but he was not a villain he was barely #even an antagonist. and he was first and foremost and accepted part of the crew for (over?) HALF OF THE SHOW by now #and saying that he had to die precisely because he 'redeemed himself' (hello hello i'm starting to hate this word yknow) doesn't make it #better. if anything: worse. #and the argument that izzy had to die because he's said it himself -- babes. what. izzy is a character. in a VERY badly written episode if #he has to explain HIMSELF why he's dying and why it's necessary. like. you can see it right. you can see it. right? #post sponsored by me once again letting the curiosity win and finding out the sad way that i made the right call by unfollowing someone #for the grave sin of not liking my blorbo back in 2022