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twc-thoughts-you-didnt-ask-for · 3 months

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I know I'm late and you've already made a post but I'm curious if you have any new thoughts about book 3? I always love your observations!!

Never too late :)

Honestly, I wish I could say they have changed but they haven’t a whole lot. I enjoyed book three lots and I look forward to book four but there’s just a lot that seemed off or I just straight up didn’t like.

I think the thing I’m most upset about is the shift of the detective becoming an agent. I’m not happy about that at all and it just seems like so out of no where and last minute. I would have anticipated that could have been something that was decided for like the epilogue or something, not three books in. I think it really ruins some of the charm for me too which might be dramatic but this was my comfort series for years so I’m opposed to certain changes. I would have been fine with it if we remained the detective while being an agent but we don’t which leads to questions of like why stay in Wayhaven at all then. We would be safer just traveling around and then Wayhaven would be safe because they’re after the detective not Wayhaven.

I think part of that decision is made from Sera really putting a lot of energy off the original cast (in a way- that’s not how I want to phrase it but I can’t think of a better way at the moment) and starting to focus on the new supernaturals she’s creating because she enjoys them herself. You can see it a little bit with Falk and a lot a bit with Sin. I personally disagree with how much was spent on Sin because I would have preferred that time with UB but that might just be me. With her turning a villain into an RO in book 4 I don’t think this will be something that changes or will get better any time soon. I can respect her wanting to do more stuff with the world she’s created, but I think it would better suit TWC to be less books then and expand the world with different characters/series for that focus on new characters or dynamics she thinks of.

I also feel a certain type of way with some of the romance choices she made. The only one that felt like it was perfect to me was M’s and A’s to a much lesser degree. N’s felt so out of order and out of character for me that it was like whiplash and I don’t recognize it in comparison to our book one and book two romance with them. One thing that felt off for me in N and F’s route was how… brushed off the intimacy was in their routes? You would have assumed they’ve been physical since book one for how… not special it all felt. The quickness of it and how quickly they had to get dressed and go right after made it very one-night-stand-y which worked for M’s route in book 2 only. I think F’s is the more egregious example because F, depending on choices you make, shares that they are not exactly ready for intimacy yet just for it to happen shortly after and to really just kind of be like “whatever”

There are parts of book 3 that I really, really enjoyed don’t get me wrong but it was definitely lacking for me at lots of points and has me questioning further decisions or implications of decisions made.

#twc critical

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sevlawless · 1 year

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how do i tell you?

pairing: nate sewell x f!detective (felicity langford)

word count: 1.9k

warnings: some swearing? and felicity overthinking so much like it’s her job

tagging: @masonscig @blainehayes

notes: so this has been a wip for... a year at least LMFAO but i'm in twc hell so i dusted her off and she's here! i will never get tired of examining felicity under a microscope like she's an ant so <3 this takes place sometime during book 3 (we're ignoring that her apartment is ruined) AND this fic is loosely based on how do i tell you? by lizzy mcalpine

[read on ao3]

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

felicity watches as the fan on her bedroom ceiling grows faster with each spin, the yellow blades losing their rectangular shape in seconds and morphing into a blur right in front of her eyes. she's probably spent a thousand nights doing exactly this, hoping that if she stares up at it long enough it'll put her to sleep.

but how can the thought of sleeping even cross her mind when all she can think about is him?

all felicity sees when she closes her eyes is nate; the way he looks at her when they're together, his deep brown eyes staring into her own and leaving her breathless, the intensity making her look away, how he concentrates when he's pouring over a book in the library, the way his ring covered hands turn each page so delicately.

she also sees the way his smile strains when she turns him away yet again, reassuring her that it's okay, how he reaches out to comfort her but quickly puts his hands back in his pockets as if touching her would burn them both.

it's not that she doesn't like him. she adores him. she knows being with him would make her happier than she's ever been in entire life, even a sliver of what could be when they're together makes her smile a little brighter and stand a little taller.

if only she could get over herself.

to say she's been hurt badly in the past would be an understatement. she's never anyone's priority, at least not in the way that they were to her. whether it was with bobby, or the handful of other relationships she's had, they always end up leaving her in the dust, struggling to understand where it went wrong, as if it was all her fault.

she knows nate would never do that, at least she thinks he wouldn't. she's just so tired of having to pick up the pieces of her broken heart that it seems pointless to attempt a romantic relationship with anyone ever again, despite how much she might want to.

and she desperately wants to.

this can't go on forever, she knows that. she needs time, but she's tired of feeling down on herself and fuck if she does it any longer. nate deserves to know how she feels.

before she can stop herself, her phone is unplugged and off her nightstand and into her hand. she's calling nate before it even registers in her brain what she's doing.

it rings four times (not that she was counting), when she suddenly hears some shuffling on the other end. her heart sinks as she realizes he was probably asleep and feels guilty for calling him so out of the blue, and she hates to admit it but she wanted - no needed, to hear his voice and maybe just talking it out would help and god, what the fuck is she doing-

"felicity? is everything alright?" his voice is urgent, but calm and she rolls her eyes at how quickly it soothes the storm of overdramatic thoughts swirling around in her head.

"i just had a hard time sleeping," she smacks her hand against her forehead. that is not why you called him. why are you prolonging this?

"i'm sorry to hear that," he says and her heart swells at his words. she's known him for six months now and still, every time he says something to her that feels so genuine - because it's nate, and he doesn't have a insincere bone in his body - she can't help but gape in disbelief that anyone could be so… unabashedly kind to her. is she really that starved for affection that someone being polite to her feels like such a big deal?

'any normal person would be sorry that you couldn't sleep,' she thinks. 'don't get ahead of yourself.'

she shakes her head as if to clear that thought out of her brain.

"do you want to talk about it?" nate asks.

her mind immediately starts to backtrack. she couldn't possibly tell him how she feels. it's too soon. she can't do this.

"no, it's really dumb and i shouldn't have called you. it's so late," she lets out a nervous laugh, "and i know you hate talking on the phone."

"i was awake anyways," she swears she can hear his smile through the screen as he continues, "and you know i enjoy talking to you, no matter the circumstance."

i would fight through any form of technology if i knew you were on the other end.

the memory of him saying those words to her outside of the warehouse makes her head spin. her skin flushes as she mumbles an okay.

"if you don't want to talk about it, i understand, but i hope you know i'm here for you, felicity. always."

always.

after a beat of silence, she mumbles, "what if you leave?"

"felicity, i-"

"leave wayhaven," she says quickly, "things could calm down and unit bravo isn't needed here anymore and you get assigned somewhere else. what then?"

"i can assure you if we got assigned to a different place, i wouldn't lose contact with you." he declares it with such confidence it makes her brain foggy.

she smiles in spite of herself. "what, would you write to me?"

"absolutely."

she giggles. "maybe farah could teach you how to text."

she expects him to join in on the laughter but he's quiet. "or, you could teach me."

"i could."

there's a moment of silence before nate speaks again.

"is me leaving something you think about frequently?"

she almost forgot she let that slip and her bedroom suddenly feels a lot smaller and constricting.

"not really. i mean, i guess so, since i brought it up," she rambles and exhales a deep breath. i just…"

"i don't think that i ever mean that much to anyone," she blurts out, eyes widening at what she's saying. "i know that sounds dumb, but when things get tough with anyone, no one has ever stuck around and seen it through. i want to mean enough to someone to where they want to make it work when things are hard. and i'm terrified of that happening with you."

there, she said it. the worst that could happen is that he doesn't feel the same. but he does feel the same.

right?

her thoughts come to a halt when she realizes he hasn't said anything.

"nate? hello?" she pulls the phone from her ear to see that the call has been disconnected.

did he hang up on me?

maybe he accidentally hung up. he'll call back any minute.

one minute turns into five. five minutes turn into ten.

she can't stop the tears from forming in her eyes.

he doesn't feel the same way. of course. why would he? why the fuck did i say all that? he probably thinks i'm crazy. god, why am i such an-

the knocking on her front door stops her overthinking completely. she's probably so tired that she's hearing things, until she hears a knock again.

she rubs her eyes and slips out of bed, adjusting her pajamas and treading sleepily to the door.

she looks through the peephole and her heart is in her stomach.

it's nate.

she immediately yanks the door open. he's stood there, wearing his green satin pajamas with his usual jacket hastily thrown on. his hair looks like he hasn't brushed it in days, and he has sweat dripping from his brow. she'd find it attractive if she wasn't so anxious and confused about why he was here.

"may i come in?" he asks, eyes pleading and she lets him in. she notices he's also wearing his bedroom slippers which have tracked mud into her apartment. nate notices this too.

"i apologize for the mess, i'll clean it-"

"why do you look so-"

"disheveled?" he chuckles, running a hand through his hair.

"yeah. not that i don't like the look but-" it hits her. "nate, did you run here?"

he looks uncharacteristically nervous, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

"i did."

"why?"

"because i wanted to finish our conversation in person."

her face grows hot in embarrassment.

"about what i said, nate, i-"

he takes both of her hands in his, the touch taking her by surprise. she forgets whatever excuse she was going to say about baring her feelings instantly.

"i know we haven't known each other that long, felicity, but i do care about you. more than i've cared about anyone in a long time. your happiness is of the utmost importance to me, and to hear you say you feel like you don't mean that much to anyone-

"you mean everything to me. i need you to know that. i'm sorry people in your life have been so unkind to where you feel this way, but i want you to know i would never dare to make you feel any less special than you are.

"i know you need time. i completely understand. but please know that i would never do anything to hurt you, felicity. doing so, i think would hurt me."

tears are welling up in her eyes again and nate's hands move from her own to cradle her face, thumbs at the ready in case any should fall. he's giving her that look that he always gives her, the look that tells her that he means everything he said. his brown eyes are staring into her own, and for once she doesn't look away.

"i… i don't know what to say," she mentally scolds herself, but how would anyone respond to the man of your dreams telling you he wants you and would never harm you?

"you don't have to say anything. i just wanted to tell you how i feel." he's smiling, but she knows she needs to buck up and let him know that - whatever this is between them - isn't one sided.

"i know," she sighs. "nate, i'm crazy about you. i care about you a lot, and i'm really sorry i haven't done a very good job at showing it. you deserve more-"

"no," he assures her, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "i deserve you, and you deserve to be happy."

it all clicks into place for felicity at that moment.

"you're right."

she has to stand on her tiptoes but luckily nate meets her halfway as their lips meet in a searing kiss, her arms wrapping around his neck. his hands move to the small of her back, bunching up the fabric of her nightgown in his fists. kissing him is better than she ever could have imagined, his lips molding to hers as if they've always belonged there.

he pulls away too quickly for her liking and his eyes widen in concern, his hands snapping away to hover over her waist.

"felicity, are you sure?"

she smiles, blush rising in her cheeks. "i've never been more sure of anything in my life."

she kisses him again, and again, and again, until eventually, she has to pull away so she can breathe, and is met with nate's adoring gaze.

"i could get used to this view," she jokes, moving her hand to his hair to brush a strand out of his face.

he catches her wrist after, hand sliding down to entwine their fingers together.

"me too," he admits, smiling down at her. "and i am not going anywhere, so you'll be sure to see it often."

and she believes him.

#n sewell #nate sewell #nate sewell x detective #twc #the wayhaven chronicles #my writing #twc: nate x felicity #im just so obsessed with them !#also rip nate's slippers 💔 LMFAOKSKDNDNDKD

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time-to-write-and-suffer · 1 year

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can i ask why u still playthrough twc if u don’t like it? this ask is not supposed to come off accusatory btw just gen curious, feel free to ignore :-)

Cuz I still like parts of it! I like the characters, I liked most of the first book, I like the setting, I like the idea of a small-town detective finding out there's a whole supernatural world out there, I like the idea of dealing with a shady organization and deciding whether you trust them or not.

I also love the idea of a loner detective with trust issues slowly and reluctantly growing to like four new people they're forced to interact with, like a buddy cop type deal, but there's four of them and you have unresolved sexual tension with one of them. I'm still very much invested in my idea of my detective/Mason, so much so that I'm still interested in the crumbs I get from the source material.

And yeah, maybe I shouldn't judge the games for what they're not and instead evaluate them for what they are, which is a fair counter to my criticisms. However ... these things are there. There's a loner vs team player stat, so it's clearly meant to be a factor in your character's interactions with the rest of UB. There's clear found family dynamics attempted in how characters speak and what they say, and we're meant to believe the detective becomes a part of this world and the overall team, and that there's a choice in how you deal with the Agency.

It's just not ... very good. Ya know? It's all there, but it's not done well.

I want, desperately, for this thing to be good again. And maybe that's on me for asking for something I shouldn't have. But judging by the reaction to book 3, it's not just on me, is it? Maybe some people don't think it's fair to judge a "light and fluffy vampire romance simulator" by some higher standards, but I dunno if my standards are that high? Since the first and some of the second book clearly reached them? Meaning the author is fully capable of doing it again?

I think that, if you're spending so much time on something you enjoy, writing fic and drawing fanart, doesn't it ... deserve to have higher standards placed upon it? Like if you play with a thing frequently, it needs to be made of sturdier stuff, no?

Plus, like, it's a product that people pay for. You can't apply fanfic rules to media you pay for. People should have the right to talk about it, even if you don't like what you hear.

Anyway, back to why I do things. I like to take apart the things I enjoy. It's part of why I enjoy them. I love Dragon Age but I'm constantly critical of everything in it. Will I buy the next game? Yes. I also love Mass Effect, it's my favorite video game series behind Dishonored. And it's also a bunch of jingoistic military propaganda. Shit be like that.

I dunno. I can dunk on things I enjoy and it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of them. Usually it just adds to it, and it makes me more aware of the things I do love about them. I get that some people aren't like that but that's just how I vibe.

Edit: I also want to say that another thing that maybe explains why I do shit like this is because I fundamentally don't understand the "other side", so to speak. People who find that others' criticisms ruin their enjoyment of things. If I like a thing, and I see criticisms of it, my reaction is either "Oh, good point! I hadn't thought of it that way, and I agree!" or "Oh, interesting observation! I disagree, but this is a well-made argument!", and in the worst cases, I go "Lmao ok. This is plain wrong and you're wrong for saying it. Goodbye." So either it affects me for the better (I learned something new or got insight into a different viewpoint), or it doesn't affect me at all (and my enjoyment of the thing continues). The idea of someone else saying something I disagree with ruining something for me is just not ... logical, to me? It doesn't parse. I fundamentally don't understand the thought process.

#twc critical

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seraphinitegames · 4 months

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Hey Sera! Love TWC, and I've been following your work for like 7 years or something like that! You always write such awesome character development. I did want to make a suggestion about the save importing especially for Book Three and later books. I've noticed that when I don't import a save, I end up with significantly lower stats / friendships than when I do and it limits some of the objectives I like to get. Personally, I would find it more fun? to be able to set the two highest stats (both character and skills) manually - as in input a number - and set your relationships with each UB member manually as well. I feel like that way it could mimic more closely what happens if you play through all three books. (Especially since any consequences from lower stats that you get from creating characters in Books Two and Three are only compounded as you go from book to book). I know that the stat checks depend on whether some stats are higher than the others but I think by having people just set their highest two manually (and maybe having a cap on the second highest stat so that it can't equal the highest) would overcome this issue! That's just my two cents though and ultimately you're the author! Have Happy Holidays whatever you celebrate!

Hm, that's an interesting idea!

I'm reworking the import part for Book Four as it's just SO clunky how I've had it anyway, so this might help in smoothing that process.

I didn't actually think about an input (I forget it's something you can do even though I use it for setting the MC's name, lol!)

Will definitely add this as something to look at. At least setting top stats or something.

Thank you so much for the suggestion! :)

#the wayhaven chronicles #asks #interactive fiction #vampires #romance #game mechanics

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ejunkiet · 3 months

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Ok. So. I have a question. What exactly is the Murderbot thing?

Is it a book series? A podcast? Interactive fiction like TWC?

Cause I see it a lot on my dash and I keep forgetting to google it. But I'd also rather get a perspective from someone who seems to be into it.

YES. HELLO. >:3 I am very happy to answer your question heheheh!

The Murderbot Diaries is an award winning science fiction book series by Martha Wells! There are seven books total, most of which are novellas, starting with 'All Systems Red', and it follows the story of a half artificial, half human construct that has broken free from its control module, except instead of starting the machine revolution, all it wants to do is watch space dramas and avoid talking to people.

I cannot recommend the books enough, oh my god. They're funny and heartfelt and emotive, about finding out what it means to be a person without being human, and I could not put them down once I started reading them. The audio book editions narrated by Kevin R. Free are also amazing.

Look, I don't usually read science fiction, and even if it's not usually your genre, I can tell you that you will get hooked. If you have a few hours, just try 'All Systems Red'. I got through the first four novellas in one week, and then the novel over the next week. I'm slowly finishing up the series now with plans on reading them all again as soon as I do. >:3

#the murderbot diaries #is the name of the series #and it becomes perfectly clear why in the first page of ASR ahahaha #look i have been recommending this to everyone I know #i will shout about this from the rooftops #my book of the year!!#book recs

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juniemoe · 2 months

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hi vilna, hope you're doing well! :-) this might sound silly, but i'd like to ask you about interactive fiction. it's a bit daunting when i look for it with all the different databases, etc. so i'd like to ask you for recommendations/somewhere to begin as someone who does really love the concept but is out of the loop. (or, alternatively, you have successfully piqued my interest <3)

ahhhhh!!!! hi cat, i'm very happy i've piqued your interest, hehe. i've been into interactive fiction for four years now and it's honestly been a huge coping mechanism for me. i love stories and what's better than a story where you can influence the outcome yourself. 😌

the most obvious one to start with would probably be the wayhaven chronicles. interactive fiction is still a pretty niche fandom (if you can call it that) but twc is probably biggest if book series out there right now. it's a very romance focused (almost all if books have some sort of romance in them) you get to date four hot vampires whose genders change according to your (well, your character's i should say) preference. it's a really fun series and the one to get me into interactive fiction! i would sell out my soul for one ava du mortain. 🥺 there's three books out now and the author is currently writing the fourth one. her tumblr blog is @/seraphinitegames which i recommend checking for updates and fun asks, but there will be spoilers so if you want to avoid them, you should play the games first maybe? anyway 10/10 would recommend. it's very beginner friendly!

another fully completed book i've enjoyed is blood moon by @/barbwritesstuff. it's about hot werewolves (yes you can date them, jsiaksjsjsdh) and has fun heartwarming moments and characters (marco and sergi my beloveds), but it's also surprisingly devastating. i love it, i've read it like five times now and followed along with it when it was still a wip.

there's also fernweh saga which is a series with currently one fully completed book. it's also really fun! the author's blog is @/lacunafiction

there's also A LOT OF wips out there, my favourite ones right now are mind blind (@/mindblindbard), shepherds of haven (@/shepherds-of-haven), thicker than (also by @/barbwritesstuff) and infamous (@/infamous-if)!!!

there's many, many more ifs but these should get you started at least. ❤️😌 if you want to know anything else, lmk!!! also feel free to dm if you get into any of these, i'd love to hear your opinion. 👀

#✉️#landgraabbed

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