What Are You Thinking?

[Goldsickle]

This is all Chris's fault. Fight me!

Even he kinda admits it in the end X3

 

[therogis]

Reactivating my FB and Tumblr accounts was a mistake. It's all about fighting and trolling and depression and hatred. It doesn't matter if you stay off the madness on purpose, you'll see that anyway because it's damn EVERYWHERE, mainly because both of these services are built around sharing and reblogging... And, for some reason, the most triggering content is also the most shared. Because Drama Sells. People find that entertaining.

Damn it, I don't need this. The news are enough emotionally consuming already, I don't want to get a face full of doomscrolling even when I'm trying to have fun. :/

I'd actually prefer deleting my whole Facebook permanently, but there's a certain group that I'd like to stay in, so... *sighs*

We need to get more forums like this. It's different when it's not about sharing.

On other "currently thinking", I just got an invite to the graduation ceremony but I really don't know if I bother to go at all. It's an online ceremony. I'll be happy to wait for my Master's Graduation, which will hopefully be normal with fancy suits and dresses and glasses of champagne on university's cost. Also, ever since I was accepted to law school, I always dreamed of taking my father with me, so having an online ceremony is just... disappointing.

 

[Angel]

Blue skies, on the way to the beach for a week.

Today is a good day

 

[Dark Prince]

Just a random thought what if we create food recipe game from DMC 5 as a spin off (because Nero has pasta breaker)?

 

[Goldsickle]

Replaying a horror game I already completed but pretending to be spooked by all the jump-scares and creepy moments to keep the kids entertained.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

I'm beginning to think no one's going to submit anything for the art contest...

...which makes having copies ready to sign and going to the trouble of procuring extra swag a bit awkward. ._.

 

[V's patron]

People seem to want Mac Calendar as the RDR3 protagonist.....I'm 50/50 on it.

 

[therogis]

So it's now confirmed than mother smoking during pregnancy can cause strabismus, spiking the risks for that with up to 90 percent. As we have no that kind of issues in the whole bloodline and strabismus tends to be either hereditary or caused by trauma, it seems to be probable that my mother smoking (and drinking) during her pregnancy played some role in the developmental issue that caused me a life long injury.

Of course it now feels even more unfair that she always berated the doctors for not being able to correct my eyes in my childhood, and that she still holds grudge to a certain surgeon for that because "I should have taken that bitch to court, it would have been a lot worth in damage compensation". Never ever did she mention that I, myself, the one who actually has to bear crossed eyes and whose weaker eye is probably gonna end up nearly blind at some point, didn't care about the money, I just wanted to go to school in peace without being called names, I wanted to walk down the stairs without tripping, I wanted to be able to play baseball and actually hit the ball sometimes. For her, it was all about the money. Money for damage she most likely caused.

Buuut the great news is that while it felt devastating for like 2 minutes, after that it was just worth a shrug. I think it's a good sign.

Another CT, I'm never ever EVER again gonna buy size 9 guitar strings.

 

[ef9dante_oSsshea]

That i am 34 but going on 90, lol my bones and muscles are weary

 

[Sparda's rejected son]

I will be 100% honest. I use Tumblr to save cool pictures from Dragon Ball, old Super Sentai shows, or whatever I like and to look at the girls in bikinis type picture. I like my cool action and nice booty. That is my culture. But other than that yeah, tumblr is a war zone.
I kind of wish fan fictions and original stories got more attention on there though.

 

[therogis]

I will be 100% honest. I use Tumblr to save cool pictures from Dragon Ball, old Super Sentai shows, or whatever I like and to look at the girls in bikinis type picture. I like my cool action and nice booty. That is my culture. But other than that yeah, tumblr is a war zone.
I kind of wish fan fictions and original stories got more attention on there though.

I actually thought about creating a writing blog there. Still thinking.

About my previous post: if it's caused by my mother, it's a good thing. Strabismus is heavily hereditary, according to what I've been told, but having a ****ty and careless mother is not. So, while it's not even a surprise that my mother's own actions might have caused me an injury (in addition to scars from cigarettes and a cut in my face...), at least the child I'm bearing is safe.

And that, mates, is actually worth celebrating. <3

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

That i am 34 but going on 90, lol my bones and muscles are weary

Belated Happy Birthday! <3 You can borrow my zimmer frame, if you like. (Seriously though, you have my sympathies. It seems to be harder on taller people, too).

 

[V's patron]

@Sparda's rejected son @therogis
I have one and it's fun to do. I suggest having a list of topics to riff on. So you don't run out of ideas.

Ironically I haven't written any DMC posts yet. So far I just posted a few Jak and Daxter ones and a few Sonic the Hedgehog ones.

My most reblogged and favorite post tends to be the Shadow the Hedgehog post and I'm ok with it.

So alot if your popularity depends on what you post and where you post it. It's harder for a writer to gain traction. Artists or video makers tend to have more luck.

@absolitude should try posting his work on Tumblr.

 

[therogis]

@Sparda's rejected son @therogis
I have one and it's fun to do. I suggest having a list of topics to riff on. So you don't run out of ideas.

Ironically I haven't written any DMC posts yet. So far I just posted a few Jak and Daxter ones and a few Sonic the Hedgehog ones.

My most reblogged and favorite post tends to be the Shadow the Hedgehog post and I'm ok with it.

So alot if your popularity depends on what you post and where you post it. It's harder for a writer to gain traction. Artists or video makers tend to have more luck.

@absolitude should try posting his work on Tumblr.

If I was to create one, it would be a writing blog, but not a fanfic blog. What I want from writing is something that fanfics cannot offer.
For me, writing fanfics would be rather damaging considering my writing style and the skills I've gained so far. Seen that happen earlier lmao

Also, I say Screw Popularity. Going to the artist-entertainer-axis again

 

[V's patron]

If I was to create one, it would be a writing blog, but not a fanfic blog. What I want from writing is something that fanfics cannot offer.
For me, writing fanfics would be rather damaging considering my writing style and the skills I've gained so far. Seen that happen earlier lmao

Also, I say Screw Popularity. Going to the artist-entertainer-axis again

If you wanna post your own work that's fine.

I have a fanfic I'm writing because I can't stop thinking about it. Plus I gotta fill my "1000 hours" somehow.

I don't think writing a fanfic damages your writing style. Unless you don't wanna write an established character which is more understandable.

 

[Sparda's rejected son]

Well to be fair, I've written both fan fics and original works on Tumblr. It gets little attention. But a picture of Godzilla and Son Goku I have on there gets so much attention it is borderline YouTube famous Haha. I'll never understand Tumblr. 0_o

 

[therogis]

I don't think writing a fanfic damages your writing style.

It actually does.

Let's just say I've seen people get stuck on the illusion that forcing characters kiss each other, no matter how out of character would that be, equals good writing. Bonus points if they are two males who hate each other outside the fanfic! Even more bonus if it happens by accident, because you know, nonconsent issues or sexual abuse doesn't exist in fanfic world.

And.... *add exciting drums* one, though not all, of those people was me
Not to say fanfic culture affects to _everyone_ likewise (it's a writer weakness anyway, I think, you just get hooked to the kind of feedback that consists of "awws" and "yaaay they kissed!1" and nothing more), just that I, personally, won't risk that again. And because fanfics can't offer me anything anymore, I don't need to reconsider that.

That is also the reason why I said "my style" instead of just "style". It's a personal thing.

Adding this: what is not a personal thing is that fanfic culture is not the place to get any real feedback. If you like writing fanfics and entertain people, then go for it, but don't expect to get beyond a certain beginner level only with fanfic feedback. If you can add something else to support your writing, then it's a different thing. If you write just for fun, for entertainment, and don't want to get constantly better at it, that's fine, then fanfics are the answer.
Otherwise, IMO, fanfics are a step back in writing if you're already capable of doing better than that.

 

[Morgan]

It actually does.

Well.. sounds like a... hold on...

Let's just say I've seen people get stuck on the illusion that forcing characters kiss each other, no matter how out of character would that be, equals good writing. Bonus points if they are two males who hate each other outside the fanfic! Even more bonus if it happens by accident, because you know, nonconsent issues or sexual abuse doesn't exist in fanfic world.

And.... *add exciting drums* one, though not all, of those people was me

Okay, I'll say it.

That sounds like a You problem.

That is literally the most Basic B#tch Problem I've ever seen.

You didn't actually need to write hated enemies kissing for clout. You don't magically learn what consent is when you switch from fanfic writing to original writing. That's a You thing. Plenty of fanfic authors have done [checks notes] Dragonball Z fanfic without showing Vegeta getting Mpregged by Goku, or whatever.

If you gave a f#ck about the craft, and writing to hone yourself instead of writing for clout, you would've already been doing it.

Not to say fanfic culture affects to _everyone_ likewise (it's a writer weakness anyway, I think, you just get hooked to the kind of feedback that consists of "awws" and "yaaay they kissed!1" and nothing more), just that I, personally, won't risk that again. And because fanfics can't offer me anything anymore, I don't need to reconsider that.

That is also the reason why I said "my style" instead of just "style". It's a personal thing.

You need more self-control than that.

I'll have to copypaste what I said elsewhere for this one because it still applies.

If you didn't already care about continuity, grammar, character voice, development, worldbuilding, research, having a thick skin, and the like, then writing non-established characters isn't exactly going to help you there. At that point I'd say it's too late to start caring. Outside of your social obligations and work, you either want to learn the fundamentals of writing and hone your craft in what remaining free time you have, or you don't want to, and ideally you would've been working on those skills already instead of handicapping yourself with a view of fanfiction being less intensive and trying to make up for lost time now with original work after you might've codified bad habits. You still have to write in order to say that you've written, the same way someone doing a fangame still needs to learn how to do proper level design/coding, and fanartists learn how to draw figures. No amount of an IP pre-existing will do all that work for you.

You getting hooked by cheap feedback is you getting hooked by cheap feedback. An addictive personality interacting badly with a certain thing doesn't put that thing at fault; a teetotaler can be at a party with booze and not drink a sip of alcohol. A recovering alcoholic should know better than to go to a party if they believe they still can't control themselves around alcohol. But what neither of them should be doing is going to a party, taking a sip and getting buzzed, then blame the party for existing. You knew what it was going into the damn thing, have a little more respect than that.

Adding this: what is not a personal thing is that fanfic culture is not the place to get any real feedback. If you like writing fanfics and entertain people, then go for it, but don't expect to get beyond a certain beginner level only with fanfic feedback. If you can add something else to support your writing, then it's a different thing. If you write just for fun, for entertainment, and don't want to get constantly better at it, that's fine, then fanfics are the answer.
Otherwise, IMO, fanfics are a step back in writing if you're already capable of doing better than that.

I'm sure Alan Dean Foster knows that really well.

No he doesn't, he's trying to get (if not has already gotten by now) his fair compensation of royalties from Disney for his Star Wars novelizations that he started in 1976, which are essentially fanfiction, as he is not George Lucas nor one of the original staff who worked on the movies themselves.

The guy does honest work for a living using someone else's IP, because effectively replicating character voice and keeping consistent with a main property and its ideals and continuity is a valuable skill to have, like in the Renaissance with all those replicas of Mona Lisa done by Da Vinci's students.

Not all fanfiction is the Mona Lisa. That's not the point.

You don't actually have to interact with "fanfic culture" to write things even if you write fanfiction (I would know, I sure f#cking don't interact). Getting your brain rotted by it is on you. You either want to tell a story in a world you and other people care about, or you don't and just want to lazily crib tropes from better people. The amount of work you put into that is not actually going to be dictated by its readers. If it were, they would be the authors and creators of that particular story. But they're not. They may be writing something else, but they're not writing your story.

Fanfic culture as it is has warped from the art of receiving proper feedback because of thin-skinned authors who consider it a less intensive form of writing and, I quote, "expect nothing but praise" because the writing was given to readers for free, as if that's an excuse for putting out a low-quality piece into the greater internet. Then they take that attitude outside into "the real writing world" and get eviscerated by people who know what to look for that would dissuade future readers from paying money.

That is a Them problem. That doesn't have to be You too, no matter what else you have in common with them.

For everything else, writers gonna write.

 

[therogis]

That sounds like a You problem.

That is literally the most Basic B#tch Problem I've ever seen.

You didn't actually need to write hated enemies kissing for clout. You don't magically learn what consent is when you switch from fanfic writing to original writing. That's a You thing. Plenty of fanfic authors have done [checks notes] Dragonball Z fanfic without showing Vegeta getting Mpregged by Goku, or whatever.

If you gave a f#ck about the craft, and writing to hone yourself instead of writing for clout, you would've already been doing it.

You need more self-control than that.

Haha yeah, that's what I actually tried to say. Multi-quote is not my friend now but my exacts words were: "that is also the reason why I said "my style" instead of just "style", it's a personal thing".
Hence, I know it's my own writer weakness, not a problem in general. Like you said as well.

The latter though...

Not all fanfiction is the Mona Lisa. That's not the point.

You don't actually have to interact with "fanfic culture" to write things. Getting your brain rotted by it is on you. You either want to tell a story in a world you and other people care about, or you don't and just want to lazily crib tropes from better people. The amount of work you put into that is not actually going to be dictated by its readers. If it were, they would be the authors and creators of that particular story. But they're not. They may be writing something else, but they're not writing your story.

Fanfic culture as it is has warped from the art of receiving proper feedback because of thin-skinned authors who consider it a less intensive form of writing and, I quote, "expect nothing but praise" because the writing was given to readers for free, as if that's an excuse for putting out a low-quality piece into the greater internet. Then they take that attitude outside into "the real writing world" and get eviscerated by people who know what to look for that would dissuade future readers from paying money.

That is a Them problem.

For everything else, writers gonna write.

That is also what I tried to say. This is the problem in fanfics. Yeah, I don't need to interact with people, you're right in that. Just that I don't even bother because I already get problem-free interactions from elsewhere.

Buuut, combined with the Me Problem you (and I) mentioned first, you'll probably get it why writing fanfics would be rather destructive for me.
For me, feedback is fuel, but to keep the engine running properly, I need an occasional whip. I need someone to tell me "Well, this really SUCKS for reasons X, Y and Z". Which is not available in fanfic communities... mostly because of the thin-skinned ones. And, like you said, that is a Them Problem. My weakness is that I would suck that Them Problem to myself... or at least that's what I'm afraid would happen

Adding that at least I would get very frustrated. When I get feedback for my writing, I get just ****ed and disappointed if there's not a word of "I didn't like this", "this doesn't seem probable" or "there's a problem in this scene". I don't want to hear all about how good it was, because no piece of art is all good and perfect anyway. Everyone has their less well-written stuff and more well-written stuff: for me, the weaknesses are in setting and world-building, and the strengths are seen best in characters and dialogue.
In that sense, I'm lucky to belong in a writing club where people really don't spare their words. Belonging in there developed my skills in huuuuge leaps.

 

[Morgan]

For me, feedback is fuel, but to keep the engine running properly, I need an occasional whip. I need someone to tell me "Well, this really SUCKS for reasons X, Y and Z".

You need a Loud American, then? That sounds like a Loud American.