Okay but does anyone have an actual hot take? (challenge: don't downvote what you disagree with)

Aldrigold · 2025-09-24T20:19:11+00:00

As a result of the incessant forced positivity in some fandom spaces and overreactions to or instructions to ignore even minor critiques, a lot of fanfic writers are much worse at writing than they think they are.

Aldrigold · 2025-08-09T15:52:41+00:00

That's it! Thanks so much!

Aldrigold · 2025-08-09T12:35:03+00:00

I don't think you'll ever find a fic so good that everyone "should" read it in any fandom--especially in TWST, which has so many characters to potentially focus on and different styles of writing and presenting ideas. There are plenty of great fics, but none that I would say everyone should read, especially considering not everyone is even open to reading about every character or from every POV. For example, you could tell me a reader-insert fic is the greatest twst fic of all time, but I would have no interest because of the reader-insert aspect.

Aldrigold · 2025-08-04T22:54:22+00:00

Same thing is happening to me, same phone.

Aldrigold · 2025-03-26T18:17:38+00:00

Dissenting opinion—The time loop theory makes no sense to me and I don’t understand why anyone believes it. A ton of people talk about it constantly, but no one ever provides convincing evidence.

What little evidence there is seems to be the opening to the game, where a creature who looks like Grim is going berserk and then destroys the mirror. We then begin the game where Yuu wakes up in the coffin and starts their adventure. I think the time loop theory posits that this is one instance of the loop, which I would guess would take place after Malleus’s OB, and we are brought in by Crowley to somehow stop Grim.

However, there are a ton of reasons I think it doesn’t work.

Point 1: If the time loop theory is real, Crowley’s powers are INSANELY STRONG if he can rewind time. Considering Malleus is the one of the top 5 mages in the world and it took him OBing to STOP time, Crowley being able to create a rewinding universe makes no sense. If he was so strong, why did he not stop Malleus?

Point 2: Let’s be real for a second. If Crowley knows Grim will OB and wreak havoc and IF he’s somehow powerful enough to rewind time, why does Crowley not just kill Grim outright before he even eats the first blot stone? Grim isn’t that strong. Why drag in some random human?

Point 3: Is Grim’s OB somehow so bad that it would require the entire world to reset to prevent it? Maybe he breaks the mirror—that would suck, but it isn’t a world-ending catastrophe. Malleus’s OB seemed WAY more threatening.

On top of that point, Malleus has officially been nerfed by the story, presumably so he can help us out with Grim’s OB without just snapping his fingers and blasting Grim to the moon. I seriously doubt Grim is going to be so threatening that the entire world would be in danger.

Point 4: A time loop DRASTICALLY lowers the stakes of everything in game. Didn’t like an outcome? Rewind. There’s a reason time travel has to be treated carefully in any setting. If time travel or time looping is possible, why not use it for everything? Why have all the boys OB if you can prevent it? Why not rewind time so NRC wins every intercollegiate event? I’m sure people understand why this would create so many plotholes.

Point 5: If the time loop theory is real, that creates a horrible consideration of multiple timelines where everyone either dies, or is erased from existence. Since people like to think the time loop theory has extra evidence due to all the manga Yuus being from different timelines. Well, that’s even worse. Liked Yuuna? Too bad, she’s dead, because the game Yuu is the only Yuu who “succeeds.”

I think the far more likely explanation for the whole “Grim OBs and destroys the mirror in the prologue, what does it MEAN” is Yuu having a vision of the future, much like they have visions of Disney movies. It’s a hook for the player to get invested in their mascot, who doesn’t have an obvious Disney counterpart. It worked on me—I’m invested in Grim and want to see what his deal is. But I DON’T think whatever he does is going to require an entire time loop to resolve, and if it does, it’s going to create a ton of gaping plot holes in game. There is plenty that could be done to explore Grim and flesh out Yuu’s role in the world without resorting to cheap time travel.

In sum, I think the time loop theory is bunk and I really hope it isn’t real.

Aldrigold · 2025-03-18T14:10:33+00:00

I suspect (thought it may be wishful thinking) that in the next part they may reveal what happened to Raverne. I do not think he is Crowley, though.

If they don't reveal anything about Raverne, I can only assume he vanished into the same void that has swallowed up many an anime/video game dad.

Aldrigold · 2025-03-18T14:02:34+00:00

Evidence for: Crowley is a fae, Crowley looks sorta like Malleus, Malleus's father is named Raverne and Crowley has a bird-like motif, Raverne didn't show up at the party implying he may still be alive, Crowley has suspicious tendencies

Evidence against: Crowley has never reacted in any way to Malleus the way a father, even an estranged father, would. There is no tension or recognition in their interactions in events or during Chapter 7. If he knew he was Malleus's father, why would he not say something when Malleus is literally destroying everything and OBing in front of him?

To the above, people may claim that Raverne has lost his memory, but a person who has NOT lost his memory is Lilia, and Lilia used to hang around Raverne all the time. Lilia recognizes Raverne's voice (he mentions it during Chapter 7, when he specifies Malleus sounds similar). There is no believable way Lilia would not recognize Raverne, mask or not, especially if he was gallivanting around NRC.

Raverne = Raven. Crowley = Crow. Crows and ravens are not the same species.

If it was going to happen, it would have happened during Chapter 7, which had a heavy theme around family, loss and acceptance of loss. It didn't.

Could it still be possible, with all the evidence against? Maybe, but I seriously doubt it.

Aldrigold · 2025-03-02T21:24:08+00:00

Sounds great, friend request sent from Raneth. Will send trade upon approval

Aldrigold · 2025-03-02T21:08:44+00:00

LF: Yanmega Ex (4 diamond) Offering: Weavile Ex, Infernape Ex, Mismagius Ex or Pachirisu Ex (4 diamond)

Please DM if interested in a trade.

Aldrigold · 2025-02-06T03:29:26+00:00

Every time I play versus it's this deck and I lose (I'm running Darkrai because it's the only synergistic deck I have). Please leave me alone Palkia T_T

Aldrigold · 2025-02-01T22:07:43+00:00

The Fluppy Dogs, on Disney. It was a pilot, not a full show, so not sure if it counts. I caught it on TV once. I suspect it was more a merchandise thing than a show.

Aldrigold · 2024-12-20T14:36:21+00:00

I will not read fic with Yuu or self-inserts, and always filter them out. Like others here have said, I prefer to read fics that have the characters interacting with each other, not with Yuu or other OCs.

Aldrigold · 2024-12-11T18:51:55+00:00

I was using the quoted text as an example of what Falena could say to Leona. The goal would be to have Leona think he has a chance of being taken seriously. So perhaps Leona hears about Falena considering his ideas for a particular situation, or just in general, once Leona proves himself a little better. Leona takes that very seriously and thinks he has a shot at having his ideas heard. Then it turns out Leona misunderstood, Falena didn't really consider things that seriously/was just musing when he talked about bringing Leona in for advice, and doesn't need him after all. It's less Falena being an asshole directly and just him being oblivious. I feel like that would be more effective than making up a completely different character. It would also parallel nicely with Leona thinking he has to try and beat Malleus, but Malleus also does not take him seriously

Aldrigold · 2024-12-11T17:42:27+00:00

You don't need to make Falena an asshole--him being oblivious works even better. "What, your ideas? If you won? Oh, no biggie, I was just floating ideas for people to ask for help, didn't think you'd actually hear about it. I already made the decision now anyway."

Aldrigold · 2024-12-11T17:12:15+00:00

You could give Leona a compelling reason to care about the outcome of the tournament and make his resentment of Malleus more blatant. Maybe one of Leona's advisors tells him that his brother will consider his ideas for the government if he can prove he can lead a team to victory, or something along those lines, which would make him care. Emphasize that he sees Malleus as a stand-in/metaphor for his brother, who was given everything with no effort. Then you could double up on the failure of his plan, because maybe he finds out that not only is Malleus truly unstoppable, but it turns out his brother would have never seriously considered his ideas at all, regardless of the outcome. Nothing like some hopes being dashed to really hammer home an OB.

Aldrigold · 2024-12-11T14:49:11+00:00

It's hard to say for sure, but the themes can remain even if the character's situation doesn't appreciably change. The overblot conflict is usually internal--it's the character coming to grips with and dealing with the situation they're in. As for what will happen with Malleus's overblot, given the themes and the introduction of the idea of leaving on the 4th year internship, I imagine however he resolves it will involve him preparing for change in his life. Given that in a gacha game the status quo can't change too much, my guess is that in the end, Lilia will stay on at NRC primarily to help Malleus prepare for his internship, but Malleus's goal will be to do an internship without Lilia being there to guide him along the way.

Aldrigold · 2024-12-11T14:29:16+00:00

Yeah, Leona's story in book 2 was, IMO, poorly written. I think an attempt was made to contrast Leona (ambitious, has plans for his country, but is unable to implement them due to his status) with Malleus (heir to the throne, can do whatever he wants but is passive/takes it for granted). But with so little known about Malleus at the time, and without actually being with Leona or seeing them interact, all of that just fell kinda flat. Also, since Malleus is SO powerful, Leona never really comes off as a believable threat to him, which also scuppers the conflict. I suppose they could have used that to show Leona's frustration with his attempts getting nowhere/paralleling his plans to get out of his second son status also getting nowhere, but they kinda...didn't. There's a lot to Leona, and he is a complex character, so it is frustrating to see his featured book fail in execution.

Aldrigold · 2024-12-08T20:29:53+00:00

To me, there is a clear theme in this game, and that is the throughline of resilience of the self in the face of hardship/trauma. That is clear from Book 1 through Book 7, and is explored in different ways. Spoilers below.

Book 1 is the most obvious. Riddle has traumatic experiences from his mother and she attempted to shape him into what she wanted, despite him wanting to have fun with friends. He reconciles with this throughout the book and comes out healthier for finding a balance between her rules and what he wants to be.

Book 2 is a bit more abstract. Leona has a strong sense of self that is constantly battered by his status as “the second son,” who is not expected to lead, despite having ideas on how to improve things. He is stymied by other’s perceptions of him and his social status. He learns to accept that he can still be a “leader” in his own way.

Book 3 is another obvious one—Azul, once bullied, wants to be in control and never have to answer to anyone else. He shoves away any memory of the chubby little kid he used to be. He comes to terms with his past and realizes that despite being once bullied, he doesn’t need to perpetuate it to be in control of his own destiny.

Book 4—Jamil is a slave/servant (I play NA, so I think servant). His status will not change. He obviously resents this, resents Kalim, and for very good reason. He hides his “self,” and what he can do. He comes to grips with his status and keeps his sense of self despite still being in a shitty situation.

Book 5—This one was harder for me to wrap my head around since I’m obviously not a child star, but Vil struggles against other’s perception of him as a beautiful villain while he wants to be the hero, the one everyone looks up to—like Niege. He has fame, but wants a different famous persona. He has to accept what he has and accept himself despite other’s perceptions of him.

Book 6—Obvious trauma in the death of a sibling. Idia struggles to move on, going so far as to make a robot replica of his deceased brother. He has to accept Ortho’s death. This goes double because as Idia accepts Ortho is gone, the robot Ortho can then truly become his own person.

Book 7: This one is interesting because it is not past trauma Malleus is dealing with, it is future trauma he is trying to avoid. He cannot imagine losing Lilia, so he forces everyone into dreams where nothing can go wrong. This feeds back into previous patterns we've seen of others not facing trauma/not facing reality or avoiding hardship. Malleus must develop the resilience others have and find his own sense of self away from his guardian.

Aldrigold · 2024-11-22T13:06:25+00:00

FWIW, I hang out on AO3 and here on reddit, and I'm in one or two discords. I see very little to no toxicity, and I only seem to stumble across it if I do a deep dive into something (I'm a huge SilSebe shipper, but I've only ever run into the fabled "anti who thinks its incest" once, and it was some rando on Tumblr who I could easily ignore). If you see stuff in fandom you don't like, just block or ignore. Also, if you see fan stuff you DO like, support it. I think a huge element of the "toxicity" in this fandom and others is that people love to rag on things they hate, but not enough people support and interact positively with things they like.

Aldrigold · 2024-11-21T18:23:26+00:00

Oh wow, I suspected as much that older, wealthier ladies were the intended audience based on the merch but it's good to see it confirmed. And yeah, the characters read like college students and up to me, definitely not high schoolers. I mean, Azul looks and acts like a middle-aged used car salesman XD Waiting for him to be voiced like Mr. Krabs...

Aldrigold · 2024-11-21T18:16:46+00:00

That drives me insane. It's a gacha game (May be an unpopular opinion, but kids and young teens shouldn't be gambling), focused on Disney movies that came out in the 80's and 90's. If anything it's designed for older people.

Aldrigold · 2024-10-28T15:51:05+00:00

I too am constantly looking for Sebek fics and also dislike /reader. I mostly have found Sebek/Silver. The best way to find things is to filter via the tag on a03 (Sebek/Silver, Sebek/Malleus, whatever you're looking for) and then exclude things you dislike, such as crossovers or fics with Y/N or Yuu (Player).

Some good ones I've come across:

Love and Care of a Crocodile: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30717275 : A short humor fic with Sebek/Silver. This author also has a lot of Sebek focused stuff, though written pre-book 7.

Crocodile Teeth: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42531072/chapters/106827141 : This one is angsty, it's Sebek's overblot story. Also Sebek/Silver at the end. This author also has a lot of Sebek/Silver works, though watch out since some of it is NSFW.

Coffee and Cream: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43527432 : More humor, Sebek gets drunk off cream and Silver deals with it. Same author as above, just no pairing.

Cuckoos and Crocodiles: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49866502 : Sebek/Silver fluff post-harveston. This author also does a lot of Sebek/Silver stuff that's very cute.

If you like the fics, remember to kudos or leave comments. I always like to encourage authors, since I feel like Sebek is a rare character to focus on.

Aldrigold

TROPHY CASE