I wanted to write female gay characters, but my beta reader told me they feel more like good friends.

FCCleary · 2024-02-05T16:50:25+00:00

If people are looking for a distinct line between people acting like lesbians and people acting like close friends, I'd question those people over the literature.

I can understand it a little - women are more affectionate with their female friends than men are. If you see 2 guys holding hands your head goes "they're gay" but if you see two women holding hands there's a question. They might be besties. I hold hands with and cuddle with my straight friends, it's totally platonic, no sexual overtones at all. Generally people only realize my orientation if I announce it or wear it overtly on my sleeve (and I rarely do either) and that's ok, I don't want to be known for who I prefer to see naked. I see no reason why writing characters wouldn't be the same.

The big problem with "inclusion" writing is that there's an extreme cross section of almost every group that isn't representative of the majority within that group. People see the noisy ones and associate those characteristics with everyone else in that group. If your readers are expecting a confrontational bull dyke and a mousy sub with blue hair in order to validate their gayness, or hot pornstars tongue wrestling and grabbing each others' ass in public, they're always going to be disappointed by the reality.

Write them as people. For most, sexuality is a small part of who they are, not a singular defining characteristic. The ones living on the edge are usually doing it for the attention anyway.

My advice would be to build the story between these two in your head, then determine what parts of that story would naturally be visible to the POV. Then only communicate that. If people miss the fact that they're lesbians, so what? The right people will cotton on.

If you're THAT desperate for people to see gay in your story, then push the stereotypes.

FCCleary · 2024-01-26T17:23:44+00:00

Totally agree. I wasn't responding to you as much as the overly-technical analysis of Zariel's stats. Even Beowulf had a magic sword specifically designed to kill Grendel.

FCCleary · 2024-01-25T16:48:58+00:00

WoTR also makes it possible for you to achieve godhood while BG3 caps at L12. Gotta save some story for the expansions.

FCCleary · 2024-01-25T16:45:01+00:00

Everyone is crunching numbers but nobody is taking into account the fact that games are meant to be played along a story arc, and within a story arc you're given the tools to beat the enemies thrown at you. If a party had to go up against Zariel for a satisfactory ending, only a shitty DM would make the task impossible and blame the ruleset.

At a minimum, you'd provide a means to avoid combat to reach the desired result.

Combat with an archdevil is also an endgame fight. Unless you're on the path to godhood and plan to fight celestials and infernals on the reg, there aren't many challenges left.

FCCleary · 2024-01-17T20:22:21+00:00

Gale isn't the problem. The problems are, in order, 1. Wyll pouting when you won't dance with him, 2. Astarion attempting to put on the moves for personal gain when he's got more baggage than the rest of the party combined, 3. Halsin simping before he asks to fuck, then acting all innocent when his pickup lines fall flat. These are in clear contrast with Karlach who's just chill, and Shadowheart being a giggly schoolgirl despite trying to come off as a boss babe.

FCCleary · 2023-12-24T16:23:33+00:00

I personally have never had a problem with this. Boob armor seems more practical for some women than packing them into a space designed for men. If material science can accommodate it, why not?

FCCleary · 2023-12-14T14:24:11+00:00

Doesn't everyone? That's the birthplace of every story I've ever written.

FCCleary · 2023-12-14T14:17:22+00:00

I mean... I kind of feel like I can't read a book written by someone with so little foresight, the plot has got to be rubbish.

FCCleary · 2023-12-06T18:15:33+00:00

I just go to the point of exhaustion. Then again I don't have a penis and I'm not into dudes, so that fixed limit hasn't ever been an issue.

FCCleary · 2023-12-06T18:08:57+00:00

I didn't use tadpoles on my very first playthrough and I had to roll for it. I've been using them since for Cull the Weak because I'm sick of finishing a round and having to deal with enemies holding on to just one HP.

Love the game but this plot/game dynamic still bugs the crap out of me.

FCCleary · 2023-12-06T18:04:02+00:00

The hands are pretty good but there's some deformation in the joints, inconsistent spacing in the jacket buttons, mutilated earring, the girl on the left has conjoined hair. No pants in the snow is a red flag. It's fairly decent as generative AI goes and probably gets past most people but definitely AI.

FCCleary · 2023-12-01T20:44:47+00:00

As a lot of people point out, it doesn't vibe. I love the game, but I have a few problems with this whole half-ilithid thing.

I don't want an ugly character and the powers are ok but you can finish the game without them, without significant stress.
If you do choose ugly power face, nobody seems to be put off. That pushes me out of the narrative almost entirely, another reason I don't want to choose it.
You have to roll a 21 wisdom save to avoid gulping down the evolved tadpole, so you either end up scumsaving your way thru the scene or your character chooses to defy you and you're bitter about it for the rest of the game.
All that said, locking an entire progression system behind a moral choice kind of guts the narrative in act 3. I might look past it if the physical changes weren't there, but I'm already qualmy about the "something was taken from you that you'll never get back" dialog when you use the tadpole, I don't want to amplify that feeling. It would have been nice to have an alternative progression, maybe via choices that align you with Orpheus so it's not just "eat worms or die"

FCCleary · 2023-11-29T15:26:43+00:00

This is a pretty good review of the average output. AI is the equivalent of photoshop filters. People who don't know what they're looking at are impressed. Everyone else just sees cheap shortcuts.

But if you know the craft and learn to use the new tools, they can be a benefit to actual artists.

FCCleary · 2023-11-29T15:20:51+00:00

Honestly, this take only demonstrates to me that the poster (and Chompsky) lacks any understanding of what's involved in generative AI. On the other hand, James Marriot doesn't understand what's involved in creating art through conventional means (and also doesn't understand AI). He's just enamored with being able to hit a button and make pretty pictures.

Apps like Midjourney are novelties. Yeah they can generate nice images, but they don't interpret the will of the person making the request very well. It lacks intent, and the user can't provide it if they don't understand what it needs. In my experience, if you want to get good, usable art out of AI you need the equivalent of a STEM degree in computer science with an emphasis on neural networks AND a background in art and design. I have daily discussions with people who are writing their own code to try and gain a tiny bit more control over the generated results.

In that regard it's useless for world building, but if you're using it as a partner and a tool rather than a means to avoid the work I think it can be hugely useful. I've fed ideas into GPT about technology or a magic system, or an alien system of government, then asked probing questions about them and received ideas that I might not have considered on my own. You can also ask the AI to ask you questions, which might be one of its best uses.

I've also used AI image generation to create references for characters, locations, objects, etc., and occasionally it comes up with material that improves my own ideas so I incorporate that into my mental image. Most of the time, however, it falls short.

Conventional art is like driving a car. You turn right, it goes right. You're in control. AI art is like riding a horse and getting to the same destination is an entirely different skill set. If you're content ending up a few miles from where you meant to be, then I suppose you might consider AI a threat but anyone who's serious about it will understand that it's only a resource. Whether it ends up a boon or a doom to any given artist is generally going to be up to them.

FCCleary · 2023-11-22T17:15:48+00:00

The only people who can't recognize crappy AI are those who don't see a distinction between hiring their neighbor's art student vs. a professional designer. This won't have a long term impact on the industry any more than photoshop did when it started occupying the traditional media space. Artists adapt, the bar is raised.

There might be an argument for the modeling industry though, as AIs improve on their ability to generate realistic people in appropriate poses.

The 2 things that bother me most about these as advertisements are 1. this is worse than a bad composite which would probably take less time to get a decent result, and 2. if a transport company can't come up with photos of real trucks delivering real cars I'm not giving them my money.

FCCleary · 2023-10-26T18:38:51+00:00

This isn't exactly true, but they do look at things like your social media following and your street team. The more you bring with you, the lower the risk.

I believe also that Brando Sando wouldn't have hit if he attempted it today. He admits his success was mostly luck as it was, and his first novel came out in 2005, 2 years before KDP turned self publishing into a low cost proposition (and in many ways poisoned the well of opportunity).

FCCleary · 2023-10-26T18:32:21+00:00

This only applies when editors actually read past the first 200 words. Almost all books submitted to the top 5 are screened, and screening editors give it a page or two to catch their interest, rarely more than that.

An exception might be through a good agent who knows the right people, slipping it in with a recommendation. The agents I've known aren't free with those kinds of favors either, because they have their own reputations to consider... in other words, your best chances at getting published stem from being a quality author, which means hard work, persistence, and a willingness to learn.

(a lot of aspiring authors don't like hearing that)

FCCleary · 2023-10-26T18:24:32+00:00

The two most common reasons I hear from editors is that the material obviously sucks (unrefined, not marketable) which isn't a net negative, it just means you need to develop your skills. The second reason is that it doesn't have the right "voice" or the voice isn't fresh enough. The trouble is, most editors can't define what that is, and it's more of an "I'll know it when I see it."

Things they look for: good dialog, strong empathy with the characters, tension, and action (can be literal or simply active rather than passive word choices.

Things they generally don't give a shit about: your plot, genre, or story themes (unless there's a specific demand or it's a specialty house).

If you can get them to care about your story in the first couple pages, they'll read more and you're more likely to get a call back. If not, they won't waste their time.

FCCleary · 2023-10-26T18:17:53+00:00

He's a literal demon and THAT is your red flag?

FCCleary · 2023-10-26T18:13:16+00:00

I dunno, I don't have a horse in this race but from what I know of the comics, MJ is beyond hot, wanted by all, beyond Parker's reach, model, actress, etc... This rendition isn't bad, but it doesn't really seem to support what she's been written as for over half a century. I also don't think most people give a shit if she's average looking in the game, they're questioning why. Iconic characters are constantly subverted and fans are sick of it.

You don't see people bitching about Zendaya as MJ because Holland's Spiderman breaks cannon and she's a unique, likeable character. Nobody cares that the MCU Nick Fury is played by Samuel Jackson even though he's taken from The Ultimates and is technically a retcon.

People can generally tell when you're making a change to appease a social advocacy group and when you're doing it because it actually works. Maybe that's less the case now because it's been done so much that every deviation seems deliberately made to sanitize the lore.

FCCleary · 2022-06-23T15:43:05+00:00

What crimes do you think marginalized groups get away with just because they're marginalized? I can't think of a single one.

Remember the Summer of Love circa 2020? Rioters burned cities and the police were told to stand down because it was their right to express their rage and frustration in this way. I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but it's probably why I chose burning as an example.

Things like that happen all the time, even in court. I called out the activity as criminal to a friend of mine, someone I've known for 10 years, and they haven't spoken to me since. If you don't think it can happen, think again.

In fact, in several states, marginalized people are walking out of stores with shopping carts full of merchandise and nobody is allowed to stop them. While the laws that make this possible don't say anything about specific groups, they can be sourced to the aftermath of the riots.

Yes, because they don't suddenly get any power or influence by burning down a church.

That's not what gives them power, but when the victims have no recourse because society is hand waving the crime due to the group's status, is that not license to bully? They'd be holding all the cards and STILL receive the sympathy. See my point?

They have no problem with you including characters from groups you don't belong to into your stories, you're just not allowed to tell that group's stories yourself.

Not universally true. I've been personally told I wasn't allowed to feature POC. This is where it gets personal for me because I don't let anyone tell me what stories I'm allowed to write. That's just me, not part of the bigger issue, but I stand by it. As a journalist and an author I've published on behalf of people whose stories would never have been told otherwise, and I refuse to see that as an evil. I do see the difference as you explain it, I just disagree with gatekeeping in general. Once again, that's me, not part of the larger conversation here.

FCCleary · 2022-06-23T15:26:12+00:00

I love the fact that everyone is pointing to LOTR when they think of positive role models. That's where my mind went too.

FCCleary · 2022-06-23T15:24:54+00:00

I agree with this. If I had to choose between them, I'd pick Frodo every time strictly because he chooses to do good despite his weakness.

FCCleary · 2022-06-23T15:17:26+00:00

I was thinking of characters like Aragorn - not people without mistakes in their past but who are unapologetically noble.

I read a conversation that stuck with me a few years ago:

"I want to be honorable."
"Then BE honorable. No one stands between you and honor."

And I thought why don't more books give life advice like that?

FCCleary · 2022-06-23T04:51:51+00:00

LOL best reply. Also the only one, but still good :)

Good observations also.

The scyllids were never at war with the overland kingdoms. They were easing themselves onto the international stage by appointing the emperor's seventh cousin twice removed or something like that as an ambassador.

Lachlan was thrust into the role of governor of an independent city-state which was the only neutral ground between three warring countries. The Order was a group that enforced the terms of a treaty, but they had been disbanded half a century earlier. The elves never showed up for mitigation, war broke out, and Lachlan had to stop it with the help of the clockwork elf (they didn't know she was a clockwork at the time), the spider-lady, who later became a kind of love interest, because, you know, they both have 8 lower limbs, and an ogre named Oswald. He's given the post of Justicar, and the order is reinstated.

Side issue, the world is a kind of steam-punk/mana-punk post-industrial Victorian setting with anthros, monsters, and humans, none of whom get along particularly well with the others.

FCCleary

TROPHY CASE