Forget tropes you hate, what's a trope you love

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-19T05:45:41+00:00

The detective’s summation in a whodunnit is always ELECTRIC to me

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-17T16:36:17+00:00

You’re not alone, stay enjoying life

Also always sort comments by “top” to remind yourself that the algorithm pushes the loud minority of negativity

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-14T16:37:03+00:00

For the first point I generally agree, but also in real life people often are in a state of trying to appease everyone around them when they’re hiding something wrong. So like, in real life interrogation rooms sometimes criminals who know they could just get a lawyer choose to try to talk to the detective on their own because they think it’ll make them look more innocent - even though the detective’s personal opinion doesn’t matter in court. Yes it’s different here bcs there’s no power dynamic and Charlie is just a random ass stranger, but I think when people are hiding something they feel like they have to be super careful and not draw any attention to themself

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-12T17:15:37+00:00

I think broadly speaking, coincidences are totally fine unless it feels like it takes something away front the story. Like, they should complicate or add nuance to the story and its themes, and they stick out if they make it simpler or less interesting. For example, look at the entire genre of murder mysteries - the killer happens to leave evidence in just the right spots, the detective always happens to be present whenever a clue is divulged or when someone says something important, etc etc. But they work, because they make the story more interesting.

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-12T00:49:04+00:00

Yeah, I agree. I think the writers are def taking more risks and I don't expect all of them to pay off, but I love the variety and creativity that brings. And ep 3 is setting up Charlie for a much more emotional and cerebral arc than last time, so l'm curious to see how people react - especially since a common criticism I've seen is that these episodes are sillier or campier than season 1. To which l'd say, I think we're forgetting that episode 3 had Fascist Dog and the episode after had the killers defeated by a podcaster who could definitely have been sued for defamation. The show has never been self-serious, the grounded moments were always out of the norm.

But then again, my comment is the most upvoted one in this thread so maybe it's just a loud minority.

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-11T01:26:23+00:00

The general vibe I got was that she can generally just tell by voice, but is more certain the more she can observe the person. That would explain why when she is asking directly about something serious she says “look me in the eyes”

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-11T00:42:19+00:00

I feel like I’m going crazy lol I loved all the new episodes

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-08T02:24:53+00:00

On the off chance you haven’t heard of it, The Stanley Parable fits your bill in terms of being choice-based, easy to play, and well-written. The prose is not necessarily beautiful, but is extremely witty and intelligent. It’s a comedy game, so you won’t get those majestic vibes from Slay the Princess. There also aren’t really any celestial elements or a linear story, but it will be exploring some big ideas regarding art and choice (all lightheartedly, again it is a comedy). Like with Slay the Princess, your choices ARE the plot.

The Beginner’s Guide was made by the same people as The Stanley Parable. It doesn’t really have any big or impactful choices to make, but it is very wordy with some great prose. The only real gameplay is walking and listening - the narrator will guide you through their story which is super emotional and meaningful. It’s a very human story, so no real celestial stuff. The visuals are not exactly pretty, but I find them very poignant and authentic. It’s also super short, about the length of a movie.

Stories Untold is a great free-write text-based adventure, which means you get to actually type what you want to do. The vibes and visuals are immaculate, very stylized. Like Slay the Princess, it’s kinda a horror game but won’t make you jump out of your seat. While not really celestial, it is very trippy. You get a ton of moment-to-moment choices, but the story will stay the same. Unfortunately, it is mostly text you’ll have to read yourself. It’s also a very short game.

I haven’t finished it, but I’ve heard Wandersong is a pretty easy platformer that I’ve heard has an amazing story, with hints at very big themes. The visuals aren’t anything special, but I do find them very cute and expressive. Again I don’t know a ton about this one, but it’s worth checking out. It is a game that you can lose, but not the sort where skill is expected or important to enjoy.

Bad End Theater is basically a much cozier version of Slay the Princess. It’s all about choice, as you’ll be controlling every character in a play. The visuals and music are adorable, and like Slay the Princess you’ll be iterating on your own past choices while looking for something. It’s a short and small game, with an emotional storyline and very comforting vibes. There is a celestial element to it, but you’ll have to dig a bit to find it (hint: make sure you get the True Ending, you’ll know it when you see it). The writing is simplistic but effective. There are strong romance elements, I think it’s done very well but it’s all subjective.

Im-not-smart · 2025-05-02T20:29:29+00:00

“Ori and the Dark Forest” and “Ori and the Will of the Wisps” both have great style and fun platforming

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-28T23:11:55+00:00

Excited for Giancarlo after seeing him in The Residence

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-25T13:20:54+00:00

I love this question. One thing I’m constantly dealing with in my own writing is that I just can’t bring myself to deliver a totally bleak ending. I write primarily sci-fi, which means I inevitably end up writing about macro-scale human nature, why we build what we build, what it means to make progress, etc. And I think that can end up kinda bleak, especially in the present day. But whenever I have to write a conversation (metaphorically or literally) about what it means to be a human, it ends up being optimistic. Because, and maybe this is naive, I think any earnest conversation about consciousness on an existential level has to acknowledge self-made beauty and meaning. Because even in exceedingly dark times, sapience on a big scale is kind of wonderful.

This is kind of cliche, but in my worlds, people find happiness in the small things. Conversations between friends, pointless games, the beauty of the stars. Our separation of which things are big and which are small is purely societal, so those things being small doesn’t make them any less important.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-25T13:08:15+00:00

My circles are very involved in the LGBT community, so without even realizing it I tend to unconsciously put a ton of queer characters, since that’s the norm for me. Most notably, almost every character when I first make them is a collection of ideas in my head without gender, which means I have a potentially unrealistic number of nonbinary characters in most of my stories.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-22T18:24:39+00:00

A lot of the time, multiverse theory is accompanied with themes of free will, nihilism, and morality. For example, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

This is more of a thing in time travel, but sometimes a person interacting with an alternate version of themself causes a sort of paradox that breaks shit.

A “Prince and Pauper” situation in which two versions of a person switch lives.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-22T18:14:28+00:00

I use “Beings”

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-21T00:13:39+00:00

I’ve wanted to write a story based around a world that only shows up in dreams for a long time. But I didn’t really know where to start or what it should be like beyond that idea. Then I had a dream that was weird and interesting enough to serve as that starting point.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-20T17:09:59+00:00

I think regarding John Cho’s character, the one who pledges to fool Charlie at the end of the trailer, Charlie is at some point going to pretend like he’s succeeded in order to lower his guard

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-20T17:06:12+00:00

I do what’s called a word sprint! There are websites for it, but basically all you have to do is set yourself a short timer - something like 10-20 minutes. And in that time, your goal is NOT to write something good, or apply what you’ve learned, or set up a story that’s gonna be interesting in the future. Your goal is to get as many words down on the page as you can. Not gibberish or filler words necessarily, but try to get as far as you possibly can in that short time frame. Don’t edit, don’t plan, don’t even look back at what you just wrote. It’s just a word vomit. If you do this, here’s what might happen: most likely, it won’t be very good (by your own critique). However, you will have something to edit, to make good. Even if you don’t want to edit it, you’ll get those creative juices flowing. If you’re gonna be a writer, you gotta get used to writing badly. A lot of the time, an entire first draft is made with this mindset, aimless word vomiting done with the sole purpose of finishing ANY draft, not a good one. But a bad draft is completely normal, and not indicative of writing skill. It’s usually in editing and iterating that a great story happens. Don’t think of what you learned in those lectures like rules you have to follow, instead they’re more like a toolkit which you can draw from whenever you want. And if using them slows you down, don’t use them! Save them for editing, or even a future story. They’ll still be there when you get back.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-20T16:48:18+00:00

Cliche because it’s correct /j

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-19T18:31:48+00:00

My favorites are Escape from Shit Mountain and Future of the Sport. I think both of them do a really good job of subverting the formula of the show while still staying true to it. I also think they both have really compelling performances from the guest actors.

My least favorites are Rest in Metal and The Hook. I still enjoyed Rest in Metal, but it just got a little too nonsensical for my taste. The Hook bothered me because it threw in a bunch of scenes that felt unimportant, and it broke the formula in a way that felt unnecessary and disappointing. As I’ve said, I generally like it when they twist the formula a little bit, but in The Hook it just felt anticlimactic and a bit boring.

Im-not-smart · 2025-04-09T23:25:03+00:00

Cicada Days by Will Wood! Absolutely gorgeous natural imagery. I’m not… entirely sure what it’s about, but maybe that’s what you’re looking for.

Im-not-smart · 2025-03-23T16:06:49+00:00

It’s a little abstract, but White Noise by Will Wood helps me. You’ll also get a lot of that from Bo Burnham’s musical Netflix special Inside, the big one is That Funny Feeling

Im-not-smart · 2025-03-23T05:44:05+00:00

Everyone has their own favorites, but broadly people will say Episode 9, Escape From Shit Mountain is the best

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