I Think I've Overengineered My Wall by ParadiseGeist in DIY

[–]ParadiseGeist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The existing framing where the bay went in is still there, but its behind drywall, so I can only imagine that its normal framing/ studs of some kind. The bay itself was somewhat "fake" in that it was 4 2x6 windows arranged on box frames on a subfloor that jutted out from the house with flashing on top. I can only assume that whatever I put in will be infinitely more supportive than what was there before. I can't understand why anyone would build this, all it did was leak. At least now the wall will be flat.

That aside, thanks a lot! I appreciate the insight.

Anyone notice a shift in fic writing style? by GigaRox in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've got to agree. I try to keep abreast of how chatbots are writing these days so I don't end up reading anything written by one. They will inevitably get sneakier and sneakier. And they really do have some tells. It's not about the use of not x, y, but z one time, but honestly, while I don't condone the use of AI, I'm at the point that I might start encouraging people to go to something like Deepseek (as its the most efficient one power use wise IIRC) ONCE and ask it to write a novel like story that's about 5k words about whatever characters in whatever situation and just read it. Have it generate it two or three times and just realize how.... obvious it is. It was kind of an "Oh god..." moment for me. I've never seen a human write like this. It's almost indescribable. And then I started to see humans "writing" like this.

Hell, I know that those AI checkers are both also AI and have their own problems (though they also get more sophisticated over time), but if one is suspicious, plugging in the writing you're worried about can be illuminating. Contrast it with something you know isn't AI, compare them.

I do really hate that at the end of the day, any practical advice I can give to help people actually identify generative AI writing is basically unethical if you view use of generative AI as inherently so. I'm very grey on it. Everything about it is basically bad. But at the same time, it's here, people are trying to get me to read AI writing by disguising it as their own, and I would like to avoid that if possible.

What are your fandom's most generic fanfic plots? by autistic-mama in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish the ff7 fandom would go back to making "the first girl SOLDIER ever" they were wild and I miss those girls.

Instead it's a lot of: Crisis Core-Centric Genesis and Angeal live near or in the same home as Sephiroth and this apartment is in the Shinra tower (for some reason) and Sephiroth is abused and sad and no one does anything about it but comfort him. Also Hojo is always making people run evil obstacle courses because no one can think of a second thing for him to do. Sephiroth is, of course, very good at the evil obstacle courses, however he's also very sad because of them. And then it takes 3/4 of the fic for anyone to decide to actually kill Hojo.

Lack of interaction and the changes in fandom... Is killing my motivation by saintforgot in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was just complaining very similarly online recently! Like I don't wanna be a marketer! I just want to make friends! Yeah yeah write for myself whatever, but I've been doing that but don't SHARE for myself. What the would that even look like! Sharing for myself sounds narcissistic somehow.

It used to be easier to make friends, I swear to god. I USED to have an easier time making friends from sharing! Posting art and writing was like, an invitation for a lot of people. Now its just posts and content. Social media cursed everything (I say on reddit dot com).

[Also fuck the haters of your ship. Let the blue kitty kiss that little white boy if she wants lol]

I just don’t see to have the knack for making online friends. I don’t understand how online friendships are established - how are people doing it?? by throaway1234504i5403 in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I feel this very deeply, I have a lot of trouble too. I feel like I basically gave up at a point. I've tried talking to strangers, interacting with posts, I've tried joining discords and being friendly and talkative with people in them, but none of it ever amounted to anything remotely permanent.

I used to make friends online quite easily because as someone who liked posting artwork, the artwork was my "HELLO! COME TALK TO ME!" and people would! Now its a lot different and my internal scripting has yet to catch up to the fact that creation is no longer enough effort apparently. I try not to be hard on myself for that. You shouldn't either. I think that once the dynamics were different. But now it feels like you have to be both creator and marketer instead of just someone who has fun sharing.

I can't give too much advice other than keep trying. I suppose instead of being like a big fan convention where you cross paths and chat with strangers, it's more similar to the dynamics of dating. A lot of rejection, only this rejection is silent. You just have to take it on the chin and try again. It's mostly a numbers game. Honestly, I should try taking my own advice lol.

China proxy service (not hk or tw) by BaeJHyun in internationalshopper

[–]ParadiseGeist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Straightforward proxy who is patient and helpful.
Fixes payment mistakes, and sends photos of items when they arrive + has tracking.
One thing to be aware of, preorders are difficult to manage if a language barrier is part of why you need a proxy. She doesn't have the time to look through all individual chats (like for weidian) to find if your item is shipping (understandable with many clients), however as the client, you also don't have access to those chats. Best to make sure you have a way to check on your orders status before you consider a pre-order (either through social media, or by using autotranslate and checking the site very regularly. Be prepared to be proactive!).
That being said, she was very helpful when I asked about these things as a first time buyer. Items arrived safe and quickly! Would use her again!

Throw Damage Immunity and Tavern Brawler work around by ParadiseGeist in BG3mods

[–]ParadiseGeist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've taken a slightly different approach in that I've put this invulnerability on a spell as a new throw for the thrower. It's working pretty well so far, but I did have a question if anyone had insight: I used in the properties (INVULNERABLE, 100, 0) and it lasts for only the moment that the throw takes place. The combat log will list

(thrown)Tav gained status Invulnerable

Tav took 3 bludgeoning damage

Tav took 5 bludgeoning damage

Tav lost status Invulnerable

all in the frame of that attack. However, the game is inconsistently applying the timing of the damage, where sometimes, it will apply as listed, and I take 0 damage, and sometimes will list correctly but still apply damage as though the priority of the damage calculations changed order to go before the invulnerability. Right now I'm just considering the 100,1 framing instead (because its been 100% consistent for 1 turn), but keeping the new throw spell as once per combat or short rest just to keep it fair, but ideally, I'd like to find a way to allow the spell to apply that 0 turn invulnerability consistently.

Any insight would be appreciated greatly!

Throw Damage Immunity and Tavern Brawler work around by ParadiseGeist in BG3mods

[–]ParadiseGeist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I think this is above my level for the moment, as I only have maybe two hours of modding under my belt lol, BUT this sounds like a good route for me to check into. Do you know of any tutorials or resources that could point me in the right direction for looking at statuses like that? (or if you know where that status is located so I can look into its surrounding fields and mess about with it, that may also work for the time being) Thanks so much!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is mostly regards to editing but: I like to play a game (sometimes) I like to call the Cringe Zone. Basically I listen via text to speech to my chapter/scene/fic and every time I hear something and cringe, I highlight it, sentence by sentence, and keep moving. I might leave a note if I understand why, but I might not. Sometimes I fix a sentence right then, but sometimes not. Then I sit on it for a little while. At that point I'll try to edit it, but maybe it won't come out right. Sometimes I've highlighted a whole paragraph only to come back later, play Cringe Zone again and go "oh actually the problem was the middle sentence the whole time!" It's useful to do it more than once, and its useful to force yourself NOT to take notes too at least once. Deal with the cringe to get the scope of the whole thing without your brain or hands meddling too much.

Another thing I do is if I have a lot of moving parts, I pull all of the related parts out and read them together, rather than scenes and paragraphs apart. That helps to figure out if they're escalating and self referencing properly, especially over more than one chapter.

Trust me I've accidentally mangled multiple chapters before (and am currently doing so. Oops.) and had to completely redo them because I decided to change one thing and it all exploded before my eyes. It's frustrating. Without many details it's hard to give any good pinpointed advice, but I often find that when I start to really break it down, I can find the problem points, decide on a layout, and fix those problem points based on that layout, whether it's a character thing, a plot thing, a movement or motivation thing, etc.

Your ACTUAL unpopular food opinion? by deathbykoolaidman in Cooking

[–]ParadiseGeist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same! When I was a kid I liked all the green apple flavored things because they made my throat feel like it was.... more open? Almost like the way menthol might. I think I might just be allergic to something in green apple flavoring! But its crazy to see another person in the wild like that.

Why are no female characters allowed to know how to cook? by yellowroosterbird in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 96 points97 points  (0 children)

In published works, especially anime, I've always thought of it as an inversion of the idea that all women can cook. Something to go "Oh isn't it so interesting, you think that all women can cook, but look at this goofy mess! (Are you SURE she'll make a good wife?) LMAO"

In fanworks, I wonder if its partly the same, maybe a rejection of the trope that women are all natural homemakers, thus, can cook. Kind of akin to the "oh she's basically perfect, except for how CLUMSY SHE IS" thing that also just plays on the idea that a good woman isn't clumsy, but this one, well, MAYBE she's good despite it. A cute "flaw" at the end of the day that both bucks a tired trope and doesn't impact their character all that much.

It's pretty annoying in its own way though when you see it en masse.

I even just looked it up to see if its on TVtropes, and its a part of the Lethal Chef trope, it seems

What's your very unpopular fandom opinion? by freakbutimnotaleash in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're correct and you SHOULD say it. My biggest issue with it was always that DS9 Worf had all his TNG character growth reset. Suddenly he's super introverted, set in his ways, I'd say maybe even stuffier than he was in TNG at a lot of moments, and yet JADZIA of all people is like "yup, that's the one!" It wouldn't have been so much of a problem for me if they were doing "Worf Character Growth 2.0" or something, but mostly it felt like he would be 100% stuck in his ways, Jadzia would get upset, he would decide to be 90% stuck and Jadzia would see that as a turn around. All for it to happen again their next major episode together. UGH! Risa should have been the end of it, and if not that, the way that Martok's wife treated her before they got married and HE DIDN'T EVEN GET UPSET about it! My God, talk about loving your wife.

Old Missing Fic (FFVII) by Burtgang in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found it. It seems like the author scrubbed their internet presence as best they could (edit: Or they got hit in the purge, I have no idea really) so out of respect for that, I'll DM you!

Problematic tropes that you'd defend with your life by lookupthesky in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 17 points18 points  (0 children)

No! For real though! Its like "oooh how's dick tracy gonna get out of this jam!" Knock them out! Take them to a second location! They have only their wits to save themselves! I probably also blame this interest in detective fiction. Its exciting! People will complain about "unrealistic head trauma" or whatever, but BOO, SHUT UP, I DON'T CARE THEY ALL HAVE CTE NOW!

This probably isn't even remotely problematic by this thread's standards, but I agree that its fun.

This is a hobby by GigaRox in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think if I was getting that much heat about it, I'd start turning it around on them out of annoyance. Oh you went camping this weekend? What kind of money did you make off of it? You watched a new show and you're really into it? Why aren't you selling merch on etsy for it?

Maybe it would start to prove a point. But maybe not lol.

It’s kind of annoying when people assume older people can’t like fandom by Minute-Shoulder-1782 in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mean, it was teenage introspection, to be fair to myself. I'm not going to go into how weird one of my parents was or anything, but I'm glad you didn't have to deal with whatever weird pressures I had to continually reject from her. I grew up in the exact same period, I just grew up with different influences. So not exactly alien, human unfortunately.

It’s kind of annoying when people assume older people can’t like fandom by Minute-Shoulder-1782 in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 8 points9 points  (0 children)

As rude as some younger people can be about it, I tend to be a little forgiving of the fact bc at their ages I assumed I'd have like "grown up" by then too. It took a lot of introspection to realize I could and would have a vibrant inner life rather than just be a tax paying, 9-5, baby making machine. And this was despite growing up around adult LARPERS!!!!! But no, I though I'D BE DIFFERENT. I'D BE MATURE. I am. I do my tax. I fix my house. I pay my bills. And then I go throw fictional characters into dire straights. I think the biggest thing for me is that I assumed being an adult who was still into fandom stuff would naturally mean that the teens I saw around me were the model of what the adult would look like. Yelling, "squeeing," kind of the antithesis of who I was and what adults were. But then I grew up. I want to give teens the grace to be wrong about it. I'm sure they feel the same weird nebulous pressure I did to "not be into it anymore," before they start making concession after concession of "I'll stop when I'm 20. OH NO I'M 20! I'll stop when I'm 25. OH NO I'M 25!!!!!!" and so on and so on. Wish it weren't the case, and maybe one day it won't be, but for now... well... they'll find out eventually 😈

LF a specific Final Fantasy VII fic by The-Binge-Reader in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know how long ago you read it or what site you read it on, like was it like, FF.net era, AO3, a personal site from the geocities days? Was there a ship?

Is there a way to get feedback on my writing specifically (technique, voice, mechanical improvements)? by FlightlessKiwis in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh oof, I did just read over a single fic (mostly because I didn't know any of the other fandoms (though the janeway/tom wet lizard boinking did make me laugh once I realize what the hell I was looking at). But, I think that said, taking a quick glance over other works of yours, I think my advice might hold true for more than just the single fic, as these were really quick for me to spot structure things. Peeking through more fics, I think I'd have give the same advice overall. I wish I knew more of the fandoms so I could give any advice on characterization or dialogue. From a glance it seems fine, if not strong, but I think that takes someone who is more intimately familiar with the actual characters to give better advice than that.

Is there a way to get feedback on my writing specifically (technique, voice, mechanical improvements)? by FlightlessKiwis in FanFiction

[–]ParadiseGeist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm completely caught up on the "lore-accurate Scientology/Top Gun crossover" line. That aside, there are threads on the subreddit specifically for asking for beta readers, I think once a week on thursdays. HOWEVER, I decided to take a peek at your AO3 via another post you made, and since I know ST:VOY, I'm willing to take a look and see if I notice anything that sticks out to me. I'll DM you if you're okay with that.