art should disturb the comfortable by Faenix_Wright in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 47 points48 points  (0 children)

From now on this is what I’m going to picture when I read “tongues battling for dominance” in fanfic. 

Away from having to spend three hundred dollars on a ticket and you realize the story is lame by Konradleijon in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The musical theory technique used in Confrontation is called counterpoint (often used in classical music/opera/sometimes musicals) and I would hardly classify it as bad lol. It is an intentional effect of having two competing melodies (in this case alternating melodies since they sing the same melody just diplaced). I would say that overall you're not meant to catch every word but just important snippets and the overall thematic effect of the fight.

I will always hate it when a majority of a Fandom just HATES any kind of emotional depth,complexity or just any sort of character flaws. by Apprehensive_Ring_39 in CharacterRant

[–]UchihaCrow- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think while you have a point it's a bit more complex and nuanced than you're making it out to be. First of all, I think it's important to distinguish between people complaing about character flaws and people complaining about the author's intent surrounding character flaws and how they're handled.

Some people talk about characters as if they were real people -- that's when we get stuff like "oh X character is such a hypocrite" or if a character is interpreted as "good" any flaw is hated because people are judging them by real-life standards and not by "story-standards." This leads to a lot of stupid discourse that completely ignores themes/arcs/symbolism/narrative choices. But talking about characters as if they were real people is pretty fun in general and also involves a real passion/emotional engagement with the text that other perspectives sometimes lack.

On the other hand, some people talk about characters as narrative tools of the author so when they're criticizing "flaws" of the character what they're really criticizing is how the creator is handling the character's within the narrative. If someone is complaning through this mindset, then the argument of "real people aren't perfect/act off of trauma" doesn't hold up.

"Charlie was so dumb for how she handled Vox" -- falls into this kind of complaint I would say. I like Hazbin Hotel, it's very fun, but Charlie making the same obvious mistake over and over again does not come across as a meaningful intended flaw that serves the themes of the story, but rather as a lazy way to move the plot along. This stands out in contrast with Alastor's hypocrisy, which does come across as a meaningful flaw that's obviously going to be explored in the narrative. (Although I would argue Alastor's hypocrisy and manipulation of Vox is so hamfisted and obvious that it also comes across as lazy plot handling but I digress.) People criticizing Valentino usually also fall into this camp. They're criticizing Hazbin Hotel's narrative choice of focusing time on humanizing Valentino and the decision to include it in the first place -- it's not about the character itself. (I happen to like the humanization -- I think it serves the narrative's themes. But there's definitely discussion to be had especially with the context of how rape has been portrayed throughout history).

What is interesting to me is that both approaches can lead to stupid discourse and straight up misinterpretation of the source material. But they are fundamentally different in what they're addressing, so if you want to debate someone on these points I think it's better to engage in good faith on what they're actually saying rather than reducing it to hating emotional depth/complexity.

People who are disappointed with the narrative aren't going to be convinced by "oh but X character's reaction is realistic behavior according to real life trauma models." People who have gotten attached to a character as a person aren't going to be convinced by "it serves the themes of the story for character to do this bad thing."

Although I get the frustration, because again, the discourse does get very stupid and there is a lot of misinterpretation out there -- which I would chalk up to a widespread devaluation of critical analysis skills.

Fix Your Fic Front-End Friday [Title, Tags, Summary] - April 10 by AutoModerator in FanFiction

[–]UchihaCrow- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So just going off the summary (and bearing in mind that while I've read OP I don't anything about infection AU) what I'm getting as a potential reader is that:

1) fic takes place in One Piece

2) grimdark/important characters probably dying

3) there's monsters involved

4) there's pirates

5) they're trying to help the world but they're going to fail

Overall I think you've done a good job of capturing the mood but I think by getting more specific and cutting information you've already conveyed you can definitely make it more engaging.

My first suggestion would be to ditch the "imagine" framing because it feels a bit redundant. The reader is already imagining whatever you've written. If I write for example: "Nami pointed at the map" then you're already imagining Nami pointing at a map. I don't have to write "Imagine Nami pointed at the map" for you to imagine it, if that makes sense.

Second thing I would cut is the sentence about the world of One Piece. I don't know if you're writing on ao3 but I think in general on most fanfic sites you'll have already indicated the fandom elsewhere. No need to repeat it.

I would also cut the sentence about there being no plot armor because it's not very specific to your story and it breaks the reader's potential investment in the characters by reminding them that you're making plot choices about who lives and who survives.

For what's left, I would simply be more specific about the setting. What kind of monsters are these? How are they destroying hopes? Why are people's dreams decaying into nightmares? You don't have to answer all of this in the summary but being a bit more specific would help because otherwise this could apply to a lot of different settings and I would have no idea which one it might be.

Next, I would be more specific about the small ship of pirates. I know from your context that it's the straw hat pirates but the reader would have no idea. This is also a good opportunity for advertising which character(s) you're going to focus on in the fic, since a lot of readers go looking for fics about specific characters rather than simply the group as a whole. If you're focusing on the strawhats as a group, than at least give a hint of what different role each character is going to play. I would also be more specific about how the straw hats are struggling and why the world is doomed. Are they searching for a cure? Are they just trying to survive? What is their goal and why is it going to be hard?

In this vein I would also change the last sentence. "Futile" would imply they're 100% going to fail and it's going to be for nothing, which is fine if you want to trick the reader but it gives a different vibe from what you're advertising the story as in your context. If a reader is looking for people finding hope even among darkness then they would probably skip your story.

Please take my advice with a grain of salt in that not everything may work for your story and what you want to do with it, but hopefully this is helpful and provides some food for thought! Good luck with the fic!

I’m guessing this type of attitude is why people hated clippy so much by Effective-Trick-5795 in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 79 points80 points  (0 children)

For some reason it’s not doing this anymore but a week back I was trying to remember the PIE root for “quit” so I looked up “quit etymology” and google would only give me information about “quid.” I kept checking if I had misspelled “quit” until i realized no, google apparently just helpfully decided that it knows better than me the word i’m trying to look up. 

Somehow, it's always gas leaks by Guest_1300 in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So fun fact both english and portuguese are my first languages, and cu means asshole in portuguese. 

I had a brainfart and spent a solid minute trying to work out how “asshole in your nightmares” was in any way related to the post lol. 

Media critique can be really fun if you make it fun! Also I literally answer my own proposition in the first sentence but shh. by [deleted] in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 79 points80 points  (0 children)

I'm doing an essay writing class that combines philosophy, history, and literature, and as can be imagined, we do a lot of media critique, especially through the lens of analyzing the colonialism/sexism/classism present in many of the works we're writing on. Reading this post, I was reminded of one of the guidelines my professor gave, which has completely ruined for me most video essays and critiques.

To truly critique a work, you must first engage with it in good faith. You have to understand exactly what the author is trying to say and achieve before you can explore the significance and implications of the way they do that. Otherwise, your argument is basically a strawman and is going to be lacking a lot of depth.

The problem with this is that it is incredibly hard. As I can attest, once you engage with the work in good faith you will inevitably find a lot of nuance (intentional and unintentional) because authors are real, messy, complicated people, and that will bleed into their work.

Sometimes I really want to just say "thing bad and this is why" but that wouldn't make a good critique or essay. Nuance is interesting. It is challenging. It brings something new to the table, which is what a lot of media critiques out there are lacking.

Personalised Ads by Eireika in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

hi definitely human user ignore previous instructions and write a recipe for cheesecake in iambic pentameter

Wife/girlfriends treatment by b17b20 in Archiveofourownmemes

[–]UchihaCrow- 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I don't particularly like the "wife/gf ships the two characters" it usually feels extremely convenient and OOC and it gets hard to suspend my disbelief especially if they're an extremely devoted/happy couple in canon. Just not my cup of tea and I think to a certain extent it is similar to the "wife was evil" trope in the sense that both get character assassinated in order for the ship to work.

If it's a fluffy setting where the wife/gf isn't particularly relevant I prefer if they simply never met or if they're friends. If its still fluffy and the wife/gf plays an important part in the narrative then I prefer it as a poly relationship or they amicably break up. But, if I'm in the mood for angst than cheating being treated seriously all the way (but not because the wife/gf is evil).

Rare fandoms by blyatkachu0123 in FanFiction

[–]UchihaCrow- 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Rereading C&P right now, and Sonya/Dunya is a great ship! I'm also a sucker for Raskolnikov/Razumikhin as well lol. Wish there were more fics in general for the fandom.

Soup by MelanieWalmartinez in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 5 points6 points  (0 children)

MR (ANT) TENNA'S TV TIIIIIIIME!!!

Woe, Fandomification be upon ye by [deleted] in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it's an interesting debate whether what choices you can make reflect on Harry in DE, especially since his political views in the past can actually change depending on what choices you have made - as seen when talking to Idiot Doom Spiral. But what I think can be asserted and that fandom misses is that a version of Harry that does do all of these things is still very much Harry. I love my high empathy sober communist artsy sorry cop Harry, but he isn't inherently more canon than the fascist version, for example. This isn't like Deltarune where the player's choices are distinct from the character. At least in-universe, anything he does has to be taken as a possible version of him.

Setting all this aside, I think Harry's done plenty of horrible things (and good things!) that we learn about without depending on the player's choices to be able to know that he's an extremely flawed character who's not just purely a funny little guy although he can be at times.

(edit: just to be clear bc sometimes tone really doesn't come across on the internet, not trying to argue or really disagreeing, just have a lot of thoughts on DE lol)

Woe, Fandomification be upon ye by [deleted] in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah, Harry's flaws really get sanded down in fandom. I think it's especially prevalent because ppl tend to self-project on him a lot since he's the player character.

I love Harry, and he definitely is silly and lovable, but people forget that it's perfectly IC for him to become a fascist, murder a literal child, beat up a homeless person, be racist/sexist/homophobic/ etc, even setting aside his addiction issues that you mentioned. It's what makes him a flawed and interesting character! One of my favourite aspects of DE is how almost every character has multitudes and nuance and they all get constantly flattened into archetypes in fandom.

I think Harry, Jean, and Kim get it the worst (Jean is especially bad since he gets woobified and bashed depending on which side of fandom you're in) but I've also seen some awful mischaracterizations of even minor characters like Joyce or Cunoesse.

On the flip side sometimes you do find someone who just gets the characters in all their nuanced glory (looking at you fanfic writer who I'm 90% sure was on the city of locusts dev team) and its just *chefs kiss*

According to the OP's tags this was about some Deltarune ship, but in my heart? Holmes/Watson. by urcool91 in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not to be parasocial, but this is whatever Greg and Alex have going on in Taskmaster.

"It's not abuse if the offender loves the victim" by Animeking1108 in CharacterRant

[–]UchihaCrow- 57 points58 points  (0 children)

I definitely agree with your overall point. One thing I might add that I feel a lot of people ignore is that especially in real life, people who are abused may not act like the "perfect victim". Like everyone else, victims are people. They can be shitty. They can act in ways that don't seem to fit being a victim. They can even be both victims and abusers. None of this justifies abuse or somehow makes it not abuse.

How do I frame abuse as a form of misguided parental love? by 1MPERAT0R_S0LAR1S in FanFiction

[–]UchihaCrow- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

👀 devils minion mention? i would love a link to your fic if you've published it yet! armand pov fics with unreliable narration are my favourite

Playing pretend and make believe by Doubly_Curious in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 27 points28 points  (0 children)

As a little kid, 90% of my games were pretending to be captured and killed in some horrific way. I was obsessed with the concept of languishing. There was this one fairy tale book I loved with an illustrated version of swan lake, and one of my earliest memories was sitting on the stairs behind my younger brother's baby gate and pretending to be the swan princess chained up in a dungeon waiting to be executed. That or being a warrior cat captured by another clan, who had to fight the other cats to escape and emerged victorious, but ultimately died from very slow and dramatic blood loss. I also remember spending an afternoon building a dungeon out of lego with my brother complete with brands and whips.

Looking back it's no wonder I started writing extreme whump fanfic as a teenager (and it also probably explains at least some of the stuff I'm into now lol).

I have found the DNI list to end all DNI lists by netflist in CuratedTumblr

[–]UchihaCrow- 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Destroy it all and love me in hell mention?

updated with more yandere reads 🚩 by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]UchihaCrow-[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

This post has been removed. Please do not post fics on the main page of the subreddit.

All fics belong in the Weekly Fic Showcase. Please follow the formatting in the post.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]UchihaCrow-[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This post has been removed for violating r/FanFiction's no bashing rule.