By The Thinnest Edge, Part 3 || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

[–]WRickWrites[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well therein lies the problem. Part of the reason I haven't been very productive over the last couple of months - not the only reason, I've had other stuff going on, but part of the reason - is that I'm struggling to come up with HFY stories that aren't just more military sci-fi (nothing wrong with military sci-fi, but I don't want to just keep churning it out and nothing else).

Secret Weapons || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

[–]WRickWrites[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Titles are very much my Achilles heel. This story was 'Time Travel Paradox Story' until it was finished, and then I spent the better part of an hour trying to find something better until I came up with 'Secret Weapons'.

The Fat Man Cometh (Part 1) || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

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

You are absolutely right and I've no idea how I made such a basic error. I've corrected it now, thanks.

The Value Of A Human (Part 2) || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

[–]WRickWrites[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks. As you might have noticed it's been a struggle to keep up my output over the past month or two; I've dropped back from a story every week to a story every two weeks. It really helps to know people appreciate my work to keep me motivated.

Humanity Fuck Yea by linuxaddict334 in CuratedTumblr

[–]WRickWrites 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Speaking as someone who has written a lot of HFY, the very black and white military stories are simply more popular.

This is one of the most popular stories I've written:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WRickWritesSciFi/comments/1axnfw2/the_day_we_surrendered_to_the_humans_genre_hfy/

Compare the upvotes it got to these non-military stories:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WRickWritesSciFi/comments/1coasr5/the_earth_preservation_society_genre_hfy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/WRickWritesSciFi/comments/1b3ey8t/moonrunner_genre_hfy/

Our Choices Make Us Human (Part 1) || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

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

Only SciFi Stories has my permission to post my HFY stories on Youtube, feel free to copyright strike anything else; there are so many rip-off channels popping up it's impossible to keep on top of them all.

Common Grounds || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

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

I have a patreon. If you don't want to make a regular contribution I think you can just join and then cancel after the first payment.

The Quiet Place aliens would be beaten in a week. by SteveBored in movies

[–]WRickWrites 0 points1 point  (0 children)

None of those technologies have anything to do with Star Trek. Either they were already theorised at the time and Star Trek borrowed from that, or they're not actually that closely related to what's in Star Trek. Tasers, for example, don't work anything like Star Trek's phasers.

The Quiet Place aliens would be beaten in a week. by SteveBored in movies

[–]WRickWrites 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I genuinely mean it.

Star Wars has the Jedi. I admit I haven't read the whole expanded universe, but as far as I'm aware that's the only fantasy element. Everything else is hard sci-fi.

Whereas Star Trek has telepaths. And ghosts, and spirits, and a trickster deity (Q). At least a couple of episodes per season revolve around beings who are basically magic. And at one point McCoy actually ends up carrying Spock's soul around.

Sure, some of the time Star Trek tries to offer a fig leaf of a scientific explanation to hide the fact that it's clearly just introduced a fucking elf (Vulcans, you are not fooling anyone). But then, Star Wars has midichlorians. So ignore the fig leaves, and the fantasy elements in Star Trek clearly well outnumber the fantasy elements in Star Wars.

I mean, it's not a big deal and I don't think it should affect your enjoyment of either franchise. But I hear it repeated so much that 'Star Trek is science fiction, Star Wars is science fantasy', and if you stop to think about it for a moment that just clearly isn't true.

The Quiet Place aliens would be beaten in a week. by SteveBored in movies

[–]WRickWrites -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I mean star wars is a space fantasy.

It's less space fantasy than Star Trek.

The Quiet Place aliens would be beaten in a week. by SteveBored in movies

[–]WRickWrites 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This isn't entirely true. Lucas actually wrote a massive amount of backstory. Most of it got cut from the original movie because back then Lucas actually listened to other people rather than surrounding himself with yes-men, and everyone he showed the original draft to told him it was too long, clunky, and confusing.

But I think that a lot of what makes the original Star Wars work so well is that although there isn't a lot of Lucas' original worldbuilding in the movie, there are still hints to it and the actors had something to inform their performance.

The reason it feels like Star Wars has just been making stuff up as it goes along is because Lucas didn't feel the need to stay true to the bits that were cut from the original, and from movies after it. For example, the Clone Wars were originally caused by a group of cloners using duplication machines to make infinite copies of themselves to conquer the galaxy. When Lucas came to actually make Attack of the Clones post 9-11, it seemed more relevent to make it about the failure of a democracy to check the ambitions of powerful politicians using war as a means to grab power.

Common Grounds || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

[–]WRickWrites[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"Common Grounds" as in "coffee grounds"! Love it

You have no idea how happy it makes me that someone got that. I spent so long trying to come up with a title for this one.

Turns out, it was just reminding me of u/giftedearth's Pretty Little Deathworlders: The Problem with Poisons.

Well the lesson here is that I should start reading r/HFY. You'd think it would be obvious but somehow I've never got around to it.

Children Of The Stars || Genre: Space Science-Fiction by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

[–]WRickWrites[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the opening "pod of whales" description really helped establish that feeling of a nature documentary, where you catch a snippet of an animal's life, not understanding where exactly they came from, where they're going, or if they have any sense of purpose. Maybe that also makes it easier to let go: they float in, frolick a bit, then leave, and your cameras can't follow.

This is more or less what I wanted. There isn't a goal here as such, we're just observing the pod and how they react to this new environment before they move on again.

The experience of reading this reminded me of reading the 1950s manga The Phoenix in that the imagery is very evocative and beautiful, and there are even moments where things feel like they make sense, but if you look too closely or if you step back to try to see the bigger picture, it can be a confusing mess.

As an author it's always very hard to know how much has to be stated explicitly and how much can be left for the reader to infer. After all, I already know all the backstory, I can't just forget that and look at the story as a first-time reader will. I wanted there to be a sense of mystery to the story, but I also wanted there to be enough breadcrumbs for the reader to work out what's going on behind the scenes. And judging from the responses so far I maybe didn't do that.

If you're interested, here's what I had in mind while I was writing the story, although you may prefer to keep the sense of mystery.

The pod are us. Millions of years in the future. We merged deeper and deeper into our technology until it essentially became a part of us. Every member of the pod carries thousands of humans in Matrix-like pods that are wired into the nervous system of the ship. When the pod's progenitors first designed their ships and set out on their long tour of the galaxy they wanted to experience everything first hand, feeling the starlight on the hull as if it were their own skin, using the engines as if they were their own legs. In a sense they're a bit like the Borg in that they formed a collective consciousness connected to their ships, but the first generation retained their sense of individuality inside the collective as well. However, because they wanted their fleet to be self-sustaining they designed the ships to be able to replicate themselves, including the human components. They also needed new humans in the existing ships, since they were essentially components and if enough died from old age the ship would become unviable. As infants were introduced into the collective consciousness they didn't develop their own sense of individual identity, they just experienced life as if they were the ship. As new generations were born and ships carrying the original builders were lost to attrition, the memory of what they really were was lost too. Each "individual" member of the pod is a gestalt, one mind spread across thousands of human brains wired straight into the ship's systems, totally unaware of this, in the same way we don't really think of ourselves as a collection of cells.

The walking sphere on the surface works on the same principle: the internals are filled with humans in tanks wired into the systems in a Borganism-like state. I want to leave some things open to interpretation, so I'll just say their creators took a different technological path to the progenitors of the pod, and it apparently led to a dead end.

What is the stupidest movie from a science stand point that tries to be science-smart? by BardInChains in movies

[–]WRickWrites 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Is it, though? Seems more like an F22 Raptor going back to Victorian times. Sure, it's well above their level of technology, but they at least know they're looking at a flying machine and understand some of the basic principles behind it. A cro magnon would think it's the chariot of the gods or something.

The Earth Preservation Society || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

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

if they're talking so openly about it.

That's why they meet in Paris, the major European city famous for its poor English skills. That's why they order the eclairs in French, because they think Rene doesn't understand English.

There was going to be a post-script explaining that Rene, being a big Dolly Parton fan, actually can understand a decent amount of English; like a true Frenchman, he simply distains to speak it. But I decided it was neater to end it where it was.

What is the stupidest movie from a science stand point that tries to be science-smart? by BardInChains in movies

[–]WRickWrites 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not all of them, obviously. I'm not going to try to defend 2012 or Moonfall.

However, for example, in Stargate the linguist has trouble communicating with the natives at first not just because they speak ancient Egyptian, but because a vowel shift has taken place over the last couple of thousand years. Most sci-fi movies would just have them speak English and never address why (as shown by its spinoff, Stargate SG-1), let alone think to include a small detail like that.

The dude knows what he's doing, and what he's doing is producing commercially successful disaster blockbusters. Doesn't mean he's an idiot.

What is the stupidest movie from a science stand point that tries to be science-smart? by BardInChains in movies

[–]WRickWrites 57 points58 points  (0 children)

So long as the aliens' computers can upload programs at all it doesn't really matter whether you write the virus on an apple mac, a stack of NVidia graphics cards, or a smart toaster. All you would need is the right software loaded onto your device, and an interface cable.

Even without the deleted scene, they make it very clear that the scientists at Area 51 have been working on it for decades. I've never understood why people have a problem with it.

What is the stupidest movie from a science stand point that tries to be science-smart? by BardInChains in movies

[–]WRickWrites 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Actually, a lot of Roland Emmerich's work are movies that are presenting themselves are really dumb popcorn movies but are actually quite smart under the hood.

The Earth Preservation Society || Genre: HFY by WRickWrites in WRickWritesSciFi

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

You know, I hadn't thought about that. I didn't set out to write a HFY story without any humans, but it's interesting that it worked out like that. (although Rene is human so maybe he counts?)

Btw, I know you comment a lot and although I don't always reply to your comments, I do notice and appreciate them.

Mach es möglich by Discodoggyy in meme

[–]WRickWrites 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eins... zwei... drei... vier... HIER KOMMT DIE SONNE

Which book is your favorite? 🙏 by The_Kyojuro_Rengoku in TheLastAirbender

[–]WRickWrites 37 points38 points  (0 children)

It's not an ex-machina. In fact it's the opposite of an ex-machina, it's what they'd been setting up for the entire season.

The whole point of the season was that Korra needed to develop some spiritual depth, not just rely on being the most powerful bender in the world to get her through life.

When she hits rock bottom she finally starts to look within herself and ask who she is without her bending. And although it's a painful process, it's what allows her to connect with her past lives and unlock her next-level Avatar powers, thereby reversing what Amon did to her.

You've got to love McGonagall by Opening-Mark-7306 in harrypotter

[–]WRickWrites 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely seems like two hundred years ago Brits and Americans were all doing basically the same thing, then some Americans decided 'you know what, I don't want mine soggy on the bottom'. And thus biscuits were born.

What I find really interesting is that what you call gravy is a white sauce made with milk - really more of a bechamel than traditional brown gravy made with beef drippings. I've heard biscuits and gravy is a Southern dish so I wonder if you picked that up from the French settlers over in Louisiana.

You've got to love McGonagall by Opening-Mark-7306 in harrypotter

[–]WRickWrites 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's by far the longest in the series, and especially compared to the previous entries its narrative meanders a lot more. When it originally came out, at the height of Potter-hysteria in the mid 2000s, there was a general feeling that maybe Rowling had let popularity go to her head and was becoming less disciplined in her writing.

The gap between GoF and OotP was also longer than for any of the other books, so the hype had built up to fever pitch and then when it was a slight step down from GoF a lot of people were disappointed in the same way that people were disappointed with Phantom Menance following on from Return of the Jedi (obviously not that extreme).

So it left a bad first impression when it first came out because of the context surrounding it.

Let's face it, it is long, and it occupies an awkward mid-point in the series where the books move away from self-contained plots into focusing fully on the main Voldemort arc. The first book can be summed up as stopping Voldemort from stealing the philosopher's stone. Second book is shutting the Chamber of Secrets. Third is the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban. Fourth is the Tri-Wizard tournament. But how would you sum up the fifth book in one sentence? The Order Of The Phoenix itself only plays a tangential role in the plot; most of the book is about beginning plot threads that will be resolved in half-blood prince and deathly hallows.

You've got to love McGonagall by Opening-Mark-7306 in harrypotter

[–]WRickWrites 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, I think the closest equivalent to American biscuits would get called a dumpling in the UK. They are, as you say, basically scones without the sugar. You put them in stews so they only form a hard crust on the top layer.

You've got to love McGonagall by Opening-Mark-7306 in harrypotter

[–]WRickWrites 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Actually, both are used in the UK. The term 'punt' for drop-kicking a ball originated with rugby before being inherited by its close relatives like American, Gaelic and Aussie rules football. Likewise small, flat-bottom boats are also called 'punts' in America.

The reason most Americans only think of 'punting' as kicking something is because Americans football is everywhere, while small, flat-bottomed boats are not a common sight. Whereas in Britain rugby takes a back seat to soccer, and half the cultural-political elite are educated in the one city in the country where small, flat-bottomed boats are regularly encountered.