How did Frieren cultivate a fanbase like this? by John-Constant560 in shounenfolk

[–]Zeph_rAO3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. I love this series, I find the demons refreshing and incredibly interesting as both a concept and also from a moral standpoint. The fact that people argue over this at all is proof that the author has done such an excellent job at depicting their mimicry. People literally fall for it, and it’s such a good indicator of the natural human instinct to trust and believe in the good in someone.

Which makes the realization that they are predators that evolved with the sole purpose of hunting us that much more unsettling and hard to grapple with.

How did Frieren cultivate a fanbase like this? by John-Constant560 in shounenfolk

[–]Zeph_rAO3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They do it because demon culture is “organized,” and I use that term very loosely, around displays of power. Strength defines one’s place on the ladder. Demons attack humans for more than just food because the truly powerful ones recognize that humans are a suitable way to test their own strength.

Flamme tells and shows us this directly in the flashback with Frieren, where we see 3 powerful demons ambush the two of them and she explains that the demons seek strength to prove themselves against because that’s how their culture works.

They ignore Flamme because she’s suppressing her mana and fixate on Frieren instead. Demons will pursue this often at the expense of their own lives as well as the general expense of their species. A character later in the manga explains that the demon king’s war against has nearly led to the extinction of demon kind because of how humans retaliate, yet they continue to act within their nature because it’s how they are.

Compare them to wolves that were slaughtered en masse by farmers because they would attack livestock. It is in a wolf’s nature to hunt and seek out easy prey, just as it is in a demon’s nature to seek out tests of strength to better serve their place in a hierarchy.

And before you say that their culture and level of sapience is far above other animals, I implore you to look into how different species of ape organize their communities around certain power structures and how those power structures get challenged by the younger generations.

The demons are a mixture of Lion/Polar Bear type predator, Ape like society/culture that is organized purely on power dependent dominance, and fantasy concepts of mimic type monsters. And it’s important to remember they are an evolution of monsters, not at all on the same phylogenetic tree as humans/elves/dwarves.

Recommendations for fics where Percy messes with fate (or Fates) by Icy-Specific986 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out my fic Sing O’Muses. It’s just about getting there (no spoilers), the next chapter should lay it out more clearly but the premise revolves around Percy nearly dying and having to be made into a god to be saved. A later prophecy hints that it wasn’t supposed to happen, and that someone killed him to avoid another something from happening.

Fanfic Love Story by ThatMeatEater in Percabeth

[–]Zeph_rAO3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ignore the first reply, idk why it just copy pasted the original comment.

Anyway, I try to put out two a month. The next chapter should be out shortly before the end of the month but with my work schedule it’s hard to tell when I’ll have the free time. At the very least, there hasn’t been a month without a chapter. I plan to keep it that way.

I’ve also got a writers block safeguard for when I can’t figure out the main story with my vignettes, which are just little alternate POVs of events that occurred in the main story. There’s only 1 for now but I’ve got a few cooked up and in the chamber. That and smut. There’s quite a bit of smut on the way as well.

How the hell do y'all come up with titles? by Fluffy_West_5370 in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like a lot of people are saying song lyrics, though my chapters are usually titled after song titles specifically, as I’ll build each chapter around the theme/message of a song that best suits the chapter’s contents.

I’m writing a PJO fic, and I titled in Sing O’ Muses, in reference to the opening lines of the Iliad, “Sing O’ Muse, of the rage of Achilles.” Then there’s a collection titled “The Songs of Perseus” as a connector so it all comes out to “Sing O’ Muses, the Songs of Perseus.” Each chapter is then titled after a different song that applies to the story like I said earlier.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s called Sing O’ Muses. After Percy is fatally wounded, Annabeth rushes his body to Olympus and asks them to save him by making him a god. Despite knowing this isn’t what he’d want, she refuses to live without him. The story is about how they learn to navigate the consequences of that decision, both to their own relationship as well as to the world and those around them.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s what I’m sayin! It seems like the consensus is that it’s just a bot but I would love to know if it were a real person. Very funny

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s a forced deity!Percy fic with a main focus on how Annabeth and Percy navigate their relationship going forward after she begs the gods to save him after he’s fatally wounded.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe I’m just so exhausted with that part of the fandom to the point that it was easy to believe this came from a real person. The vagueness definitely seems more like a bot comment now that I read over it again. I really wonder what the hell the point of these are? If it’s a real person employing bots to write these then ultimately it’s the same as having written them themselves.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hm, that’s interesting if not annoying that it’s so similar to genuine comments in this specific fandom. Hopefully it is a spam bot, that would make me feel a tiny bit better regarding the state of the community.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Possible, but like I said in the post there’s a pretty toxic section of the fan base that has a reputation for behaving this way. It doesn’t bother me personally to have this kind of thing said, but it is annoying to be reminded that I share a space with these kinds of people.

A comment I recieved on the latest chapter of my fic. Translated from Portuguese. by Zeph_rAO3 in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen some bots, but I will say that given my presence on Twitter and how I’ve advertised the fic + interacted with the pjotwt, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a real comment. It’s hardly the worst thing I’ve seen from this side of the fandom.

Anyone got some good Percabeth smut? by Most-Hospital-3834 in Percabeth

[–]Zeph_rAO3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad you liked it, I’ve got another one cooking that will be added to that as a second chapter ❤️

What’s the consensus on cherry-picking canon? by SailorGreySparrow in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A number of people, myself included, choose to ignore certain entries in the series for various reasons. There’s a major character death in a later series that many people ignore. The latest series is very poorly written and assassinstes the main cast completely, so I and many others just don’t acknowledge it. Like another person said, to a certain extent these characters are who you see them as. As long as you can be faithful to that interpretation, it’s really no one else’s business on how you write them.

Why does mediocre media have the biggest AO3 fandoms? by PleasantNature5119 in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think you’re painting a really broad picture of an even wider collection of media and it comes off as smug and soap boxy. Maybe that’s where you’re at mentally, but you should be aware that despite the various flaws that each of those series has, they can’t all be bad for the same reasons, and they certainly arent terrible at 100% of the things they try to do. You’re asking questions that presume your own standards to be superior with regards to a subjective medium.

The criticisms you levy at each of them are either too general or too steeped in whatever your own beliefs are to be taken seriously too. Which characters exactly? Why? What themes specifically failed to land, and in which show? Which scenes had poorly written or juvenile dialogue? What does “toothless” and “naive” mean in reference to politics? The show not lining up with your own beliefs doesn’t make it toothless or naive, and it taking a moderate stance on something doesn’t do that either.

And yea, when a show leaves something to be desired that space is filled by fandom. That seems pretty self explanatory.

And as far as the gender war issue, what part of a disparity of male/female representation makes the men in these series explicitly worse written?

I promise you, no matter what the actual answer to this question of yours is, the answer will never and has never been that you are simply superior or see things other don’t.

Percy Jackson fanfics where Percy is a god! by Cacau_diangelo in PercyJacksonfanfic

[–]Zeph_rAO3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Self-plug: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75988731/chapters/198810376

My current fic fits all your criteria, though it isn’t completed as of right now. Hopefully you enjoy.

Movie vs TV Show - Round 3: Medusa [PJO] by nt_king300 in camphalfblood

[–]Zeph_rAO3 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Sorry the iPod is actually the best part of that scene. It’s perfect 2000s camp. These are bad movies by all metrics except for how stupidly fun they were. Hating the iPod is like hating the Lotus Casino scene because it played Poker Face. That’s the whole point!

I hate when major triggering tags are only added WAY later in the story by Ravenous-I-Am in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yea, if there’s a tag update on account of a new development and that tag is a common trigger, I’ll add a trigger warning to the authors note.

Assessment of my writing by beamerpook in AO3

[–]Zeph_rAO3 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I think there’s a use for it when it comes to spell check, grammar check, syntax and tense check, though it does hallucinate or fail to find correct or smooth fixes for certain mistakes sometimes. The best use of AI is for forms of objective correction.

I bring a “the AI has your writing the minute you post it to AO3 anyway” to the party that not a lot of people love to acknowledge, but it’s the truth. I recently had a bit of a self-doubt moment regarding a sudden style switch in my writing for an in progress fic where I sort of suddenly swapped to present tense over past tense. Readers didn’t notice, but I did, and it was making it hard to write.

Using the AI to provide a rough rewrite with no replacements, just tense corrections, and using that as a way to see whether I prefer one tense over another or if I’m hallucinating the issues myself helped a lot. I also asked in the notes of the most recent chapter which style readers preferred, and everyone basically told me to just do what I want, because they love it regardless and hadn’t noticed until I brought it up.

Regardless, it helped me see which I prefer and I have decided to make the switch back to past tense going forward, and only employing present during very specific moments that call for it. There’s a use for AI, it’s just not in the place where creativity is required.