https://supersaiyancrash.deviantart.com/gallery/
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1235648/Super-Saiyan-Crash
Anyone want to take a pick?
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So many choices from this one author... by
on 2017-11-11 18:30:00 UTC
Link to this
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Or we can not single out authors and make fun of them? (nm) by
on 2017-11-11 19:42:00 UTC
Link to this
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Why don't I just select the one that... by
on 2017-11-13 05:17:00 UTC
Link to this
...has at least one sequel and put it in Unclaimed Badfics? I know series are allowed, like the Rose Potter one.
https://supersaiyancrash.deviantart.com/gallery/31116749/Crash-Bandicoot-Retold -
I wasn't singling them out... by
on 2017-11-11 20:15:00 UTC
Link to this
...I just couldn't decide which of their fics or comics to put in "Unclaimed Badfics".
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Interesting discussion point... by
on 2017-11-11 20:56:00 UTC
Link to this
Does anyone else have opinions on what to do when we find multiple badfics by the same author at the same time, or even an author who hasn't written anything but badfic? Because I think I may know another example, but I don't want to also be seen as "singling out" by folks like Iximaz who (if I'm interpreting this correctly) are concerned that it'll be more about the author and less about the fics if something like that happens.
-Twistey -
Treat them all independently. by
on 2017-11-11 21:34:00 UTC
Link to this
If you find yourself going through an author's profile - or worse, multiple profiles on different sites - to see how much of their stuff is bad... then you're singling out that author, whether you say you are or not. Stop and step away; we're not really the fanfiction police,and we have no obligation to list every badfic we see.
If, on the other hand, you find that three different fics you peg as bad are by the same person - maybe they're one of the only writers for a specific minor character, or they write lots of crossovers of two specific fandoms - fine. You didn't seek out their stuff specifically - you analysed each story as you found it. And that's okay.
hS -
Alright. Fair enough. by
on 2017-11-12 19:03:00 UTC
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*Picks splinters out of my id* Hmm. So if we accidentally find ourselves doing that, how do we decide which fanfics get sporked and which ones we leave alone and forget (at least until somebody possibly rediscovers them in a more ethical manner)? Do we choose the top 3 worst ones, or what? And when sporking said fics, is it okay to start on them then or would it better to wait until you've forgotten about how much terrible fiction the author wrote?
-Twistey -
This is a problem... by
on 2017-11-11 21:17:00 UTC
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I know at least three, maybe four or five, authors who post nothing but Mary Sue fanfiction on their accounts, and I'm worried that pointing it out will get me yelled at for singling out certain authors.
In my opinion, if anyone else finds an account that they want to do more than one story from, they should limit themselves to two stories from that account. Does that sound good?
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For our tomorrow they gave their today. by
on 2017-11-11 23:19:00 UTC
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Just a post to commemorate Remembrance Weekend, and to remember all those who have given their lives in both World Wars and all conflicts past and present.
Also to remember that it is the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele, and to honour all those who gave their lives in that battle. -
Our hero and martyr, Leftenan Adnan. by
on 2017-11-12 07:44:00 UTC
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I mean, as in a literal martyr. According to what I was told of his legend, he was crucified by Japanese soldiers after his defeat in defending a hill in order to cover the British retreat from Malaya.
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Agent specialization question. by
on 2017-11-14 06:22:00 UTC
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Is specializing in a series required, and is 100% knowledge required? There are a few series that I have some understanding of, but not thoroughly. There are a couple of badfics that I like from continua that I don't know a lot about, but that I know enough about to spork if possible.
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No, no, and no. by
on 2017-11-14 13:07:00 UTC
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It's not necessary for your agents to specialise - they could join a Freelance division of their preferred department, working across multiple fandoms. (Most agents do, these days.) They could also join the Department of Floaters, which doesn't specialise in anything (though that does mean you should make an effort not to turn everything into a Mary-Sue hunt).
It's not necessary for you to know everything about a canon before you write missions there - no-one does! Even Jay and Acacia made mistakes occasionally (they claim once that Legolas left Middle-earth immediately after LotR ended, for instance), and there are such things as reference materials. Heck, I've written a mission about a movie I'm not sure I've even seen, just by asking people who knew it and glancing at a scene on YouTube.
It's also not necessary for your agents to know everything. The 'agent is sent into canon they know nothing about' plot is established enough to qualify a trope - and again, there's reference material available. It can even make it more interesting - send your agent in with a printout of the relevant fan-wiki, and see what it does to the plot! (They could drop it, complain about how incomplete it is, find it's been edited to be flat-out wrong... let the imagination run wild.)
So there you go; three answers to two questions. ^_~
hS -
In light of this... by
on 2017-11-14 17:22:00 UTC
Link to this
I will definitely be claiming FaCe ThE StRaNgE. It's finally complete, it's utterly incomprehensible garbage, and the only thing holding me back was not having a working knowledge of Sonic or Yu Yu Hakusho (the fic features Shadow the Hedgehog and Hiei in ridiculous bonktacular fashion). It's also an excuse for me to give Algie and Lola a proper mission on my own terms, since they're basically supports and they're gonna be going in alongside Doktor Trollenfisch und Gabrielle.
Hopefully it'll turn out good. Though, y'know, it's one of my missions, so that's a bit of a stretch even without taking on an insane Bleepfic and trying to make it funny. =]
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Amazon making Middle-earth TV series. by
on 2017-11-14 10:05:00 UTC
Link to this
It's official: Amazon will be making a Middle-earth TV series. But it's not going to be The Lord of the Rings; the press release is very clear that they're looking elsewhere for their stories:
"We... are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” said Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins. “Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Fellowship of the Ring.
(Emphasis mine.)
So what story are they planning to tell? Something that precedes the War of the Ring - if we take them at their word, something that precedes Bilbo's famous party. I have seen a comment that it "must be" something from Silm/UT, since the Tolkien Estate doesn't have the movie rights to Hobbit/LotR any more and therefore wouldn't have been involved, but I think that's probably wrong - the TV rights look likely to be separate to the film ones. So what will it be? In lieu of actual information, here are my top five guesses for what they could do.
(The honorary 6th place goes to 'The Hobbit', and the connected story of the Fall of Erebor. It would fit the bill, but I don't think it's likely. Not so soon after the movies.)
5: The Silmarillion
To be clear: the only way Amazon have gotten hold of the Silm is by tying Christopher Tolkien to a tree and running away giggling. But it's going to be the title on everyone's lips, so I thought I'd best discuss it.
The Silm would make a great 'Game of Elven Thrones' series. You could do the Fall of the Noldor, with all that delicious infighting; or you could start at the Dagor Bragollach, and focus your series on the collapse of Beleriand. The big downside is that there's no protagonist - not unless you go super dark and make a Sons of Feanor series (yikes). The best other option would be to start very late - with the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. Then you can focus on the tales of Turin and Tuor, and feed into the Fall of Gondolin and Doriath.
Things to look out for: Dark & brooding Turin, cameos by Galadriel and Sauron, significantly enhanced roles for the women (which isn't a bad thing; Melian and Idril could do a lot in their respective stories).
Potential spinoff: 'Beren and Luthien' is probably the best option, if they start at the Nirnaeth. It's backstory for Elwing, and also a neatly self-contained story. Also it has its own book these days, so bonus!
Chance of happening: Snowball in Orodruin.
4: The Fall of Numenor
This is a good one, because it ties directly into the LotR story. The One Ring, Sauron, the Nazgul - all the baddies we know and hate are around. It has Elendil and Isildur, and multiple huge battles - the capture of Sauron, the fall itself, the War of the Last Alliance. There is a partial movie treatment by Helge Fauskanger of Ardalambion that shows how it could look.
But... it's all from the Silm and Unfinished Tales, so see previous comments about Christopher Tolkien. I think he'd be more likely to let go of this one, since Numenor has always stood a little apart from the main body of the legendarium. But not by much.
Things to look out for: Pharazon's fall to the dark as an early plotline. Significant buildup of Isildur (of "'s Heir" fame) at the expense of his family. Thranduil played as close to being Legolas as possible. Worryingly suspect interpretation of 'Black Numenoreans'.
Potential spinoff: 'Aldarion and Erendis' is a Numenor story from Unfinished Tales, but it's a bit bleak. It might be better to tap into the Shadow of Spinoff fanbase and do the fall of Eregion, with Celebrimbor.
Chance of happening: Roughly equal to that of a ship making it through the Shadowy Seas to Valinor.
3: The Rise of Rohan
An excellent story to tell. It uses locations we already know (Gondor, Rohan), lets you use orcs as the villains, and doesn't have too much magic to strain the budget. It's also partly from the Appendices, with the rest being in Unfinished Tales - CT's iron grip on the Silm wouldn't have to slacken an inch. And the Ride of Eorl would be fantastic.
The big problem? It's not a long story. Orcs attack western Gondor - Cirion the Steward calls for aid - it looks like it won't come - it comes. It would work as a standalone film or single season, not as a multi-season epic.
Things to look out for: Eorl Lord of the Mark and Cirion Steward of Gondor as our two protagonists. Also Eorl's suspiciously Eowyn-esque female costar.
Potential spinoff: Probably another story from the histories of Gondor and Rohan. The Kinstrife in Gondor would be good, as would the time of Helm Hammerhand in Rohan (so long as he doesn't turn into a Ringwraith...).
Chance of happening: What's the chance of a messenger to the Mark making it both there and back? Roughly that.
2: The Strider
Assuming we take them at their literal word, this is the most likely option. Aragorn's youth lets you visit all the lands we already know, explore his romance with Arwen, and (since it takes place between The Hobbit and LotR) watch the buildup of Sauron's forces prior to the War of the Ring.
The big problem? There's no war. The Misty Mountains were cleared out by the Beornings, and Mordor and Isengard didn't march to open war until LotR. The only way you could get pitched battles is by taking the story down to Harad to fight the Corsairs of Umbar. (Or by just making stuff up, I guess...)
Things to look out for: Cameos from young versions of every member of the Fellowship or other significant LotR character, except Gandalf (who will make occasional appearances as a mentor figure) and Legolas (who legions of fanwriters have shown us will be Aragorn's bestie).
Potential spinoff: I would love to see them jump to a completely different genre and make a lighthearted comedy about Bilbo trying to raise his young cousin Frodo. Oh, the hijinks that would ensue...!
Chance of happening: The odds of a Ranger of the North finding the right path.
1: The Fall of Arnor
This... would be perfect. I've previously written a brief treatment of how this could be made as a film trilogy (Middle-earth: Fall of Kings), and it would work just as well as a series - perhaps even better, as you wouldn't have to chop the story up as much to get it to fit.
It's the tale of the fall of the North Kingdom before the Witch-King of Angmar. It has romance, betrayal, politics, war, nemeses, stupid heroes and scheming villains, and even a dose of prophecy. It even has hobbits - the only item on this list to canonically include them. Finally, it draws exclusively on the Appendices, so no need to crack open UT.
Things to look out for: Gandalf and Legolas cameos, along with at least one hobbit named Baggins for Gandalf to chat to. An Arvedui-Firiel-Earnil love triangle. And, for Season One only, the tragically doomed King Ondoher of Gondor and his sons.
Potential spinoff: Anything from the Rohan section would work (or the Rohan story itself), but I'd pin my money on the division of Arnor into three. It's written as fairly amicable in the books, but you could easily spin a war out of it. Alternately, the fall of Cardolan takes place a few hundred years before this time, and would be stuffed full of hobbits.
Chance of happening: Same as the chance of a prophecy being accurate. "Not by the hand of man will he fall..."
So that's me, but I bet I've missed something super obvious. So what is it?
hS -
Much, MUCH bigger news! by
on 2017-11-15 17:56:00 UTC
Link to this
Christopher Tolkien has resigned as director of the Tolkien Estate.
This was a genuine, out-loud "Oh my God" moment for me (one of... about three that I remember having ever, in a fandom context). I would never have expected CT to step down.
This also throws the question of what Amazon could potentially have gotten theirgrubby little pawshands on wide open. The TORn article says it was just the LotR rights for TV (which would include the Appendices and swing the dial towards my guesses 2 and 1), but I'm not sure how certain they are on that.
This is huge. This is... really shocking.
hS -
Does this mean, First Age: Total War is possible? by
on 2017-11-16 13:09:00 UTC
Link to this
Granted, there aren't that many wars in First Age of the Sun, but Total War is about making your own history.
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"Aren't that many wars" by
on 2017-11-16 13:46:00 UTC
Link to this
-The First Battle in Beleriand (precedes the rise of the Sun, but is considered the start of the Wars of the Jewels; Morgoth's attack on Doriath after his return).
-Dagor-nuin-Giliath (also preceding the rising of the Sun; Feanor and company do a number on the Orcs, but Feanor dies).
-Capture of Maedhros (a small fight, but we have to assume he didn't go down without one).
-Battle of the Lammoth (fought under the Moon before the rising of the Sun; Fingolgin's first battle).
-Dagor Aglareb (the beginning of the Siege of Angband).
-The First Assault on Hithlum (a century later; fairly small).
-Glaurung's first outing (the first burning of Ard-galen; he was driven back, starting the Long Peace).
-Siege of the Haladin (rise of Haleth as Lady of the Second House; relieved by Caranthir).
-Attack on the Pass of Aglon (a small battle, beaten back by Maedhros and House Finarfin).
-The Dagor Bragollach (the Sudden Flame and the breaking of the Siege). Easily broken up into:
--The fall of Dorthonion.
--The sacking of Thargelion.
--The defence of Himring.
--The siege of Tol Sirion.
--The skirmish in the Fens of Serech.
--The battles of Barad Eithel.
--Fingolfin's duel with Morgoth.
-The fall of Tol Sirion (to Sauron).
-The raid on Brethil (a probe after Tol Sirion was taken; defeated by the Haladin).
-The destruction of Barahir's camp (by Sauron).
-The Second Assault on Hithlum (relieved by Cirdan from the sea).
-The driving of the Orcs from Beleriand (in preparation for the Nirnaeth).
-The Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered tears; did not go well).
--Fingon's assault from the West (including Turgon's relief from Gondolin, and ultimately Fingon's death).
--The Easterlings' betrayal of Maedhros.
--The Dwarves against Glaurung.
-Fall of the Falas (Cirdan's havens).
-Battle of the Crossings of Taeglin.
-Battle of Tumhalad (death of Orodreth).
-Sack of Nargothrond.
-Battle of the Thousand Caves (death of Thingol at the hand of the dwarves).
-Battle of Sarn Athrad (Beren recaptures the Silmaril; includes ents!).
-Second Kinslaying and the sack of Doriath.
-The Fall of Gondolin.
-The Third Kinslaying and the sack of the Havens of Sirion.
-THE WAR OF WRATH, which can basically be as many battles as you want.
Is that enough for you...? ;)
Then you can do a Second Age expansion pack, which includes the War of the Elves and Sauron, the various Numenorean wars, and everything down to the War of the Last Alliance... yeah, Middle-earth: Total War could be a three-part series without breaking a sweat (four, if you let the War of the Ring stand apart from the rest of the Third Age).
hS -
More! More! MORE!!! Mwahahahahah!!! by
on 2017-11-17 10:07:00 UTC
Link to this
It may be a lot like Attila: Total War. The Sons of FEanor were in a very good position besieging Angband. However as more of Morgoth's army are pushing out of Angband, and fertility/prosperity drops, the elves and men began to suffer and have to migrate away. Morgoth should either never leave Angband or be scripted never to die until The War of Wrath. Here, I think CA should be allowed to represent the host of Valinor as only elven troops instead of the Valar as special unkillable units. Although I would not object to see them unleash terror upon the Morgoth's forces.
Also, First Age: Total War should not focus only as the Elves. That is why I thought there weren't as many wars in the First Age, most of it are Elves and Men vs Morgoth Country. I want to be an Easterling nation who decide to worship Eru later as Morgoth began to make more of my people as orcs instead of the enemy. Or swarthy men who decide to worship Mahal, as we gained the skill of smithing from the dwarves. Both will cause conflicts somehow, and we may have to fight to ~~gain more lands~~ allow our chosen way of life.
In short, the starting points and some events should follow the lore closely, but the details can vary wildly. -
A little ahistory for you. by
on 2017-11-17 12:26:00 UTC
Link to this
This is a rough composite of Beleriand and the lands to the east immediately prior to the Bragollach, divided into each race's 'natural' areas. Much earlier than this, and you lose the proper placing of the Edain; any later, and you have to deal with Morgoth on the rampage.
(Minor ahistory: this map shows eastern Ard-Galen as held by Easterlings, who wouldn't appear for another 40-odd years. It also shows the Dor Firn-i-Guinar, where Beren and Luthien lived, as held by the Edain, which isn't true yet.)
I haven't bothered to fill in the region we know as Arnor; it would probably be a patchwork of kingdoms from various Mortal armies. So you'd have Easterlings in the north (which would let you remove them from Ard-Galen, and remnant Edain in the southern reaches. We know that Bree and Dunland were populated by relatives of the Haladin, for instance, and we could probably slot some Hadorian relatives up in the Vales of Anduin (which I have down as Nandorian). I've also left a few territories unclaimed and (in south Beleriand) oversized; if you want to pay me millions of pounds to complete the game, I'll be only too happy to fill them in. ^_~
You can play as any of the races, though each probably have their own advantages and disadvantages. Cirdan, for instance, would have a distinct edge in ships. The Ents are an interesting entity; I think they'd have to be a weird variant game, perhaps being unable to attack except directly into a territory that invaded them. It's all theorycrafting anyway, so it's not all that important.
The game starts towards the end of the Long Peace. There's a network of fealties that makes most wars more risky than they're worth: if House Feanor attacks the Edain in Dorthonion, for instance, they are liable to be attacked by House Finarfin in retaliation (as well as the other Edain). But it's possible! Truly excellent players will be able to expand their domains even in the time of peace. Angband, however, is inviolate: you probably simply can't attack it, or if you can, it's unbeatable through weight of numbers.
After a few turns(?), Morgoth attacks. (If you're playing as Morgoth, you start with a 'Glaurung timer' - how long until Glaurung is full-grown and you can launch your assault). He is extremely powerful, and would like to kill everything. As you say, this is going to whittle away at the Elves' forces and resources.
There are 'story' elements woven into the campaign, depending on certain triggers. If Dorthonion is taken by Morgoth while Doriath is still intact, it triggers the Quest of the Silmaril, which results in the death of certain characters (Finrod will die IF Tol Sirion is in Morgoth's hands AND Himlad has been taken by Morgoth at least once), and - a while later - the removal of the Girdle of Melian. It also triggers House Feanor's AI to start considering Kinslayings.
Some territories will gain cities only when others fall - the Havens of Sirion only get a city once the Falas is destroyed. The AI will offer and accept alliances based on various factors, as per game rules, but there are also trigger-based once - the false alliance between House Feanor and the Easterlings is probably sparked by the Feanorians beating back Morgoth, f'rex.
Morgoth, as you say, is unkillable - he can only be captured, and that only by Eonwe the Herald of Manwe. Eonwe can be triggered in various ways - conquering all of Morgoth's territory obviously has to do it, as does unifying a certain (large) percentage of the world, capturing a Silmaril (various methods available) and finding a suitable messenger... you could also capture all three Silmarils, or organise a conference of 'demi-divine' beings (if Melian, Treebeard, Durin, and Cirdan all occupy the same territory...). Precisely what Eonwe shows up with will depend on how he's summoned - he could arrive with the full Host of Valinor plus Vingilot, or he could show up by himself on a little boat. Then you have to have him present in a battle with Morgoth, and win...
And yes, there all sorts of possible conflict triggers. I'm not sure religion is a terribly useful one (it basically comes down to 'respect the Valar or worship Morgoth'), but you could come up with your own. Maybe Ents hate anyone who burns forest terrain. Maybe it's possible to trigger a Dwarven Civil War by allying with a nation that one of the three houses (Nogrod, Belegost, Khazad-dum) hates. Maybe sorcery is available, but every use of it sours any Good-aligned allies against you.
So yeah, it's viable. Weird, but viable.
hS -
'unbeatable through weight of numbers' by
on 2017-11-17 17:21:00 UTC
Link to this
hS, that's pretty much offering a challenge to players to 'do the impossible' (and reminds me of a AoM player who was fairly close of defeating Chronos without Gaia ... ;) ).
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I still think it could work. by
on 2017-11-17 19:21:00 UTC
Link to this
I put my fixed defences too far from the pit, which meant they didn't really come into play; and I didn't stockpile enough food (I think the only renewable resource). I also probably wasted too much of the depletable resources, so couldn't build as many siege engines as possible.
What I don't know is whether it's possible to beat him before Gaia awakens. My feeling is still that it can't be done - he's too slow to get down to the flat terrain. But never say never...!
Taking out Angband before the Bragollach would be physically possible, in that the game isn't coded against it. On the current sketchmap, what that would do is simple: it would send Morgoth scurrying to the ruins of Utumno, which would be far enough from Angband that no faction could physically reach both of them before the Bragollach. Unless you modded the game to change your starting locations... in which case you'd end up with a Horde led by Morgoth, who can't be killed without Eonwe. So you'd need to trigger one of the summoning conditions. Simples!
hS -
Never doubted you could do that. by
on 2017-11-17 20:22:00 UTC
Link to this
The wink had more to do with the fact I'd like to see you post a new, successful, attempt of taking down Chronos without needing his Mom to send him to bed without dinner.
Simples indeed. Although I'm sure at least one modder would try at least jst that. but hey, impossible challenges always attract players. -
Too bad Creative Assembly didn't give tools to edit... by
on 2017-11-17 13:27:00 UTC
Link to this
campaign maps. There are many players of Fourth Age:Total War, mod of Rome: Total War, and Third Age: Total War, mod of Medieval 2: Total War. There are a lot of Total War fans waiting for Tolkienverse with their wallets open, CA just need to secure the rights and build a less buggy game.
Losing the last city may not be the end of the faction. They can be a horde, moving around the map. Oh, do you think there can be mercenaries? Humans may take the job, I think Beren was one. -
Hordes would work. by
on 2017-11-17 14:22:00 UTC
Link to this
It might even be the best way to introduce the Mortal factions: they could be hordes that can ally with the factions they meet, either co-occupying their territories or becoming mercenaries (depending on game design). You could even code it so that when defeated factions horde up, they are able to merge with allied hordes - so the remnants of Doriath and Gondolin could become one people, and go take up residence in Cirdan's Havens of Sirion.
As for mercenaries - it depends on what you mean by that. In the sense of 'soldiers who'll fight for you if you pay the most', it's certainly viable, though it might work best if they come from one of the existing factions. So if you're friendly with the Dwarves, you can pay a Dwarven formation to act as mercenaries for you (probably appearing out of nowhere rather than stealing one of your 'friend's' armies). If, however, you mean guerilla fighters, like Beren was - units that can infiltrate enemy territory and damage it without resorting to open battle - ... then that's also viable. ^_^ In fact, it's a repeated theme in Middle-earth history. What you would probably have is Hero units who can act as guerillas - at the cost of taking them away from doing other stuff. Finrod is excellent at sneaking past anything short of Sauron, but using him to do so leaves Nargothrond without its king...
hS -
Wow. by
on 2017-11-16 03:54:00 UTC
Link to this
The crazy thing is, according to the article, this has actually been coming since about July-August. Which makes sense; as they point out, it must've taken a heck of a lot of doing to make the transition.
I didn't realize Christopher Tolkien was 93. I'm amazed at his dedication. I hope he'll have a happy retirement.
Just... wow.
~Neshomeh -
Oh, yeah. by
on 2017-11-16 11:10:00 UTC
Link to this
His prologue to the Beren and Luthien book specifically mentions that it is "(preemptively)" the last book he'll be putting out based on his father's work. We assumed it was just because he's as old as Smeagol, but it was released in June, so he'd probably already made the decision.
hS -
Welp. by
on 2017-11-15 21:51:00 UTC
Link to this
If Christopher's stepping down, who's going to be managing the estate now?
And I shudder to think of the endless stream of reboots that will soon come out. I thought after the Hobbit movies the Tolkien Estate said "aw heck naw we're not letting you mess around with this world anymore", but now... I'm kinda scared.Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor canon when -
Good question! by
on 2017-11-16 11:01:00 UTC
Link to this
It's entirely possible that CT remains the Literary Executor for Tolkien's estate; I don't know enough about the law to say whether that's likely. So he may still have a decent say in things.
According to the UK government, The Tolkien Estate Ltd currently has six officers: Cathleen Blackburn as secretary (a solicitor and the other executor), Steven Maier as solicitor, and four directors: Priscilla Tolkien (JRRT's daughter and youngest child), Simon Tolkien (CT's oldest son, the one who was briefly disowned over liking the Jackson movies), Baillie Tolkien (CT's second/current wife), Michael Tolkien (specifically the eldest son of JRRT's second son Michael).
I know Priscilla was involved in the lawsuit against Warner Brothers over online gambling, so it's possible she'll take the lead; on the other hand, she's nearly 90 herself, so perhaps not. I remember rumours from years back that Adam Tolkien - CT's younger son - was going to take his place after he died, but he's not on the board (and Simon is). So honestly, who knows? But it's a Tolkien, that's for sure.
The one thing this can't lead to is reboots - because the movie rights to LotR & The Hobbit aren't with the Estate anyway! Warner Brothers could make as many movies out of those as they wanted. What it could lead to is an opening up of other areas of the canon toexploitationhousing developmentsorc-work... stuff. Yeah, I'm with you on the shuddering, to be honest.
hS -
Whatever they do... by
on 2017-11-16 03:58:00 UTC
Link to this
They may make their adaptations... they may make their reboots... but they can never take our canon!
~Neshomeh -
Yeahbut... by
on 2017-11-16 11:08:00 UTC
Link to this
... if [tosses coin] Brandon Sanderson is licensed by the Tolkien Estate to write "The New Shadow: An Official Lord of the Rings Sequel", does that become part of the canon or not?
Related questions: is And Another Thing... H2G2 canon? Is The Force Awakens Star Wars canon? Is Deep Space Nine Star Trek canon? Are the final three Wheel of Time novels canon? Heck, is The Silmarillion even canon, since it was compiled by CT from wildly disparate versions of the narrative (and in one place completely made up - the death of Thingol)?
Also, Mel Gibson looks really disheartened right before the guy next to him joins in. You can see his mouth start to close and his face fall - "aw, Scotstralian shucks, I guess that wasn't as inspiring as I thought it would be..."
hS -
Crawling Chaos. by
on 2017-11-15 21:27:00 UTC
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I'm quite behind in my Lord of the Rings reading, but I know that's a really big thing, and not just because Silmarillion related stuff is not that much impossible anymore. Now to see what the future holds...
(Yes, the Thrall Masters are perfect fodder units. Black Numenoreans are also good, Snow trolls too, and Sorcerers offer interesting opportunities...) -
Mm-hmm. by
on 2017-11-16 11:24:00 UTC
Link to this
Christopher has been for Middle-earth like some people have historically seen the Permission Givers for the PPC: an implacable force bent on stopping anyone from adding anything to the canon except that which completely complies with our wishes. We, of course, aren't really like that (O:D), but CT was.
Now... the floodgates are opening. Who knows what's coming.
~
Sorcerers! I've never actually had much luck with them; by the time I have the resources to buy them, my archers are usually a better option. So how can you use them to best effect?
All sorcerers come with two standard 'buff/debuff' spells: one that strengthens your soldiers, one that slows the enemy. Then you can choose (at a cost) one of three powerful spells: one to freeze the enemy in place, one to drain their health and turn them into wights, and one to drop a rain of exploding corpses on them (Angmar is metal, folks).
I don't think there's all that much value in Corpse Rain. Provided your enemy is dense enough to stay put, it can do a nice chunk of damage, but the cost of temple+sorcerer+Corpse Rain+upgrade could probably be better spent on a couple of rangers and a catapult. Yes, the sorcerer will regenerate its acolytes over time - but in that time the archers will have done even more damage.
Soul Freeze is nice; you can use it to buy time for your army to get into position, or immobilise a powerful unit you don't have the counter available for. And Well of Souls is nifty against weak enemy units - you can convert them into undead units on your side! But neither of them are really that powerful compared to straightforward attacking.
As for the buffs? They might be the best option. Slow the enemy cavalry to let your pikemen get in front of them; strengthen your Thrall Masters so they can hold their own against the units they're meant to counter. (My Wolf Riders always die to archers, it's embarassing.) But again: by the time you've got a Temple of Twilight online, you shouldn't be relying on Thralls anyway!
So... what's to be done with them? Any ideas?
hS -
Well, my experience of online is at best limited. by
on 2017-11-16 18:24:00 UTC
Link to this
And not helped by the fact I can't find disks of the extension and could not play it for years (changing house several times to follow your father's jobs can play havoc with your things). But when I used Sorcerers I had indeed a preference for plain but effective buffs/debuffs, with Soul Freeze as a great way to disrupt yor enemy's battle line, and sometimes Wells of Souls.
And I think the support is worth it. Sure, that opinion is also influeced by other games, but support well used is always better than pure brute force. Well used, the latterr is ood too, but good combination is in my opinion superior. -
I think... by
on 2017-11-17 16:18:00 UTC
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... my lackluster view of buffs is probably because the first place I encountered them and cared was Age of Mythology, where you get to use each God Power exactly once. Sure, it's lovely that you can turn your army's skin to bronze and be immune to damage - but when it only lasts for 30 seconds, you either have to hit something critical or bring overwhelming force anyway. Yeah, it's not something I've ever learnt to use effectively. (Plus, y'know, AI players don't really need high-level play to beat in big strategy-type games...)
hS -
To be fair... by
on 2017-11-18 19:26:00 UTC
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Not every god power in Age of Mythology is single use. Atlanteans who worship Gaia have multiple powers that are multiple use. I just finished a game last night and had 11 uses of four powers. Though to be fair I think Atlanteans are borderline overpowered anyways. I usually do not care to play them.
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That's very true. by
on 2017-11-19 18:02:00 UTC
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Though I don't remember many of those being buffs per se... [Checks] No, the only buff under Atlantis is Prometheus' Valor power (turning units into heroes), plus maybe Hyperion's Chaos (turning enemy units to attack-all). Neither are available to Gaia's worshippers; she just gets a bunch of summons.
Plus, of course, the Atlanteans are from the expansion. First impressions count... :)
(I love playing as Atlantis, because 'few powerful units' has always been my preferred playstyle in everything. I'm currently trying to train myself out of it in Civ 4, so hopefully that will roll over to everything else.)
hS -
I'd copunt Vortex as a most amazing buff. by
on 2017-11-20 16:07:00 UTC
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I mean, come on, the ability to move your entire army to any point of the map without any risk of interception? That's one heck of a buff.
I can also sympathize with the love for Atlantis, that's the very sort of thing I like in an army(ex.: Foehn Revolt in RA 2 mod Mental Omega). And paradoxally, I like Rushing, despite a tendancy to Turtle/Boom when I'm not concentrating on a rush.
(I'd also like your opinion on Chinese. Personaly, I think they're quite interesting to play too.) -
Responses by
on 2017-11-20 22:46:00 UTC
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Vortex doesn't technically fit the definition of buff. But it is a good power. Most of Atlantis' powers are solid. I just don't like the 0 dedicated heroes. It does give more flexibility sure, but it means they are overall weaker against myth units. You would need to use swarm tactics to have a good chance.
On the Chinese, they have some interesting abilities, but I haven't gotten to play much of them myself. -
I think you underestimate Atlantean heroes. by
on 2017-11-21 16:14:00 UTC
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I never had problems using them against myth creatures, and to be honest Hersirs does have a swarm aspect too in my opinion. Though I'll admit it could be influenced by the fact I mainly play Oranos, letting me with either healing from Okeanos, or the cheaper/regenerating combo of Prometheus and Hyperion. And even heroic Citizens can have a potential use. Beside Oranos, I prefer play with Hades, Ra, Odin and Fu Xi (guess having a brother snatch the disks I found on garage sales did have a plus side...).
Chinese look interesting to play for me, with the monks for constant healing, the cavalry... I also like the fifth mission of the campaign. Just a battle of your units against enemy regiments, but I like it. -
Right now, I'm playing as Zeus. by
on 2017-11-21 13:29:00 UTC
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And I hate him. If the Greeks are the generic nation, then Zeus is their generickest god.
I was struggling all through the first three ages, mostly because the Norse decided yet again to march across the entire map and harass me. At times, I've actually had Egyptian, Norse, and Atlantean troops all in the same place, fighting each other while trying to knock down my walls.
The Mythic Age has been a little better. I had to use Underworld Passage to launch an attack on the Norse after they started building both a Wonder and a Titan Gate, but the combination of Mymidons (Zeus's special infantry) and Gold Colossi managed to bring them both down. I even got to sneak a couple of villagers through to build a fortress and harass them, putting them out of the running until I get a proper army up there.
But Egypt is still harassing me. I've managed to bottleneck them into one location (which holds two gold deposits - I have killed so many labourers), but can't drive them back. I'm stuck on two town centres, so I don't have the space to build a proper army. I'm actually considering attacking Atlantis next - they keep running away from me, so clearly I scare them. Or perhaps I'll throw down a temple in the Norse base and start churning out Colossi to smash them... anyway, it's been a frustrating game.
As to the Chinese: I'm still running on my old game CDs! Until I get tired with what's there, I see no reason to shell out for a second copy of a game that still works, and Tale of the Dragon only works with the Steam edition. I quite like the theory behind the Monks, though in AoE and Galactic Battlegrounds I never got much use out of conversion. More interesting is the fact that China can deploy two amphibious units - and followers of Shennong can deploy both. That seems like it could majorly shift the balance of islands maps away from the Norse.
hS -
Okay, I take it back. by
on 2017-11-21 20:26:00 UTC
Link to this
It turns out Zeus is actually a pretty good extreme late game god, because the Myrmidons are actually really strong! Six or eight Myrmis can back up a couple of siege weapons and take out half a base.
I shall try to add the Zeus report to my blog in the not too distant future.
hS -
And it's up! by
on 2017-11-23 15:11:00 UTC
Link to this
Age of Mythology: Zeus, in which I start out in an intolerable grind, and turn it into a thorough stomp.
hS -
Duck, i'm glad the EE changed that. by
on 2017-11-23 17:54:00 UTC
Link to this
Don't get me wrong, that was great for you, but... Dunno, just Bolting Nidhogg feels wrong. Also, happy to see that series again? Ready to do the final rotation?
Please don't give up before Hades is done.
Also... Even during Antiquity, walls were not enough to keep people away, Trump. Meditate on that, if you can. -
I dunno, I kind of liked it. by
on 2017-11-23 20:27:00 UTC
Link to this
Bolt is actually a pretty weak power - there's very few cases where killing /one/ unit will make a difference. It's useful very early (ie, when the enemy sends their free Classical myth unit into your defenceless base), but after that it's kind of pointless. Letting it kill the Nidhogg or the Son of Osiris gives it a chance to be very powerful - but only if you save it to the point where it's otherwise useless on the off-chance that you'll need it.
(The EE, according to the wiki, nerfed it to do 2% of the Nidhogg's health. I think we can all agree that's way too weak.)
I do intend to round out the series - but no promises on when! This game was played while Kaitlyn was working night shifts, so I had a lot of time to kill. I do quite like the Evil Gods in general, though- they seem to be the ones who vary most from the standard mold - so it might be fairly quick.
(Atlantis led by Trump, huh? I can see that. 'No, the island's not sinking, /you're/ sinking!')
hS -
2% is indeed ridiculious. by
on 2017-11-24 17:07:00 UTC
Link to this
Maybe they could have tried finding some middle ground?
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Evil God round, although Zeus, despite the genericness is supposed to be the 'unique' Greek god (only one with Hera).
That said... I was also thinking about you with the walls things. You did build a lot of them, after all (That said, I salute the pun of the sinking island). -
I had forgotten... by
on 2017-11-20 00:50:00 UTC
Link to this
You mentioned Buffs specifically. Though Gaia's Forest does provide a buff to wood gathering for that particular forest.
I always preferred the Egyptians myself, Isis was the first deity I had competitive success with. I always liked the Norse, though I am not very good with them, I am no good with Rushing. I'm more of a Turtle/Boom style player
You play any of the new Chinese ones from the second expansion? -
True about the AI players in general. by
on 2017-11-17 17:17:00 UTC
Link to this
(Except when tey spam/flood you thanks to unlimited money.)
Although I'll admit my respect for buffs/debuffs and the likes comes from... RPGs, especially the main Atlus lines, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, be it from personal experience or through LPs I watched. Status effects and buffs/debuffs are pretty much indispensable, especially in higher difficulty, and you always feel the difference between use and misuse there.
RTS with this aspect and the microgestion can also be seen with Warcraft and Starcraft. -
Reeeally now? by
on 2017-11-14 14:13:00 UTC
Link to this
Hm.
I guess I'd like to see the story of the Rohirrim, myself. I dig the pseudo-Norse aesthetic, and also horses.
I wonder, given the plural "storylines," whether they might not do a different thing each season? And seasons can be pretty short these days, so it wouldn't necessarily have to be spun out ridiculously.
I dunno, I'm kinda wiped out with people messing with Middle-earth. Probably because so much of it has been awful. Don't want to get my hopes up, but I'll judge it when I see it.
~Neshomeh -
An anthology? by
on 2017-11-14 14:40:00 UTC
Link to this
Could be, but of course that means they'd have to have the rights to even more of the Books. Which means they have to try and cross the bridge before Christopher smashes it with his staff (I assume Christopher Tolkien is basically Gandalf at this point, right?).
The trouble with the Rohirrim is that they... kind of don't have any stories. Eorl rides, the early Rohirrim conduct an unsuccessful ethnic purge against the Dunlendings, Helm turns into a snowman, and then eventually the War of the Ring happens. You could do a series about the Battles of the Fords of Isen, and the very first skirmishes with Saruman - ending with Eomer being exiled, and potentially even his hunting of a party of orcs to the borders of Fangorn - but other than that...
I think a Middle-earth adaptation that gets away from the best-loved parts could be a breath of fresh air. We've seen time and again how Hollywood/Gameywood (that's a place, right?) deal with the Quest of Erebor and the War of the Ring, and the answer is: not well. They also suck at accurately interpreting Mordor (Shadow of Whatever). I wouldn't trust them to get Beleriand anything close to right, either.
But Arthedain? Numenor? Angmar? Umbar? We know so little about what those places were like. As long as they don't muck about with the broad scope of history (as Jackson's dead Nazgul did), keep the 'magic' to what the Books discuss (as Shadow of Murderdeath didn't), and make an effort to remember Tolkien's overarching themes of a) the fading of the old ways and b) small things being the greatest of all (both of which would be perfectly shown by Helge's Westerness or my Fall of Kings), they can do a lot without 'breaking' Middle-earth canon.
Though if they do any unironic 'we have to adopt evil weapons to defeat evil!' stuff, I shall be bitterly disappointed. I might even scowl at them.
hS -
... Have to admit, 1 would be really cool. by
on 2017-11-14 11:58:00 UTC
Link to this
Arnor and Angmar are two places I'm really curious about in Middle Earth, and... Okay part of it also comes from the Battle for Middle Earth expansion with Angmar (Always thought it was a waste of not creating a proper Arnor faction for the game. Or that GW couldn't be bothered to properly supports an Arnor with more than one type of troops, or a better Angmar).
Still, Arnor and Angmar are always those two places I'm looking for when I search for game mods and contents related to Lord of the Rings. I'd like to see quality content about them.Final death to the Half-Nazgul
(Well, that and Black Numenoreans, and just Numenor actually, but like you said, they're taking the Silmarillion over Christopher's Tolkien destroyed ghost. At a minimum. Must be one of the reasons I really like the Angmar faction in BfME, come to think of that.) -
Rise of the Witch-king! by
on 2017-11-14 12:47:00 UTC
Link to this
I love that expansion. ^_^ I think Angmar is actually a better faction than it seems at first glance. When I play as them (single-player - I don't know if there even /is/ a functional multiplayer...), I find that once I can get a few Dark Rangers with upgraded bows, I can usually hold my own. The Thrall Masters and Sorcerers are excellent for rapid-response, too - keep a few of them hanging around, and you can beat back cavalry or infantry alike without having to wait for your counter-units to build. (They're also the best units in the game to regenerate: if you can keep the Thrall Master himself alive, you get a full army back by the next attack.)
I think Angmar is designed around early raiding: build four or so Thrall Masters and send them out to harass your enemy and keep them from getting off the ground. Then get your Rangers online as fast as you can, and use them to take out the enemy base. Don't get caught up in a long slog - Black Numenoreans and Snow Trolls are okay, but the other late units tend to die pretty easily. Especially Dire Wolves, for some reason.
Stepping away from the game, conceptually BfMEII Angmar is... dubious, but so are most of the other factions. Black Numenoreans really shouldn't be hanging about in the icy North (they were based in Umbar, down in Harad), but neither should Rivendell be fielding a massive cavalry army, or the Goblins of the Misty Mountains(?) be sending out Fire Drakes(???). (I will not hear a word said against the Dwarves, though. "Let's go building what we can build... away we go, away we go...")
As for Arnor, it is a shame, but on the flip-side they would reasonably have the same army as Gondor. You'd have to make a few modifications - take out the Rohirrim, add Hobbits - but they really shouldn't be much different from their southern cousins.
For my part, I really love the names in the last days of the North Kingdom. I can really get into a war between Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur; the transition from gleaming Annuminas to utilitarian Fornost is properly evocative; and if you speak a little Elvish, the fact that the last rulers of Arthedain are 'Last-King' and 'Mortal Maid' is incredibly tragic. It's much more exciting than Gondor squabbling with Umbar and Rhun yet again.
Plus, the whole decline of the North is a direct counter to all those fantasy kingdoms which fade away only to be revived by the hidden king (Gondor included): Arnor falls, and its successor kingdom fails to restore it. In fact, Arnor never does rise again - when King Elessar takes the throne, it is over a Reunited Kingdom spanning both North and South. Arnor, for all its nobility, failed.
hS -
Let's use its full name. by
on 2017-11-14 13:26:00 UTC
Link to this
Because, besides from being an awesome game, IIRC it also has the longest title for a video game.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king
That's phenomenal isn't it? -
It's glorious. by
on 2017-11-14 13:32:00 UTC
Link to this
An IGN article from 2007 (here) does indeed put it at number one, and lists the full acronym. Of course, they don't get the capitalisation quite right - it should be TLotRTBfMEIITRotWK.
It's almost as bad as some old-fashioned novel titles:
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Years a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her brother) Twelve Years a Thief, Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest and died a Penitent
... or those very '60s album names:
My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows
Amazing.
hS -
I offer up the following Chumbawumba album title: by
on 2017-11-14 17:37:00 UTC
Link to this
The Boy Bands Have Won, and All the Copyists and the Tribute Bands and the TV Talent Show Producers Have Won, If We Allow Our Culture to Be Shaped by Mimicry, Whether from Lack of Ideas or from Exaggerated Respect. You Should Never Try to Freeze Culture. What You Can Do Is Recycle That Culture. Take Your Older Brother's Hand-Me-Down Jacket and Re-Style It, Re-Fashion It to the Point Where It Becomes Your Own. But Don't Just Regurgitate Creative History, or Hold Art and Music and Literature as Fixed, Untouchable and Kept Under Glass. The People Who Try to 'Guard' Any Particular Form of Music Are, Like the Copyists and Manufactured Bands, Doing It the Worst Disservice, Because the Only Thing That You Can Do to Music That Will Damage It Is Not Change It, Not Make It Your Own. Because Then It Dies, Then It's Over, Then It's Done, and the Boy Bands Have Won.
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It's my birthday by
on 2017-11-14 10:25:00 UTC
Link to this
Can't believe I'm 21 now.
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Happy birthday! *PFEEP* (nm) by
on 2017-11-18 00:37:00 UTC
Link to this
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I know it's late... by
on 2017-11-16 15:38:00 UTC
Link to this
But happy birthday anyway! Here, have a triple chocolate cupcake - and since you're 21 now - a nice fruity wine cooler. What flavor do you like?
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Happy belated birthday! by
on 2017-11-15 22:02:00 UTC
Link to this
Let me offer you a black-hole chocolate red berries cake as an apology.
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Happy late birthday! by
on 2017-11-15 17:26:00 UTC
Link to this
Now you can (legally) buy Bleepka!
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Happy late birthday! (nm) by
on 2017-11-15 14:49:00 UTC
Link to this
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Happy Birthday! by
on 2017-11-14 23:10:00 UTC
Link to this
OOOIIIIIIII!
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Happy Birthday! by
on 2017-11-14 15:11:00 UTC
Link to this
Take a mug of coffee, given to you by Toth the adorable mini-rubric! Look at him. Stare into his eyes. Can't you see his adorable mini-soul crying out in eternal mini-torment?
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Happy Birthday! *tosses Spikes* (nm) by
on 2017-11-14 15:05:00 UTC
Link to this
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Happy Birthday!! (nm) by
on 2017-11-14 14:48:00 UTC
Link to this
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Happy Birthday (nm) by
on 2017-11-14 13:46:00 UTC
Link to this
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*throws cakefetti* by
on 2017-11-14 13:34:00 UTC
Link to this
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE
HOPE NOBODY MAKES YOU BLUE
AND YOUR CAKE DOESN'T EXPLODE IN GOO!
*blows noisemakers* -
Don't believe it; it is a lie. by
on 2017-11-14 13:27:00 UTC
Link to this
You're actually still 18/16/whatever age you think of yourself as. The past 3/5/x years have been an elaborate illusion set up by, uh... [rolls dice] the programmers of this simulated reality we live in. It's part of the beta release of the upcoming expansion; once they reset the timeline, you'll find it's really [rolls dice] December 21st 2012, and you've just had a very restless night's sleep.
But since we're still in the scenario right now, I wish you a happy birthday and hope no end-of-quest boss monsters interrupt it.
hS -
Welcome to adulthood! by
on 2017-11-14 13:27:00 UTC
Link to this
True adulthood, not that pseudo stuff you get at 18 :p
Happy Birthday! -
Happy birthday! (nm) by
on 2017-11-14 13:19:00 UTC
Link to this
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Starcraft by
on 2017-11-14 14:36:00 UTC
Link to this
...In case you lot haven't been paying attention to Blizzard, StarCraft II is now free. Like, totally. Well, sort of... You actually get, by my understanding:
-The entire Wings Of Liberty campaign. That is, the original SCII campaign at launch.
-All multiplayer content. That is, free play, competitive ladder, arcade, all co-up campaigns (I think).
So if you want anything you had to buy before, or Heart of the Swarm, or Legacy of the Void - the two expansions/other campaigns - then you'll have to buy them, but if you want to get in on the RTS fun, there should be more than enough content.
Oh, and for the Windows users in the crowd, the original Starcraft and its expansion, Brood War, have been free for a while now and work fine on modern PCs. Blizzard doesn't advertise it very loudly - they're trying to sell you the remastered version, after all - but it's available in the downloads on your battle.net account if you dig a bit. So, if you want to party like it's 1998, go right ahead.
Discussion? Requests for multiplayer partners? Talking about RTS? Fun map suggestions? -
Re: Starcraft by
on 2017-11-18 20:54:00 UTC
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Hey Thoth, good to know. I used to be a massive fan of Starcraft back in the day, although I'd probably get sealclubbed very hard if I ever played again now.
Some of the old multiplayer-only "Use Map Settings" modules in Starcraft were pretty amazing in terms of what they used the game engine to do. There were some minigames like Zerg Soccer and Zergling Roundup that were meant to be played in multiplayer and you had to use the game units to do different and wacky things besides simply "destroy the enemy's base." I remember wanting to play those and never got to, maybe I will some other time.
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New Co-Mission by Chatvert and JulyFlame by
on 2017-11-15 03:44:00 UTC
Link to this
Members of the PPC! I come bearing a fine gift: a brand new mission, featuring Calpurnia Library teaming up with Kitty Callahan and Alec Trevelyan. Watch as this intrepid team go toe-to-toe with some James Bond badslash! Features drinking, cursing, and an oddly theological twist.
See it here!
And away I go!
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Nice mission. by
on 2017-11-20 16:09:00 UTC
Link to this
Having Alec possessed was a fun addition too. It's always fun when something like that happen.
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Thirding the love! Though I already said as much elsewhere. (nm) by
on 2017-11-17 21:22:00 UTC
Link to this
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Loved it, too! (nm) by
on 2017-11-17 12:05:00 UTC
Link to this
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Loved it! by
on 2017-11-15 14:44:00 UTC
Link to this
I laughed just about all the way through this. I love Kitty and Alec's antics, and Library's restraint and deft management of them. Too many funny moments to list them.
Also, poor, poor Alec. Possibly they should have seen the merge coming, but then again, why would they? Most people don't have that problem. (I reckon that's one more good reason to change your name if you're a recruited canon replacement.) I liked how Library dealt with it, too. I think the exorcising of PPC agents as PPC canon characters has probably been done before, but the uncertainty here made it particularly cool.
What is going to become of him? Can't wait to see!
~Neshomeh
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Coming out of lurking... by
on 2017-11-15 04:01:00 UTC
Link to this
Hello again, PPC! I know that I haven't been contributing much recently, but Real Life has a way of doing that.
As for what has gotten me back onto the Board: a fandom question. If there are any Bakugan: Battle Brawlers fans around, does anyone know which episode goes into detail into the story of the Six Ancient Warriors? The Bakugan Wiki is very poor at giving sources...
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. by
on 2017-11-16 15:43:00 UTC
Link to this
The reveal
It's a Fantastic Beasts film, so in keeping with my role last time... let the madcap theorising begin.
(Um, technically I guess some of this is 'spoilers'? Look, there's a couple of new characters who we know like one thing about each, if the idea of finding that out terrifies you then stop here.)
~
H'okay. From left to right, we have:
-Young Dumbledore, played by Jude Law (wutuf). Looks a bit grumpy. He's wearing what's basically a dressing gown, so points for staying on form. His wand is probably the black one from this tweet, which is of course not the one he used in the books. ^_~
-The Fla... uh, Credence Barebone, from the first film. Looks a little less formal this time round. Also! Not dead.
-Claudia Kim's unnamed character, who is apparently a 'Maledictus' - a were-something. Looking at that outfit, I would guess something reptillian. Also! Being of Asian descent (Ms. Kim is Korean), she could be a point of entry for some of JKR's other Wizarding Schools.
-Leta Lestrange, with her fiance...
-The Eleventh DoctorSherlockTheseus Scamander, who... look, these two are blatantly evil, right? The spread-legs is a huge red flag, and Leta (aside from being a Lestrange) is doing the 'yessssss, my seductive master' pose. I'm not the only one seeing this, am I?
Leta is also, I think, the first blood-Lestrange seen on screen, Bellatrix being there by marriage; okay, there was also a cameo by Flashback Lestrange in HBP, but that barely counts.
-Porpentina, played by Katherine Waterston, who actually has a fantastically distinctive face that nevertheless looks completely different under different hairstyles. Weird. Anyway, she's leaning on Newt's suitcase, so they're clearly hanging out together.
-Some bloke in a naff suit. Oh, Newt, where is your fashion sense? Interestingly, in the animated version of the image, he shifts his wand to point at Jacob, or rather tucks it behind Jacob's back. Hmm.
-Jacob theMuggleNo-MajEthnic Slur. In the animation, he looks over at Grindelwald, along with...
-Queenie, who clearly gets on very well with Jacob. I'm gonna guess she's the reason he gets back into things. Hopefully his bakery doesn't get blown up. (He got a bakery, right? I didn't imagine that?)
-Gelert Grindelwald, who is frankly a mess. What did Albus see in him?! Interestingly, his wand flashes to start the animated image moving - time magic, a hint at the plot, or just graphic design? Speaking of his wand...
It's definitely the white(r) one here, and... yep, that's the Elder Wand. Bit shinier than in the last films. I wonder about those designs on the handle... the Elder Wand seems to be of English manufacture, but that designwork puts me more in mind of the Nazca Lines than anything over here. I dunno; the design was invented before they ever heard of the Elder Wand, but it's still a possible lead...
Okay, so there's honestly not much to go on in one image. But it wouldn't be a Fantastic Beasts movie if I didn't do this.
One last thought: the title. Is that a hint that Grindelwald's crimes involve Fantastic Beasts? Does he have an army of monsters at any point? One wonders...
hS -
An improvement: by
on 2017-11-18 16:57:00 UTC
Link to this
Credit to @JillPantozzi on Twitter. -
Agreed. by
on 2017-11-18 19:32:00 UTC
Link to this
Not sure whose face that is, but just about anything would be better than Johnny Depp's pale, flaccid rubber mask. Why did they do that? {= (
~Neshomeh is so over Johnny Depp. -
That's Christopher Plummer. by
on 2017-11-18 22:14:00 UTC
Link to this
You may want to read this article for why someone did that. =]
-
There's gonna be another one?! YEAASSSS! by
on 2017-11-17 23:46:00 UTC
Link to this
But anyway, lemme react- oh wait there's a seductive villain dude. Oh boy. Lovely. Another villain for me to possibly hormone over (I predict this one will only be temporary, but nonetheless.) As if I don't hormone over villains nearly enough, even non-romantically. bg vhv (that was me doing a faceplant on the keyboard.)
-Twistey -
It's already been announced there will be five. (nm) by
on 2017-11-18 00:42:00 UTC
Link to this
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Five? by
on 2017-11-21 10:45:00 UTC
Link to this
We need five?
I see the trend continues. At least for these they'll probably have to make up a bunch of plot instead of stretching what there is? I guess?
~Z has not seen the first one (or read Cursed Child, actually) -
I quite enjoyed the first one. by
on 2017-11-21 19:02:00 UTC
Link to this
You're right to stay away from Cursed Child, but you knew that already. :P
-
Honestly, I'll probably read CC at some point... by
on 2017-11-22 07:08:00 UTC
Link to this
...just out of curiosity. Probably not anytime too soon, though, unless I run into it and am in the right mood.
And I know the movie was generally well received (I think? I wasn't paying a ton of attention, but people generally seem to be okay with it?) but so far I don't really feel like watching it. I'm only vaguely curious. Like Cursed Child, right now it'd basically have to blunder into my path, but even more so. (If it ever shows up on Netflix, chances I'll watch it go up, of course. By a little bit.)
Now, in other news...raaaiiiiiiin. We has it. Lots of it. :D Unfortunately, it comes with a chill in the air, but still--it's rain!
~Z -
Sweet, thanks for the info! by
on 2017-11-18 22:30:00 UTC
Link to this
I'm pretty lazy about keeping up with fandom stuff XP
-Twistey -
Re: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. by
on 2017-11-17 14:52:00 UTC
Link to this
Am I imagining this or was young Dumbledore supposed to be ginger? Or at least have auburn hair? As sibling to a ginger and mom to a kid with auburn hair, this is an important detail. Although Jude Law would look weird with red hair, rigt?
-
Yeah, auburn. by
on 2017-11-17 15:32:00 UTC
Link to this
And Jude Law looks weirdly like Timothy Omundson in this picture. This is not in and of itself a bad thing, because Timothy Omundson is awesome, but it's a little confusing. ^_^;
~Neshomeh -
A lil' sumthing sumthing from my humble self! by
on 2017-11-16 17:12:00 UTC
Link to this
Brace yourselves: More cast members!
Brontis Jodorowsky as Nicolas Flamel
Supreme Leader Pickles and Mr. "Broomstick-up-his-shute" Abernathy were confirmed to return.
We also may be getting some early starts of Death Eaters, as Derek Riddell and Poppy Corby-Tuech play two Dark Wizards who eventually join up Voldemort during the first and second war.
About Claudia Kim's character: If she was referred to as maledictus, it doesn't tell us much as the term is just a masculine form of the word 'slandered' or 'cursed'.
-
Permission Request by
on 2017-11-17 13:36:00 UTC
Link to this
Takes deep breaths... okay.
Right! Permission! My bios are here, and my prompts are here. One of my prompts is taken from my bit for hS's monthly writing challenge, although it's been cleaned up and revised a bit.
As for badfic... well, Nesh and I were planning to mission the company of thorin oakenshield with future giants, but part of the point of this is to discern my ability to find fic that would make a good mission, so I present a fic I may well be missioning in the future: The Children of Girlyman [NSFW: mostly just suspect language]. It's ostensibly a parody and it's definitely crack, which would be fine, but it's essentially prolonged unfunny chapter-bashing with awkward writing to boot. I think it would make a good mission because it's so straight-up bizarre, and because it would probably frustrate my agents immensely.
Thanks to Hieronymus Graubart, Neshomeh, Tomash, and Calliope for providing feedback, helping me fix my horrific mistakes, and generally doing beta-reading type things. -
*pulls the Hat out of its box* by
on 2017-11-22 17:43:00 UTC
Link to this
Whew, you kind of need a hat in this weather...cold and rainy. Only really fun because it's the first really cold and rainy day so far...
*sets Hat firmly on head*
Right. Let's do this!
Prompts: So,, unlike last time I did this, I actually read the prompts first. It was a good choice--they were fun to read, and it was actually more interesting to see the bios after.
The writing is pretty great. I didn't catch any typos, and if there was any misused punctuation it didn't jump out at me. You also used a good number of betas even before hS came in--and, from what I can tell without having read the original version, you were able to take his concrit and edit well with it, which is an important skill to have.
You do sometimes use a few too many short sentences in a row, which gives a choppy feel, but it's not everywhere. Keep an eye on that, or maybe start off getting a beta who'll catch it until you're used to spotting and fixing it (or both! Both is good). One way to catch it yourself might be to read your work over aloud to get a sense of where (and how frequently) the sentences just stop.
Some quick positives! You used some descriptions and details in the second prompt that I really enjoyed. One was the description of a side of the room apparently being "a swamp composed entirely of books, which seemed to have obtained their current placement when a hurricane blew through." I also liked the detail of the 80s console in addition to the RC's console, and, well, this next bit kind of speaks for itself:
After his tenth break along the way, he briefly considered working out how to summon some demons to do it for him. After the twelfth, he was halfway through the equations before he remembered why this was a Bad Idea.
Yes. Tom's home canon intrigues me; you've also managed, between the profiles and the prompts, to give enough details about it to...well, to intrigue me. I look forward to seeing more, especially since it seems to mesh reasonably well with the PPC.
Overall, I enjoyed the prompts. They were written well, apart from the occasional abundance of short sentences and a time or two where the language was a little redundant ("seemingly a swamp [...] which seemed to have obtained," funnily enough). Both should be fine if you keep an eye out for them (or your beta catches them).
Agents: Oh man, the agents. I like them. I like their interaction, I like what I've now learned about Tom's home canon, and I think they probably have a good chance of producing interesting missions. You've also managed to make the prompts and the profiles jive pretty well, which is great!
A few things to point out:
-Tom "has a lasting element of fear regarding any sort of demon"? Setting aside the fact that I would love for him to meet a demon agent from another canon (do we have any active ones anymore?) or even just see different interpretations of them in other canons on missions, this doesn't completely come across in the second prompt. It's possible he's afraid offscreen, but when this is his reaction to finding a demon in his monitor after all...
Tom rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing in there. But if makes you feel better, I’ll run a scan on the thing just to make sure.” He ran his phone over the terminal.
His phone beeped.
Tom sighed. “Of course. Just my bloody luck today. Gloves?”
...it comes across as far more "So the monitor's possessed...must be Tuesday" than "Aah, demon, why." Unless they come in different danger levels, you should keep an eye on that.
-Thoth himself. First of all, I absolutely love the fact that, unlike the majority of PPC agents, he's viewing access to the library as very good payment; it's a nice little twist, and the love of books/knowledge does a lot to make him fit into the PPC world. I also like what you've done to limit him (such as his powers not always working properly). I'm also a bit curious about his 'typically eventful' past, though I suppose I could get that from a wiki. His personality overall looks interesting, though the "look[ing] down on 'mortals' just a bit" is...uh, let's just say he'd be able to find some fellow aliens in HQ who share that with him.
Overall this looks good. Neither agent looks overpowered, they both look interesting, and in terms of how they actually interact, well, I'd read more.
Badfic: I know pretty much nothing about Warhammer...no, that's a lie. I know absolutely nothing about Warhammer past the name and whatever I can conjecture from that. (Also, I'm guessing Warhammer 40k is not the same as just plain Warhammer? Help me out here, guys.) The fic seems pretty tasteless, though--but that's all I can really say about it, beyond that at least the spelling looks alright and it is most definitely a crackfic. If anyone who knows the canon has input, go for it.
When it comes to the crossover fic...uh, good gracious golly me. Ouch. Random bandits! Violence! Gandalf rolling with it! Bad capitalization! And I'm going to stop there because my storytelling sense is starting to hurt. No, I don't know what exactly that means. "Odd addition" is right, though. Also, I don't quite know (and refuse to go back to check) if Gandalf knew what a marine was, but if he did, he shouldn't. At any rate, Thorin shouldn't just be accepting it. It's bad. I look forward to the mission. I shall now go scrub my brain, thanks. (Out of curiosity, which of you first found that...uh...uh...thing?)
Suffice it to say, um, that's pretty bad, and I don't want to see that crossover fic again before it's missioned, and can I go home now? --oh wait. I am home. Pity the dog's not around to pet; perhaps I'll have some hot chocolate instead.
However, before that...a Decision! After all that text, it should probably come as no surprise that I'm going to say Permission Granted. Congratulations! Here is your titanium spork; use it well, and have a Bleeproduct gift basket as well. Also, you are now a Knight of Plort. Long may you battle the forces of the Marizu and...uh...divers other foes of our fair Protectorate. Go forth (and write/celebrate/etc)!
~Zingenmir/Baron Eshakhar -
Congrats! by
on 2017-11-23 17:39:00 UTC
Link to this
Let me offer you a self-updating guidebook of all the deathtraps in the multiverse to go with this shiny new Permission, new knight.
Still, please do not speak of the... Sigmarines. Unless you want to help us to find more Screamping Skulls to bombard Warhammer World... ;p (What Scape and a pseudo-Egyptian pharaoh said). -
Yay! by
on 2017-11-23 00:37:00 UTC
Link to this
That was the correct decision; thank you. ^~
*grumbles about missing "seemingly" and "seemed"* I wasn't looking at that prompt as hard, since it had already been beta'd and was pretty much fine already. Sigh.
Re. that crossover: I know, right?! I found that one; that's why I advised Thoth to find another one for the purposes of Permission. But seriously, that thing is just textbook Stu. I'm tickled that there are actual Random Bandits Who Pop Out of Nowhere, too. It's gonna be fun. ^^
~Neshomeh -
Congrats! *throws cakefetti* (nm) by
on 2017-11-22 23:47:00 UTC
Link to this
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Congrats, Thoth! (nm) by
on 2017-11-22 21:29:00 UTC
Link to this
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Demons. by
on 2017-11-22 18:20:00 UTC
Link to this
Weeeeeell, technically we might have one: Hejsdfnk Wwerbj, who speaks only Old High Demonic which his Universal Translator just cannot translate right. But there's, y'know, some irregularity about his canonicity... ^~
Warhammer 40K is probably the 'primary' part of the canon; it's set in the 40th millennium and involves lots of very miserable people killing each other in SPAAAAaaaace. Warhammer [nothing] is a fantasy version; I don't really know much about it. So yes, they're different, but I think most people who say 'Warhammer' have a mental '40K' tacked on the end.
And, Thoth: congratulations! (Snuck in at the end so as not to spoil Zing's surprise. ^^) I do intend to look over the prompts a second time to comment on the changes (insofar as I can remember what it was like before... I said I was tired!); possibly tomorrow, depending on how things go.hSHuinesoron, Baron of Plort, of uncertain domicile -
On Warhammer vs. 40k by
on 2017-11-22 19:06:00 UTC
Link to this
In the beginning, there was Warhammer. Then there was 40k. (Then there was AoS, but we're trying to keep this simple).
Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k are actually pretty different. They share a category on The Pit, but the universes, while sharing many aspects — 40k started as Warhammer IN SPAAACE — have diverged radically in tone and content. Fantasy tends to be a bit lighter in general, from what I've heard (I'm really not a WHF fan...)
Most people, at least here in 'Murica, tack 40k on the end of any reference to Warhammer. This is a good way to annoy Fantasy fans, especially the really old ones. After they complain, you can point out that their setting was annihilated and their game replaced by AoS. You can actually see them tense. This is great fun. Never do it. -
Settra does not serve. Settra rules. (nm) by
on 2017-11-22 21:07:00 UTC
Link to this
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Oh, hey, I remember that. by
on 2017-11-22 18:28:00 UTC
Link to this
Without even clicking on the link, too. That was hilarious.
I was personally thinking of HonorH's Buffyverse Honorificus, whose author is definitely not still active (I mean, I'd love to be proven wrong here, but it seems unlikely). After that, I thought of Supernatural, but outside of the 2013 Blackout I don't believe there are any SPN demons in HQ (which, uh, good. That sounds terrifying).
I brought up the Warhammer/Warhammer 40k bit because the non-crossover badfic is placed in the 'Warhammer' category while the crossover goes for 'Warhammer 40k'. Neither really sound like my thing, but thanks for clarifying.
Looking forward to seeing your comments on the changes; should be interesting.
~Z, who technically has a half-finished Plort interlude in among the various unfinished interludes on her GDrive and should probably finish it sometime soonish -
Re-submssion by
on 2017-11-19 20:45:00 UTC
Link to this
Okay, after hS pointed out a large number of issues that I really should have noticed before submitting this the first time around (that's not even an exaggeration. I honestly am amazed I missed them. D'oh!), I made some fairly heavy edits to that prompt to try and correct them. Generally speaking, I tried to make things clearer and easier to understand, especially to those unfamiliar with the home cannons of my characters (again, d'oh!). I also tried to do more to explain Thoth's motivations in all this, and just generally have everything make more sense.
The actual links to the bios and prompts are unchanged, so you can find those in my original post. Don't worry, the edits are there: I checked.
Thanks to Neshomeh for acting as beta for this latest round of revisions, and for generally being Really Nice about the whole thing. Thanks to hS for posting his aforementioned (and previously seen here!) concrit, which kicked all this off, and resulted in something that I think is a lot more solid than my previous effort. -
*Re-SUBMISSION. I am annoyed I didn't catch that... (nm) by
on 2017-11-20 14:35:00 UTC
Link to this
-
Hat not on (yet) by
on 2017-11-21 10:40:00 UTC
Link to this
I've just read through your prompts and bios; I'm on mobile right now, but I'm hoping to type up my thoughts sometime later today, when I'm home and have an actual keyboard. So...stay tuned.
~Z -
Zing, the suspense is killing me. by
on 2017-11-22 16:30:00 UTC
Link to this
I'm not even the one asking for Permission—but I have a stake in the outcome, so...?
~Neshomeh -
Wait, Thoth is a vampire? by
on 2017-11-22 16:48:00 UTC
Link to this
I thought that was more of a Blood Angels thing, not a Thousand Sons one. [/40K joke]
Since I know it's weird that I offered the first comments but didn't come back to actually put a hat on, let me just say that I was considering doing just that when Zingenmir posted and got me off the hook.
hS -
Haaaa. by
on 2017-11-22 17:04:00 UTC
Link to this
I don't have my stake in Thoth, that's ridiculous.
There's no room between my Tzeenchian claws.
^_~
~Neshomeh is part of the 40k fandom now. This is a thing that has happened. -
*tidies up Tzeenchian the mini-...whatever the 40k mini is* (nm) by
on 2017-11-22 17:36:00 UTC
Link to this
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Good question, actually. by
on 2017-11-23 00:42:00 UTC
Link to this
I kinda don't want to think about it, because everything in 40k is terrifying and there are no choices that are obviously better than any others to me.
I'm sort of maybe amused by the idea of Nurglings, because all of that ilk are apparently incredibly cheerful, which could be funny? And since they'd be minis, you wouldn't have to worry about horrible diseases. Maybe just some mild nausea or headaches or something if you get too many of them in one place.
But seriously, I have no idea what would make the most sense or be good.
~Neshomeh -
In a universe where everything is awful... by
on 2017-11-23 09:16:00 UTC
Link to this
... maybe the minis should be not of monsters, but of the only non-awful thing? Which would be...
... uh...
... aw, c'mon, there must be something!
hS -
Grox, maybe? by
on 2017-11-27 20:45:00 UTC
Link to this
Apparently these alligator-cows are the most ubiquitous meat source in the galaxy. Sure, they're territorial and belligerent, but that would make them excellent OFU guards. {= D
~Neshomeh -
Mini-Squats? Mini-Squats. =] (nm) by
on 2017-11-23 12:00:00 UTC
Link to this
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Impossible the Tyranids ate all of them. ;) (nm) by
on 2017-11-23 17:37:00 UTC
Link to this
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I think the consensus is Mini-daemons... by
on 2017-11-23 01:11:00 UTC
Link to this
I was going to say what sort of Daemon depends on what you misspelled, but... well, all misspellings are due to laziness and/or[1] apathy, to some extent. So mini-nurgling might just fit. It is still to be decided.
1: which one? I can't be bothered to work it out, and I don't care. -
*joke whooshes over head* by
on 2017-11-22 16:59:00 UTC
Link to this
That's actually part of why I posted--didn't feel like letting my notes go to waste. Well, I say notes; it's actually screenshots. But now it's becoming a write-up. So.
Also, ow, my brain still hurts from looking at the crossover badfic. Why.
~Z is going back to writing -
*joke half-lands. by
on 2017-11-22 17:01:00 UTC
Link to this
Also, when I say writing, I mean the write-up.
And I'm now going to quit (with correcting myself) while I'm not too far behind. -
So this is what happens when tired people make promises. by
on 2017-11-22 16:36:00 UTC
Link to this
I'm on it. Sorry, especially to Thoth!
~Z -
Abstaining. by
on 2017-11-17 14:09:00 UTC
Link to this
Mostly due to tiredness; I haven't got the focus to give a proper opinion.
That said, I have read the prompts (and the bios, but the prompts take priority), and have a few comments:
-I actually got the first few paragraphs tangled up in my head, assuming the figure already in the RC was the Astartes (wait, is that the singular?). Might be worth glancing over to see if you could clear it up for when people don't already know that Thoth is a Space Marine.
-I feel like the sudden appearance of a Chaos Space Marine at your door would provoke a bit more of a reaction than a stare, a demand for his identity, and pulling a gun. Like... running and screaming? If he recognises a Thousand Son, he knows that they're all either powerful psykers or lethal automota (did I get that right?), and also that they're evil; that's not something you just point a gun at.
-Thoth's 'haha lol I can read your mind' sounds... not at all like a Space Marine, and especially not one that's served in the armies of literal demons for ten millennia. In fact, your whole description of him seems to come out as 'a Chaos Space Marine in name alone'. He's not evil, he just has to look to other people to realign his moral compass. He's trying to be good, which... doesn't sound like a CSM? Assuming that he has some reason to work for the PPC, why isn't he just unapologetically yoinking information out of people's heads when he needs it?
I'm sure you have an answer to this. But your stories - and your bios - don't even hint at it. Other than the single mindreading, Thoth could be a Roman Legionary with no changes apart from his appearance.
-It's always good to consider your audience. The only way someone can know from his introduction in the first prompt that Thoth is a Thousand Son is if they recognise his armour or the word 'Athanaean'. The only way they can even know he's a Space Marine is if they recognise the word 'Astartes', which most people won't. You mention the Changer of Ways, but don't say anything that's obviously evil.
Put another way: the term 'Chaos Space Marine' is a useful one for a reason. Skating around it is okay if you put something else there to convey the same impression, but non-Warhammer fans aren't going to pick up on any of what you want them to from that scene.
~
Like I say, abstaining. But I don't think Thoth sounds the least bit like a Chaos Space Marine, and I'd think twice before granting Permission based on him even if I was awake enough.
hS
PS: But maybe I'm wrong! Go ahead and show me how, I love being wrong. ^_^ -
Response by
on 2017-11-17 14:26:00 UTC
Link to this
Hi hS! Thanks for the feedback. The majority of it is sensible - some revisions are definitely in order to make the fic more comprehensible.
As for why Thoth's acting the way he is... That is explicable, IMO. But I haven't made it very clear, so that's also worth fixing.
-
Anyone here know the KND? by
on 2017-11-17 23:11:00 UTC
Link to this
As in "Codename: Kids Next Door"? I found a Mary Sue fic for it while browsing some accounts on fanfiction.net. And seeing as I know little about the show, I figured I'd let someone who knows the show judge how bad it is.
Here's the link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11978651/1/Am-I-Doomed-To-Be-Alone -
Well... by
on 2017-11-20 04:55:00 UTC
Link to this
I haven't seen the show in a long time (thank you Cartoon Network) but I might want to give it a looksee if I have the time...
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Does "Saw a few episodes on TV years ago" count as knowing? by
on 2017-11-18 00:17:00 UTC
Link to this
Also, I didn't recognize your name. If you haven't introduced yourself, Welcome! Please introduce yourself.
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Yes? by
on 2017-11-18 01:50:00 UTC
Link to this
I'm new, but I already introduced myself and went through the whole newbie routine in a different thread I started.
Also, I was kinda hoping for a more hardcore KND fan, but hey, go ahead and check it out. -
Okay by
on 2017-11-18 11:59:00 UTC
Link to this
I don't usually pay much attention to the Board, and your name didn't show up in search for some odd reason. Sorry for doubting you.
Also, I'm just reading the first page and find the disparity in description between her two outfits amusing.
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No Subject by
on 2017-11-18 06:12:00 UTC
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No Reply by
on 2017-11-18 12:02:00 UTC
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No Running with the Joke by
on 2017-11-18 22:39:00 UTC
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No Rest For The Wicked (nm) by
on 2017-11-20 02:49:00 UTC
Link to this
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Money Don't Grow on Trees by
on 2017-11-20 23:54:00 UTC
Link to this
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I got bills to pay. by
on 2017-11-21 01:43:00 UTC
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I got mouths to feed. (nm) by
on 2017-11-21 03:10:00 UTC
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I got songs to interrupt. by
on 2017-11-21 09:26:00 UTC
Link to this
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*sings louder* There ain't nothing in this world for free. (nm) by
on 2017-11-21 15:04:00 UTC
Link to this
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I got fruit to cut in half with a sword. by
on 2017-11-21 18:33:00 UTC
Link to this
(Yeah, I've been playing Fruit Ninja for a long time. I got really good at it. But anyway.)
-Twistey
-
The Etiquette of Using OCs by
on 2017-11-20 05:13:00 UTC
Link to this
Here I am asking for more advice on writing (for fan fiction this time)... and a confession.
I have lots and lots of original character ideas for various fandom, but I've been stymied by a number of factors:
1. What kind of story to write, and whether I should start with canon characters or have an elsewhere story starring the OCs.
2. The bad reputation OCs tend to have thanks to bad writing (though I admit I have done some bad writing myself in the past...)
3. Familiarity with the canon - due to being somewhat of a slackers, I have fallen out of touch with certain canons. I would like to try and catch up though. Not helped by the fact that certain canons have different "universes", for lack of a better term (ie Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog)
4. Exactly how many characters to use, not helped by the number of names and concepts I have written down. (I may or may not have a bit of OCD - no pun intended).
I hope I'm not coming across as needy, I just want to improve my writing skills and want to do that by writing fanfiction. I just want to get some writing tips. -
More questions by
on 2017-11-24 23:28:00 UTC
Link to this
Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it.
Some fandoms I have oc ideas for:
*Transformers
*Puella Magi Madoka Magica
*Sonic the Hedgehog
*RWBY
*Tokyo Ghoul
*Steven Universe
*My Little Pony
If it's not too much trouble, could anyone with some familiarity with these give me a hand? -
A more direct reply. by
on 2017-11-20 15:46:00 UTC
Link to this
(Since my reply to Miah is incoherent waffling.)
1/ Write a story that explores something the canon doesn't. All my stories (try to) do this. What if there was a tenth member of the Fellowship? What is it like to be a gay elf? What if Susan Pevensie met Maglor? Once you know what your 'What...?' is, you can use that to determine whether you need a canon character or an OC.
2/ Never let yourself be scared out of writing what you want to. Persuaded out of, absolutely - if someone gives reasons why your story is a problem, be open to listening. But never be frightened, intimidated, or bullied into not writing what you want to. Don't be scared of that bad reputation - try to prove that it's wrong.
3/ Decent wikis are your friend; Wookiepedia and Memory Alpha set the standard here, I think. Reviewing the piece of the canon you're writing about is always a good idea, too. And it really helps to know someone who's familiar with it! Most geeks will be delighted to answer all your questions... at length... with diagrams...
4/ The number you need for your story. A story isn't a dumping ground for your characters; they each need a purpose. My first long story centred on a four-person team; it was only much later that I realised one of them had no reason to exist. I'm still sad about writing her out. :-/
hS -
Eyyyy, I've got answers for this one! by
on 2017-11-20 14:47:00 UTC
Link to this
As someone who has way too many OCs and makes a detailed backstory for each and every one of them, I can confidently say:
1. It depends a lot. There are many combinations of roles for canons and OCs that if written well will definitely work. My fandom OC stories usually involve the OC as the protagonist and canon characters playing small side parts (not meaning that they become just the OC's sidekicks, but meaning that they rarely ever interact with the OC or even show up in the OC's life.) However, that's just what I like to do.
2. That bad reputation shouldn't stop you if you know you aren't going to do bad writing yourself. From my experience on the Internet, I have seen much fewer people with the "all OCs are bad" perspective than I have seen with the more reasonable variant, "bad OCs are bad". If someone doesn't like OCs and attacks you for writing with them, that's not your problem, and indeed, it's one of the few situations in which the phrase "don't like it don't read it" actually applies.
3. Wikis and guides are your friend. So are fandom-specific cliche lists and "Is your [fandom] OC a Mary Sue?" tests that you can find on Wattpad and Quotev. So is Google image searching about "[fandom] Mary Sue" or "[fandom] bad OC" or just "[fandom] OC". That latter source isn't really quite as good as the other stuff, but I use it to supplement the knowledge I gain from those other sources. It's also good to have a wiki by your side even if you think you know what you're doing, because otherwise you might screw something up like, for example, combining all the locations in Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny to make one generic "Castle Wolfenstein." *bangs head on keyboard repeatedly because I need to rid my OC's backstory of this mistake*
4. Well, by all means write multiple fics if there are too many to put into one, or if there are some who just don't fit into one fic. If your OCs can be grouped together somehow (friend groups, teams, etc), then by all means write something about each group and each remaining OC. Or you could break down the general timeline of a huge group and write fanfics about each part of it, focusing on whichever characters are most relevant to the event each time.
Springhole.net has a good amount of pages dealing with OC creation and fanfiction (link below my signature), so I suggest you check those out for more info.
-Twistey
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http://www.springhole.net/writing/ocs-fan-characters-and-fandom.htm -
OCs by
on 2017-11-20 14:34:00 UTC
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Firstly, you need to know the canon pretty well. You don't need perfect knowledge, but you have to know everything pertinant to what you're writing. You should be familiar with the source material, although I wouldn't say you necessarily have to read all of it, depending on how much it is. You don't have to read every SWEU novel before writing any SW fic, for example. And if your fandom has a well-cited and maintained wiki, USE IT!
As for using OCs... Well, I am primarily in the 40k fandom, and OCs are the rule there, not the exception. You are expected to write stories about your OCs, and come up with tales and backstories for all of them. I don't know a single player who hasn't given at least their HQ choice a name and backstory, if not all their other characters. Some of them have even written fairly long stories about them.
Anyways, there's a lot of great fanfiction in that fandom that has nothing to do with canon characters at all. Heck, in most of the very best ones, canon characters take on a relatively minor role. But that's how that universe works: Warhammer is very much about Your Dudes and Your Stories, and it's as much about AARs and what happened at the gaming table as it is about what was written in any book.
Given that background, I'm as interested in the well-written adventures of an OC as any canon character. I'm also partial to a good "day in the life" fic: stories about characters who aren't big heroes or amazing, high-powered awesome people, but just more-or-less normal people living in whatever world. -
Re: The Etiquette of Using OCs by
on 2017-11-20 07:31:00 UTC
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The usage of OCs, for me as a reader, has to maintain the canon characters central role. This does not mean they have to be limited. It doesn't mean the canons must carry the POV. One of my all-time favorite fanfic writers uses many, many OCs and they usually carry the POV. The stories always tell a story that not only introduces the OC, but also moves the narrative of the OC forward.
The catch is that it is always a tale of 'how the canon characters intersected my life.' The canons, when they do appear on-screen, are always suberbly in-character, which helps as well. The stories also tell a story about the canons that deepens or moves them, too.
I do believe you need to know a canon very well before writing in it. How else can you get the voices and backstories and fan-picky details right? I'm passionate about my fandoms. I notice when someone doesn't know them well, but wrote anyway. If it is a messy canon (Marvel, anyone?), then putting the story into context of a particular universe and only knowing it is valid. I love Hawkeye, but so many backstories...
Does that help any?
Do you want a link to that author? I read her LOTR and Stargate fics, but she has some other fandoms, too. I do think she has the best usage of OCs I've ever seen. -
My one exception to this: by
on 2017-11-20 09:08:00 UTC
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Sometimes, the setting itself is enough of a 'canon character' to take the central role. Middle-earth is the obvious one (for me) - you can pick any time and place in Middle-earth's history and reconstruct enough of the culture there to make a compelling backdrop for a story. I have a series of five vignettes set in various places around Middle-earth, and the only canon character who appears is an Ent who was namedropped by Treebeard once. Do the stories suffer, just because I didn't force my two dwarven lesbians to hang out with Thorin or Gimli? Does the tale of a disabled Hobbit need Merry and Pippin to play with him and show that he, too, is a person? Not in the least. They are characters in their world, and that is all they need to be.
Similarly, I could imagine writing a murder mystery set on Qo'noS, starring only Klingons, in which canon characters were mentioned (it'd be hard to not namedrop Kahless the Unforgettable) but didn't appear. Klingon culture is fleshed-out enough for that. You couldn't do the same thing even on Tatooine - the GFFA's #1 filming destination, apparently - because all the culture is either generic or centred on canon characters. (Yes, you could write about how terrible it is to be a slave, but you could set that in America and not change much.) But you could write about living in Jabba's Palace, for instance, where the canon character is - as Miah says - central even when he's not around.
The flip flip side of this is that you have to make your readers want to stick with the story. A Percy Jacksonverse story about your OC Ariadne O'Shea and her quest for the wreck of the Argo is all very well, but unless Ariadne is interesting enough to pay attention to, people are going to head down to the Percy/Annabeth fluff underneath. Fanfic readers are there because they like the canon, so you need to use enough of the canon to keep them there.
My goal with fanfic is to explore unexplored angles. So in the above example, you could find some gods who Riordan hasn't covered (though good luck!), or draw on a myth he hasn't touched. If, though, your story is 'they go through the Labyrinth and run into traps, then Hades tries to trick them, and then they fight a cyclops'... then you're not doing anything new, and why does anyone want to read? Only if Ariadne has a really good hook to draw them in...
hS -
Re: My one exception to this: by
on 2017-11-20 18:27:00 UTC
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I don't think I communicated effectively. The OCs I was trying to convey aren't shoehorned into the lives of the canons.
An example in which the main 'character' is a sword.
Or here where a letter plays a role in several lives. -
Oh, I've read the letter one. by
on 2017-11-20 19:45:00 UTC
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That was good. And yeah, I see what you mean - but I feel that you could also have a good story in pieces of Middle-earth that have no connection to the canon characters. It would be interesting to read about the division of Arnor, even though the last king of Arnor and the first of Arthedain are nothing more than names on a timeline.
I suppose you could argue that they're still connected because they're part of the link between Isildur and Aragorn, but by that milestick, any dwarf is 'connected' to Thorin by virtue of shedding more light on his culture.
hS -
Re: Oh, I've read the letter one. by
on 2017-11-20 20:50:00 UTC
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You have a good point Middle earth is a setting that can handle that sort of story, and it sounds like Warhammer is too. I mostly read TV show and comic book fanfics and they can rarely ever support it, especially ones set in a mostly real world setting.
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Absolutely. by
on 2017-11-21 14:36:00 UTC
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(I've now read the sword one too; my poor heart, it did break.)
Let's take as a hypothetical example the Marvel Cinematic Universe (movies only). It's a great canon, very fleshed out and mostly consistent - but is there space for an OC not connected in some way to the main characters? I think it would be hard to find somewhere for them to go, because most of what makes things interesting is the characters.
To show what I mean, here's a few hypothetical stories you could tell... and why you probably shouldn't:
-Your hero lives in a city on the US West Coast, and fights supercriminals. Great - but why is it fanfic? Superpowers are so generic that you may as well make it original fiction. (Exception: if they're using something connected to one of the main characters - salvaged Iron Man tech, say - then they become an exploration of that connection, and not independent at all.)
-Your OC lives in Vanaheim, and you write a lovely story about her life there. Um... see previous point! 'Idyllic world being attacked' isn't specific enough that you need to make a fanfic, unless you have characters you want to draw in.
-Your OC is a previous Sorcerer Supreme. Yeah, you could write that. But then you're defining them as 'predecessor to Strange and the Ancient One', which is a very firm connection.
And so on. The thing that makes the MCU interesting is the existence of the Avengers and their ilk, not the wider setting. The planets and politics only exist to be a backdrop to their adventures, so writing without tethering the narrative to them isn't usually worthwhile. Contrast Middle-earth or Warhammer 40K, where the setting came first, and was used to build the narrative - Lord of the Rings was literally Tolkien coming up with a story to set in his previous world!
hS -
Not sure I entirely agree by
on 2017-11-22 13:46:00 UTC
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In the MCU, you could theoretically tell a story about Joe Workingman set in New York after the end of the First Avengers. Depending on his actual role, you could tell an interesting story without touching one of the Avengers.
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But that whole story would centre around them nontheless. by
on 2017-11-22 14:50:00 UTC
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The reason that story would be interesting isn't because of the inherent interest in New York - it's because the Avengers fought Loki there, and a giant portal disgorged aliens from the sky. Your hypothetical story would be a drawn-out reaction to those events - events which are caused by and played out by the big-name canon characters.
(Also this is... pretty much the backstory of one of the later MCU villains. Not gonna say which, because spoilers.)
hS -
Well... by
on 2017-11-22 22:38:00 UTC
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Similar, but not the same.
I think there are a few places that might work. Maybe you could work with a Citizen of Asgard or Xandar. I think there are ways that someone could make it work if they tried hard enough. -
The trouble with films is... by
on 2017-11-23 08:11:00 UTC
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They always try to teach the wrong lessons...# No.
The trouble with films is they have almost no background detail. You name Xandar, but what do we know about Xandar? It has space police. It used to have a war. It looks fairly nice. You could write a story there - but you'd have to either make it a reaction to the events of the films, or straight-up invent a society.
Or take from the comics, of course, which have the advantage of very long runs to build the background in. But then you're writing Marvel Comics fanfic, not MCU at all...
#So I say, why invite stress in?#
#Stop studying strife, and learn to live#
#The unexamined life...#
hS -
Re: Absolutely. by
on 2017-11-22 05:26:00 UTC
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Funnily enough, there actually was a West Coast Avengers team in the 1980's. Hawkeye was the leader, at least for a while. I haven't gotten to read them yet, just summaries, but I will someday.
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Hmmm... by
on 2017-11-20 07:23:00 UTC
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What immediately comes to mind is to take a look at the canon that you're going to be working with. Get a grasp of how everything works, then find out more about the thing you plan on writing about. If your OC has a certain power, for example, you should look at other characters' powers, how they got them, and if your character's power could work.
Don't let your OC replace a canon character. There was some of this in the Original Series where the author would kill off a canon character and have their OC take their place.You should also get to know how the canon characters act so you can portray them accurately. The way I think about it, good fan fiction is the kind of story you could read to a character in the canon in question, and they would believe it.
If you're just starting off, you're probably going to have an easier time writing for one OC per story. It's better to have one well-rounded character than several flat ones. And just a suggestion for the plot, I'd recommend something simple that would take place between time skips, or perhaps after the story has ended. You'll probably have an easier time saying "This happened sometime between Book 1 and Book 2" than if you were to narrow it down to "This happens during this specific battle scene." You'll have more flexibility and you won't need to worry about little details.
I hope this helps!