Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[canisaries]

i currently have four wips because i thought i was gonna write the newest one quickly but guess what

i didnt

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Lucario edit list:

• Ears point to the side, like a normal animal
• Mouth is more canine, rather than a weird little human mouth underneath a giant nose
• No chest spike, replaced with fur tuft
• Paw spikes retractable
• Shoulders are no longer wheels
• "Shorts" fade less abruptly into lower legs
• Tail looks more natural
• Neck ruff spikes are smaller and more numerous

It's not my ideal lucario either, but I thought I'd give it a go, and having gone to the trouble, it's interesting to see what people make of it.

 

[BackSet]

Could you fix Gardevoir too. I definitely have issues with her design. Mainly, that spike in her chest. What the hell is it. I thought Gardevoir was the embrace pokemon! How do you embrace somebody if you're just going to stab them in the ches when you do it!

 

[Beth Pavell]

Gardevoir seems to nearly always end up more humanoid in fan art. Look at the official art and it's downright silph-like, with huge eyes even by anime art standards

 

[BackSet]

Honestly, I don't care about the rest of Gardevoir. The spike just frustrates me. I don't even know why.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@Beth Pavell You reminded me, I've wanted to write a less human-like interpretation of Gardevoir for a while.

 

[BackSet]

Speeking of Gardevoire:

Why isn't Gallade in Pokken. It should be in Pokken.

 

[Daren]

I do like that Lucario redesign.
For the most part I'm quite fond of Lucario but that's mostly for the movie/it's consistent performance in the game rather than it's look; I think the basic idea of it's design with the Anubis-like influence is nice but a few things like the random spikes detract from it, at least in my opinion.

 

[Kyuu-Tales]

I just noticed that Archive of Our Own includes "version" in the titles of main series Pokémon games after Gen 5, and it bothers me on an irrational level. And why do they list the Japanese and English names? Shouldn't it only show whatever language it's set to? The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon character tags don't even use the official romanisations. Pokémon is the only game-based franchise I've seen that does this. The only English-speaking Pokémon fans I've seen who use the Japanese names are people who talk about the anime on forums, and it's not like Digimon where people hate the English localisation. Has anyone ever read a Pokémon fanfic that consistently uses Japanese names? /rant

I bring this up because I wanted to see what roles people were giving Gen 8 Pokémon in fanfics, but AO3 is mainly about shipping humans. I'm still hoping that someone will make a Pokémon version of Fimfiction, and I don't think I'd have the devotion to run a website.

As for my fanfics, I'm slowly writing a PMD/Digimon oneshot using someone else's characters (I asked for permission), and have ideas for some multi-chapter fics.

Woah... okay, for starters, that "Versions" bit is an aspect of the detailed tagging system that is crucial to how the database archive works, it's quite ingenious in that it lessens the hassle of slogging through content which may not be relevant to one's interests. And, um, there is a single category for all Pokemon-related fanfiction: "Pocket Monsters (All Media Types)".

With regards to your other grievances, I feel like you're not seeing the bigger picture:

- The categorizing of Pokemon work follows the same line of reasoning as any other fandom on the site. You know how people are picky about particular DCverses and Marvel-verses and the like, and how many prefer clarification in that respect? AO3 extends that policy to all fandoms; Pokemon is in no way exempt from this, ergo the numerous, seemingly redundant categories and labels.

- The same goes for the use of both Japanese and English names. AO3 always, always handles series' tags, names, and other details on the basis of source language first. For Pokemon, this is Japanese. You do realize that AO3 only has English-language interface, right? Now suppose a reader has only had exposure to Japanese content, yet they're fully capable of understanding English. I'm one such person myself, and--surprise, surprise--I tend to Japanese names, learning the English equivalents to things on a case-by-case basis.

- As for that remark about romanization? Take it from someone with a degree in Japanese Studies: romanization is a messy thing. Different people tend towards different systems and rules for doing so. There's no one way of going about it.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as rude, but AO3 is one of the best archives for fanfiction that I have ever used in my two decades of reading fanwork. It might not be your thing, which I can respect. Heck, I don't like MLP, so I have no business on Fimfiction: maybe you're more used to how it works? (I'm assuming it's like that one Harry Potter archive that I remember from way back when...?) At any rate, I'm not in any position to judge.

I unfortunately feel you're jumping the gun with your expectations for Pokemon-centric content. Post-Gen VI, it's been up to the individual to flesh out PMD settings themselves. World-building is a very time-consuming task, and we haven't known about all the new Pokemon or lore for even a month. Human characters are much easier to offhandedly write about.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Woah... okay, for starters, that "Versions" bit is an aspect of the detailed tagging system that is crucial to how the database archive works, it's quite ingenious in that it lessens the hassle of slogging through content which may not be relevant to one's interests. And, um, there is a single category for all Pokemon-related fanfiction: "Pocket Monsters (All Media Types)"

I'm not sure what you mean by this part? How does one word influence the tagging system? I wasn't talking about intra-fandom tags in general.

I assumed that AO3 had multiple interface languages because you can post in other languages. I always found Pokémon's "Japanese | English" tags odd because, say, Zelda doesn't do that. Same on FFN.

Fimfiction is a site where fanfics have a synopsis with a chapter list as their "front page" instead of chapter one when you click on them, covers can be any size, there's an on-site notification system instead of through emails, and the tags are pre-defined and different colours.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Could you fix Gardevoir too.

I'm afraid not.

I'm not an artist, I just edited a composite picture out of other people's fixes. I was able to do this, because people have made edits to the lucario art countless times because it's a bad design. The same is not true for gardevoir, because it's a good design.

The "Embrace Pokémon" does not literally need to be able to hug you tightly from a standing position. Besides, you can just have a headcanon that the red "horn" is made from soft tissue.

Not gonna wade in on the AO3 discussion.

Okay so, some good news about this cat: I wrote about 5k words of Different Eyes last month! It's only 10% of a normal NaNoWriMo, but that's ok. I only have 10% of the energy required. Still, it's progress, and I hope to post an update this month!

 

[Beth Pavell]

I had a look at AO3 a few years ago, and I couldn't make head nor tail of it. People who like it seem to really like it, but I had real trouble browsing at all

 

[canisaries]

gardevoir really needs that chest spike from a design standpoint. it's strong red to contrast the faint green and white and sharp to contrast the other waviness. it also makes it less of a generic waifu creature.

 

[BackSet]

That's fair.

Gardevoir wants you to ambrace a painful spikey death. That's why she's the embrace pokemon.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Apparently the red spike is supposed to be Gardevoir's "heart"?

 

[canisaries]

go! gardevoir! use heart attack!

 

[BackSet]

She'll love and tolerate you to death! (What? Crossing over my little pony memes and pokemon is a perfectly fine way of joking.)

 

[Nitro Indigo]

The official website for Pokémon X and Y said that Mega Gardevoir's horns are the physical manifestation of its heart, but it's gone now.

As far as I know, the only franchise with an anime that doesn't include its Japanese title in its AO3 tag is Fullmetal Alchemist. I think I just dislike AO3 tags in general because they get cluttered.

 

[Kyuu-Tales]

I think I just find AO3 tags annoying in general because they get cluttered.

And that's your opinion. AO3 does really deserve a chance, the database's system of categorization isn't difficult to learn.

People have unfortunately gone a little hog wild with the tagging system by using it to make "clever" remarks about their work. That's not its purpose, and it's caused excessive clutter as a result. But it's actually very convenient when utilized correctly. It's so much easier for me to sort through work when the tags tell me what I can expect to see, at least to a degree. I've never seen people flat-out lie about story content through labels. It takes the guesswork out of browsing (I'm looking at you and your vague general categories, FF.Net), and it allows you to find what you're looking for.

I think I see one other issue: MLP fans have a home base and are comfortable in their old habits. I know this because there are only 2.6k MLP fics on AO3. That's a ridiculously small amount of fanfiction for an immensely popular fandom.

AO3 is a haven to many different fans across many different fandoms. A good chunk of their demographic is older writers who helped establish the internet fanfiction scene. The best part about it is that when you use it, you are supporting a not-for-profit database that is run by volunteers. Some aspects of Wattpad are outright commercial and it frankly disgusts me, not to mention the quality of work on the site is generally poor. FF.Net has always been hit-or-miss, but it's been around since the '90s, though admittedly it has become increasingly conservative and restrictive in recent years. And... um, I can't actually say anything about Quotev, but from what I gather it's a Wattpad wannabe/clone.

Also, kind of off-topic, but one of the things that irks me to no end is the use of the term "book" among newer/younger fanfiction writers to describe a fanfic. Your fan work is not a book. A book means it is printed, completed, and published.

 

[BackSet]

I don't really read stuff on fanfiction sites. Heck, I don't even read all that much fanfiction. The occasional fan comic, yes (I've read at least part of every Kirby Sprite Comic on Smackjeeves. Not hard given how tightly knit that particular genre community is but still) , but not all that many fanfictions.