POPULAR: Simple Questions, Simple Answers

[Misfit Angel]

Wikipedia as a general source is usually fine, anyways, since people usually seem to be so on the ball with removing inaccurate information. Mostly I just use it as an information hub; I'll often find myself scrolling past the entry itself and going straight to the references section to check out those instead.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Wikipedia as a general source is usually fine, anyways, since people usually seem to be so on the ball with removing inaccurate information. Mostly I just use it as an information hub; I'll often find myself scrolling past the entry itself and going straight to the references section to check out those instead.

Yes - and it does depend a lot on the type of thing you're researching. There's no particular reason to distrust the article on Lepidoptera, for example, however much you may find, oh I don't know, the article on Hillary Clinton suspect

 

[voidcritter]

So I'm doing a reboot of a fic I started but never finished some years ago, and I need some input regarding localized vs. Japanese names.

I'm going with the first four regions in the gameverse being based off Japan, so I wanted the characters and towns from Kanto to Sinnoh to have their original Japanese names. Exceptions would be for characters who are stated or implied to come from somewhere else, like Lt. Surge or Fantina. This makes the most sense logically, but I'm not sure if it'll be easy to follow for English speakers/readers, since the fic is in English.

Kalos and Unova, otoh, both have their characters and cities retain their localized names. Pokemon are also going to have the localized English names used for their species, because I know no one really wants to look up every single Pokemon that appears.

 

[PanicAttack]

I'd just go with the localised names. More of your audience would actually know who the characters are. I find it annoying enough to constantly look stuff up on the wiki when I'm reading discussion threads without having to do it in fics.

 

[MisheardWhisper]

I've read fics before that insist upon using the Japanese names, and it never ends well, trust me. If you're writing in English, your readers will be familiar with the English names. It's pretty commonly accepted and understood that Kanto through Sinnoh are based off various regions in Japan, so there's no need to hammer the point in by using names everybody will have to look up. Off the top of my head, the only Japanese names I know from Kanto are Masara Town, Takeshi and Kasumi, and that's only because of the anime.

On that note, if the fic is anime-verse, you may get away with this more successfully - I couldn't count how many 'Satoshi x Kasumi' fics I still see - but I'd still recommend against it.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I think, on balance, you might as well just go for the English names across the board. It might make sense to use the Japanese names if you're going for a more Japanese region - but if you're not going to do the same for pokémon and you use the English names for Kalosian elements, it's just going to be inconsistent. I'm not sure it would be worth it - I mean, I know I wouldn't read a story like that, simply because I'd have to look up almost every Japanese name.

In any case, there are plenty of ways you can give the region a more distinctly Japanese culture. I mean, once your characters start eating bento, taking their shoes off in the front hall, and go to huge karaoke clubs, it's going to look more obviously Japanese

 

[Misfit Angel]

I'm having a little difficulty with the opening greeting of a letter. Most start with "Dear X" but I'm not certain if that'd be right in this circumstance.

The circumstances behind this letter are that a man has been exiled from his homeland for 'unspeakable crimes'. There was no clear evidence that he committed these crimes, yet no clear evidence that he did not, either. The king wanted to execute him, but his daughter thought that was going too far. She pleaded to reduce the man's sentence to exile, and he was to be sent into the barren badlands to live the rest of his days. Still effectively a death sentence, but perhaps the man would be lucky and survive. The princess sets the man up with a few basic supplies that should last him a couple days, and with the supplies comes a letter she wrote to him, wishing him luck in surviving until she can convince the king to overturn his sentence.

That's where I'm stuck. "Dear X" doesn't sound right, as she doesn't know the man personally, nor hold him dearly. I've thought opening the letter with "To my subject", but she's not the type of person to lord over people like she's better than them. "To whom it may concern" doesn't fit either, as she knows the man's name and the kind of life he lived.

Do I just get over it and go with "Dear X", or is there a better way to open the letter?

 

[Beth Pavell]

Well, is the man noble? If so, it's entirely appropriate for the princess to use the corresponding form of address. "My Lord" is an good generic one, since it can be used to to refer to subject lords. Failing that, something like "Sir" used in this case as a courtesy title, or perhaps "To my liegeman, Mr J Bird, Esq", which is accurate with less of the sting of "subject".

In any case, I think it's probable that a princess would habitually use a form of address that acknowledges the social difference between them. For one thing, I would think she'd have to do that everyday, so it would become habit. I mean, if this society has an entrenched nobility then that sort of thing is going to be an everyday occurrence, the sort that the majority of people wouldn't even think about. You can make that work to your advantage, with a bit of cunning. Imagine a situation where characters think about the apparent contradiction that people will regularly bow to their lords and then draw scathingly rude cartoons about them in the newspaper (Yes, I'm thinking of Georgian society here)

 

[Misfit Angel]

Well, is the man noble?

He's not. He's a commoner, and his only tie to the higher rungs of society was that he was the gifted apprentice of a master craftsman (also a commoner, but well respected). When it was found out that the master craftsman was working against the kingdom, him and his students were to be executed. After considerable political wrangling, the princess had his three apprentices spared (since there was no evidence that they were involved in or knew of the master's plans), and each were exiled to different parts of the badlands instead.

In any case, I think it's probable that a princess would habitually use a form of address that acknowledges the social difference between them. For one thing, I would think she'd have to do that everyday, so it would become habit. I mean, if this society has an entrenched nobility then that sort of thing is going to be an everyday occurrence, the sort that the majority of people wouldn't even think about. You can make that work to your advantage, with a bit of cunning. Imagine a situation where characters think about the apparent contradiction that people will regularly bow to their lords and then draw scathingly rude cartoons about them in the newspaper (Yes, I'm thinking of Georgian society here)

Food for thought, certainly.

The society I have in mind for the kingdom the man is exiled from is one where the monarchy is becoming less and less relevant. Sort of like a renaissance era society. The monarchy still has the authority to make any decision it desires, but generally lets local leadership make every day decisions. In this environment, the princess generally does not get involved in the affairs of the nobles and instead works for the general welfare of the people of her kingdom. She doesn't quite see them as equals, but she is not high above them in her mind. While she'll refer to a nobleman appropriately, she'll refer to a commoner as "my good man/woman", which also doesn't sound right in a letter. "Sir" wouldn't work either, as that title is reserved for knights or other people who go above and beyond for the benefit of the kingdom.

I'm not sure why I care so much, as this really is a minor and inconsequential detail... but these are usually the types of details I get so obsessively stuck on.

 

[Beth Pavell]

In which case, "Mr" is a good fall back as a title, particularly if this society is the sort where most men who aren't professionals get referred to as "one James Bird of Watling Street". Or esq, a title that used to be reserved for lawyers but gained use as a generic courtesy title.

One thing to consider is that even if the monarchy is de facto disempowered, the trappings and frippery of the institution will likely endure. I know of what I speak, I am an Englishman after all. In that case it might well be considered more courteous to refer to people by their proper titles, even if they happen to be lower on the pecking order. The logic being: no titles = no standing, no respect, little better than a vagabond. A princess calling him "Mr", then, is implying that she considers him a respectable man even though he's in exile.

It might be, even then, that your princess thinks she's being courteous by not acknowledging the social difference between them, but he just finds it patronising or silly, knowing damn well that there is a difference and no amount of "my good fellows" is going to change that

 

[0bs1d1an_kn1ght]

So, anyone who knows Jojo's Bizarre Adventure pretty well, I'd like some help on something.

I was thinking of writing a Jojo one shot for shits and giggles, about twelve Stands that represent the constellations. my main character has a Stand, representing Virgo, that can deconstruct/reconstruct inanimate objects at a molecular level, able to turn one object into a completely different object. She cannot affect organic/sentient matter, and she can only affect one object at a time (meaning, she has to revert the previous object back to its original form in order to affect a new one). I was wondering, is there a Stand in the manga/Anime that already works the exact same way? If so, I'll change it's ability.

I also need help deciding on a name for the Stand. Some names I considered: Mother ("Mother" by Danzig); P!nk (P!nk); Iron Maiden (Iron Maiden); Breakthru ("Breakthru" by Queen); Fat Bottomed Girl ("Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen); Sweet Lady ("Sweet Lady" by Queen); and Beth ("Beth" by KISS)

 

[Flaze]

Guys, I have some questions I wanna ask for this character I have in an RP. Does it make sense for someone to be brash and impulsive but also patient and detail oriented?

 

[MisheardWhisper]

Guys, I have some questions I wanna ask for this character I have in an RP. Does it make sense for someone to be brash and impulsive but also patient and detail oriented?

It would be . . . unusual, I guess. 'Impulsive' and 'patient' are pretty much mutually exclusive, and they both inform the character's actions in a lot of situations. An impulsive character will always be rushing in headlong, a patient one would rather hang back and see how things develop before interfering. You could theoretically make it work - people don't always just fall on one side of a scale, they can have shades of grey - but as primary character traits they definitely clash. I suppose people can be patient in general but impulsive in certain situations (or vice versa) but I still suggest you pick one to take precedence most of the time, or else it just kind of reads like you're trying to tack on random adjectives to make the character seem interesting.

 

[Lugion]

Guys, I have some questions I wanna ask for this character I have in an RP. Does it make sense for someone to be brash and impulsive but also patient and detail oriented?

Totally. Human beings contain multitudes, and that sounds a bit like BPD.

Of course, I'm not sure about this character being both brash and impulsive AND patient and detail oriented all at once. Alternating, though, definitely.

 

[Instrutilus]

Could depend on the situation. Like if they're under normal circumstances, they're patient and detailed. If they're under attack they become brash and impulsive, jumping into the fray to get it over with quickly?

 

[Misfit Angel]

Soooooo... I'm looking at rewriting the Blackwood Forest arc of Storm Island because it's so... so utterly terrible. But in order to do what is necessary to fix the mess I left behind, I'd need to add a couple of chapters (and honestly, probably many more). How would I go about this? Like, I can edit the posts that are there, but what about the new content I'd need to squeeze in there? I can't just edit every single post I (and Caitlin) have made in the thread to push back all of the already released chapters.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Could you ask a mod to move the new chapters into sequence?

 

[Misfit Angel]

That's an idea. Is that possible, @AceTrainer14; ?

 

[AceTrainer14]

@Samantha Prescott: do you mean creating new posts between say one chapter and a review from someone? To my knowledge, I don't think you can do that. You can merge posts together, but that is all I believe you can do from the options presented to me when you select posts that would work for you. I think the easiest if less desirable option would be to have several chapters sharing posts, or perhaps find a way to merge some of the chapters together if they are not strictly bound by cliffhangers or what not. I have asked a higher up though to see if it is possible, but I doubt it

 

[Misfit Angel]

I thought about just posting the new chapters and having them moved 'back in time' so that they appear where I want them. Seems like a tall order. Thinking about it, I'm not sure if the tools given to mods/admins would allow that (think about it, who would even need to do something like that?)

It could be done through manually and tediously editing the database, but I won't even count that as an option. :V

I guess if worst comes to worst, I could just post multiple chapters in one post. I just hope that when the word limit was upped from 10k after the forums changed over, it wasn't limited to something like 20k.