Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[BackSet]

I tried doing a Nuzlocke but I played faster than I wrote so I just scrapped the thing. I stopped playing that challenge after I lost my Grovyle anyways. I did keep the main character, though.

 

[Greninjaman]

@Ba

I tried doing a Nuzlocke but I played faster than I wrote so I just scrapped the thing. I stopped playing that challenge after I lost my Grovyle anyways. I did keep the main character, though.

Well, Nuzlockes are very tricky to do since you can't really plan ahead. You have to account for every death that happens, since a death can and will screw up anything you had planned.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

I want to do a challenge run and write a story based on it, but I am not sure if it's even worth doing. Should I just drop the challenge and write the story?

Depends on why you're interested in the challenge in the first place. If it's just to generate material for the story, then yeah, you're probably better off just going straight to planning a story. A challenge run doesn't necessarily generate a great plot structure or pacing, since highly degenerate things can happen in gameplay that could derail a story and create anticlimaxes. I don't know what challenge you were thinking of - for me, the first one that comes to mind is Nuzlockes, in which the most common and apparent problem is likely to be Pokemon dying in ordinary battles against non-entity opponents, with no intended story stakes at all. In a written story, I'd probably just cut such battles altogether, but that becomes awkward if a character died during such a fight.

If you are interested in the challenge for itself, however, I would definitely say go for it. The key thing to bear in mind is that it's better to use it as a general source of inspiration, rather than a solid basis for a story. Again, assuming Nuzlocke, if you narrow down to a few major Pokemon rather than writing about every one who appeared in gameplay at some point, that helps create a stronger main cast that people can get attached to more easily. If you think about certain key moments that occurred in gameplay, and don't mind moving a death scene from a random trainer to an evil team admin for example, rather than delivering a retelling of how the challenge played out, you can better dramatise the story and get rid of some of the awkwardness that gamplay can bring.

That's how I'd approach the matter, anyway. Don't know if it's a Nuzlocke specifically, or some other sort of challenge you had in mind, but I hope there's something useful here regardless.

 

[CynthiaLover]

I need a little feedback on a concept in my new series Dawn of Courage. As I stated in the "Need a Name" thread I was going to introduce a Werecat character (who I just named Eoleo due to another before bed burst... despite having a migraine...) who will be chasing after Nina and acting as a more competent rival to Nova (in comparison to Dominic). However, I had an idea for an interesting concept for that love triangle dynamic. Nova hates Eoleo for obvious reasons and Eoleo hates Nova because he's a human and a loser yet has Nina's attention. However, Nina bears resentment towards Eoleo not just because of his personality and such, but rather instincts.

She's a member of the Phoenix Clan, thus has common ancestry to real phoenixes, and Eoleo is a Werecat. I think you can see where this is going: birds and cats don't mix. Although, unlike normal bird vs cat scenarios, this one is a two-way street. Werecats often try to steal and eat phoenix eggs which, in turn, causes the phoenixes, which are much larger, to eat the Werecats. As a result, Nina has built-in (albeit downplayed) instincts to not trust Werecats due to sharing the same ancestry with phoenixes, thus making them (almost) natural enemies. As a result, she tolerates Eoleo at best, especially when they have to make uneasy truces when fighting common foes, but hates him whenever he's giving Nova grief due to her (initially subconscious) feelings for Nova. However, in Eoleo's case, he's too driven by his pride and lust for her (along with his general lack of brains) to even acknowledge the fact that phoenixes and Werecats are enemies, thus not realizing Nina would have natural contempt for his kind, and continues pursuing her.

How does this sound for an interesting twist on the whole love triangle bit? Let me know what you think.

 

[Dorothy]

Finally getting my notebooks shipped from Texas so I can revise the Estrejan Pokedex and start giving Pokedex entries again. I went through the Galar Pokedex and identified 10 Pokemon I'll be bringing into the update:

• Gossifleur
• Eldegoss
• Rolycoly
• Carkol
• Coalossal
• Pincurchin
• Toxel
• Toxtricity
• Sinistea
• Polteageist (in a regional form based on good old fashioned Southern sweet tea)

Also considering retconning the Fire starter in light of Scorbunny, but I'm leaning towards not doing so.

 

[Greninjaman]

You know a story is bad when the author thinks it's rushed and could have been better. That is how I feel about my Legend of Zelda story.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

^Don't worry. Silent Wings was the first fic I wrote that I felt proud of, but I had to rush the ending to hit a contest deadline after a bout of writer's block and felt disappointed with it as a result. (Gosh, I just realised I've lost a lot of motivation to write since I started college.)

In other news, I've been mentally planning out an OC-centric Power Rangers fanfic for months, but I rarely discuss it because I don't feel like I know people who'd be interested. Most Power Rangers circles online consist of toy collectors and/or grumpy old men.

 

[Dorothy]

Finished revising the Estrejan Pokedex and deciding on which Pokemon will get regional forms. I ended up with 17, and lucked out that that's around the amount normally introduced. They are:

Spoiler

• Dusknoir (Ghost/Dark)
• Slakoth (Grass)
• Vigoroth (Grass)
• Slaking (Grass/Fighting)
• Polteageist (Ghost/Ice)
• Pincurchin (Water/Poison)
• Tauros (Fighting)
• Miltank (Ground)
• Larvitar (Bug)
• Pupitar (Bug)
• Tyranitar (Bug/Dragon)
• Vulpix (Dark/Psychic)
• Ninetales (Dark/Psychic)
• Gyarados (Water/Fairy)
• Skarmory (Steel/Rock)
• Snorlax (Normal/Ground)
• Passimian (Rock/Fighting)

 

[Welkamo]

Water/Fairy Gyarados is not something I expected, but it's something I need.

 

[Dorothy]

Water/Fairy Gyarados is not something I expected, but it's something I need.

Spoiler

The conceipt is that living in Estrejas' lovely rivers and lakes has made Gyarados mellow out and become docile and benevolent.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I haven't seen canisaries in a while.

 

[Sushi The Enby]

I "made" an AI-generated fanfic but I can't post it because of the privileges I have

 

[Welkamo]

I haven't seen canisaries in a while.

She's still around, just not on Bulbagarden.

I "made" an AI-generated fanfic but I can't post it because of the privileges I have

Reminds me of the time I got AI to finish the first chapter of one of my fics (stuff in bold is the original text):

Wallace stared at his reflection. He used to be just a little short for his age. His Hinodejin name, Mikouri, meant "little child" in Sootopolitan Greek; he was a small baby, a small toddler, a small child. It was just one of the many things people would tease him for.

But then, at the age of fifteen and a half, he had a sudden growth spurt. Now, at the age of sixteen, he had a lanky frame and stood just under six feet. He felt awkward, he felt weird, he felt confused.

But that didn’t matter: In ten minutes, he and Victoria would be performing in their first Contest.

Wallace picked up his beret and put it on. After staring at his reflection some more, he became dissatisfied with his appearance and took it off. He wore a purple shirt, white jacket, turquoise dress pants, and white boots. At least he had settled on that much—his outfit. And his hair, which was tied up in a low bun.

Victoria watched as he took out his makeup case and put on foundation and turquoise eyeshadow. Wallace had spent a whole hour making sure his Milotic looked her best—her scales shimmered like a lake, and her Blue Scarf was tied into a perfect bow—and now he was nearing an hour and a half spent on his own appearance.

He put on lipstick of a subtle shade of pink, but after five seconds, he wiped it off. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable with makeup, but in that moment, staring at himself in the green room mirror, everything felt off, down to the finest details of his face.

He looked up to established and well known Coordinators and saw that the main difference between him and them was that he wasn’t perfect. If he wasn’t perfect, how would he succeed?

The stress made him feel sick. He shook his head, unable to concentrate on what he was doing.

“Wallace?” Victoria said. “Why are you wearing lipstick?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know how to use it.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, his hair falling in front of his eyes. He placed his hand on his head, pushing it out of the way.

Victoria was confused, but didn’t say anything. Wallace only wore makeup when he was on stage. She understood.

“Come on, Wallace,” she said. “Come back in ten minutes. We’re ready to go.”

Wallace walked into the tent. He sat on the bench and placed his hands on his knees. It would be so easy to say yes. He was a good Coordinator. He always had been. But now he wasn’t even good. Was he meant to be happy? To succeed? He’d never be considered the best. He didn’t want to be known for that. He didn’t want to be known as Wallace, the Classy Coordinator. He wanted to be known as Wallace, the Trainer.

"Hey, Wallace!” Lydia, the girl from the official Hinodejin Facebook page, came into the tent. She had curly brown hair and bright hazel eyes. She smiled, as if she already knew what had happened.

"Hi, Lydia,” Wallace said.

“So, will you be in the showcase?” Lydia asked.

“Yes,” Wallace said. “I hope.”

“Oh, good.” Lydia flashed her pearly white teeth.

"You're happy with that, right?” Lydia asked.

Wallace was silent.

“You want to win, don't you?” she said. “As much as it hurts, you want to win. And to win, you need to know what it’s like to lose.”

Wallace swallowed hard. He was about to lose.

"So do you want to meet up after the Contest and have some coffee?” she said.

Wallace wanted to win. He did. But he wanted to win with his friends. He wanted to win for them. He wanted to win for them so badly that he wasn’t really considering losing.

"I...I don't know,” he said. “I might be busy.”

“I understand,” she said. “We’ll do this another time.”

"Oh, no.” Wallace pulled out his phone and pressed the answer button. He’d forgotten to call his dad and warn him about the Contest. "I need to take this.”

 

[Sushi The Enby]

here's the chaotic maelstrom of a fanfic

(All non-dialogue instances of the word "you" should be replaced with Leaf.)

You live in the Pokèmon universe. You turn 10 today. It's time for you to get your first Pokemon! What will you get?
You've trained a few Pokemon over the years. You have a fair idea of what they're capable of. You've borrowed your brother's Pokèmon once in a while. You know how it goes. You're ready. What will you choose?
You:
You decide to use your Charm point to take down a wild Magikarp.
You prepare a Pokè Ball and throw it at the Magikarp.
Magikarp! Now that's a name you don't see everyday. He's a yellow fish-man with a long snout and small eyes.
You say "Isn't this supposed to be a Pokemon?"
You say, "Is this really a Pokemon?"
"Wow! You're a trainer!"
You see the surprised look on his face. You can't understand it. You're not a trainer.
You say "Why can you talk? You're a fish."
He says, "Only Pokemon can talk."
You don't understand. That's so weird.
"What's your name?" you ask.
"Um, Harvey. What's yours?"
You say "Wait, but I can talk! I'm not a Pokemon!"
Harvey looks around uneasily. He finally says, "I don't know who you are. I'll have to ask my brother about you." He begins to walk away.
You say "How are you walking? You're a fish, for Arceus' sake!"
Harvey turns around and looks offended. He looks down his nose at you.
"You should talk to Arceus about this," he says. "He's the one who created me."
You say "Of course he did. He's god."
Harvey looks around again. Now he looks angry.
You walk away and try to regain control of your life.
This is all so strange. You decide to just go for a walk. Maybe you can clear all this up.
You walk around a sharp turn in the path. You're not used to all the twists and turns of the forest. To your surprise, you begin to hear noises. You strain your ears and hear an eerie whooping.
You say "Is that a Mankey?"
You say, "Are those voices?"
"Yes," Harvey says, looking around nervously. "What are we gonna do?"
You think about it. Mankeys are large, lupine creatures.
You say "Wait, you're still here, Harvey? I left you over there."
Harvey looks confused. "I'm not going anywhere," he says. "This is a very nice spot. I like this forest."
You say "You're a fish, though!"
"I know," he says.
Mankeys begin to howl from not far away.
Harvey begins to speak rapidly. "If they find us, they'll make us go back to school. Then we won't get our Pokè Balls. We won't have any Pokemon. It will all be over."
You stop to think.
You say "I never went to school."
Harvey looks around nervously. "Then who are you?"
"I don't know," you say.
Mankeys continue to howl.
Harvey sighs and sits down on the ground.
You say "I am Leaf."
Harvey looks at you. "What's your name?"
"I am Leaf." You say.
Harvey looks around nervously. "No, it can't be..."
"Yes, it is."
You say "Why can't that be my name?"
"Because you're a girl."
"So what? You're a girl. I'm a fish."
You stand up and say,
You say "You are a fish. And have you ever considered that I might have an unusual name? Or that I might be trans and didn't get a name change?"
Harvey looks around nervously. "What's your real name?"
You consider lying, then decide it's better to tell the truth.
You say "My name is Leaf."
Harvey looks around nervously. "That's a lie! I bet you make up a fake name just to get out of going to school!"
You don't say anything. This whole situation is so strange.
You say "I never went to school."
Harvey looks around nervously again. "If we go to school then they'll know we skipped it. They'll send us back. I don't want to go back."
You say "You don't even GO to school. You are a fish. A Magikarp at that."
Harvey sighs and looks down on the dirt. "Fine. I'll go to school."
You stand up and say,
"Fine. If you go, I'm coming with you."
You say "No I'm not."
Harvey stands up and says, "Fine. If you don't, I'm leaving."
He stomps off into the woods. You stand there for a moment, then follow him.
You actually, you just stay where you are.
You decide you had probably better stay where you are. It's not like you can do anything else.
You walk around for a while. You can't seem to get out of the forest.
You get out your book on how to catch Pokemon. It's calming here in the forest.
You sit down against a tree. You are beginning to feel sleepy.
You open your book and begin reading.
You close your eyes and begin to drift off to sleep. As you nap, Pokemon rustle about.
You awake to the sound of voices.
"Well, if he isn't sleeping in the middle of the trail..."
You say "Huh?"
"Oh, hello there," a female voice says. "Are you new to this forest?"
"I suppose I am," you say.
"I'm Serena."
"I'm Leaf."
You say "Have I heard of you?"
"Only by reputation. I'm one of the most respected trainers in the forest."
"What school do you go to?"
"I don't. I'm independent."
"Oh."
You say "Me too actually."
"I'm not going to a school, either, although I guess you can call it that."
"What do you study?"
You say "Pokemon. I've been waiting for 10 years to get my own."
"Oh. What do you mean?"
You say "Well, I DID have one. It was this weird, mutated Magikarp that could talk and walk. It was creepy."
"I had a Charizard once. It was a gift from a friend who had one. It was very rare. You don't see one, you'll be lucky if you see one."
You say "I've heard of that Pokemon. It looks really majestic, soaring in the sky..."
"Which Pokemon is that?"
"It's a flying type."
"Oh. I'm surprised you haven't encountered one yet, in this forest. They're in their hundreds."
You say "But you just said they were rare!"
"I did not. Charizards are common. Flying types are rare. I found a Pichu one once, in a river. It was very rare. You see one, you'll be very lucky."
You say "I caught a Pichu. It was going to be my first Pokemon."
"What happened?"
"I... I accidentally dropped it. It was so scary. I was too scared to look at it. It looked like a lizard with big eyes."
You say "It's not like that at all. It's actually a mouse. But it made me so scared..."
"Really? Well, maybe it scared for its friends. I wouldn't know. I've never seen one."
You are about to ask more questions that you can't think of now, so you just...
You sigh. "It must be gone forever now."
"It must be."
"When do you think the next time is that it will come here?"
"I have no idea. Maybe never."
"Why?"
You say "Because I've been searching for it this whole time, and it's not here."
"I see."
"Well, I better get going. My mother will be wondering where I am."
"Oh. Okay."
"Good luck to you too."
You say "...Before we part ways. If we meet again, tell me if you see a Pichu with a spiky ear."
"Pichu with a spiky ear?"
"Yeah. A friend of mine saw one once. It was running across the road."
"Okay. I'll be sure to look out for one."
You walk away from Serena reluctantly. "Bye."
"Bye."
You leave her there in the middle of the path, and walk away. You can't think of anything else to say. You've revealed all you know.
A week later...
You you're frantically searching for any trace of Serena. You ask everyone you know .
You get no response. You ask everyone you don't know. Still nothing.
You're about to give up, when suddenly there's a massive earthquake.
You rush frantically into the forest. If she's still in there, she might get hurt!
You run into the forest. You look for any trace of Serena.
After about an hour of running through the forest, you still haven't found anything.
You scream her name. "SERENA!"
"SERENA!" You scream. "COME OUT!"
You run around the next bend. You turn to look back, but don't see anyone.
"SERENA!" You scream. Your eyes begin to well up with tears. You can't see. The tears blind you.
You stumble over a root. You fall on your butt.
"SERENA!"
You hear rustling nearby. You look up.
There's a huge bush in front of you. It's more than a meter tall.
You scream. You can't see anything. You push the leaves to one side.
There's nothing there.
You wipe away your tears and cry there in the forest.
You wipe away your tears.
Now you don't see anything.
You look around for a place to sit.
There's a small rock here.
You sit down on the rock.
You say "I can't see. Why can't I see?"
You look around.
There's a bird sitting on a tree.
You walk closer.
The bird spreads its wings. You look inside. There's nothing there.
You scream.
"Help!"
"Let go! Where are you?!?"
"I can't see! Help me! I can't see!"
You hear footsteps.
"Who's there?!"
The footsteps grow closer.
You look around desprately, checking if your best friend Serena is the one speaking to you.
You look around.
The footsteps have stopped.
You scream.
"Help!"
"Where are you?"
"I can't see!"
"Let go! Get out of there!"
You let go of what you were holding. You blink a few times, and your vision becomes clear.
You let go.
You scream.
"SERENA!"
You run up to the woman.
The woman turns to you.
She has spiky purple hair.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Serena."
"SERENA!"
"Yes? What's wrong?"
"I can't see!"
"What do you mean? What's happened to you?"
You say "I don't know. I came looking for you after the earthquake."
"Earthquake? What are you talking about? What's happened to you?"
"I don't know! I... I don't remember anything! It just happened!"
"It just happened!" The woman looks at you strangely. "What do you mean?"
You say "...I don't know anymore. I only remember one thing. You."
"You?"
"Yes."
"But you're a girl!"
"I know."
"What about it?"
You say "You're the only thing I remember."
"That's not true! Don't lie to me!"
"I'm not!"
"You are!"
You say "I'm not! I love you!"
The woman looks down.
"I love you too."
"Why is it happening? What's making it happen?"
"I don't know! It just happens."
"But why?"
You say "...I don't know. I don't know why it's so hard for me to see anymore. I don't know what happened that made all of this start. All I know is... I love you, Serena."
"I love you too, Leaf."
"What are we going to do?"
"I don't know!"
"But, Serena..."
You say "...We need to figure it out!"
Together, you decide to do what you can to get back to normal.
You use the magic of the water within you to wash away the dried blood that's caked over your eyes, nose and mouth.
You say "...I can finally see. I can finally see clearly."
"Great!" the woman says. "Well, let's start by you telling me what's happened to you."
There's a long pause while you think back.
You say "...There was this earthquake. I came in the forest because I thought you might have returned there. I think I got hit by something falling."
"You thought I might be there? Why on earth would you think that?"
You shrug.
"I don't know. I really don't know. Maybe I read it in the papers or something."
You say "I think it's because you said you were there often."
"What? That's crazy! I go to the forest because it's the only place where I feel safe. It's my home. I know it is."
"But it's not safe, is it?"
You say "It's not safe anymore."
"Why? What's happened?"
"I don't know! Something's happened! All I know is... it's not safe."
You say "After all, you saw what I looked like just minutes before."
"Yes, I did."
"Do you remember hearing a conversation between me and Serena just before this happened? Maybe something that would help explain all of this?"
You think back.
You say "You're Serena. Were you talking to yourself?"
"What?" The woman looks confused.
"You were talking to yourself just before this happened. I heard you. You said 'You're Serena' over and over again. Then, 'You're Serena.'"
You say "But that's your name. Your name is Serena. I'm Leaf. Is there someone else you know named the same as you?"
"No, it's just me. I just assumed you were talking to yourself."
"Don't you remember anything else?"
"Just what I told you. That's all." You didn't understand anything, but you loved whatever it was.
"Does this happen a lot? Or is it just because of the accident that happened to you?"
You say "I've never felt this way about anyone before, actually."
"You love me?" The woman looks surprised.
"Yes."
You say "I told you that before."
"I know. But it still feels good to hear it again."
You smiled at her and stood up. "Let's go home. What do you say?"
"It sounds good to me! Let's go home."
You two walk back to the road together.
"So, um... how should we do this?" the woman asks.
You say "I know how to get to my town. I'll bring you there."
"That's OK. I just need to know which direction to go in." The woman points. "That way."
So you point, and the two of you start walking.
You say "...You know, I think my mom would like you."
"Really?" The woman looks surprised.
"Why do you think that?"
"I dunno! She just would."
"That's really nice of you."
"Well, don't sound so surprised."
You say "She always told me she thought adventurous types of people are good people."
"Yeah, she's right about that."
You two walk in silence for a while, until the woman says, "Do you think your Dad would like me?"
You take a moment before answering.
You say "...I've... I've never met him. My mom says he disappeared when I was young."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
"We don't really... talk about him much. It's just something that..."
"I understand."
Suddenly, you feel an overwhelming urge to cry.
You say "Let's...let's just go."
You turn away and start to walk.
"Where are you going?" The woman asks.
You don't answer.
You say "I'm going home with you. I thought you were going to follow me."
"Oh. Um..." The woman looks taken back by the unexpected outcome of the situation.
You two walk in silence the rest of the way back to the road.
You say "...Do you have a dad?"
You ask the question without thinking.
"Yes, of course I do. I just don't talk about him. Why?"
"Just curious."
You say "I just wanted to know what it was like to...have one..."
"I understand."
You turn to Serena and notice that she has something in her eyes that you haven't seen before.
"You do?" She asks.
"What?"
"You have something in your eyes. I've never seen it on another person before. It's...curious."
"Curious?"
You say "It reminds me of...something from a long time ago."
Serena's eyes light up.
"What does?"
"I'm not sure. It just...reminds me of something."
"Can you remember anything else?"
You think back.
You say "It makes me think about how my mom described my dad."
Serena's eyes glaze over, and you can tell that whatever she's trying to remember isn't pleasant.
"I'm sorry about your dad. It must have been hard for you."
You say "...It's not your fault. It's no one's fault."
"It's just so sad..."
"I'm sure he's looking down on you from heaven."
"I'm not so sure about that..."
"Well, I am."
"Why do you...?"
"Because I'm certain that he's looking down on me too. That's why I don't have any regrets. The Lord takes us all at our own time. That's what my Mom always used to say."
You say "...Used to?"
"She died when I was young, so I don't remember much about her. Just that she was there, and then she was gone."
"That's terrible."
You two walk in silence.
Leaf whispers, "We all go through tough times. But we can make it... Together."
Serena looks at you with a small smile.
"We can make it!"
Leaf smiles back at her. "We can make it."

 

[Welkamo]

Legendary. Truly a work of art.

Do you write fics?

 

[BackSet]

Say, do y'all think it would be okay if I posted in the Fanfiction Cliche Thread even though it's been 11 months since it was last posted in.

 

[Welkamo]

I revived a years old Gracefulshipping thread and nothing bad happened. Be my guest.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

@Sushi The Enby Did you use AI dungeon, by any chance? Whenever I roleplay Pokémon on there, it gets humans and Pokémon confused a lot.

 

[Sushi The Enby]

@Nitro Indigo that is actually exactly what I did

 

[Greninjaman]

Here's a dumb idea I just thought of for a Pokémon fanfic: the Protagonist goes on a journey with a team of six Pokémon that are all the same species (Six Pikachu for example). What do you guys think about that?