I may or may not have been trying to use PokeGenie to take screenshots on P+ mobile. It didn't work, but it inspired this instead. I'm not sorry.
SEASON 1 & 2 STAR TREK PICARD CHARACTERS AS A POKEMON TEAM
The Meta team lead who makes a big mess with environmental hazards and then uses Baton Pass so everyone else has to deal with the fallout:
Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, of course. But how about the rest?
The counter-Meta pick with a moveset specifically designed to cover their own team's weaknesses while exploiting gaps in the opponent's defense. Can learn a wide variety of contact and non-contact TMs. Occasionally hurts self in own confusion:
The niche off-Meta sweeper with a bunch of left-field moves. Catches everyone off guard and lays absolute waste because nobody's ever seen one in battle before, nobody has one on their own team, and nobody knows how to counter any of this bullshit:
The Uber-tier revenge killer who's OP as fuck and everybody knows it, but is too much of a beloved icon for any of the Powers That Be to actually risk banning or nerfing, lest the entire fanbase ragequit and/or riot in the streets. Ends up getting a mega-evolution instead:
The unpredictable stall who won't decimate your team directly, but will drag shit out and make half your strategies backfire. Will lead you on a wild romp of increasingly furious button mashing by spamming status effects and using shit like Shell Smash and Follow Me for funsies. Can harm own teammates with recoil damage, but can also boost stats of allies in battle:
The seemingly-innocuous cute one who turns out to have a hidden ability and a rare item that activates when their HP gets low, and then all hell breaks loose:
GODDAMMIT HOW MANY DIFFERENT FORM CHANGES DO YOU FUCKING HAVE?!
The MF glitch from Cinnabar Island that somebody managed to sneak into the tournament when the refs weren't looking, and now your save file is screwed, your game is frozen, and the soundtrack is stuck on Lavender Town:
The obviously hacked 'mon with impossible moves, impossible stats, dubious typing, and no listing in the regional dex. Not allowed to enter the tournament and has to watch from the sidelines:
The Psychic-type Mythical hanging out in the background who gives you cool hints, potions, and sidequests:
Giovanni. Apparently somebody got bored selling Slowpoke tails and decided to switch up the inventory. Needs to fuck the entire hell off and take their mafia mad science lab with them. Probably doesn't have enough gym badges to capture their desired target anyway:
If you've got more, add 'em on! Gotta dex the whole region!
Someone was sobbing. After a moment, Anakin realized Oh. That's me. And then his knees were buckling and he was heading for the ground.
Obi-Wan caught him. "It's all right. I've got you." -K. Miller
“Bo-Katan rescued me and slayed my captor. She defeated the enemy that defeated me. Would this blade then not belong to her?” I AM IN TEARS, I HAVE COMPLETELY LOST IT, BECAUSE BY THAT LOGIC THAT BLADE IS LUKE SKYWALKER’S. Obi-Wan Kenobi defeated Pre Vizsla during the Clone Wars, then technically Maul defeated Obi-Wan on Mandalore, if you want to make that case, but then Obi-Wan defeated Maul on Tatooine, then Anakin Skywalker defeated Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mapuzo, but then Obi-Wan Kenobi defeated Anakin Skywalker on that barren moon, then Anakin Skywalker defeated Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Death Star, then Luke Skywalker defeated Anakin Skywalker on the second Death Star, ERGO THE DARKSABER IS RIGHTFULLY LUKE SKYWALKER’S. QUICK, SOMEONE TELL THE MANDALORIANS ABOUT IT, I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY FUNNY TO THROW THE MANDALORIAN BULLSHIT AT THE NEXT GENERATION OF JEDI TOO.
Anakin and his relationship/kink with being praised. Continued well into Vaderhood too.
ABSOLUTELY. Like, that is still Anakin Skywalker there, you know? That everything of Vader's issues stems from Anakin Skywalker's issues, the whole reason he became Darth Vader in the first place, the whole "walking black hole of depression", that's Anakin Skywalker! His fears consumed him and drove him to do terrible things and his attachment issues caused him to be so afraid to live without someone that he would even take his abuser because he cannot break away from that, not until he's willing to die for someone again, to be able to let go and be truly selfless, like all of that comes from Anakin Skywalker's issues!
BUT IT'S ALSO IN THE FUNNY WAYS THAT ANAKIN AND VADER ARE 100% THE SAME PERSON:
DARTH VADER'S BEING EXTRA AF MAKES A THOUSAND PERCENT SENSE WHEN YOU REMEMBER THAT'S ANAKIN SKYWALKER.
THE OVER THE TOP DRAMATIC ENTRANCES.
THE WHIRLING BLACK DEATH THAT SPINS THROUGH THE SKY TO GO FIGHT GIANT SHARK KAIJUU WITH LASER BREATH LIKE IT'S JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY.
THE GUY WHO MAKES A CAP OUT OF A LIZARD BIRD WHEN HE LOSES HIS REGULAR ONE.
THE GUY WHO CHASES ROGUE INQUISITORS ACROSS THE CORUSCANT SKY WHILE STANDING UP IN A SPEEDER FOR MAXIMUM DRAMA AND WINDS UP ASS OVER TEAKETTLE ON A BALCONY.
THE GUY WHO RIDES A TIE FIGHTER DOWN TO THE SURFACE OF A PLANET AND STANDS ON TOP OF IT JUST BE EXTRA SURE EVERYONE KNOWS HE'S THERE.
1000% ANAKIN SKYWALKER.
BUT ALSO ANAKIN DESPERATELY WANTING PRAISE? STILL HAPPENING AS DARTH VADER:
LOOK AT HIS SAD PUPPY FACE WHEN SIDIOUS IS KEEPING SECRETS FROM HIM.
LOOK AT THE WAY HE LOOKS BACK OVER HIS SHOULDER WHEN HE'S BEING TOLD TO LEAVE BECAUSE HE WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO BE INCLUDED.
DARTH FUCKING VADER IS ANAKIN SKYWALKER BECAUSE ONLY ANKIN SKYWALKER WOULD WEAR THAT DEATH'S HEAD MASK AND STILL BE ABLE TO GIVE SAD PUPPY EYES BECAUSE HIS MASTER DIDN'T PRAISE HIM ENOUGH.
G O D HE'S THE WORST I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
Guess who's back 👀🏝️🌺✨
I can't believe it took me 7 years to give Dusk and Jenna their first official speaking roles in the comic oh my god
Excited to finally give them some proper characterization :D
(also should you wonder, no, they can't actually "talk" like humans, El and Guzma would just hear goose noises and clinging steel)
Thank you to my wonderful Patrons, who made this update possible!! Hoping to work on both a new comic AND an animated video soon 👀 Get early access and wips of all of my art on Patreon!
I wish I'd known so many things as a beginning fiction writer. . . .
Recently, I was teaching and mentoring at the Storymakers Conference, and I got into a conversation with a fellow editor and writer about such things, and I've sort of been thinking about them off and on ever since. Thus, this post. But I'll keep this intro brief. . . .
Here are seven things I wish I'd known when attempting to write my first novel.
1. Nearly Every Scene Needs a Goal
I consider goals to be the first element of plot. Without a goal, you can't have a true antagonist--because the antagonist is what opposes the goal. And without that, you can't have conflict. Or consequences. Or a true story.
But not only does your protagonist need an overarching goal for the act or whole narrative arc, but there should almost always be a little goal for nearly any scene. Often what happens, is the big goal will be broken up into scene-level goals. So, while Katniss's overarching goal is to win The Hunger Games, her scene-level goals may be to impress the Gamemakers, nail her interview with Caesar, or find Peeta in the arena. And of course, if there are multiple plotlines, as is often the case, there may be goals related to other plotlines beyond the main external one.
Admittedly (and unfortunately) though, even if someone had told me that 10+ years ago, I would have been very skeptical, and my mind would have immediately gone searching for scenes where there isn't a goal present.
I now realize, I had a very narrow view of what a goal was. See, when I heard the word "goal," I only thought of obtaining something. Thankfully, that is only one type of goal. Avoiding something can be a goal. And wanting to maintain things as they currently are can also be a goal--it just needs an antagonistic force (just as they all do).
So, at the most basic level, there are three types of goals: obtain, avoid, or maintain.
The goal can change. It can even be achieved or abandoned. In which case, a new goal needs to come into play.
Some scenes don't start with a goal, but usually one comes in as the scene progresses, and goals may not be a big component of sequel scenes.
There are, of course, some rare situations where there isn't really a goal at all, but when that happens, there is often still directionality--a sense of where the story is going.
Goals help tighten up the story by giving the audience a sense of direction, and if you don't have a goal in play, then you need to come up with another way to do that, such as playing with dramatic irony (the audience senses that the direction the story is going, is that the characters will eventually figure out what they already know).
Until a goal is in play, the audience can't really measure if what is happening is progress or a setback, and they can't get a strong sense of why what is happening matters (because the characters aren't trying to get anywhere specific).
Goals are super important in the overarching plot. They are equally important, if not even more important, within scenes.
2. Scenes and Acts Should Follow Basic Structure
Most of us are probably familiar with basic story structure: rising action, climax, falling action.
But many of us weren't taught that this is also the basic structure of acts and scenes.
The difference, is that, in acts and scenes, it's smaller and less impactful.
This shape is a fractal that repeats itself within the narrative arc. It's like a Russian nesting doll, with the smaller structures of it fitting into the larger ones.
This means most of your scenes should actually have a climactic turning point.
This also means that the story should have changed at least a little because of the scene. How the story was at the beginning of the scene, should be at least a little different from what it is at the end of the scene. If it's not, the scene is probably just exposition and/or filler.
There are, of course, some exceptions to this. For example, sometimes the point of the scene is to show how things haven't or aren't changing. But if most of your scenes don't follow this structure and aren't changing the story at least a little, they probably aren't progressing the story, and are just filler (unfortunately!).
3. Know Your 4 Basic Character Arcs and Which You are Writing
Some writing advice doesn't work well for all stories, and that can be especially true when you get into character arcs. There are four basic types of character arcs: positive change, negative change, positive steadfast, negative steadfast. Any other character arc should fit into one of these four.
In brief, a change-arc protagonist will do, more or less, a 180-degree flip about a belief system or worldview. They go through a big change or transformation. If this is positive, the protagonist flips from an inaccurate worldview to an accurate one. If negative, the protagonist flips from an accurate worldview to an inaccurate one.
In a steadfast arc (also called a flat arc), the protagonist will stay, more or less, the same at the end of the story as they were at the beginning of the story. They will uphold the same worldview. A steadfast story is about the protagonist holding true to who he was in the beginning, despite other forces testing or tempting him to bend or quit. If this is positive, the protagonist is holding steadfast to an accurate worldview. If negative, the protagonist is holding stubbornly to an inaccurate worldview.
Of the four types, the most popular one is the positive change protagonist, which means there is a lot of great advice for that type. Unfortunately, that advice doesn't always translate well into the other three types.
This is where I ran into one of my biggest stumbling blocks when I was a "beginner" storyteller. I wanted to write a flat-arc/steadfast protagonist story, but I didn't know about those terms and I couldn't articulate what I was trying to do nor find resources to help me do it. I kept trying to apply change arc advice to a steadfast protagonist. It didn't work well and caused somany problems! Eventually, and unfortunately, I turned my steadfast protagonist into a change-arc protagonist in the process. Yikes.
While positive change arc protagonists are the most popular, they aren't the only type, and you don't have to write that type. So know what type you are writing and be discerning about what advice does and does not apply to it.
4. Character Agency Actually Makes the Character More Sympathetic
Let me admit something. While I think I'm somewhat of a natural at dissecting stories, I've learned I'm not a natural storyteller. After college, I could write pretty lines with a great style, but I really struggled with actual story elements. I don't think I'm natural at story. It seems I have had to learn everything the hard way in that regard. But I can't feel too bad about it, because trying to figure out why what I was doing didn't work has spurred much of this blog.
Anyway, when I started taking writing seriously, my protagonist did not exercise much agency. Bad things were just happening to him and he was just reacting, and he was really rather passive in plot (in part because I didn't understand the importance of goals nor that I could pick from three not just one type (see #1)). He wasn't making many choices or demonstrating his agency.
I wanted him to be really sympathetic because of his difficulties, and on a subconscious level, I thought that the lack of agency and control over his situation was doing that.
In reality, as counterintuitive as it sounds, the opposite is actually true.
Agency makes characters more sympathetic.
Here is an example I like to give when teaching others about this concept.
Imagine a story where a mother's daughter goes to the store and gets shot and killed by criminals.
It's sad, of course, but it seems random. Bad things happen to everyone.
Now, imagine a story where the mother didn't want to go to the store, and so chose to send her daughter instead. Then the daughter got shot and killed by criminals.
Most of us would say the second one is sadder.
Why?
Because the mom now holds some level of responsibility and accountability for what happened. If the mom hadn't sent her daughter, she wouldn't be dead.
Now, don't get me wrong, obviously the criminals are the real ones to blame, and the daughter also exercised agency by deciding to help out her mom (which makes the daughter a more sympathetic character too--she was just trying to help).
But in the second scenario, there is a stronger sense of cause and effect, where the mother's choices led to negative consequences.
And now, she may be haunted by the choice she made. What if she had chosen differently? Maybe she should have gone to the store herself. Or maybe she should have just used a delivery service. Or maybe . . . (I think you get the point).
This makes her more sympathetic. Not less.
And one way to make a character particularly sympathetic is to have her make choices with the best intentions and then have them lead to painful, costly consequences.
I could do a whole article on character agency in the future . . . or maybe I'll just save it for my online course. 😉
For now, this should give you a little something to think about regarding it: exercising agency makes characters more sympathetic, not less.
5. The Antagonistic Force isn't Only the Main "Big Baddie"--Your Story Should be Loaded with Them
In the writing community, we often talk about THE Antagonistic Force ™ in a story. We get very focused on THE MAIN Antagonistic Force ™--which makes total sense, I mean, duh! It's the biggest opposition.
But I sometimes feel like this leads to limiting perspectives that hurt our stories. (It certainly did for me and mine when I was learning.)
In reality, an antagonistic force isn't just some scary entity. An antagonistic force is anything that opposes the goal (see #1). It is the obstacles and resistance in the way of the goal. It's not something that is just heckling or annoyingthe protagonist. It's blocking, resisting, or pushing the character away from the goal.
And if (nearly) every scene should have a goal and should follow basic story structure, naturally that means there should be lots and lots and lots of antagonistic forces in a story--even if that particular antagonist only lasts for one single scene. Even if that antagonist isn't THE Antagonistic Force ™.
We need antagonists to have conflict (or even just tension--there is a difference) and meaningful consequences in our stories. That means an ally may step into the role of an antagonist if only for a moment, even if the ally isn't what we think of as a "baddie." (It may just be she has a different idea of what to do next, and that opposes the protagonist's current goal.)
And the antagonistic force isn't always "bad." It's simply something that opposes the goal. That's it.
So even if you have a main antagonistic force, make sure your story has lots of lesser antagonistic forces along the way--things that oppose the current goal. They may be temporary antagonists, but they are antagonists nonetheless.
6. Create Side Characters with Lead Characters in Mind
Once upon a time I brainstormed and ironed out a whole character who I, of course, thought was great. But when he finally got on the page with one of my main characters, the scene was terrible. The two did not go together well at all. It was some of the flattest most boring character interactions I'd ever written.
You see, while I liked both characters and worked a lot on each, they did not work well together--or perhaps, rather the problem was, they worked "too well" together, which was why it was so flat and boring. My main character in the scene was pretty nonchalant. The new side character I inserted was relaxed and lazy. Ack! What was I thinking? Because I had created each of them individually and because there were so many other features to them, I didn't realize how terrible they would be on the page alone together.
Rather than create each character as an "island," it's better to create supporting characters with the leads in mind. What kinds of qualities and attitudes are going to challenge and test your lead characters? What does your lead need to learn from this person? Or, what can the lead teach this person? What kind of person will uncover a new side to your lead? These are useful questions to ask when creating side characters.
In my story, in addition to being nonchalant, the main character valued honesty so much that he was often blunt (read: borderline rude). So I made the supporting character someone uptight who valued politeness. It took much less work on my part and the scene was much better for it.
7. Pretty Lines and a Nice Style Will Only Get You So Far (Which is Not Very Far at All)
As I already mentioned, when I got out of college, I could write in pretty lines and I had a nice style. In fact, style was one of the things I'd often get complimented on. But guess what? That doesn't matter if your story stinks.
There was an adage I would hear floating in writing communities around this time. Its basic idea was that if your lines are good enough, it doesn't matter what the story is, the reader will keep reading.
Today, I think this is a dangerous thing to be telling people, and when my story wasn't working out, I'd sometimes get stuck on that idea, thinking, Well, I have a good style, and if I just write this clever enough, witty enough, interesting enough, beautiful enough--X enough--the reader will keep reading!
Let's just say I wasted a lot of time doing that.
It didn't matter how beautiful or funny the lines were if the plot, characters, and structure were broken.
And ironically, I've learned that, actually, if you can figure out the story first, the lines will often come more easily. (This is because you aren't trying to make a pigsty look like the Taj Mahal. 😉)
Well, there you have it. And yet . . .
. . . with all that said, I also recognize I was not ready to learn and understand all these things when I did start writing seriously. And some things you can only truly learn and understand by diving into the craft. I mean, if you wait to know everything to start writing, you will be waiting forever!
But what about you? Is there anything you wish you'd known as a beginning writer?
I've read this article written by SEVERAL news sites. Big things they all emphasize:
WOW do we as Americans have shit healthcare compared to similar nations, that is FUCKED UP
Most Olympic athletes are working class people who can't even afford healthcare unless it's something the American Olympic Committee agrees to cover. Some have been outright homeless while training for the games. Holy fuck is that ALSO fucked up.
I want this to go So Fucking Viral. Maybe if it involves our Sports People on the World Stage more Americans will give something of a shit.
Seeing pictures of yourself -the real you, the one people miss, the one people look for in your eyes- is like staring into a foggy mirror. The parts are there, you think, but the details are lost.
Someone who loves you makes you breakfast. You thank him and eat it despite the fact the eggs are too crisp on the sides and missing much needed salt. He says its how you like it, but that just makes that angry, unfettered itch in the back of your brain grow stronger.
How I used to like it, you want to say, how I used to be.
You grip your butter knife harder and light catches the polished metal. The glimpse you catch of yourself in the cutlery looks nothing like the photo on the mantle.
THERE MIGHT BE KAHLUA IN THAT NEBULA: A Star Trek Fandom Drinking Game
Booze: the final frontier. Fandom conventions: the final, final frontier, once you're past the original point of no return.
Whether you're cosplaying at a con, chillaxing on your couch, or doing a watch party online with your virtual shipmates - THESE ARE THE VOYAGES… of you, running frantically to the restroom, humbly bowing before the almighty porcelain god, and paying your penance to the Guardian of Foreverclear.
Your mission is to seek out strange new life by looking in the mirror because you, my friend, are a goddamn nerd who's been playing a Star Trek drinking game. And although you've probably been here MANY times before - if you can't remember it, we can just wink and say you're boldly going where no one has gone before.
ATTENTION BAJORAN TWERKERS: These are the rules.
1) Grab a cup, flask, bottle, mug, or biohazard container full of your favorite intoxicant (or juice or soda if you wanna play but don't do the booze thing. Hell, drink water if you want. Somebody's gotta stay sober to remind the drunk-ass fools of all the embarrassing shit they did in the morning.)
2) Plop your ass in front of a Trek episode if you're gonna do Part I, or go prowl a convention or fandom event if you're gonna do Part II. (If you're doing part II, disclaimer applies: please don't get caught if you break any convention policies related to alcohol.)
3) Drink as instructed. May the Force be with you and may the odds be ever in your flavor…er…favor, because you're gonna need the strength of a few other fandoms' catchphrases to get through all this goofy shit. (Seriously though, please DO make sure you live long and prosper. If you've hit your limit, switch to water.)
------ THIS GAME IS WRITTEN FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. NO ONE IS ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED TO CHUG THEMSELVES INTO OBLIVION. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW OR BY OUTLAWS ON FENRIS AND/OR FREECLOUD. THIS PAGE MAY NOT BE REDEEMED FOR CASH, CREDITS, DILITHIUM, OR LATINUM. IF YOU'RE STILL READING THIS CRAP, YOU MAY NOT BE REDEEMED EITHER. MANAGEMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY UNEXPECTED WORMHOLES, TRIBBLES, LIZARD BABIES, OR REGRETTABLE LIFE DECISIONS. -----
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
StarTrekPotluck2024 - Day 11, Serving 3: In an exciting first for the Potluck, @rocket-sith has concocted a drinking game for both Star Trek watch parties and cons! 🖖✨ Grab the drink of your choice (with or without alcohol) and get ready to have a good time 🍷🍻 "Battle stations!" (aaaaand drink! 😁)
