Val🌈

This blog is as chaotic as me and has no specific theme peeps. Well officially. It appears this has turned into a DQ blog

[val-bananatine]

This account and user ain't dead yet, we thriving we thriving.

Even though I'm no longer active(ly writing) in the Apti fandom I still preordered requiem. Apti always is gonna have a special place in me heart.

Will it inspire me to continue or revamp the stuff I wrote and left unfished on Ao3? No promises. Especially not since I have A LOT of own story projects rn to write on instead (cough cough you're free to ask).

Away from the update and onto Apti:

WHO ELSE IS HOPING FOR OUR SAPPHICS TO MEET AGAIN??

Dude, I'd be disappointed af if there isn't some kind of tension and bickering/jabbing at the first meet up. I need my dramatic medieval sapphic medicine

[desyeuxdelilith-deactivated2022]

I raise you a concept @val-bananatine and I came up with yesterday:

Daki and Douma dancing to Single Ladies while wearing the oiran heels. 10/10 performance, no third dancer needed, would do it again.

(Muzan: And this is why I dislike the two of you.)

[val-bananatine]

Saw this just now but yes, what a lovely sight to think back to.

You think they're both wearing Dakis demon costume, Douma having a cheap copy of it, or the Beyonce body suits to it?

[thydungeongal]

Playing Dragon Quest XI again and while it's one of my favorite JRPGs the story just kind of shits itself in the third act. Major spoilers ahead.

So the main game actually takes place in two acts, act one which introduces the party and puts them on a quest to find the orbs so they can get a magic sword and defeat the bad guy but at the conclusion of act one the heroes get their asses kicked by the bad guy and everything gets fucked up

Act two is somewhat reminiscent of Final Fantasy VI's World of Ruin in that you're going through a world fucked up by the bad guy collecting your surviving party members to find a way to defeat the bad guy. Along the way you see a big sky orb that's like oh wait that wasn't there before but at some point the bad guy destroys the sky orb and you're like huh I wonder what that was about. It also turns out that one of your party members didn't survive the fight with the bad guy and her twin sister now carries her power within her. Every other party member also gets some character development and although the quality varies it's just nice seeing these characters you've spent the last 30 or so hours with get a bit fleshed out. Even the main character, in spite of being a silent protagonist, gets a few character scenes.

So you eventually beat up the bad guy and the credits roll and you're like yeah, that was a well-earned albeit bittersweet ending. It's sad that the dead character, Veronica, couldn't be there to share the victory with the others.

Then if you reload your save file you can actually continue to the third act and this is where they introduce time travel. Turns out that something that was never mentioned within the first two acts will allow you to go back in time to save Veronica and stop the bad guy before they turn the world to shit and like... okay, altering the past to save a character worked in Chrono Trigger so let's see.

Here's the thing: the only character who can travel back in time is the protagonist who doesn't have any dialogue because the player is supposed to project their emotions onto the character. So when you go back in time to save Veronica the only character who knows that Veronica died in another timeline is the protagonist who can't, because of the constraints imposed on the character, outwardly express any emotions when being reunited with Veronica. This isn't so bad, because the player is still able to project their own emotions on the protagonist which is valid, but compared to the aforementioned scene in Chrono Trigger where characters just let their emotions run wild when they're reunited with the friend whom they saved through time travel... it just hits different?

The big twist, however, is that via time travel you actually fucked up, the sky orb had an even bigger bad guy who hasn't been mentioned up until now in it and now that bigger bad guy has fucked things up so you actually made things worse and barely any of this was set up.

Also, all that character development that happened in Act 2? It's now gone. Didn't happen. You CAN go and do a couple of sidequests that effectively act as rehashes of the story development from Act 2 but they feel extremely rushed in comparison. In Act 2 you got to dwell on those scenes because they were often very heavy on the characters (like Sylvando having to reconnect with his father felt hard but had amazing payoff imo) whereas in Act 3 it feels like the protagonist (through you, the player) is just pushing his friends into situations cause he knows that there's some emotional payoff to be had there but the payoff never happens because it's so rushed.

Anyway, I still love this dang game, even though Dragon Quest's gameplay formula hasn't changed like at all since the NES days they do a lot with the very basic turn-based combat and the amazing presentation makes it feel a lot more engaging than it is from a purely kinetic standpoint. I just lowkey wish the story carried all the way until the end.

[val-bananatine]

Big agree, the missing character developments and bonding moments were really what made a bit disappointed. Then again - there was no chance in Act 3 to have them happen naturally either. My favorite example of that stays Hendrik - my god that bonding in Act 2 was everything.

I think the thing that annoyed me the most though was that it was an "everyone lives nobody dies" AU, but with choices which shouldn't really have been affected by that whole time traveling. It's been a while but I definitely remember wondering why Miko's quest was - the way it was in Act 3. Happy for her ofc, but it felt so off that suddenly (SPOILER) poof we could save her son and everyone lives happily.

(And don't get me started on Michelle's quest... the betrayal. If you give me a choice in Act2 then let me stick to it?? Why would you decide for me that I wanted to be cruel and let her wait forever despite knowing better??)

[val-bananatine]

Me: [wakes up]

Me: ~☆~Mikannie~☆~

Me, looking @ at their het ships:

They suck

[screnarchive-deactivated2022042]

am I still considered a writer...

''even if I don't write every day?'' Yes.

''even if it goes weeks or months between sessions?'' Yes.

''even if my stories don't get a lot of interactions?'' Yes.

''even if all I write is fanfiction?'' Yes.

''even if I only write for fun?'' Yes.

''even if I'm not very good at what I'm doing?'' Yes.

''even if I don't believe myself worthy of being called one?'' Yes.

''even if the publisher turned me down?'' Yes.

''even if I only write one genre?'' Yes.

''even if I use clichés?'' Yes.

''even if I lack motivation?'' Yes.

''even if I haven't finished a single project?'' Yes.

''even if someone criticized my skill?'' Yes.

''even if I excel at dialogue but suck at description (or vice versa)?'' Yes.

[val-bananatine]

4, 10, and 21 uwu uwu uwu

owo owo

4 - Writing habits:

I do have the habit of writing rather late into the day. Past 8pm usually. I weirdly have the most motivation to write then. And lately I've really been into listening to quiet music in the background, or ambience. Fitting to the vibe I want to write in.

10 - Author / friend to co-write a book with:

Ohhh I can't decide, I'd love to write a piece or two with all of you if I could :eyes:. But one specific - Y'know I'd really be down for a collab with Ely and her worlds, I love them and would book a ticket immediately to explore them !

21 - Aspect I'm most proud of:

I really love the flow of the sentences I write. I like how I choose the words and ways to steer into a specific way of reading the sentence. And I also think that I can write tensed moments rather well. At least I'm very proud of the build up I do for them uwu

[val-bananatine]

24, 25, and 54? :D -meikuree

Woo hi Mei!

24 - moment I decided to become a writer:

It was a roundabout same one for fanfiction and writing my own stories. I had some ideas or tropes I really liked, and was disappointed to see that no one wrote about it. Or in a way I thought of it. Then I realized - I could be the one writing it. And that's where it started.

25 - My world building process:

It's a lot of fun for me! Admittedly, I do orientate myself on the maps and worlds of the Dragon Quest series. As in possible places I would send my characters too or what could be important or cool. There's a lot I could mention tbh. How I build places, environment like magic system or not, a map of the world (my favorite thing to do) - it all starts with a vibe though and a starting place. And most stems from listening to music.

And from that starting point I just love to space out and let my imagination take me to cool places which would fit. Things I saw in types of media - it's a slow but fun development.

54 - Favorite opening:

I admit - I'm too lazy to search through all own story prompts and old fanfics I have lying around. So I'll stick to those of my own story.

I think it's the prologue of my story Into The Gray Abyss

"Umbrae surgite!

Exclamaris,

Lucem depellite!

Light orbs began to appear. From purple to deep blue to gray - all circling around, all drowning in dull fog spreading over the place."

(But a little story of my protag and her s/o is a very close 2nd place. I love starting very short and then elaborating)

[ciiardha-blog]

Writer Ask Meme

[capybaraism-deactivated20241114]

1. Tell us about your WIP!

2. Where is your favorite place to write?

3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing?

4. Do you have any writing habits/rituals?

5. Top five formative books?

6. Favorite character you’ve written?

7. Favorite/most inspirational book?

8. Do you have any writing buddies or critique partners?

9. Favorite/least favorite tropes?

10. Pick an author (or writing friend) to co-write a book with

11. What are you planning to work on next?

12. Which story of yours do you like best? why?

13. Describe your writing process

14. What does it take for you to be ready to write a book? (i.e. do you research? outline? make a playlist or pinterest board? wing it?)

15. How do you deal with self-doubt when writing?

16. Cover love/dream covers?

17. What things (scenes/topics/character types) are you most comfortable writing?

18. Tell us about that one book you’ll never let anyone read

19. How do you cope with writer’s block?

20. Any advice for young writers/advice you wish someone would have given you early on?

21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

22. Tell us about the books on your “to write” list

23. Most anticipated upcoming books?

24. Do you remember the moment you decided to become a writer/author?

25. What’s your worldbuilding process like?

26. What’s the most research you’ve ever put into a book?

27. Every writer's least favorite question - where does your inspiration come from? Do you do certain things to make yourself more inspired? Is it easy for you to come up with story ideas?

28. How do you stay focused on your own work and how do you deal with comparison?

29. Is writing more of a hobby or do you write with the intention of getting published?

30. Do you like to read books similar to your project while you’re drafting or do you stick to non-fiction/un-similar works?

31. Top five favorite books in your genre?

32. On average how much do you write in a day? do you have trouble staying focused/getting the word count in?

33. What’s your revision/rewriting process like?

34. Unpopular writing thoughts/opinions?

35. Post the last sentence you wrote

36. Post a snippet

37. Do you ever write long handed or do you prefer to type everything?

38. How do you nail voice in your books?

39. Do you spend a lot of time analyzing and studying the work of authors you admire?

40. Do you look up to any of your writer buddies?

41. Are there any books you feel have shaped you as a writer?

42. How many drafts do you usually write before you feel satisfied?

43. How do you deal with rejection?

44. Why (and when) did you decide to become a writer?

45. First or third person?

46. Past or present tense?

47. Single or dual/multi POV?

48. Do you prefer to write skimpy drafts and flesh them out later, or write too much and cut it back?

49. Favorite fictional world?

50. Do you share your rough drafts or do you wait until everything is all polished?

51. Are you a secretive writer or do you talk with your friends about your books?

52. Who do you write for?

53. What is the first line of your WIP?

54. Favorite first line/opening you’ve written?

55. How do you manage your time/make time for writing? (do you set aside time to write every day or do you only write when you have a lot of free time?)

[gyaradont]

Orpheus turned around cause lil nas x slid down the pole right behind him

[fuzzydeergirl]

[incorrect-dragonquest-quotes]

Hendrik: All of you. Explain. NOW.

Eleven: It was Erik.

Serena: It was Erik.

Veronica: It was Erik.

Sylvando: It was Erik.

Rab: It was Erik.

Jade: It was Erik.

Erik: It was Erik.

Erik:

Erik: GODDAMMIT--

[itasasu]

Some rando: This character should not have the chance to become a better person

Me: Why

Same person: Because they are a bad person!

Me: But what if that character was allowed to become a better person so that they are no longer a bad person?

Same person: You’re an abuse apologist

[fictional-me]

I would love for every bad person to become a good person. I’d think most humans think that it’d be a cool and great thing if all bad people became good. 

A cool and great thing, which we can play pretend with in fiction, knowing it’s not realistic, just to feel a little better about the shitty real world we live in.

[jaspurr]

tbh, I think the problem is that people confuse “getting a redemption arc” with “being rewarded with what comes after a redemption arc”

like, redeemed villains are generally friends with the heroes. they get to experience love and The Power of Friendship for the first time, if they haven’t already. they generally get to experience forgiveness. if their motives are based off of some kind of trauma or pain (like a lot of redeemed villains) then they will probably have that resolved and get some sense of closure or inner peace from whatever is hurting them.

so when they say that “this character doesn’t deserve a redemption arc” what they mean is “this character doesn’t deserve to be loved. they don’t deserve happiness, peace, or companionship”. the alternatives I have seen are:

“I hope that this character realizes how awful they are and they kill themselves”

“I hope this character is redeemed by a heroic sacrifice” (meaning they would be redeemed but wouldn’t be alive to experience the “reward” afterwards)

“I hope this character begs and pleads for forgiveness over and over again, but is never forgiven”

it’s pretty disturbing tbh, to treat basic things that every human needs (like being loved) as a “reward” that you get for good behavior. or more accurately: never being bad in the first place. that once you fall from grace you’re damned for eternity.

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

I think this post exposes a really gross underbelly to purity culture bullshit that I don’t think I examined quite this way before.

If redemption is unacceptable, if bad behavior can never be forgiven, what is the alternative?

Because it sure seems like the alternative is “Indefinate suffering = justice.”

[doomhamster]

BINGO.

[dovewithscales]

That’s what purity culture has always been.

“Everyone who who has ever made a choice I disapprove of should suffer for eternity” is the origin of the concept of Hell. Fandom purity culture is fundamentalist Puritanism without the religion.

[val-bananatine]

I've also seen this purity culture, this obsession of "I MUST be morally superior!! I can't learn out of my mistakes because I'm not allowed to make them!" go so far, that people will go above and beyond to make their one time 'bad behavior' 'reasonable'.

Not fandom specific but spreading some half info or even harmful info for example. Do they acknowledge that it was wrong information and correct themselves? No, because as they believe, you aren't "allowed to do better one a mistake has been uncovered."

So instead, this specific part of people will search for more and more excuses on why their view absolutely cannot be wrong whatsoever. Which makes the entire thing worse

[space-ferret]

Mr. Hendrik Dragon Quest (and Obsidian).

[amirotalokich]

*throws more gay shit at you and scurries back into my boghole*

[error707-thatdude]

*rushes in, tripping over everything* I JUST REALIZED I HAVEN'T DRAWN SERENA HOW COULD I FORGET-

Here comes the girl, hello girl, my love❤

Kind of like her sister she gets drawn sort of twice on one page bc I really couldn't decide between two looks.

[incorrect-dragonquest-quotes]

Harry: *sighing exasperated* what am I going to do with you?

5: Ideally, fuck me at some point

[scrimmification-deactivated2025]

i like to come into the small fandoms where basically everyone is talking about shipping and just be like ‘hey guys have you ever thought about these two characters having a sibling dynamic’

[incorrect-dragonquest-quotes]

Alena: Have I ever told you that I love you with all of my heart?

Kiryl: for the hundredth time, I will not take you to McDonald’s. It’s 2 am.

Alena: *steals blankets* bitch