What are you reading?

[Anastasia]

Not much has updated. Well, 'cept for one thing.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9044833/19/My-Love-s-Flame

My Love's Flame has updated. Ranma and Minako vs a biker gang.

[Korsar13]

Pact.
:)

[Anastasia]

Your URL is busted.

Isn't that written by Wildbow, who also wrote Worm?

[Korsar13]

url fixed;
and answer is yes

New setting -- magic, not super powers.

[Anastasia]

How is it compared to Worm, anyway? Not sure I want to read another Worm right now.

[Xsen]

It's Wildbow, so it is good. You may kinda see similar patterns in terms of the story development and the amount of trouble faced by the characters. :)

[Anastasia]

It's Wildbow, so it is good. You may kinda see similar patterns in terms of the story development and the amount of trouble faced by the characters. :)

I think I'll pass. Now don't get me wrong, I think Wildbow is a skilled writer and a gifted world-builder. Yet I find he's not my cup of tea at all, no matter how well he writes, and a rehash of Worm's patterns plays to what I find least appealing about him.

Wildbow? Nice guy, hell of a writer and he's an absolute champ for keeping his update schedule going. But we're on different worlds on some important matters of taste. To engage in a bit of masturbatory introspection a sec, I think he's a person who sees the world in an opposed way to myself. You know the old adage that you should write what you know? I feel what that really means is that any good writing has to reflect a part of yourself to have any sense of authenticity. It has to be something that resonates in you, that you know in your heart. In other words, good writing says a hell of a lot about the author.

Now when I say that he's not to my tastes, what I'm really getting at is that we're not compatible people. What he presents in his writing is in part himself. Wildbow's not a person I personally agree with or can relate to. The underlying things he presents in his writing are not things that resonate with me. No matter how well he constructs his story, builds his world or well he writes, I'm simply going to find disagreeable things about it. That's not to say this is a flaw of Wildbow. His work's good and I don't argue that. It's just not for me.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[Jason_Miao]

Wildbow? Nice guy, hell of a writer and he's an absolute champ for keeping his update schedule going. But we're on different worlds on some important matters of taste. To engage in a bit of masturbatory introspection a sec, I think he's a person who sees the world in an opposed way to myself. You know the old adage that you should write what you know? I feel what that really means is that any good writing has to reflect a part of yourself to have any sense of authenticity. It has to be something that resonates in you, that you know in your heart. In other words, good writing says a hell of a lot about the author.

Hmm...well, a question for you (and I'll take no offense if you decline to answer it if it's too personal).  What are the sort of qualities you look for in a story?

[Anastasia]

To quote Potter Stewart: I know it when I see it.

It's not really a good answer, but I find it easier to elaborate what I dislike rather than what draws me in. Or perhaps I have solid tastes for what I dislike and more fluid tastes for what I enjoy.

[Jason_Miao]

To quote Potter Stewart: I know it when I see it.

Ah, so needs porn.  Gotcha. :)

It's not really a good answer, but I find it easier to elaborate what I dislike rather than what draws me in. Or perhaps I have solid tastes for what I dislike and more fluid tastes for what I enjoy.

Fair enough.  Main reason I was asking was to see if I could define an axis of my own interests.  It'd be quite unfair for me to cast stones.

[Dracos]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5986618/1/The_Saotome_Sisters

Ko linked an age ago.  Wandering through.  It reminds me of why I have trouble getting into a lot of close to manga Ranma fanfiction: In the beginning, everyone is terrible jerks.  Done as quick slapstick visual gags, this works, kinda.  Does amidst people doing even the most minimal reflection, it just comes off as a group of generally terrible people who also use violence casually to communicate.

A rehash of the opener is pretty much one of the worst hooks for a Ranma fanfic I can see these days, aside from "Random lots of death/OOCness".  Not just because it's a rehash, but because almost every character comes off at their worst interacting with anyone else usually.

So far 2 chapters in and this really just rides too much on everyone being unpleasant to each other while rehashing canon otherwise.  Oh well.  I probably should skip ahead, but instead I shall wander to some other fic.

[Ergoemos]

I think I'll pass. Now don't get me wrong, I think Wildbow is a skilled writer and a gifted world-builder. Yet I find he's not my cup of tea at all, no matter how well he writes, and a rehash of Worm's patterns plays to what I find least appealing about him.

Wildbow? Nice guy, hell of a writer and he's an absolute champ for keeping his update schedule going. But we're on different worlds on some important matters of taste. To engage in a bit of masturbatory introspection a sec, I think he's a person who sees the world in an opposed way to myself. You know the old adage that you should write what you know? I feel what that really means is that any good writing has to reflect a part of yourself to have any sense of authenticity. It has to be something that resonates in you, that you know in your heart. In other words, good writing says a hell of a lot about the author.

Now when I say that he's not to my tastes, what I'm really getting at is that we're not compatible people. What he presents in his writing is in part himself. Wildbow's not a person I personally agree with or can relate to. The underlying things he presents in his writing are not things that resonate with me. No matter how well he constructs his story, builds his world or well he writes, I'm simply going to find disagreeable things about it. That's not to say this is a flaw of Wildbow. His work's good and I don't argue that. It's just not for me.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Naw, You aren't the only one. I don't necessarily find myself opposed what he writes into his story, but I have definitely found that while he is excellent at the rising action and climax of storytelling, he doesn't do falling action and conclusion well. There is no sense of, "Oh hey, something was accomplished. Everyone breath and deal with the PTSD for a moment." Its always, "Well, that was handled, lets get ready for the even larger boss!" which sort of takes the wind out of my interest after the fifth or eighth time it happens, especially since favorite characters are protected by plot armor by audience interest. 

His writing is amazing, and that he can put out coherent, long stories at such a continuous pace is absolutely commendable.

Also, you can't be wrong about a personal opinion, no matter what other people tell you. (Pet Peeve of mine is when people say otherwise)

---

Well, searching for it doesn't really provide much in the forums, so I will go ahead and recommend it:

Tales of Magisterium University (Usually shortened to just Tales of MU) is a story following Mackenzie Blaise, a young sheltered girl from a backwater town, as she attends her first years at a big national college.

The kicker, of course, is that Mackenzie is a half-demon, interested in an applied enchantments degree. I'd describe the setting as "Fantasy Modern". The world is one of High Fantasy, akin to Forgotten Realms in DnD, but with a handful of centuries and civilization to stabilize the world. People can communicate globally via mirrors, crystal balls are available to surf the Ethernet. Mackenzie is more likely to run into a roaming party of orcs drunk from a Dwarven frat party than looking for easy looting targets.

Of course, I don't want to mislead anyone. This story, world-building aside, is about a very socially awkward teenager given their first freedom in a much wider world of experience than she could have ever imagined. A lot of the struggles she has with socializing and fighting her introverted nature. I found a lot of issues she deals with are ones that I can relate to personally.

An important note: This story is Not Safe For Work. While the advertisements are a little inappropriate at time, this story is about a young woman who is trying to find her sexual identity as much as her public identity. Once the first year in full swing, there are a lot of chapters that probably should not be read at work without some caution.

You can pretty easily skip the most of her awkward stage without missing much by skipping to the second year, as well. You miss some of the early character development, but it remains a solid story with less overt sexuality and more focus on world mechanics.

Anyway, I figured I'd throw it out for anyone interested. Sorry if I already recommended this one.

[Anastasia]

To quote Potter Stewart: I know it when I see it.

Ah, so needs porn.  Gotcha. :)

It's not really a good answer, but I find it easier to elaborate what I dislike rather than what draws me in. Or perhaps I have solid tastes for what I dislike and more fluid tastes for what I enjoy.

Fair enough.  Main reason I was asking was to see if I could define an axis of my own interests.  It'd be quite unfair for me to cast stones.

It's tough, yeah. If nothing else, I know I'm not consistent in my tastes. But I suppose no one really is.

[Anastasia]

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5986618/1/The_Saotome_Sisters

Ko linked an age ago.  Wandering through.  It reminds me of why I have trouble getting into a lot of close to manga Ranma fanfiction: In the beginning, everyone is terrible jerks.  Done as quick slapstick visual gags, this works, kinda.  Does amidst people doing even the most minimal reflection, it just comes off as a group of generally terrible people who also use violence casually to communicate.

A rehash of the opener is pretty much one of the worst hooks for a Ranma fanfic I can see these days, aside from "Random lots of death/OOCness".  Not just because it's a rehash, but because almost every character comes off at their worst interacting with anyone else usually.

So far 2 chapters in and this really just rides too much on everyone being unpleasant to each other while rehashing canon otherwise.  Oh well.  I probably should skip ahead, but instead I shall wander to some other fic.

It's okay if you stick with it, but no great loss if you don't. I gave up on it eventually, but it was more of the writer's style growing old. There's some neat bits here and there, but it does tend to be a canon rehash. I give it a lot of credit since it neatly solves the Ukyou problem with its premise, but yeah, it touches most of the canon bases.

[Anastasia]

Naw, You aren't the only one. I don't necessarily find myself opposed what he writes into his story, but I have definitely found that while he is excellent at the rising action and climax of storytelling, he doesn't do falling action and conclusion well. There is no sense of, "Oh hey, something was accomplished. Everyone breath and deal with the PTSD for a moment." Its always, "Well, that was handled, lets get ready for the even larger boss!" which sort of takes the wind out of my interest after the fifth or eighth time it happens, especially since favorite characters are protected by plot armor by audience interest.

That's all true. It's also the fact that the main heroine is a disturbed as hell. Her situation is sympathetic and her PoV makes many of her choices seem reasonable. If you step away from that at all, you start to realize how horrifying she is. That's less a thing about Wildbow's writing and more a nitpick about Worm in general, though.

His writing is amazing, and that he can put out coherent, long stories at such a continuous pace is absolutely commendable.

Oh yes. I admire the hell out of Wildbow for that alone. Whatever peeves and problems I have with his story don't diminish that. The man is a hell of hard worker and talented to boot.

Also, you can't be wrong about a personal opinion, no matter what other people tell you. (Pet Peeve of mine is when people say otherwise)

Nah, it's cool. That was just a reference.

TalesofMU

I've heard a few people talk about that one, and that it's disturbing as all hell. Haven't read it myself (and I suspect it's not my cup of tea, so it's low on my list), so I'm just relaying second hand information.