Steel Sponge

that thread image tho

Morbius is a vampire who says funny things.

As I know everyone is aware, our honorable overlord Plankton has taken over SBC and it pains me to say that I no longer have the funding that keeps me writing my spin-offs for a free-to-use website. This means that some things are going change for my content moving forward. But for one moment, let's push aside the negatives and move on to the positives. After thinking hard about it, I've come to terms with the best new idea that I could ever endorse in my 12 years of being an SBC member... Introducing... SteelNFTs!: SteelNFTs is a new personal feature that I will be implementing in the near future. What is it and how does it work, you all ask? Well, if you know what NFTs are, then you'd already be familiar with the concept of my own brand of these units of data. Starting next months, NFTs of my spin-offs, lits, seahorse radish, and the newly established Crypto Chemist NFT image collection (with over 900000 guaranteed totally unique images to collect) will be readily available for purchase. These NFTs are the only NFTs that can be purchased with my signature form of cryptocurrency: Steelcoins. With permission from Plankton himself, a new feature has been programmed where one newly earned doubloon in your bank can be converted into SC500 through my work-in-progress Doubloons to Steelcoin Converter! And that's not all! The original Steel Sponge Wordpress blog will be retired immediately, as my new personal website will be replaced with a crypto information site by yours truly, with new research and sales information on Steelcoins to be posted every month. www.steelcoineconomyclass.gov will be launched the same month. It's been a honor for me make this announcement to make up for the lack of news that I've had to share. I hope you're all pleased with this announcement, although something feels off all of a sudden. Oh yeah, I just remembered that I hate NFTs and crypto, so it turns out that I won't be committed to this project at all. Oh well...I hope my announcements for the next quarter on April 22nd will salvage it, but that depends on if the mighty ruler himself would allow it.

Well…it was about time that I got around to writing this, wouldn’t you all think so? After my original plans for these rankings went under because of series creator Butch Hartman escalating his online persona to unpleasant degrees, I’ve come to feel like he and his work weren’t worth any more attention. So, I haven’t been feeling dedicated this side project as I used to at the start, when I formed this so I can not only gauge my proper opinions on the show’s entire painstaking 16-year run, I’ve also done this as a way to ease my mind about the series in its current form and take myself back to when I cherished it for a while. My absolute apathy towards FOP as of recent has gotten to the point where I forgot that it turned 20 years old last year, and had I remembered then, this would’ve been my way of celebrating FOP’s 20 year milestone, but when what used to be such a formidable animated series for Nickelodeon had sunk so low in quality whereas it has no bright future to look forward to in sight, with a brand spanking new live-action FOP series premiering with practically no fanfare…I’m better off sending off this project with a eulogy of some kind. Of course, there is no better way to start than with my own take on what are truly the ten worst episodes from the entire series. As sad it is for me to say, I felt like I had stronger contenders for the bottom ten than I had for my ten favorite episodes, and that is thanks to its infamous back half. First thing’s first, here’s ten dishonorable mentions, each with at least a brief description detailing why I’ve hated them so: Season 10, #166a.: Space Ca-Dad – It’s a Season 10 episode starring Timmy’s Dad, and if you knew me well, I’ve had lower tolerance with the character’s flanderization than I did with the season’s inclusion of Chloe, who ends up taking a lot of the blame for this season’s problems. This episode is an absolute nuisance to sit through, and it’s not even the worst of the S10 episodes that focuses on Timmy’s Dad. Season 10, #168b.: Chloe Rules! – This episode ended up very low in the rankings for primarily having what I feel is the show’s worst joke in general, in form of Berry Rosenbell the Hip Hop Hedgehog, an incredibly random one-off joke character that gets heckled by the episode’s main cast, saying to him “You’re terrible!” when he just barely even does anything and serves very little relevance to the episode’s plot, as if the writing team believed that they had such a good grasp on what an intentionally terrible character is like. As for the main plot itself…it’s an episode where the usually goody-goody Chloe turns into a jerk after becoming a hall monitor and the execution doesn’t make for something compelling. Jimmy Neutron did this kind of plot better. To paraphrase Timmy’s Dad from the same episode, this deserves to go back to Redondo Beach. Season 6, #92a.: Vicky Gets Fired – To me, this episode is the first true sign of the series throwing its sense of continuity down the drain, while not being too heinous. It’s a predictable Status Quo is God type of episode, and it gets convoluted with its approach. What really annoys me about this episode is that it’s just so pointless when Channel Chasers did explain why Timmy chose to hit the reset button and have Vicky continue to be his babysitter – otherwise, he wouldn’t keep his fairies. Season 7, #113a.: Take and Fake – This episode doesn’t treat Timmy the cruelest, but it’s still a rather cruel episode regardless. Its jokes fall flat, especially the whole running joke of literally anyone unzipping their costume in a “just kidding, you’ve been trolled lol” kind of fashion that gets tiring fast. Coupled with a predictable outcome for only an episode centered on Timmy trying to get Trixie to fall in love with him, it’s a worthy contender from S7. Also, there’s the whole bit about Crocker apparently not recognizing Cosmo and Wanda as fairies despite the episode going with the whole “everyone is in costume so they’re safe from being exposed” excuse, but that’s not the most excruciating thing about the episode unlike most have said. Season 9, #142a.: Love at First Bark – People tend to give “Love Triangle” a lot of flak for being a typical love triangle plot stretched to 22 minutes, but when the other love triangle plot revolves around Sparky and Timmy’s Dad fighting for the affection of Dinkleberg’s dog because of Timmy wishing the latter liked Dinkleberg’s dog enough so that he wouldn’t forbid Sparky from being close to her, it’s clear which is worse when you think about the implications more. Also, “Love Triangle” at least didn’t have the line “So you like poop with pee on it, eh?” attached to it. Sorry Mythix, I know you seem to be a fan of this, but I find this close to unbearable. Season 5, SP2: The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3: The Jerkinators! – A major disappointment from the otherwise competent fifth season. The more that this special drags on, the more it feels like the creative teams for FOP and Jimmy Neutron combined made this because they were obligated to by Nickelodeon and not because they wanted to. This really feels like the folks involved in the episode’s writing process were scrambling for ideas, and while it has jokes to tell, most of them felt immature than clever. If this is the type of episode you can’t handle for 22 minutes, imagine dealing with it when it’s double the length. Season 9, #149: The Past and the Furious – This is definitely an odd choice for a bottom ten contender. In fact, this was close to being somewhere at the bottom of the barrel before I decided that this was a little too stupid to hate as much. The main problem with the episode is its predictable first half, which feels structured like a typical GoAnimate grounded video: Timmy wants to take part in something with his fairies, but they don’t trust him not to do something stupid while he’s around. Timmy, however, does the stupid things he’s told not to do and becomes responsible for the episode’s main conflict where he alters the timeline, as if he didn’t learn that lesson before from a particular S1 episode. The episode’s second half is spent on Timmy fixing the timeline, but he then encounters an obstacle by way of a villainous, grown-up ex-godchild with a nefarious plot. Because of how bland it is, however, the second half doesn’t really help salvage the episode much. This could’ve been more tolerable as an 11 minute segment, but no, this had to be a two-parter. Season 10, #168a.: Dadlantis! – Or…as I’d liked to call it: OH GOD, ANOTHER DAD EPISODE!- Ahem, If you thought Space Ca-Dad’s immature humor and off-the-walls pacing was a nuisance to sit through, you’ve been warned, as this episode takes it up a notch with the annoyance factor. Season 7, #106a.: Crocker Shocker – There’s just one word that best describes my feelings towards this episode: BULLSH-[BUY SOME APPLES]. This is just the Crocker equivalent to Vicky Gets Fired, except the Status Quo is God setup is played up to an even more convoluted degree. This episode tries (with the main buzzword here being ‘tries’) to convince us that if Crocker stops believing in fairies since after the events of The Secret Origin of Denzel Crocker!, Fairy World collapses into a post-dystopian nightmare and then it dies after falling into a bucket of acid below it and…yeah, this is what I meant when I said that this episode is a bunch of baloney. Besides the whole status quo, I don’t remember how exactly this episode ends, but I’m certain that it’s just as forced as the rest of the segment’s plot. Also, rather than trying to add up to the series lore, this episode ends up giving me some questions like “What if Crocker died? What will happen to Fairy World then? Or is he an immortal being somehow, which is why he doesn’t age a bit fifty years after Timmy made the secret wish that everything and everyone stays the same forever?” Season 8, #122-123.: Timmy’s Secret Wish! - Speaking of which…here’s the last close contender for my bottom ten, on top of being a fitting choice for my #11. The B.S. factor in this special manages to outmatch the previous by trying to explain something that didn’t really need an explanation, and once again, it only ends up raising more questions about the series continuity and gives viewers the impression that the creative team doesn’t have any care towards it anymore. This special is built around the revelation of Timmy having caused the passage of time in the whole universe to be stagnant since fifty years ago…and that’s not the most mind-boggling thing about this special. Crocker, apparently didn’t age after Father Time undid the secret wish, Timmy apparently didn’t completely lose all of his memories of Cosmo and Wanda or most of his wishes either as a consequence, and of all characters that is made the villain of this special, it’s Foop, who, considering that he is an evil baby genius, would be smart enough to know that making Timmy lose his fairies would also mean that he, alongside Poof, would be unwished and he STILL tries to paint Timmy as a bad godkid after he gets saved. This episode could also been seen as notorious for establishing just how very reliant Timmy is towards his fairies, and it becomes a key characteristic for the first live-action film to showcase that Timmy is too reliant on his fairy godparents because they’re like family to him. You’d think Timmy deserves not to keep his fairies too if you realize that he made the secret wish and subsequently made Cosmo forget about the wish just so that he would never lose them. And yeah, the overlong special does end on a satisfying note, but I don’t feel like it amounted to much in redeeming Timmy for the wish he made as he should’ve learned something from that, and instead he gets off the hook for doing the simple goodwill of risking his life inside of Hocus Poconos for his wishes and for his fairies. This is also notorious for being the point where the series starts relying on making certain loopholes to ensure that Timmy doesn’t lose his fairies, like refusing to make Timmy grow up mentally, or having the Fairy Council administer Timmy’s fairy ownership as a couple more examples from the first live-action film. Moments like these give the impression that the pre-established rules and limits set by the FOP universe don’t matter anymore in the process Other than the episode’s inconsistencies, it’s just very dull in general. One portion is spent on a forgettable trial, and then on a forgettable quest to for Timmy to go back to Fairy World from the fixed timeline, and while the last third is more interesting, it still doesn’t make it feel any less like a copout. Sorry, my commentary for this is supposed to be brief, but this one has given me a lot of material to cover. Now that I’ve weeded out the strong contenders that we’re not able to make the list proper, let’s go ahead and reveal my ten contenders for the absolute worst from the main series: STEEL’S TOP 10 WORST EPISODES OF THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS

can i die peacefully now

I'm playing for the Shell Shack. The talking dog could use some financial support.

Tears for Fears came out with a new album last month, which I've been hearing mostly good things about. Have you heard it or nah?

As it should already be evident that I didn't have a big Q1 2022 announcement to share, and the clear reason for that is because I don't have any big updates to share, so it's fitting that I post some news for my remaining projects here before entering the second quarter next month as they are mostly rather small updates: SBSP: Lost in Translation: The final episode is being written up and will soon be completed later this month. Because this is meant to be a big surprise, I still can't give much away about it, including the title, which is still a work in-progress. Afterwards... Rebirth of a Storm: ...I will then focus on writing up the final episode for this spin-off. The writing process for the finale might stretch into months, given the length of the other previous episodes, but if I can try, I will churn it out sooner than later. Tiki Land: I've been meaning to finish this after finishing RoaS, so this will be next on my docket and I'm still going along with my original plan in publishing the last five eps back to back. More info on this will be unveiled once I get most of those remaining episodes written up. Chemist Bob's Catastrophic Creations Cinema: With the first subject of this riffing series entering the year 2022 (which, as I've already mentioned before, is the year Guru Gakuto is set in), and with the NC riffs already being completed several months ago (and therefore I shouldn't have my hands too full now for this) I feel the need to bring this back from hiatus. However, for the time being, I only intend on getting one new pair of riffs out this month. Trinity Leaf Pegasus: While I plan on getting a preview for the next CBC3 out of the way later this month, I can only promise that I plan on getting a preview for the first ep of my own personal Duke Nukem Forever written up later this month as well. Once I do, I should be able to have an official release date for the very Literature that's given me so much time to develop. Total Drama Treasure Tour: This series is currently on the backburner for the time being, but after finishing up SBSP:LiT, RoaS, and TL, I should be able to resume production on this other Lit of mine. Otherwise, until Q2 2022, I have no other info to share.

New poll just in time for the release of Fairly Odder later this month.

Can't wait for the inevitable fire/fighting starter memes and the discourse, whatever that will be, but I'm feeling certain that the graphic snobs are already tearing this apart right now. Some opinionz: -This looks more like to me that it will be set in Brazil, or more specifically, Rio de Janeiro, but of course, my geography could be wrong. -For once, looking at those starters, my initial feelings are "uhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I may have to wait it out for the final stage evos to determine what I want. Quaxly looks interesting simply for the inevitable Donald Duck memes, but, we have a couple water-type duck lines already and idk what they'd do different with it. Fuecoco (also R.I.P. all those Chinese zodiac theories) being this fire dinosaur is also promising for how unique it is, but I don't have high hopes that it will stay quadpedal . Sprigatito might be my biggest favorite, but I'm cautiously optimistic nonetheless. -I'm just going to say this, I'm fatigued with the whole open-world trend, and it's not bound to be my favorite aspect of S/V. Of course, the fans have been clamoring for the games to be more open-world, but when push comes to shove and the games are revealed to still have linearity to them, I could see the hype dying down already. -The graphics are no different from Legends Arceus at first glance, but that's not going to be such a big hindrance for me to try this game. Pokemon was never really all about being top notch with its graphics, and for what they are, they still look nice.

I thought I'd create a discussion thread for this upcoming Disney+ film because this looks...interesting to say the least. Is it going to be bad? Is it going to be good? I sure can't tell since this trailer alone gave me quite a lot to process.

31. iCarly But Everyone is Reuben While I'm in the slow process of finishing up my Google Translated SB spin-off, there was one more thing I wanted to dabble in as an off-series thing before I end it. Some ideas that came to mind were putting a Nostalgia Critic or AVGN script through the translator, but I decided it would be best that I'd take a less old-fashioned route and go for the idea of twisting an iCarly episode through GT. But why though? Well, I have one sole reason for that, to be honest. There is one particular character from one particular episode who speaks proper English but is incomprehensible to everyone except his friend Gibby, and that character, of course, is Reuben from iWin a Date. I thought it would be interesting to experiment and see if the rest of the characters would talk in a similar fashion to him and if Reuben's dialogue would either come off as normal or even weirder in comparison. So what were the results? I'm going to leave that answer up to you. ghosts every day (iWin a Date) Carly Deca (Bosnian detected word for 'Children) -: Really good ... Nsi: Block this site Carly Deca -: ... We all painted in ten minutes Nsi: ICarly viewers then vote online to see which picture is best. Carly Deca -: Think about what we need to do now Nsi: He is our little friend ... Carly Sam: Gibby! Carly Deca -: Gibby, are you ready? jeep ndu: Of course it happens DG Freddie: Eleven seconds and ... yes! Carly Deca -: Don't try to move Nsi: shut up DG Freddie: five seconds jeep ndu: beautiful grass DG Freddie: Time! Carly Deca -: Well, my picture Nsi: Who is Freddy? Carly Deca -: No, it's fun Nsi: Read on Carly Deca -: Now look at Sami's picture .../ Yes, but BT is not mine either Nsi: These are muscles Carly Deca -: Yes, Sam is dreaming Nsi: Well, see you again at iCarlys Carly Deca -: Until reunification! Hello Nsi: See you soon! DG Freddie: We are ready Carly Deca -: Hey, you have to clean the paint first. You want to damage your shirt jeep ndu: Who takes care of my shirt? Who cares? You are not! DG Freddie: What problems do you have? jeep ndu: I don't want to talk about it Nsi: Who has been channeling since then? I know I did Carly Deca -: Gibby, seriously, what's going on? jeep ndu: Shannon Mitchell, right? Carly Deca -: And Shannon? Nsi: What's wrong? jeep ndu: I want you to love me, but I feel uncomfortable every time I try to talk to her. Why would that be good? I am going home Carly Deca -: Gibby - jeep ndu: I have no problem talking about it Carly Deca -: Please, poor boy. It can be dangerous to renew your love for someone you don't love. .../ sorry .../ Nsi: Ah, here it is Carly Deca -: Hello Gibby! jeep ndu: Since then? Carly Deca -: We had a great time meeting Shannon jeep ndu: My choice? Nsi: Then we have an iCarlys game called "I Won Today". jeep ndu: "Win today"? Carly Deca -: Yes, but BT is not mine either Nsi: But we're going to make Shannon one of her enemies, so ... who's your girlfriend, why does she think she's making me happy? jeep ndu: Oh, Robin Robin cried: I'm sorry to hear you were born on a plane a month later Nsi: Yes, but BT is not mine either Carly Deca -: Wait, I think I appreciate you Nsi: thanks Robin cried: Hey, just because I'm not scared doesn't mean I've lost my bingo jeep ndu: This is very real! .../ wig: No, Stephanie, I don't think we should go out. Well, I didn't say I was tired last night. Just ... Stephanie ... Stephanie Steve - Because I don't like you! Carly Deca -: So I think yesterday’s work with the blind was a success wig: It relates to dinner Carly Deca -: No unicorns wig: Try to say that I want to be alone for the rest of my life. My name is Forrest Spencer. Carly Deca -: Do you know where to find adult sites like Whynotdateme.com? wig: It's very good Carly Deca -: You can watch this person's video the day before you leave wig: Yes, but these sites are also ... .../ Hot reception? Stephanie Stephanie ... No, I don't want to talk to Gandhi because it's not real! .../ Is this page back? .../ Nsi: Hello, Shannon Shannon: Hello Celine's death: Hello Nsi: Hey, will you call iCarly next time? Shannon. Celine and Julia: Of course! Alas! God forbid! Celine's death: What are we going to do then? Nsi: Let's say someone else wants to talk to an adult Shannon: Freddy? Nsi: Instead of playing, I call him Wonder Man. Shannon: I think Freddie is beautiful and talented Nsi: Oh, how crazy was your breakfast? Robin cried: This is my football Nsi: And talk about breastfeeding! .../ wig: Hi, my name is Spencer T. Hi, I have never used an online dating service, but I was told on Whynotdateme.com. Why can't we meet? I love people Carly Deca -: What are you doing now? wig: Make a video for Whynotdateme.com Carly Deca -: give me a remote control wig: Whatever happens Carly Deca -: You don't have to rest wig: I didn't see ... Carly Deca -: The shirt should have buttons, these buttons should be pressed, the buttons you want on your hair. .../ What should you wear with your hair? wig: chicken fat Carly Deca -: Alas! Chukwu (Haitian Creole detected word for 'God') Chukwu .../ .../ Gibby, you're ready to play, will I win today? jeep ndu: Does Shannon Really Exist? Nsi: from that door jeep ndu: man, it's hard Carly Deca -: Remember that all your votes will be recorded electronically jeep ndu: My choice? Carly Deca -: Secrets of who you are jeep ndu: So how do I know who Shannon is? Nsi: Increase the number of girls Carly Deca -: You can't tell them! Let's make the game a fair reality. jeep ndu: But what if I didn't choose Shannon? Nsi: He had to listen to three girls, one girl, another girl, and three girls. jeep ndu: But how do I know who Shannon is? Carly Deca -: If you really want to communicate with Shannon, you have to choose between the two. Nsi: All you have to do is Carly Sam: Stay calm! Nsi: ... vill (Swedish detected word for 'wants') jeep ndu: we do it DG Freddie: Hey, you'd rather come here Carly Sam: I'll be back Carly Deca -: What or what? Since then? Shannon: Mom, Celine and Julia are coming Nsi: What or what? Carly Deca -: Why didn't they come? Shannon: Cowboys buy tickets to explore the ice Carly Deca -: Why were they sitting on the ice when it was a popular TV show? DG Freddie: Comrades, we have seven minutes to learn to play a game I won in one day, in addition to three or four. Shannon: Freddie, you're very good at math Carly Deca -: Let's just say the game went well DG Freddie: sorry wig: Walk one, two, three, four DG Freddie: Hi, my name is Freddie and tonight we are playing a new iCarly Special game called "Win The Day." .../ Well, at least we didn't. Remember that our competitors are silent at the moment, so hey, they don't know the secret date. jeep ndu: Hello Freddie, it's nice for me here DG Freddie: We now have three daughters. Remember his hidden voice. Hello, we are the first Carly Deca -: Hello Freddie, I'm glad to meet you DG Freddie: The second number is a woman Shannon: Hello Freddy DG Freddie: Let's take the third issue Nsi: Hello Fredard (Hindi detected word for 'friend'), how are you? DG Freddie: In addition, the three girls had our deepest encounters. Whichever woman you choose, Chezek (Arabic detected word for 'Cheese') eats in two shops. jeep ndu: Wicked! DG Freddie: Now listen carefully to the parable's answer, the question, the girl's answer, and then the girl's choice depends on you. Really good! jeep ndu: Only the first girl Carly Deca -: Yes? jeep ndu: What is your favorite music? Carly Deca -: What do you like most? jeep ndu: I think this is the queue Carly Deca -: Oh, I love rap music. Yes, and BT is not for me. It looks like BT, not me jeep ndu: another girl Shannon: Oh, let's just say I love rock'n'roll or pop jeep ndu: Hello Shannon: New jeep ndu: your third wife DG Freddie: Of course not for women. Nsi: I love cold lenses DG Freddie: That's good - it's a secret. You have time for the last question jeep ndu: New Woman: If I get married one day, how do you wake me up in the morning? Shannon: Yes, but BT is not mine either jeep ndu: beautiful! How did the first girl wake me up? Carly Deca -: I told Harry to get up and go to work! DG Freddie: Well, at least I didn't go down without explaining myself first. What is your favorite day at the cheese store? It's time to dump her and move on jeep ndu: Hey ... ah ... me ... back ... first lady! Carly Deca -: Yes thanks What or what !? what or what !? what or what !? .../ .../ Why did you choose me? Nsi: You'd rather have Shannon jeep ndu: I didn’t know Carrie Freddie was always the first Shannon woman he loved. DG Freddie: No, you don't have to worry about loving someone Carly Deca -: It never happened DG Freddie: I know what's going on jeep ndu: I'm sorry, I ask for everything and calm down. don't call me Carly Deca -: It will be a fun, weird cheesecake for you and me ... .../ .../ Hey, did you let me go to school? wig: Sure, but I ... I'll see you Carly Deca -: What or what? wig: I made a new video on Whynotdateme.com. You know, salt, etc, right? Carly Deca -: Let's see wig: Hi, this is Spencer Carly Deca -: What does baseball say? wig: "It simply came to our notice then .../ If you are looking for fun and creative people, turn right on your way to happiness. Why not plant first? My email Write, download, send Carly Deca -: You cannot email this girl right now. go find your wife wig: Well, I made a new video Carly Deca -: What has been different about your football game since then? wig: It’s worth something and it should end here Carly Deca -: Did you kill our fish? wig: Yes .../ I think he wanted to die Carly Deca -: This fish has high hopes and dreams .../ jeep ndu: Hi, Carly, I'm going to the cheese shop tonight until you want to find me. Carly Deca -: I want to go, we will close. "I was with you at the table ... for three hours ... or ... Robin cried: Hello, how is Boomerang Mobile? jeep ndu: She wants to know what you want in two days, Sam and you Carly Deca -: Yes! of Sam. Today is the second day. Yes Sam is happy jeep ndu: We do it. Come on, let's see Robin cried: Say I'm ready to put on my sneakers at the Sami Monkey Show jeep ndu: Wow! DG Freddie: These are love letters Carly Deca -: Ah, wait what I like DG Freddie: Try it while you walk Carly Deca -: Please don't make a face DG Freddie: Does that mean Shannon doesn't want to talk to her? Carly Deca -: Ah ... Maybe I talked to Shannon DG Freddie: My choice? I think you still want to contact Gibbyn Carly Deca -: I was at a meeting between Sam Reuben and Gibeon tonight DG Freddie: Sam and Robin? Carly Deca -: It’s a long story, but we invite Shannon to love metaphysics DG Freddie: Better if he tries to scatter me Carly Deca -: Do this three times tonight Nsi: What three days? DG Freddie: Carly, Gibby, Shannon, me, you and Rubel (Hungarian detected word for 'Ruble') Nsi: I mean Robin Biat (Turkish detected word for 'allegiance') ?! DG Freddie: No, no, no, not me! Carly Deca -: Number! DG Freddie: Get out of here! Get out of here! Out! Fence, fence, fence, fence! Carly Deca -: Yes! I connected you with Robin! Nsi: why- Carly Deca -: He wants to go with you, but I don't want to be alone with my metaphysics for three hours! Nsi: Not exactly Carly Deca -: But is that something you want to know? Nsi: My choice? Carly Deca -: When your mom got together, I helped her make a fish cream and I found a healthy chicken. Nsi: You are a good friend .../ Carly Deca -: You are not Nsi: I promise wig: Hello Carly Deca -: Hello, what are you doing? wig: Oh, I made a new video for Whynotdateme.com Nsi: My mother blocked this site Carly Deca -: So let’s watch your new video wig: We do it. I try simple and sensitive. Let's see Nsi: .../ Do you only eat whole grains? wig: from each other Carly Deca -: How long will it take? wig: About nine minutes Carly Deca -: Feet wig: I know I can't think of anything better! You can take a shower Nsi: My choice? wig: I always have a good idea when I get wet Carly Deca -: Let's do it, we're organizing tonight. We get it Nsi: Well, Shannon loves Freddy, so let's just say she looks like Gibby Freddy. Carly Deca -: The speed must not be the same Nsi: Yes, but BT is not mine either Carly Deca -: you are right .../ DG Freddie: Some of them are the best salads in human history Carly Deca -: I know this is happening, I'm very happy and I'm not brushing my teeth Nsi: I'm very tired Robin cried: Unfortunately, dogs walk faster than climbing trees jeep ndu: He is right! Nsi: Something !? Shannon: So, Freddy, how do you know about a computer? DG Freddie: But really, I ... .../ And ... Gibby taught me, aren't you at the gym? jeep ndu: Ah, wait what I like. Yes I have. Shannon: Really? I didn’t know they were on the computer. What do you have? jeep ndu: Ah, wait what I like Carly Deca -: Sure, it’s worse than necessary, it takes time and resources, but it doesn’t make money. Shannon: I think Freddie is a wonderful name Nsi: Zebra's other name is Freddie Shannon: Really? jeep ndu: It was all about Freddie Shannon: How wonderful jeep ndu: Cornelius DG Freddie: That's what we do. Who Can Eat a Good Cheesecake? Carly Deca -: Shouldn't the "my box is better than mine" rule apply? Robin cried: I knew it had to be a combination of kangaroos. Do I know what I want? Nsi: No, Robin, I don't know what to say. Almost everyone knows what you are talking about. Do I know what I want? Carly Deca -: Well, let's calm down Robin cried: Yes, but BT is not mine either Nsi: Yes! This is very real! Do You Know the Truth? I sit here with all the beers, including Ischema Australian Robin cried: Ah, I don't think he told me! Carly Deca -: what did you say? Nsi: I don’t know, but I’m glad it goes well with whiskey DG Freddie: What's so great about this cheesecake? Shannon: Txizek (Basque detecte word for 'chicks') is my favorite Carly Deca -: Jeep makes cheesecake jeep ndu: Not me! Carly Deca -: Well, someone does Shannon: I'm confused Nsi: Don’t, I love Gibbs, I love you, don’t let go Shannon: What or what? jeep ndu: Look, Shannon, I love you so much, don't you? But I know you love her just like Freddie, so I tried to imitate your love. Nsi: Hi, maybe it still works jeep ndu: I don't want to work Listen I don't like Freddy I don't know technology I didn't have a smile when small Say like the sun Do you know what that means? Carly Deca -: What does it mean to be a spiritual person? jeep ndu: I mean, I love to dance ... take off your shirt! Turn on the music! .../ That's a good catch! Am I ... where is Shannon? Carly Deca -: I left the restaurant jeep ndu: oo chimoo Nsi: Don’t worry about GB DG Freddie: Shannon is not very sexy Carly Deca -: Yes, you can find a good wife jeep ndu: Where is he Girl in the restaurant: Why don't you see it here? I love your work so much, promote your music! .../ wig: .../ That is not true Carly Deca -: That's not true? wig: Do you know my nine minute lunch video? You are a child Carly Deca -: MOE wig: Yes, I sent it to Whynotdateme.com and who actually got the nine answers? Carly Deca -: Well, you have nine days to travel wig: So that's not it. Four women in prison. Carly Deca -: de on de on wig: The three women were released from prison. Carly Deca -: Interest rates are low wig: Both are psychologists who think they can help me Carly Deca -: Thank you for what you say wig: Or some pretty new ones Carly Deca -: He is a man wig: oo chimoo Google Translate setup: Danish-Amharic-Norwegian-Italian-Sinhala-Arabic-Hindi-Odia-Bosnian-Odia-German-Igbo-Bulgarian-Basque-Estonian-Haitian Creole

Just noticed that they came back with new material after their...fifth? Sixth? extended break (I don't keep up with these things lol), and dang, they still got it.

I've heard from a very reliable source on TV Tropes that there was going to be an episode titled "The Sunscreen" that serves as a sequel to "The Paper" that details a plot where Squidward tries to return to his original status quo, but it was ultimately scrapped due to "The Paper" being attached to a holiday episode, therefore the creative team decided that there was no point in writing an episode that connects to an unpaired segment since Nickelodeon would only allow to air "The Paper" on a seasonal basis, and Stephen Hillenburg was reported to have said that "The Sunscreen" was one of the worst scripts that he had ever foreseen.

So, it’s 2022, which means that we’ve now entered the year where my old spin-off, Guru Gakuto takes place in. One question that remains is…where is my long awaited top 10 animations list….for the year 2018? In addition, those past few years have been absolute crap for the so-called cartoon community, so I am needed more than ever to spread some goodwill about the medium by writing up at least one best of the year list. Well, I’ve been making slow progress to catch up. I have several reasons as to why it’s taken me this long. 1) Family matters that also bled into 2019, which was back when I didn’t have the easy access or finances that I have now that I needed to watch a lot of the things that I’ve meant to watch to form my list. 2) 2020 taking a toll on my mental health, as I’m sure has happened to everyone else. 3) With the end-of-decade retrospective type of reviews coming around the corner, I decided that I wanted to take myself more seriously with my yearly lists and broaden my scope. 4) I went into this year not expecting what I was going to really like right way. If I was going to form a solid top 10 list, then I needed to give myself as much to work with as I can allow. This also meant waiting a while for certain long-form or short-form animated works to be released to the public. Of course, even when you see just how much I’ve given myself to work with, I still feel like I’ve missed some things, although that’s normal for any reviewer. As an example, there’s the anime film that I’ve heard good things about, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (and yes, that is a real title), which has no Region 1 release as of this writing, so if you want to know my thoughts on it, I’ll have to give you my thoughts on the manga. Just to show you what I mean, here’s a longlist of everything that I watched prior to finalizing my list, and in chronological order because that’s how I’ve decided to set it up: That is a grand total of 88 different animated works, and of all those that you see on that list, there are only ten in my list proper. I don’t have the time to provide my honorable mentions with commentary, so I’m moving right to the point… Steel’s Top 10 Animations of 2018 That wraps up my top 10 animations for 2018, so I can now shift my focus towards setting up my forthcoming top ten list for 2019 in animation. Will it take years or months for me finalize my next list? Stick around and you'll find out.

Cold weather because I'm from the west coast and I hate being hot every other day each year.

30. An Amateur Writer Roasts Lily Orchard's Simple Writing Tips Steel: Lily Orchard. If that name rings a bell, you’re probably reminded about her drama more than her own content, may it be her unending bitter feud with a certain Josh Scorcher, her infamously long and presumably nitpicky video essays on Steven Universe and Legend of Korra, or her personal put-downs on Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar…or you recognize the name because of her Twitter thread with 100 posts worth of so-called simple writing tips that the internet trashed on so hard that she’s deleted it ever since. I’ve been meaning to talk about this ever since I’ve heard about it and the subsequent reactions. I mean, she’s made herself to be quite an easy target: a brony who’s branched out into reviewing other forms of entertainment who acts like she knows everything about how to write a series well who also couldn’t provide good writing advice herself? That sounds like a story for the ages, or so I thought. Diving into this thread of writing tips, I saw quite a lot of rational statements in-between. The main problem with this thread, however, isn’t that most of these tips are bad, it’s just that Lily doesn’t seem to know the difference between advice and thinly veiled diatribes against shows, tropes, and people she dislikes, because that’s what most of these “tips” really are. That’s what I’m going to do for this off-series special for my riffing series (and it’s only fitting that I riff on this thread as myself), I am going to critique these critiques. Because it’s been recommended that I use Diregentleman’s video critiquing these “tips” (with another proclaimed professional writer friend) as reference material for my commentary (although I have my reasons not to take everything he says to heart…), I will credit him for giving me some ideas on evaluating Lily’s reprimands. 1) Don't worry about spoilers. If your story is good, spoilers aren't going to make it any less enjoyable. If spoilers make a story less enjoyable, that just means you were relying on cheap shock value as a shortcut. Starting off with this one, I can’t really call this bad advice, as this comes off as a legitimate tip. One quip I could make about this is what she meant to say is that spoilers don’t hinder the story all that much unless the story in question is bad, which yeah…okay, I can’t really argue against that. 2) The middle point of a story is the best time to get a main couple together. Are you working on a 5 season show? Put your main couple together halfway through Season 3. The finale is the worst time because we don't get any time to enjoy the payoff. Again, this seems like legitimate advice. As someone who suffered through four seasons of Star Vs. without getting two particular characters into an official relationship, which they’ve been teasing since the very start, I can tend to agree with this opinion. Although, I should point out that some shows aren’t always lucky enough to make it past three seasons, so this is not universal. 3) Friends to Lovers > Enemies to Lovers. Every time. Every time, huh? Well, that’s just, like, your opinion. If anyone can make a ‘Friends to Lovers’ plot work, an ‘Enemies to Lovers’ plot can work too if it’s done right, and both types of romantic plots can be botched. It’s all about execution. If you have an example you’d like to name to justify your point, then go ahead and name something…and I mean besides She-Ra. 4) Victims of abuse moving away from the negative impacts of their abuse (ie, Zuko) and becoming healthier are not "redemption arcs." Now that is…something that I disagree with. I’m not big on Avatar like anyone else, but from my perspective, Zuko’s backstory has been one of the most celebrated quote-unquote redemption arcs even today. If that’s not a good example of a redemption arc, then I’d like to know what is to you. 5) Heroes refusing to kill villains who have shown to be actively trying to murder people isn't "noble." It's enabling. Ah yes, I suppose this is also pertaining to Avatar, with the whole debate on Aang not killing Ozai because it’s against his ideals to have blood on his hands, even if it’s coming from tyrannical ruler who holds responsibility for the genocide of his kind. Besides, the show ends with Ozai being stripped of his bending and being imprisoned, so I can’t imagine how that could be considered ‘enabling.’ If it’s not about Avatar though, then I can still make the argument that not killing a villain makes it enabling is just simply a hyperbolic blanket statement. And don’t get started on the Superman killing Zod double standard where that isn’t viewed as noble because ‘Superman doesn’t kill.’ 6) Two women kissing in the last episode of a show after 4-5 seasons of trying to murder each other isn't "Revolutionary." It's fetishized abuse and violence. This sounds like She-Ra slander because I don’t know what else it could be since this thread has her making rounds for criticizing the Catra/Adora ship. I could make the same type of argument with the last “tip,” as I feel calling it “fetishized abuse and violence” is a bit of an overrstatement. 7) Twitter is not an appropriate place to reveal story details. The appropriate place is IN THE WORK ITSELF! Take notes J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, if you’re going to give out writing advice, you should keep social media-related matters separate. When a character's body count is over 10,000 innocent lives then that character is no longer redeemable. Why should something as cockamamie as a body count number determine whether or not a character is redeemable? Are you implying that a character could still be redeemed if their kill count is 9,999? If you ask me, redemption of a character with a kill count should be determined by how callous, unjust, or remorseless their killings are (take Dio from JBA as an example of the latter, with his “How many slices of bread have you eaten in your entire life?” boast). I’ve been getting into a select few manga series that involve characters with a high enough kill count to question their morality, although they are centered on assassins, and so they are characters who are obligated by certain means to kill (i.e. Lone Wolf and Cub & Blade of the Immortal). There’s also the Adult Swim show, Primal, which is another example I could name that involves characters having high kill counts, but that’s understandable because it’s set in an era where they have to rely on primal instinct to survive, and most of the causalities aren’t particularly human, so I wouldn’t act surprised if you choose to gloss over a detail like that. 9) Tip 8 does not apply to characters for whom making them the villain was a stupid, idiotic idea (ie, Sylvanas Windrunner). At that point it's just character rerailment. Yes, because if there’s a character whose high kill count hinders them from being redeemable, it’s none other than the villain of the story, the type of character you’re usually not supposed to root for. …But then you realize that Lily is using this “it doesn’t matter if it’s a character that I like” argument to exemplify a justification for the previous tip, which is just a dumb defense, AND of all examples you could name, why mention a character from World of Warcraft, an MMO video game series in which, as far as I’m concerned, the story isn’t the most talked-about aspect of the franchise? (Or maybe it is and I’ll have to excuse myself for my ignorance…) 10) Everything in a story is there because the creator wished it to be there. Trying to explain away bigoted story decisions using worldbuilding is a fallacy because you put it there to begin with. There should be another “Take notes J.K. Rowling” joke in there, but I’m just going to say that I agree with this point. The authors are accountable for anything that they write into their stories. However, this isn’t really a writing tip. 11) Don't pair adults with minors. That's pedophilia. For a thread of “writing tips” that are filled with blanket statements, this is one that I can easily let slide, because every once in a while, someone has to be called out for making any certain risqué decisions with their writing like this one. 12) Don't sexualize teenage characters. My response to this is the same as the one above. 13) Don't make up weird anime excuses for sexualizing teenage characters ("actually 1,000", "fusion", "Age of consent in X country is..."). See Rule 10. Y’know, if you’re going to gatekeep morally grey people from having a career in creative/industry writing, you could’ve saved these slots for real pieces of advice and make something like… “Don’t be a POS in any sense of the word. Otherwise, you do not deserve to have a career in writing for entertainment.” …as your #0 tip and I won’t have to feel like you’re going off into an unneeded tangent when the focus of this thread is to give writing tips. 14) Making a "metaphor" for gay/trans/ace rep is always inherently inferior to just making a gay/trans/ace character. The only example of this that I can think of is that one Powerpuff Girls 2016 episode that was hyped up for its LGBTQ+ metaphor…which didn’t turn out to be the intent for the episode anyway. Otherwise, yeah, if you want to make an LGBTQ+-repping character, just make an LGBTQ+-repping character. Metaphors aren’t a bad idea, but subtlety is very important. 15) If there are humans in your story, restricting gay/trans/ace rep to the non-human characters makes you a huge turd. Agreed, don’t do this. 16) If the only gay man in your work is a faupish diva, you're a huge turd. Alternatively speaking, if you apply harmful, done-to-death stereotypes to your only minority members of your cast of characters, you’re a huge turd. 17) If the only lesbian in your work is an abusive rageaholic with vague angst issues and a codependent relationship to a protagonist, you're a huge turd. Well, I can’t fault Lily for expanding on the point she’s making, but as I’ve expressed towards tip #16 above, you’re better off simply telling us that we should be cautious about writing fictional minority figures and ensure that the traits you’re applying them aren’t harmful stereotypes. By making separate tips pertaining to every specific minority under the sun, we would be here all day. As for the tip itself though, I already can tell that this is shade towards She-Ra, or more specifically towards Catra, but I can connect this critique to Ruby from Steven Universe as well. 18) If your only nonbinary character is a non-human shapeshifter, you're a huge turd. How many non-human nonbinary shapeshifting characters do you know of to justify your point, and I mean besides Double Trouble from She-Ra? If that’s the worst possible stereotype to represent a nonbinary character to you, then I’d argue that there are worse examples than that. 19) If your only autistic character is an ethically-challenged number fetishist, you're a huge turd. I don’t know if you’ve ever had any conversations about ASD representation in the media within your own content, but as far as I’m concerned, you don’t seem to speak for the neurodiverse community in general to have a grasp on how autistic characters should or shouldn’t be written. As an autistic rep myself, I can guarantee you that there are worse examples of autistic representation in fiction than ‘ethically-challenged number fetishist.’ I could also make a quip about how this is also She-Ra shade since Entrapta is a confirmed autistic character, but when I think of ‘ethically-challenged number fetishist’ (seriously, what kind of specific trait is that?), I don’t think of her. Maybe she’s referring to Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, although I don’t watch the show, so I wouldn’t know. 20) If your only black character is a volatile, hyper-angry brute, you're a huge turd. I’m not going to try and gatekeep Lily for giving us advice on how black characters should and shouldn’t be written when she isn’t of color herself, so I’ll at least say though that there other harmful stereotypes towards black characters to raise awareness towards. 21) If the only black woman in your cast barely gets any screen time except to be fetishized OR fits rule 20, you're a huge turd. If this is just about the same as rule 20 except for that one…peculiar example, you don’t have to make a separate tip for writing black characters. 22) If the only trans woman in your cast a Drag Queen in all but name, you're a huge turd. She must really be putting out all the stops with this string of tips to tell us all the politically incorrect characters traits that’ll make us a huge turd for life if we apply them to our writing. Next thing you’ll be telling us, we’re huge turds for making our only Indian character a thick-accented Hinduist or academic, or our only ADHD character a constantly distracted and hyperactive motor mouth, or our only French character a snooty striped-shirt and beret-wearing, baguette-eating alcoholic, or our only Scottish character an incomprehensible, vulgar, Scots lingo-spewing crank, or our only Scandinavian character a literal Viking, or our only German character a literal Nazi, or…Oh wait, where was I? So yeah, the whole ‘don’t make your only trans woman a Drag Queen’ rule is something that should be followed, for sure. While this piece of advice applies to any type of trans character, subtlety matters when writing them. 23) If you force a woman to kiss her abuser, you're a huge turd. This is prob just more She-Ra shade, so I’ll just ignore this one. 24) If you sideline every non-white character in your cast to focus on a white boy with anger issues and a tendency toward hostility getting a redemption arc, you're a huge turd. I’m drawing a blank for what Lily is referring to, so I’ll just take the words of Diregentleman’s video as my own on what this is supposed to mean and why you shouldn’t take to this example, in which this tip regards to how you shouldn’t make a diverse cast of characters only to put almost all of your focus on a white dude’s character arc. Still though, it would’ve been a helpful tip if it weren’t so…you know, vague. 25) Justifying horny armor designs or horny clothing designs with "Sexual Agency" makes you a huge turd. Characters don't have sexual agency, you made them that way as a justification. See Rule 10. So in other words, don’t take this video seriously: 26) Related to the above, if your justification is to just be honest and say you like ogling sexy characters, you're still a huge turd, but slightly less of a turd than the above. Likewise, related to my riff above. 27) Don't worry about not having everything planned out beforehand. No writer or creator plans everything beforehand, and the ones who say they do are filthy liars. Writers have at best 1-2 story beats they're determined to include, everything else is by the seat of their pants But if you do worry about not having everything planned out, does that make you a huge turd? Come on, just don’t end the chain like that. Anyway, Henry Zalley from the Diregentleman video said that this is one of the worst pieces of advice Lily has given in this thread, and it can be agreed that this is absolutely not true because the experience is different for everyone. As an amateur writer, I don’t always have everything planned beforehand. Besides writing authentic-sounding dialogue and conversations, working under pressure is my kryptonite. My ideas come to me naturally. If I have an idea that I think is good for what I’ll write, I keep a mental note of it. I’m not a pantser even if it would mean that I could write at a faster pace because well…I’ve learned from writing Dark Side of the Herd that it’s a rather lazy method of writing, and I’m not a lazy writer. Also, if you think that anyone with a profession in writing crafts most of their ideas from the seat of their pants…then you’re a huge turd. Because pantsing managed to work for some people like say…the author of the Dragon Ball manga, that doesn’t mean it works for everyone. People who have a profession in writing have to deal with obstacles such as deadlines, and it’s especially the case for manga artists/writers who have to churn out a new 20-something page chapter of a series PER WEEK while sustaining a high readership so their series does not end up getting dropped prematurely. It’s a similar case for being a deadline writer or animator for an animated series. I see complaints on the SBC Discord server almost all the time about the subject of how certain shows didn’t go the way that the creative team had originally planned it because of the show being cancelled sooner than they would’ve preferred. This is one of several reasons why working on a serialized animated show is such a big gamble. Either you turn out lucky or you don’t. Writing isn’t as easy of job as you might think it is. Writing a good story requires effort and as well as skill in multiple aspects such as grammar, depth, character development, story flow, story beats, pacing, tone, worldbuilding, and so forth. So yeah, what I meant to say is, I think the ones you shouldn’t trust and are lying through their teeth are the ones who say that you shouldn’t worry about not having your story all planned out because most writers just B.S. their way through the process anyway. If you think this strategy works for you, fine, but keep in mind that the writing and creative process is different for everyone. 28) Don't try and "do what Avatar did." You can't. Even the people who made Avatar can't make another show do what Avatar did. Oh hey, an actual useful tip for once, and yeah, I strongly agree with this point, but I’d say it’s more like you shouldn’t build your career on creating something that’s meant to be the next whatever, otherwise people are going to try and attach it to anything else they’re familiar with. It’s not a bad idea to take inspiration from other existing works. However, to be viewed as an original, it is practical to turn those inspirations into something of your own that’ll make your work distinguishable. In other words, don’t be another victim to the “It’s just like Dark Souls but…” crowd, be the person who starts something. 29) Low-stakes interpersonal conflict will always be more satisfying in the long run than high-stakes saving the world. "Friends" is more popular than your favorite anime for a reason. This is such a shallow blanket statement and I don’t know where to begin with this “tip.” Like with tip #2, I can argue that it’s really all about execution and there’s no need to tell us “[This] is better than [that].” A high or low stakes show can be done right and it can be done wrong. Popularity doesn’t measure quality. If you prefer your low-stakes live-action sitcoms, good for you, but that doesn’t mean others are in the wrong for having a preference towards high-stakes anime. Besides, if there’s a clear reason for Friends’ popularity, it’s because it draws a large normie crowd. You don’t see a lot of 40 or 50-something year old men and women freaking out over My Hero Academia or whatever. 30) Choose whether you're a comedy or drama at the start and stick to it. Don't make a comedy and turn it into a drama later on, that just annoys people. Hunter x Hunter is more popular than your favorite live-action dramedy for a reason. Oh, I’m sorry, was that too shallow and close-minded? Okay, with all seriousness, I can agree with this point, but ‘A factor to good story-writing is a consistent tone’ would be my way of saying it. I’ve learned that lesson from looking back at the inconsistencies of my own writing in Guru Gakuto. 31) Worldbuilding is like salt. A pinch can make it better, 10 cups of it will not. Once again, I have to agree, as this does feel like an actual tip. In a lot of certain aspects in writing a story, you should go for quality over quantity, and I wouldn’t say that for worldbuilding alone. Having too many characters or too many plot threads can be a bad thing too. 32) Characters should always come before anything else. Again, I wouldn’t say ‘ALWAYS,’ but I still agree with this point, as I tend to put character development first before building the world and plot that revolves around them. 33) The protagonist should be a protagonist, not just a vessel for the antagonist to hog the story. If you're going to make a villain protagonist, just open with that. Well… 34) Perspective shifts are a staple of storytelling. Having only one perspective isn't a "stylistic choice" it's just crap. Okay. Name one bad example of single character perspective storytelling and one very good example of multi-perspective storytelling that cements itself as a ‘staple of storytelling’ and maybe then I’ll understand where the hell you’re getting at with this blanket statement. If multi-POV narratives are your preference over single-POV narratives, then it’s purely preference. Any other style of narrative is not going for the “stylistic choice” defense nor is it an objectively bad way of telling a story just because you have a differing opinion on them. 35) If you're making a cartoon, hire writers. Don't just have your storyboarders write the story. That's not what they're there for. Artists draw, writers write, artists cannot just take over for the writers on a whim. BULL. SHIT. You shouldn’t have every right to dictate what any particular member of an animation staff is meant and only meant to do when you don’t seem to have experience in this line of work yourself. In the sense that you should hire boarders or writers when you need them exclusively for said job, then yeah, I can understand where you’re getting at, but simply having someone on your staff who can both write and draw isn’t going to hinder the quality of the work as long as they can do a good job at both. It should also be pointed out that getting a career in animation requires education and experience in more than one area. I may be more of a writer than an artist, but I’ve faced the facts that if I wanted to attain work in the animation field and get my ideas pitched, I need experience as an artist, as animation is, of course, an art form. Besides, having experience from more than just one area for a medium can be beneficial, and for some people, including me, they don’t want to feel like they should be put in a box and stay in one exclusive lane. 36) Related to Rule 2: Will They, Won't They isn't a fun story. It's just addiction-peddling. We need to stop pretending Ross/Rachel was good storytelling and learn to appreciate Chandler/Monica and Joey/Rachel. But…you just said that Friends is more popular than MY favorite anime! Why are you now criticizing the show for its romance plots? Also, if these ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ storylines keep the audience engaged in the thing that they enjoy, and then it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some specific works by Rumiko Takahashi like Ranma and Inuyasha live and breathe the ‘Will they? Won’t they?’ plot, and yet I’m into them regardless because they have something more to them than “addiction-peddling” that keeps me hooked. However, I can see how this type of plot can be done wrong, and that depends on the over-reliance of this trope and ends up eclipsing every other story aspect for me. 37) "Romance Trope, but gay" is not an absolute rule to live by. If She Ra taught us anything it's that "Gay Reylo" was not actually an improvement. Why use She-Ra as an example only to pivot towards Star Wars? If you hate writers establishing abusive romance tropes, then just speak out against those rather than “your ship is bad and you should feel bad.” 38) Someone on this hellsite once made the remark "We need more lesbian noncon because purity is boring." That is a dangerous, violent person. Do not listen to them, they do not have a point, seriously my fucking god what is wrong with you people?! …And that’s just another one of many good reasons not to use Twitter. 39) Women who fetishize abuse (Reylos, Catradoras, KiGos, ect) and present it as something feminist and paint detractors as misogynists are gaslighting you. Don't listen to them. Once again, keep social media-related matters separate, thank you, but yeah, if it’s someone like a SJW who’s dying on a hill defending these types of ships, then I believe you in not listening to them or wasting time on them. Although, if it’s someone who just has different taste in ships than you do and aren’t looking to pick a fight about it, then I’d say let them indulge in their questionable yet exotic interests *shrug*. 40) If abuse fetishists are giving you shit for not caving to their demands, just block them. Don't argue with them, don't debate them, don't treat them with good faith. Just block them and get on with your day. This is not writing advice, moving on. 41) Rape victims are not villains and should never be written as villains. Don't be like @Blizzard_Ent . It costs $0 to not be a misogynistic pig. Does it cost $0 to be one as well? Look, I can very much agree that rape as drama is hard to do right. Rape survivors as villains can work if it isn’t framed as anything tasteless or misogynistic. The way I see it being done right, that type of past trauma can serve as an engaging backstory to illustrate said antagonist’s excuse for their actions the same way as it can serve as motivation for a protagonist who is also a rape survivor. If your one example of bad rape survivor villains is from an Activision Blizzard game (…which I assume is WoW again, because they own the rights to it), then you might want to give more examples if this sort of trope has been done wrong multiple times to justify why you’ve made this tip not to just throw shade at Activision Blizzard. 42) If straight men really hate a certain character, but lesbians love them, there's an 90% chance that is your best character. The best way to deal with liking a character that a certain other group seems to really hate is to not care what other people think, just saying. 43) If one of your writers believes Simon (Infinity Train) was misunderstood and Grace is a villain, that writer should be fired immediately. I have not seen Infinity Train yet to argue this point, so I’m just going to skip to the next one. 44) The best solution to a love triangle is polyamory. Alternatively speaking, the best solution to a love triangle is to not write one. 45) If you have a male character who actually shows respect and admiration to a woman, and some of your viewers call that character a "simp" there is a 90% chance you have a good character. In other words, if your male protagonist doesn’t respect women, then you’re a huge turd. 46) "Mary Sue" is not a real criticism. It's thinly veiled misogyny. Always disregard it. It’s more of a problem with idiots throwing the word around no matter the context, to the point where the precise meaning of the term is debatable, rather than just an issue with guys using the word as an excuse for their sexism, which you’re not wrong for, but still. If you ask around, you’ll notice how much of an umbrella term Mary Sue has become for quote-unquote bad character writing. Mary Sue could mean a character who is perfect in a lot of things, it could mean a character who is “too likeable,” it could mean a character who is “overpowered,” it could simply mean a character that you hate…or it could mean a character that is too idealistic, a thinly-veiled representation of the author themselves, lacks real traits, flaws, and/or depth to make us connect with this character, which as far as I’m concerned, is what exactly defines a Mary Sue, but even then, it’s not like it matters anyway because it stopped being valid constructive criticism the more prevalent it was, and especially when I witnessed folks blindly throwing the word around come the reveals of Chloe from FOP and Bliss from the PPG reboot. In addition, it’s not just guys who used the term as a crutch to criticize characters that they dislike or think are bad female representation, women have been using the term as well, although it’s most usually out of concern for how these characters of the gender that they represent are written. I could keep going all day with this discussion, but I’ll stop right here, since I already know that I’ve been dragging this. 47) Emotional vulnerability does not make a female character "antifeminist." Again, this isn’t even a tip, so I’m not touching this. 48) Goblins are inherently anti-Semitic WHAT DO YOU MEAN??? YOU AREN’T EVEN JEWISH YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU CRITCIZED REBECCA SUGAR FOR BEING ONE- 49) If your first thought when told about a bigoted trope (Bury your gays, Goblins, ect) is to try and figure out how to "do it well" you are a huge turd who is missing the point. It's not that these tropes aren't "done well", it's that they're done too much. And your point is…that you don’t want writers to take risks? Also, what do you mean that you think these specific tropes are bad because “they’re done too much”? You may have already suggested that you dislike these tropes because they’ve been done wrong multiple times or simply because they’re bigoted. 50) Writing a relationship based on a "dynamic" or trying to get a particular trope (ie, enemies to lovers) into the story is a bad decision. You already called the enemies to lovers trope bad a while ago, there’s no need to repeat yourself. 51) Vitriol does not immediately render criticism invalid. If you tone police criticism, you will likely miss something important. Okay, so this is the point where Lily stops giving advice on writing and starts going off on a tangent by giving advice on dealing with people on the internet. Now, outrage culture can feel justified, but that depends on the matter at hand. If it’s not worth being outraged about, then as Kim Possible would say, it’s so not the drama. 52) Your fandom will fight and argue. This is how people solve conflicts. It's typically better to let people fight it out than to be complacent and beg people to "just stop fighting." Like I’ve said a few times already, I’ll say this again: keep social media-related issues separate if this is about simple writing advice. 53) Related to the above, "every headcanon is valid" should never leave your mouth. Do you want pedophiles and fascists in your fanbase? Because that's how you get pedophiles and fascists in your fanbase. Once again, if you’re going to police certain people, then you could’ve imposed a Rule #0 by saying “No pedos/fascists/sexists/racists/anti-Semitics/homophobes/transphobes/incels/zoophiles/etc. allowed!” than have to do it on a thread meant for writing advice every chance you get. 54) Speaking out against abuse fetishists, pedophiles, and bigots in your fanbase will always be better in the long run than being quiet or complacent. It might be exhausting to deal with, but it's better for everyone in the long run. But wait, you just said that we’re better off letting the fanbase clear the smoke when it comes to fan discourse. Either you think we should be quiet and complacent about scumbags in the fandom, or we shouldn’t. Pick a side. I’d go with the former because, look…the internet is full of scumbags, but that doesn’t mean we should try to take on them all head on. We don’t need to be the superhero everyone needs and step in to rid of all that is evil. Even when it comes to policing certain people, there are risks to consider, and if it means drawing unwanted attention to them (For sure, Butch Hartman has a variety of reasons why he doesn’t talk about Randy Stair, and there’s a variety of reasons why SEGA or Nintendo don’t talk about Chris-Chan), then I feel the best thing you could do is to just not engage, because like you said, we can’t just expect to make a change for the better by telling the fans to “just stop fighting.” Fandoms are going to have toxic representation no matter how much we try to eradicate these people. 55) "Fanservice" is a concept you should never think about. Fans who need to be "serviced" are not actually fans. If you have fans, those fans are already having fun and don't need to be pandered to. To assume that anyone is a fake fan for whatever reason is just bad of a belief to stick to. If anyone has a problem with not having their demands met, it’s on them and it means little about how that behavior dictates whether or not they are fans. 56) The tendency for shipping to dominate discourse is the biggest sign that characters and their relationships are more satisfying than anything else. People didn't petition for a 4th season of Kim Possible to see what happened with Drakken or to see new villains. Well… 57) Complaints about "too much negativity" is shooting the messenger. If there is an overabundance of negativity, that means there's things to be negative about. People cannot be positive without things to be positive about. Some people just have problems dealing with honest feedback. Some people can own up while others may continue struggling with negativity, and I think it’s all normal. 58) If you do something bigoted and get yelled at for it, listen to the people yelling at you. Cancel Culture isn't real, the rage and vitriol will be gone in two weeks, and you'll be a better person for it. Getting yelled at stopped being "the end of the world" at age 10. If you have been paying attention, Lily, Cancel Culture has more to do with “getting yelled at” and more to do with being silenced and publicly shunned as a person, whether it’s because of something stupid or something that is just. It all depends on the context. I mean, I do have a thick skin and if I ever find myself dealing with this, I’m not going to be a coward and let the disparagers eat me alive. At least understand though that not everyone is entitled to come out of being publicly shamed without experiencing some emotional scar tissue. Perhaps the outrage can only last a week or so, but for anyone who falls off real hard, that outrage can last longer. Also, as someone who had to deal with occasional bickering parents until they split, you have no right to say that being yelled at is no big deal. 59) The quickest and easiest way to make yelling stop is to own up to the mistake, don't make excuses (or explain why you did the bad thing), fix it, and never repeat it. Progressives are very forgiving if you give them results. Stubbornness is what gets people cancelled. BUT YOU JUST SAID CANCEL CULTURE ISN’T REAL- Uuuugggggh. Also, there are more factors that contribute to being publicly shamed than just being stubborn. You shouldn’t dictate what Cancel Culture is and how we should deal with it you don’t think it affects you. 60) "Forced Diversity" is a right-wing dogwhistle, not a criticism. Most arguments I’ve seen being made about “Forced Diversity” is in bad faith, so…I’ll just go ahead and agree with this, even though, again, it’s not writing advice. 61) "Reclaimed" slurs are not universal, and as such should NEVER be included in a work. Using reclaimed slurs depend on a particular person’s personal comfort and if you’re not comfortable with using the Q-word, then yeah, I understand what you’re saying. I’m not LGBTQ+ nor am I of color, so I don’t have much of a say if you should never say never on this topic though. 62) Oppressed people fighting against their oppressors are not "Villains." No I don't care if you think they "went too far." Not all those who respond with violence are wrong, and not all those who preach nonviolence are right to do so. Disregarding that this is yet another vague post towards something, I can’t think of anyone who would be dumb enough to paint these types of characters as villains. 63) Related to the above: A good spin on the "Heroes who never kill" mantra is to highlight how refusing to kill a villain who later goes on to kill more innocent people makes the hero responsible for those deaths. There's a free story theme for ya. But you’ll still criticize whatever uses this theme anyway because it cements your earlier point about how refusing to kill a villain is ‘enabling.’ Am I right, am I wrong? 64) If you're writing fantasy and you have no issue having dragons in your world but suddenly think people of color are "unrealistic" because "something something Medivel Europe" you're a huge turd. And an idiot. Yeah, ‘cause when fantasy is another way of calling your story speculative fiction, you should have no excuse for not being inclusive when you give yourself the power to do anything that you want with the world you’re building. 65) Sexual Tension and Chemistry are not the only indicators of a potential relationship, and in a relationship is the quickest thing to fade. …I’m a virgin who’s never been in a real relationship, so I’m in no position to argue with this one. 66) The best potential romantic partner for a character is her best friend. They're best friends for a reason. This is basically the same advice as friends to lovers > enemies to lovers, but since this is not another excuse to bash the latter, I’ll easily let this slide. 67) "I don't want X character to be defined by her relationships" is a stupid philosophy to have. EVERYONE is defined by their relationships. That's how human beings work. And yet you let Catra and Adora’s relationship define their respective characters for you and write them off because it’s “fetishizing abuse.” 68) If you don't want a character to only be remembered for a romantic subplot, don't end the story on that subplot reaching it's conclusion. Give it time to sink in and become the new "normal" for the viewer. The memorable moment will always be the LAST moment. When it comes to making a memorable character that’s in a romantic relationship, it should be about personality most of the time. If the bulk of your character’s personality is being the love interest for another character, then that’s the issue to fix. 69) "Slow Burn" does not mean "Taking forever to get together." It means "Full series long romantic subplot." Getting together is the START of a romantic subplot, not the end. But isn’t that what slow burns are? Taking forever to get to a certain point in a story? 70) "Sexual Awakening" is not a real character arc. Well… 71) The only people who think "Boob Armor" makes sense are people who have never touched a boob. I feel attacked. Seriously though, what the heck kind of argument is that? 72) The Bow and Arrow are strength weapons, not dexterity weapons. Female characters who do archery should naturally be very physically strong. Longbows have a draw weight of 80-150lbs. Rangers are always stronger than Warriors, deal with it. Apparently, this tip was provided with an accompanying image from World of Warcraft in the original tweet. WoW lists Warriors and Rangers as classes, so I don’t know what else she could be referring to. Again, for a thread dedicated to simple writing tips, I can’t see how World of Warcraft could be integral for these prompts. Even if you’re writing for a video game, I don’t see how categorizing bow and arrow as dexterity weapons is going to royally screw over your story. Second of all, this philosophy is utter B.S. anyway because skill in archery does indeed involve dexterity. If you have acquired knowledge about weaponry, you can say what you will. If you don’t, then don’t act like you know everything about them. 73) The best way to avoid tokenism is multiple characters. It’s funny. Instead of that string of tips telling us that we’re a huge turd for applying overdone or harmful stereotypes to our only minority-repping character, you could’ve just said this (well, aside that multiple characters is indeed a good way to avoid your characters being viewed as token minorities). 74) Want an easy way to become more accustomed to diverse casts? Limit your "Straight, white, cis" characters to one of each. Those can be three characters for each trait, or pack it all into one character, but only one of each. Or…just don’t seclude your character designs to just white people, plain and simple. 75) Don't be afraid of failure and backlash. If someone is screaming at you about how a character you made is racist, that is literally free writing advice that someone is just giving you. Look on the bright side of life for a change. If your point is that we should hold ourselves accountable for having made bigoted writing mistakes, then I would agree with you. Backlash is nothing to worry about us unless the public tries to make it so that you end up never living something down, regardless if you’re being given “free writing advice.” Again, Cancel Culture is more than just “getting yelled at.” 76) People of color and LGBTA people are allowed to just exist. Don't feel like you HAVE to cover bigotry just because they're in the story. In fact, people will be happier if you don't because having these characters defined by suffering is itself a tired trope. Yes, I agree. We live in a time period where more diverse representation is needed. However, it’s not such a bad idea to cover bigotry, unless the topic becomes the bulk of the character’s development (like Lily herself has pointed out) and if it’s virtue signaling. Not everyone is open-minded and every once in a while we need to teach certain people something along the lines of ‘Don’t be a bigot. Being accepting of others can get you far in life.’ 77) "I just want my readers/viewers to have fun" is an excellent attitude to have when it comes to storytelling. A key component in good storytelling is if the author themselves are having fun writing their story as well, and while I’d add to this tip with that, I can agree that this is a good mindset to have when writing your stories. 78) As a general rule, Slice of Life has always been a more popular genre than Action/Adventure. Again, mind the difference between ‘rules’ and ‘tips.’ This is the same argument as before with Friends being “more popular than your favorite anime,” so just stop trying to force-feed your own philosophy onto others that because one genre is more popular than the other, it is therefore the best. 79) "Feature Creep" is a problem in storytelling as well. You don't have to cram every single idea, reference and homage you can think of into a story. You can save ideas for another time. ‘Feature creep’ is only a buzzword for video games, but I can see where you’re getting at and I agree. There are only so many ideas you could have for one story and your story can end up being a big mess if you try to cram so much material into it. 80) D&D Alignments are terrible metrics for character design. They're meant as a quick reference for improvisation in a TTRPG environment and shouldn't be taken outside that environment. So now you’re telling us that we can’t take inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons? Next thing you’ll be telling me, we should never take inspiration from Rocky Horror Picture Show. 81) When writing LGBTA characters, stay as far away from "Rocky Horror Picture Show" as you possibly can. Some gay people hold it up as a meaningful part of our "culture." It is not. It's a transmisogynistic nightmare made by an actual TERF, not a reference guide for ANYTHING. And speak of the devil. I never watched Rocky Horror Picture Show nor do I plan to, so I guess I’ll just say that I dodged a bullet and move on. That and one of the best reference guides for writing LGBTQ+ characters are from actual members of the community, just to make a point. 82) The Q-slur as a concept tactily reinforces heteronormativity by casting LGBTA people as inherently "strange." In "No Big Deal" representation, the word should be avoided. Normalizing LGBTA people and the Q-Slur are like oil and water and don't go together. This is the same point that she’s already made with “tip” #61, so I’ll just skip this. 83) Rape is an unforgivable crime, more so than killing. Killing can potentially be justified in a story without becoming a villain. Rape cannot. In other words, rape is bad and murder is bad, and justifying either won’t you get anywhere. What other such though-provoking facts do you have to share? 84) Sex scenes are never necessary. You want to include one because you're horny, then more power to you. But any attempt to justify it as "important to the story" will only get you laughed at. Well, if porn’s not your thing, it’s not your thing, and sure, I suppose sex scenes are not really necessary…unless you’re writing for smutty fanfiction or a legit porno where those types of scenes are the meat and bones of your story. As long as those sex scenes aren’t problematic by any means, they shouldn’t be such a major hindrance. 85) "Strong" characters can still cry and need support from others. Vulnerability is not a character flaw. It’s not that vulnerability doesn’t essentially give a character flaws. Rather it’s pretty much an easy shortcut for writing them. In other words…yeah, I agree. It’s what makes a character feel vulnerable that establishes a particular flaw that they have than vulnerability by itself. 86) "Peak TV" is a fancy way of saying "Addiction-fueled misery porn." I don’t think literally anyone calls it that except you, so what’s your point? 87) Addiction-based storytelling relies on serialization, cliffhangers, "shocking twists", constantly raised stakes, and an obsession with foreshadowing to get people to watch not because they're enjoying themselves but because they're stuck on a tension high. Look…I know serialized shows aren’t your thing (and clearly enough, most anime in general), but that doesn’t mean fans of these types of shows are just “addicted” and are only watching these shows because they’re somehow slaves to all those tropes that you consider as cheap tactics to fuel their addiction. If those people are actually having fun watching these particular shows and are engaged with those stories for reasons that aren’t related to addiction-peddling, then it’s not a matter of bad storytelling. If you’re not into these shows, then just shut up, stop making petty assumptions, and let people enjoy what they enjoy and you won’t be judged for your personal tastes either. Sure, things like cliffhangers, twists, and raised stakes can be annoying if they’re heavily relied on, but they have reasons to exist in any story, and I can assure you it’s not to make viewers “addicted,” rather to keep them invested. They are hooks, and without hooks of any kind, you’ve got a really boring story. 87, Pt 2) By the end, the viewer is only watching for closure because they've already invested so much and they need their fix in order to feel like it was worth it. This is the same business model that soap operas use. Oh yeah, because if there’s one thing that’s going to determine the quality of your serialized show in the long run, it’s the payoff, and for some shows like Star Vs., the payoff isn’t always going to turn out good. Of course, serialization doesn’t automatically make your story or concept good, but taking this sort of risk of writing a continuous storyline doesn’t mean it’s destined for disaster either. The viewer will watch a serialized show until the end for closure, because yes, it’s always going to be the payoff that matters in the end, but you’ve already lost me on the first half of your spiel about “addiction-based storytelling,” so I’m not going to bother trying to point out that the viewers are looking forward to more than just closure. 88) If the Sunk Cost Fallacy didn't exist, shows like Steven Universe and Game of Thrones would have been cancelled by Season 2. Congrats, you’ve just reminded us for the one-thousandth time that Steven Universe sucks. Do you want a cookie for saying that – a really big cookie? 89) Hardcore fans will tell you that "Continuity" is the most important thing. They're wrong. Not THE most important, sure, but it’s still important to make sure that your story is consistent. 90) "This is too political" is a complaint only made by conservatives when a story acknowledges that non-white and non-straight people exist. The existence of other kinds of people is not political. Ignore these complaints. While we’re at it, we should also ignore the conservative snowflakes spewing these complaints too. 91) The Little Mermaid and Cinderella are more feminist than Beauty and the Beast. THIS IS NOT WRITING ADVICE 92) If you want to know when to change a trans character's pronouns in the narration, doing so at the moment where they realize who they are and admit it to themselves out loud is *chef's kiss* As someone who has written a character coming out as trans in Sub-Tropical Academy, I can strongly agree with this point because I have abided to this tip before. 93) As long as it isn't harmful or bigoted, you don't have to justify story decisions made on the basis of self-indulgence. Says the same YouTube reviewer who said that writing sex scenes are pointless and your only excuse for writing them is because you’re horny. 94) Vampires/Werewolves are not inherently "LGBTA-Coded" and doing so is an example of othering. They work better as metaphors for aristocracy and predators respectively than as the "Underclass." …I’ll skip this one. 95) Some of the best stories ever made were written as an act of spite. Well… 96) Any system of government (with the exception of Fascism) can exist in a positive or negative context. Monarchies are not always inherently evil (see Hawaii pre-annexation) and Democracies are not always inherently good (See USA). Write accordingly. So…Fascism can only exist in a negative context (which I understand), but Marxism can be framed in a positive light? If you’re just going to vague-post your personal opinions on these things, you’re not making so much progress. 97) "Lesbian still on good terms with ex-boyfriend from before coming out" is a really cute friendship trope. And vice versa. Agreed, and since we got just a few of these tips left, let’s breeze through those too. 98) The only real difference between an extremely close platonic relationship and a romantic relationship is what the people involved choose to call it. Best Friends are not something that should ever be prefixed with the word "Just." 99) Normalize friends saying "I love you" to each other. 100) If you write a 100-tweet long thread of writing advice, you are a huge loser with way too much free time on your hands. Get back to work and do something productive with your time! If only you thought about that before actually writing this and letting your over-confidence get the better of you. Sorry honey, self-awareness alone is not going to erase the actions that you’ve already committed to. 101) "Tips" and "Rules" are two different words. Again, if only if you realized this simple mistake before you wasted your time writing all these diatribes. I can definitely see why now she decided to delete all these tweets. So that wraps up Lily’s big, stupid thread worth of 100 “simple writing tips,” and yeah, this was a mess. Were there some good points made here and there? Yes. Should this be viewed as a good reference guide for anyone with a professional writer goal set in mind? Absolutely not, because not only were there a lot of one-sided and vague tips, there were a bunch of inconsistent ramblings in-between as well that defy the term ‘tips.’ Again, my main issue with this big list of “writing advice” is that most of these posts aren’t tips and are rather more like excuses for Lily to peddle her personal views and biases. Even when there are actual tips, most of them are restrictive rather than they do try to boost the confidence of hopeful writers, which is what they are meant to do. There were an excessive amount of ‘don’t’ pieces than ‘do’ pieces of advice. Don’t write this. Don’t write that. Don’t worry about this or that. Don’t try this or that. Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect $200. Skimming through these tips, you just can’t help but ask: “What EXACTLY defines good storytelling to you, Lily?” Sadly, the vague tone for a lot of these so-called tips does her no justice. Especially when you trace back most of these vague posts to a few specific examples like Steven Universe, She-Ra, World of Warcraft, Friends, ATLA, Star Wars, and Disney, it’s telling of how small Lily’s frame of reference is, which must be why she was impartial to listing as many examples as needed to back up her arguments where they would’ve been needed (well besides the whole Twitter character limit per post excuse. I’ll say more about Twitter later). If you want to make a thread of writing tips, then do that. If you want to give yourself venting room to express your personal social justice views, then do that and don’t try to disguise it as something else like “Lily Orchard’s Declassified Internet Survival Guide.” When you’re meant to focus on one particular subject, you must stay consistent to that subject. Otherwise, people are going to ridicule you for going off-topic like you did. With this many tips, and a generous amount of bad ones to boot, you could make a top ten list for the worst pieces from this whole thread, and that’s what I’m going to do… (while, of course, excluding my choices to those that actually read like tips): Steel’s Top Ten Worst Simple Writing Tips from Lily Orchard: 10. 98) The only real difference between an extremely close platonic relationship and a romantic relationship is what the people involved choose to call it. Best Friends are not something that should ever be prefixed with the word "Just." -There’s a big reasons why platonic relationships and romantic relationships are called us such and because ‘best friends’ are another way of saying “They should f***” to you, that doesn’t mean every other fictional pair with a very close platonic friendship should go the romantic route, if that’s the argument you’re trying to make. 9. 50) Writing a relationship based on a "dynamic" or trying to get a particular trope (ie, enemies to lovers) into the story is a bad decision. -If there’s a particular bias that gets repeated multiple times over the course of this thread besides “I hate serialization,” it’s “I hate enemies to lovers relationships,” and the more that Lily tries to hammer in that philosophy, the more I’ve disagreed with it. I know we can’t make you like that trope Lily, but if you want to present a good argument against it, you have to have a broader frame of reference than “enemies to lovers trope is bad because She-Ra did it bad and it’s fetishizing abuse, deal with it.” Also, what kind of criticism is “you shouldn’t write relationships based on dynamics?” You’ve already contradicted that point anyway by saying that characters should be defined by their relationships because, in your own words, that’s how human beings work. 8. 19) If your only autistic character is an ethically-challenged number fetishist, you're a huge turd. -This feels like something that I could put higher since as I speak as someone with ASD, I can argue that this is such an over-simplified piece of advice regarding writing autistic characters. Autistic representation at its worst is a character that exhibits either one of these: constantly disruptive, constantly infantilized by the other characters, exemplifies the “child prodigy as personality trait” rule, a non-human metaphor, uses their neurodivergence as an excuse for their actions, and lacking empathy or emotion among other things. Just ask someone on the spectrum on how an autistic character should not be written and they’ll provide you with the same amount of material that I just did. If you still stand by this claim that this is the worst stereotype for autistic characters, then we can have this conversation and debate it together. 7. TIE: 20) If your only black character is a volatile, hyper-angry brute, you're a huge turd. 21) If the only black woman in your cast barely gets any screen time except to be fetishized OR fits rule 20, you're a huge turd. -If you’re going to tell hopeful writers how they should not write characters of color despite not being of color yourself, this is where I have to draw the line. There are worse Hollywood stereotypes that have been applied to these types of characters and the best way to get a grasp on what those are is to ask a person of color for reference. While I can’t guarantee that black representation in entertainment is every bit of improving these days, the industry seems to be liable in ensuring that the way they interpret these characters don’t contribute to heavy backlash. 6. 84) Sex scenes are never necessary. You want to include one because you're horny, then more power to you. But any attempt to justify it as "important to the story" will only get you laughed at. -Sexual content is hit-or-miss for a variety reasons. You don’t have to like porn, and I am one of those people who don’t, but if that’s not your thing at all, you don’t have to criticize sex scenes for just existing, nor do you do have to talk down anyone for writing them because it somehow means that you’re either a filthy pervert who aims for fantasy fulfillment, or you’re just a moron for trying to justify them as important to writing your story. It’s not like because “Sausage Party” had one pointless sex scene, that it means all other scenes of the like are virtually pointless. 5. 5) Heroes refusing to kill villains who have shown to be actively trying to murder people isn't "noble." It's enabling. -There’s a reason why I’ve quipped about the whole double standard surrounding the outrage for Aang not killing Ozai versus the outrage towards Superman killing Zod in Man of Steel. We all can’t seem to agree if a character killing a villain should be viewed as noble or hypocritical. Whatever the means, refusing to kill a villain should not be labeled as ‘enabling,’ because there’s the counterargument that heroes who do kill the villain despite being against the thought of it would make their actions no better than the villain’s. Besides, over fifty tips later, Lily suggested a story theme where the hero ends up being responsible for the villain taking out more lives because they refused to kill them because it would prove this very point even if she would still hate it anyway, which now makes this tip null and void. 4. 49) If your first thought when told about a bigoted trope (Bury your gays, Goblins, ect) is to try and figure out how to "do it well" you are a huge turd who is missing the point. It's not that these tropes aren't "done well", it's that they're done too much. -Once this argument translates to “Don’t even try challenging yourself as a writer,” then I’m sorry Lily, we’re not the huge turds here for the missing the point, you are. 3. 34) Perspective shifts are a staple of storytelling. Having only one perspective isn't a "stylistic choice" it's just crap. -I could’ve said this for the tip above, but it’s also relevant towards this vague post: to assume that we should never try a certain approach with our writing because YOU think it’s crap is bad writing advice. I don’t think there is such thing as bad tropes, but I do believe in mishandling them. Multiple perspectives, single-person perspectives, it’s all completely subjective and neither method is “the only right method” to use. 2. 27) Don't worry about not having everything planned out beforehand. No writer or creator plans everything beforehand, and the ones who say they do are filthy liars. Writers have at best 1-2 story beats they're determined to include, everything else is by the seat of their pants -If anyone ever had the bright mind to tell you this, that person never likely had a job in professional writing before, so just don’t listen to this. 1. 35) If you're making a cartoon, hire writers. Don't just have your storyboarders write the story. That's not what they're there for. Artists draw, writers write, artists cannot just take over for the writers on a whim. -The tip above may be commonly agreed to be the worst piece of writing advice from Lily, but as someone who has an animation career goal set in mind…this one hurt me the most. If you have the experience to back this claim, then I can take it for what I will. If you don’t, then just shut up. Of course, there are some acceptable pieces of advice that should be acknowledged, so I’m going to be throwing Lily a bone: Steel’s Top Ten Best Simple Writing Tips from Lily Orchard: 10. 46) "Mary Sue" is not a real criticism. It's thinly veiled misogyny. Always disregard it. -Besides that it’s been used as a tool for misogynists, always disregard it because it’s not valid criticism by any means, regardless of your opinion on the term and how it’s used. It is an umbrella term for multiple actual character criticisms, and use of the word has more negative connotations than good anyway. I know I’m cheating with this one, but I do think this can read as writing advice in the vein that you shouldn’t have to worry about writing a “Mary Sue” and that if your character has personality, a good balance of strengths and weaknesses, and isn’t based on you, you’re not writing a bad character. 9. 32) Characters should always come before anything else. -This is a strategy that I tend to stick to, which is why I agree with this one. It’s not universal for everyone and you don’t have to apply this strategy for your writing, but I can see it working for most people. 8. 30) Choose whether you're a comedy or drama at the start and stick to it. Don't make a comedy and turn it into a drama later on, that just annoys people. -Speaking from my own writing experience, I can confirm that it’s best that the tone of your story stays consistent. If you want to shift the tone of your story, you can, though. The change just needs to feel fluid to work. 7. 79) "Feature Creep" is a problem in storytelling as well. You don't have to cram every single idea, reference and homage you can think of into a story. You can save ideas for another time. -Disregarding that the topic of ‘Feature creep’ should be exclusive to the video games conversation, it is important to note that you shouldn’t try to cram so much material into your own story. When you’re a creative writer, it can be a habit to form ideas that aren’t pre-attached to a story concept. Just save those ideas until you come up with a concept where that idea could work. 6. 14) Making a "metaphor" for gay/trans/ace rep is always inherently inferior to just making a gay/trans/ace character. -If there’s one thing that I can trust Lily with, it’s providing writing advice on characters from a group that I know she does represent. When you’re writing for a children’s cartoon though, it is understandable having to over-simplify the LGBTQ+ implications by using metaphors. However, when you have the freedom to write these characters, metaphors are never really necessary. 5. 92) If you want to know when to change a trans character's pronouns in the narration, doing so at the moment where they realize who they are and admit it to themselves out loud is *chef's kiss* -The best kind of writing advice are the ones that you feel most passionate about sharing, and it was rare to see Lily giving off this attitude with this piece. Once again, I’m using my own prior writing experience to reaffirm that this is good writing advice. 4. 76) People of color and LGBTA people are allowed to just exist. Don't feel like you HAVE to cover bigotry just because they're in the story. In fact, people will be happier if you don't because having these characters defined by suffering is itself a tired trope. -I should point out that bigotry can be covered as long as the topic isn’t the bulk of your character’s development. Otherwise, yes, it’s a good idea to let people from diverse backgrounds exist in the world you’re creating without having to cover serious subject matter, as it’s already an easy way for yourself be viewed as an ally for any respective group, as long as the representation is positive. 3. 28) Don't try and "do what Avatar did." You can't. Even the people who made Avatar can't make another show do what Avatar did. -In other words, don’t make the basis of your story trying to be just like another pre-existing work. Nothing is truly original, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t try to be an original, and what it means to be viewed as an original is to be able to start something than try to repeat the success of another existing work, otherwise people are going to attach your creation to the other no matter what. 2. 93) As long as it isn't harmful or bigoted, you don't have to justify story decisions made on the basis of self-indulgence. I could’ve said it earlier that I strongly agreed with this point, but aside from my quip earlier relating to her hypocrisy for saying that we shouldn’t bother justifying sex scenes or sexualized armor if it’s out of self-indulgence, yes, as long as the reasons aren’t bigoted, harmful, or misinformed, you shouldn’t worry about making story decisions based on self-indulgence, and it’s amusing how out of character it was in a sense for Lily to utter this. Do whatever you want with your stories. As long as your decisions aren’t immoral, then you don’t have to worry about people criticizing you for making them. 1. 77) "I just want my readers/viewers to have fun" is an excellent attitude to have when it comes to storytelling. -Indeed it is. A good way of telling if your story is good is if you’re having fun writing it and then envisioning the people you’d want to read and enjoy it. Despite my feelings going into this thread, I don’t show a lot of animosity towards Lily Orchard here. She knew the repercussions of taking all of her jotted-down thoughts and passing them all off as writing tips by posting them on Twitter, and I can judge by the fact that after it caught the attention of most people, her deleting all said tweets was her way of taking the L. If I was her and I became the subject of ridicule for this, I would’ve done the same thing. I don’t think all these ramblings reflect all of Lily’s current opinions and I hope that she understands that folks have riffed this thread because it makes for interesting riffing material and that she has the sense of humor to appreciate how we’ve been evaluating these tips, and that it’s not done out of sheer malice. These past few years have been rough for the cartoon community, and while 2022 hasn’t been off to such a great start for me, I’m feeling confident that I can stick to one goal that I have in mind where I can put all of my thoughts to rest on this un-ending dumpster fire of an animation community…starting now. With all that said, I'll cap things off by giving credit to Gus and Henry from the Diregentlemen channel for reference. Just go and watch their video on those same tips if you want a better grasp on why they're good or bad, and I also have to give credit to a DeviantArt user named BriannaFreeman for providing the best in-text template for the Twitter thread that I could find. Oh, and by the way, if Twitter is not a good place to share story ideas, it’s also not a very good place to share writing advice either.

I am also open-minded about getting into other music genres, I do admit that I can find it hard sometimes to get myself invested into a hip hop/rap album and when I enjoy a certain song from an album that I listen to, I try to keep a mental note of that for when I'm building my playlists. While I'm certain someone above me has already said this, one method I have in mind is that I'd look into instrumental hip hop acts like Flying Lotus and DJ Shadow to get something more out of the genre. If you aim to put more effort into getting into rap and hip hop, some artists I recommend getting into if you haven't yet are Run the Jewels, Outkast, M.I.A., BROCKHAMPTON, Milo/R.A.P. Ferreira, Lupe Fiasco, and The Roots if you're looking for music that can be both fun and introspective while I recommend albums like Cosmogramma, To Pimp a Butterfly, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (or The College Dropout if I'm going with something besides an easy choice), The Score, Things Fall Apart, Purple Moonlight Pages, ATLiens (or like Aya suggested, Aquemini), We Got it From Here...(besides beng a tribute to one of the deceased members of A Tribe Called Quest, it's diverse with sounds and guest artists as well), and basically any Run the Jewels album. There's also Gorillaz to consider, even though their music is genreless. Their debut album has quite a lot of hip hop influences, so I'd get into that too if you haven't. There's more that I could name, but of course, when it comes to getting into hip hop, I still consider myself a beginner.