Doodles and stuff

Who wants to be in a terrible group pic?

#misc

Alright, I need it... Give me the back cover blurb for Steiner Rogue. Please, I am begging you. I need this.

Ask and ye' sha'll recieve

It honestly upsets me that the idea of romance novels set in the Battletech universe is treated as a joke because the setting is perfectly designed for aristocratic romance and a bit of cross-pollination would probably make Battletech novels slightly more bearable.

As respectfully as I can, I completely disagree. A BT romance novel or two is a fine novelty, but more than that? The, I guess, mainline novels often have romance going on in sideplots already. If you want to argue the merits or quality of the romance, sure, that's a discussion to have, but the core conceit of the setting is terrible ideologies politics and big robots. If you find those themes difficult to bear, there are plenty of aristocratic romance stories already out there, some even with scifi if that's what you're into, with much less politic-ing and/or robots.

As respectfully as I can: I don't think you're actually familiar with aristocratic genre romance. "Politics and warfare" is exactly the stage that is ripe for a proper romance. It is not the politics and big robots that makes BT novels difficult to bear. It's that the politics and the big robots are bad and lacking heart. A proper romance as the internal plot, with a real focus on the feelings and motivations of all of the characters that goes beyond "I want to win war" and "I want to survive war" would go a long way to make these stories better.

And yes, there is a certain selfish element here, namely that there are not, in fact, aristocratic romance stories with the kind of big robots I would like.

Sure, it absolutely can be a prime stage for romance, but stories of politics and warfare can also just be stories about politics and warfare! Romance purely optional!

"It's that the politics and the big robots are bad and lacking heart."

Then what makes you think they're going to handle the much more difficult subject of romance better anyway? BT novels are fastfood: simple, cheap, easy, and sometimes just what the soul needs. If you don't like the burgers that their cooks serve, you're sure as hell not going to like what you get when you ask them to make you a gourmet salad.

Okay, I need you to understand that what I'm saying is that BT novels lack a certain thing, and they would be better if they had that thing, and one way they would get that thing is by cross-pollinating with this other thing that they are in a perfect position to cross-pollinate with.

And that I don't like that people are dismissive of that possibility.

This isn't "I'm asking the fast food place I don't like to make gourmet food" this is "I'm suggesting the fast food place I don't like would make better food if they added, like, one ingredient as an option, and people are laughing at the idea."

The core conceits of politics and robots are badly written, but if they add more romance (than they already do), it'll be better. Sure. I can't imagine why the majority of the people that read the novels (discounting the culture war people, pro and against) think the idea of introducing more romance is laughable.

Are we done here?

I don't know. You're the one who saw someone saying the novels you agreed are generally bad but entertaining could be better if they did a thing they're perfectly positioned to do and got upset.

Are you done here? Have you said your piece? Ready to move on, or do you want to keep justifying yourself to me?

Usually people just block before the fourth response! Novelty!

Who's upset? I'm having a blast, and justifying myself to you isn't even on my radar... This is for me! I can't help but bicker with people who come into spaces about The Thing and say that The Thing is terrible and can be improved by changing its core focus to fit their tastes. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.

Here's why people laugh, and rightly so, at BT Romance: the pool of authors have already given us such sizzling pairings as Hanse and Melissa, Jaffrey and Whatshername, Omi and Victor, or Romano and Whatshisname (for the kinky crowd). More of that? That's where you think the secret sauce will be? Or maybe you think that YA expert Bryan Young is the man for the job and he'll bust the door wide open for more Austen-mech romance just for you. Or do we need to throw the whole lot out and bring in genre specialists who will basically ignore the established core? It's ridiculous and worthy of scornful mockery.

I hope you find whatever you're searching for, but sir or madam, you're not gonna find it here, so why post in the tag?

Yes, the current crop of Battletech writers is an incestuous garden that needs some new blood. That would be my position whether I thought Battletech was a good fit for a romance imprint or not.

You're projecting a lot on me considering your opinion of the BT novels is the same as mine.

Noooooo, we do not at all share the same opinion on the books. The notion that they will be better, under any circumstances, with more focus on romance pretty much puts us at loggerheads from the get-go. I will go as far as to say that the only point we'd agree on is that the stories need to be better written. Unfortunately, that's unlikely to happen any time soon. Fortunately for me, I'm happy with the burger. When I want a sloppy, nasty, greasy-ass burger with giant robots, melodrama, and simple heroics beneath a frayed veil of The Author Thinks This is Hard Morality, I know exactly where to get my fix.

Alright, so like... where's the melodrama?

Okay, now you're just taking the piss. I assumed you'd read at least a few of the novels.

Almost literally any scene with Kai Allard-Liao. Kurita family disputes slot in nicely, doubly so if Omi Kurita is involved. Most of the scenes that boil down to "Mister President, Your Wife Got Fridged."

What do you think "melodrama" is?

Also, let's be real, we know the reason BT romance novels are treated as a joke, and it's not because we all agree the current BT writers don't have the chops for it.

Seriously? Melodrama is, at its root, narratively wallowing in exaggerated emotional expression that's disproportionate to the situation.

With the folks I've discussed the subject with, yeah, the hack way the authors have written romance is the butt of many a joke. Almost everything written about Melissa Steiner and Hanse has less believable chemistry than a sealed jar of argon. If pressed for a secondary cause, I'd put forward that a hobby space that is overwhelmingly dominated by dudes probably isn't where I'd try to sell romance. Haven't taken a census, but I wouldn't bet there are enough t-chickies in the space yet to push that needle anywhere, nor would I claim to even know what direction they'd push it.

Beyond that, I think you're a pillock, but not such a pillock that I'd wish you step on a d4. Last word to you if you wish it; I gotta get work done.

You're telling me you wouldn't read the shit out of this?

Shit, man, you got me. The spikey flail balls hanging from his belt sold me.

Wait, this is just a Kell Hound book! You didn't tell me you worked on their cover art! Nice!

#photoshop #battletech #shitpost #steiner rogue

as requested

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It honestly upsets me that the idea of romance novels set in the Battletech universe is treated as a joke because the setting is perfectly designed for aristocratic romance and a bit of cross-pollination would probably make Battletech novels slightly more bearable.

As respectfully as I can, I completely disagree. A BT romance novel or two is a fine novelty, but more than that? The, I guess, mainline novels often have romance going on in sideplots already. If you want to argue the merits or quality of the romance, sure, that's a discussion to have, but the core conceit of the setting is terrible ideologies politics and big robots. If you find those themes difficult to bear, there are plenty of aristocratic romance stories already out there, some even with scifi if that's what you're into, with much less politic-ing and/or robots.

As respectfully as I can: I don't think you're actually familiar with aristocratic genre romance. "Politics and warfare" is exactly the stage that is ripe for a proper romance. It is not the politics and big robots that makes BT novels difficult to bear. It's that the politics and the big robots are bad and lacking heart. A proper romance as the internal plot, with a real focus on the feelings and motivations of all of the characters that goes beyond "I want to win war" and "I want to survive war" would go a long way to make these stories better.

And yes, there is a certain selfish element here, namely that there are not, in fact, aristocratic romance stories with the kind of big robots I would like.

Sure, it absolutely can be a prime stage for romance, but stories of politics and warfare can also just be stories about politics and warfare! Romance purely optional!

"It's that the politics and the big robots are bad and lacking heart."

Then what makes you think they're going to handle the much more difficult subject of romance better anyway? BT novels are fastfood: simple, cheap, easy, and sometimes just what the soul needs. If you don't like the burgers that their cooks serve, you're sure as hell not going to like what you get when you ask them to make you a gourmet salad.

Okay, I need you to understand that what I'm saying is that BT novels lack a certain thing, and they would be better if they had that thing, and one way they would get that thing is by cross-pollinating with this other thing that they are in a perfect position to cross-pollinate with.

And that I don't like that people are dismissive of that possibility.

This isn't "I'm asking the fast food place I don't like to make gourmet food" this is "I'm suggesting the fast food place I don't like would make better food if they added, like, one ingredient as an option, and people are laughing at the idea."

The core conceits of politics and robots are badly written, but if they add more romance (than they already do), it'll be better. Sure. I can't imagine why the majority of the people that read the novels (discounting the culture war people, pro and against) think the idea of introducing more romance is laughable.

Are we done here?

I don't know. You're the one who saw someone saying the novels you agreed are generally bad but entertaining could be better if they did a thing they're perfectly positioned to do and got upset.

Are you done here? Have you said your piece? Ready to move on, or do you want to keep justifying yourself to me?

Usually people just block before the fourth response! Novelty!

Who's upset? I'm having a blast, and justifying myself to you isn't even on my radar... This is for me! I can't help but bicker with people who come into spaces about The Thing and say that The Thing is terrible and can be improved by changing its core focus to fit their tastes. It's a guilty pleasure of mine.

Here's why people laugh, and rightly so, at BT Romance: the pool of authors have already given us such sizzling pairings as Hanse and Melissa, Jaffrey and Whatshername, Omi and Victor, or Romano and Whatshisname (for the kinky crowd). More of that? That's where you think the secret sauce will be? Or maybe you think that YA expert Bryan Young is the man for the job and he'll bust the door wide open for more Austen-mech romance just for you. Or do we need to throw the whole lot out and bring in genre specialists who will basically ignore the established core? It's ridiculous and worthy of scornful mockery.

I hope you find whatever you're searching for, but sir or madam, you're not gonna find it here, so why post in the tag?

Yes, the current crop of Battletech writers is an incestuous garden that needs some new blood. That would be my position whether I thought Battletech was a good fit for a romance imprint or not.

You're projecting a lot on me considering your opinion of the BT novels is the same as mine.

Noooooo, we do not at all share the same opinion on the books. The notion that they will be better, under any circumstances, with more focus on romance pretty much puts us at loggerheads from the get-go. I will go as far as to say that the only point we'd agree on is that the stories need to be better written. Unfortunately, that's unlikely to happen any time soon. Fortunately for me, I'm happy with the burger. When I want a sloppy, nasty, greasy-ass burger with giant robots, melodrama, and simple heroics beneath a frayed veil of The Author Thinks This is Hard Morality, I know exactly where to get my fix.

Alright, so like... where's the melodrama?

Okay, now you're just taking the piss. I assumed you'd read at least a few of the novels.

Almost literally any scene with Kai Allard-Liao. Kurita family disputes slot in nicely, doubly so if Omi Kurita is involved. Most of the scenes that boil down to "Mister President, Your Wife Got Fridged."

What do you think "melodrama" is?

Also, let's be real, we know the reason BT romance novels are treated as a joke, and it's not because we all agree the current BT writers don't have the chops for it.

Seriously? Melodrama is, at its root, narratively wallowing in exaggerated emotional expression that's disproportionate to the situation.

With the folks I've discussed the subject with, yeah, the hack way the authors have written romance is the butt of many a joke. Almost everything written about Melissa Steiner and Hanse has less believable chemistry than a sealed jar of argon. If pressed for a secondary cause, I'd put forward that a hobby space that is overwhelmingly dominated by dudes probably isn't where I'd try to sell romance. Haven't taken a census, but I wouldn't bet there are enough t-chickies in the space yet to push that needle anywhere, nor would I claim to even know what direction they'd push it.

Beyond that, I think you're a pillock, but not such a pillock that I'd wish you step on a d4. Last word to you if you wish it; I gotta get work done.