#bluedancingkittykat

(tagging in @bluedancingkittykat, who asked pretty much the same question)

In all honesty, I’m pretty sure the difficulty in plotting SI/OC plots comes from that SIs generally all want the same thing: to make sure the heroes get a happy ending by using their meta-knowledge. 

Generally plotting is made easier by determining your protagonist wants, and what they are doing to get it. For SIs...since they all share that same goal (usually), making a unique story can be challenging to say the least. 

But you don’t want to know my theories about issues writing good SIs, you want to know how I do/did it! So here I go. 

To make my life easier, I divide my big main-story plot into subplots, into the arcs that Tell Me operates under. In those arcs, I create a list of Bad Things I Want To Happen. Challenges, essentially. What goes wrong? Does Sora turn into a Heartless? Does someone get captured by the Organization? Is there a complication with Ruse’s health? Anyone die, lose limbs, fall into the Realm of Darkness, etc? 

Then I write my characters responding to those complications and the plot comes from me connecting those points together, along with me sprinkling in whatever character interactions I wish (that are feasible in my current narrative). 

Really, the key is to write what you enjoy. If you’re not having fun, then the writing doesn’t happen. 

For Tell Me, the overaching plot with Nightmare Chirithy came from me asking the question: What would happen if someone else knew what the SI knew, the plot of Kingdom Hearts? What if that person wanted to use it to take over? 

(2/2) ALSO ALSO, totally agree with you that the Sindar are not the 'less problematic elves uwu' that the fandom generally treats them to be! When I rb'd the other version, grouping the Sindar and Noldor together, I interpreted it as "groups who speak primarily sindarin," and not as "both of them are equally to blame" which is my bad, you're right to be upset about that.

(3/3) ALSO ALSO ALSO, we can agree that Galadriel did not have a son or found lothlorien

So I can totally 100% cop to the fact that I was Heated when discussing Sindarin/Silvan relations, and there are a lot of reasons for that. I promise I wasn’t really angry, just very enthusiastic, lol

It mostly comes down to the fact that I dislike the tendency to treat the Sindar as less bad than the Noldor when I headcanon them both as equally bad in different ways. I also dislike the argument that the Noldor had a hand in the colonization of Lothlórien/that Galadriel was an active colonizer of the silvan elves and this is undisputed Canon. To me, a more accurate explanation is that in a pretty pivotal draft of the story, she was the one who founded it and was thusly responsible for the decline of Silvan culture/language but that this is explicitly counter to the account in The Tale of Years that Tolkien himself approved of and sent to the publisher. (I’ve seen this idea floating around fandom without the additional information that clarifies that more than one version exists, and it’s often used to contrast her against Oropher, The Good Guy, who totally didn’t do anything bad ever in his life. This is frankly one of my biggest pet peeves, as Oropher’s occupation of Greenwood and establishment of himself as King and subsequent treatment of the silvan elves in the Last Alliance bothers me way more than any other action taken against the silvan elves in the entirety of the Legendarium. But that’s my personal opinion and of course others have different takes on the text.)

The problem I have with Unfinished Tales and specifically The History of Galadriel and Celeborn is that since its explanations of who founded Lothlórien, and when, and why, are all incorrect when compared to LotR, that renders basically everything dealing with Lothlórien in this section to be... well, Fraught. How can we say for certain that the accounts it gives are completely accurate, etc.? Of Elves is a much better source imo, since again it comes back to “well Tolkien himself sent this to the publisher”, and I hadn’t read it recently enough to be sure of what it discussed so thank you for clarifying!

For me, it’s less of a dispute that these things happened, because they did and they do constitute canonical imperialism of some kind, and more that I get annoyed with the assumption that the Noldor had to be involved. By the Second Age, and especially by the time that Silvan displacement was well underway, the Noldor really weren’t present enough in regional politics for this to be connected to them. Ost-in-Edhil as a cultural center and Lindon as a capital are pretty removed from Lothlórien (and OiE had pretty clear aims that were distinct from any sort of ambition to rule and expand) and extremely removed from Greenwood, and neither of those realms aimed to be particularly inclusive of the Noldor other than Galadriel. The question of her ethnicity and identity is frustrating because I think that she definitely did assimilate and it was to a degree that led her to reject her family names and perhaps claim ‘Galadriel’ as a cilmessë? But that’s a matter of debate for another post.

Hey there! Since my blog was created to discuss the racism in Tolkien’s world, It doesn’t get annoying (and if it does, those are exceptional circumstances)!

 I think when it comes to discussing racism, diverse perspectives are always welcomed, especially since things I miss will be something that you’ve been informed on.

I say informed on, because even if you can’t experience racism, maybe you have been involved in circles, discussions, etc., that have given you insight, than i think your voice is great to bring to the conversation. Especially when boosting the voices of others!

@copperbadge ahhh so THAT'S where the terrifying crack fic is hidden on ao3 

In the 1950s! Kind of makes sense, in a way, doesn’t it? 

blackcatcuddles replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

"Fried onion burgers" its fried onions. On a burger. How it it special??? Is that specifically an Oklahoma thing? Does no other state fry onions for burgers?

I assumed from the photo the onions were somehow embedded in the burger after being fried, like a smashburger was smashed ONTO them. 

bluedancingkittykat reblogged your link and added:

Hot Dish is delicious how dare u

I mean, it’s delicious, sure, but it’s a bit heavy in the gut. 

storyhoard replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

maryland's gotta be crab cakes and fries with old bay on em. probably old bay on the crab too.

I feel like Maryland’s should really just be “old bay snorted straight from the tin”. 

thewittiestpartition replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

Nashville hot chicken was just made up to give the state "a food" says my Nashville peeps.

I mean, if you lean in hard enough, that ceases to matter. I invented the Gary Style hot dog to bring more tourists to Gary, Indiana. It hasn’t worked, but I remain loyal to the idea. 

mustanglegends replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

Hot dogs are what Georgia's known for (particularly from the Varsity).

This I would never have guessed! And now I know where to go if I’m ever in Atlanta. 

perkigothii-geekius replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

Dungeness crab my seattleite ass, smoked salmon is what you want in WA

I think the idea there is that crab doesn’t travel as well as smoked salmon, which you can get pretty much anywhere because smoking preserves it. But honestly if given the choice I would prefer smoked salmon. 

nemathia replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

When my fam moved away from WV, I was so bewildered about the lack of pepperoni rolls, anywhere. I had to make my own lol

I had never had one until my first visit to Pittsburgh, and now it’s not a real visit to PGH without one. 

eletaniia replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

After 10 years and probably hundreds of burritos, I believe that is the correct answer for California. Sushi is too ... urban? but you can get a solid burrito just about anywhere. Georgia should indeed be pecan pie as someone else already noted.

That’s the thing, though, you can get a solid burrito anywhere, including many places outside California. That said, the same is true of sushi, so I withdraw that suggestion. I think really we need to hunker down and consider what you can only get in California or what you can only get the BEST of in California.

The answer might be sourdough. Or extra-strong weed edibles. 

tonyystarks replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

This list is homophobic for having so much shellfish on it because I, a gay, am allergic to shellfish

I have bad news for you about the entire east coast of America, my homosexual friend. 

junietwohundred replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

You eat the Coney at American (NOT LAFAYETTE) and then walk 10 minutes to the new Buddy's and get the pizza. Mischief managed.

I know I’m old because I love this idea even as I’m horrified at the heartburn this will inspire. 

dignitywhatdignity replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

Sam, you said Sheetz when you meant Wawa.

I SAID WHAT I SAID. (I like Wawa too, mind you, but Sheetz is a different, almost psychedelic level of food.) 

zephyrmacabee replied to your link “Blue crabs and Cuban sandwiches: The one food you should try in each...”

You can make your own sugar on snow.

It’s partially wolf pelt so it’s nice and warm.