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TheirTheyre said:
You might enjoy "For the Honor of the Regiment"... I know I did!

But I'm also perfectly happy with the 'nothing unexpected' stories - to me, they're full of different and new stuff, it's just not all that sploidy.

But that's ok, we don't have to agree with each other either :)
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I've read that. It really...doesn't actually meet the criteria of "alt!Taylor is not always just hammering nails". Honestly, the most not-having-this-problem I've seen out of mppi's works? A Kernel of Truth. Taylor actually faces obstacles to her goals in that, for all that there's...a significant Deus Ex Mal Linwood.

Feh. I said I wasn't going to engage further in this. So I'm not going to continue to elaborate. Either I'm understood or I'm not, and honestly, it really doesn't matter. Author's gonna write what they're gonna write.
 
I'd like to remind everyone that there are dozens of story genres including but definitely not limited to, romance, action, mystery, adventure, drama, tragedy, humor, etc., etc., etc. And each of those genres can be applied in all sorts of way, mixed with other genres, or even straight-up deconstructed.

That means if the story lacks something you think should be in there, it might be because this isn't that genre of story. And the response should not be complaining, it should be shifting your mindset and rereading it again.
 
TheBiggerFish said:
I've read that. It really...doesn't actually meet the criteria of "alt!Taylor is not always just hammering nails". Honestly, the most not-having-this-problem I've seen out of mppi's works? A Kernel of Truth. Taylor actually faces obstacles to her goals in that, for all that there's...a significant Deus Ex Mal Linwood.

Feh. I said I wasn't going to engage further in this. So I'm not going to continue to elaborate. Either I'm understood or I'm not, and honestly, it really doesn't matter. Author's gonna write what they're gonna write.
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And if someone says that they think absolutely none of what your saying makes a bad story? What then? If they refuse to accept your opinion's as valid will you keep trying to *correct* them?
 
BobtjeNORMALguy said:
And if someone says that they think absolutely none of what your saying makes a bad story? What then? If they refuse to accept your opinion's as valid will you keep trying to *correct* them?
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Dude. I literally didn't say this makes it a bad story. I just got done saying I enjoy reading this. But what I am saying is that mppi got the direction from which he was being criticized wrong, and that annoys me rather severely as a matter of good debate. So perhaps you could stop doing the exact same thing that irked me about the initial response? Thanks in advance.
 
TheBiggerFish said:
...Look, I read, and enjoy reading, your stories, but there really does tend to be a pattern of 'nothing unexpected happens' in them. DOOMlor always blows up her problems with overwhelming firepower, Distance Taylor always does SCIENCE! to it, Taylor Varga is always a trolling lizard, and nothing approaches them on any other avenue. I see the same pattern in things like Mauling Snarks, for that matter. You don't need to change that, sure, that's your prerogative as an author, but that's different from 'someone wants a gruesome death every 2 chapters' and I really hope you know it.

That's all I'm going to say on this.
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Unexpected =/= Good.
Look at the last season of Game of Thrones. That was very unexpected. They took every established storyline and swerved at the last minute giving us something no one saw coming. Was it good?
Not every type of story thrives off the unexpected. Some are straightforward. This is not a flaw, this is a style. If it's not to your taste, that's fine, but don't mistake that for it being wrong.
 
...Ugh. Sorry for starting a mess. Like I said, I usually read mp3.player's stuff to wind down and relax. I appreciate it for that, just need a break from it every now and then, and I mean that in general, not just this in particular. Again, didn't wanna start any trouble here. And I apologize if my coment reignited this argument, as I know I've seen it before elsewhere.

Didn't help any that this has been a... stressful day. I'm in the North Eastern USA, so if you didn't already know, heavy snowstorm here. Ugh. Shovel, shovel, shovel. Save me someone! Taylor Varga definitely helps with that kind of stress, and so does Harry Potter and the Shipgirls, and similar fics.
 
IronySandwich said:
Unexpected =/= Good.
Look at the last season of Game of Thrones. That was very unexpected. They took every established storyline and swerved at the last minute giving us something no one saw coming. Was it good?
Not every type of story thrives off the unexpected. Some are straightforward. This is not a flaw, this is a style. If it's not to your taste, that's fine, but don't mistake that for it being wrong.
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FOR THE LOVE OF --

I just got done saying that it's a writing style.

Stop putting words into my mouth.
 
At this point I'd be adapting the endless eight from Haruhi Suzumiya out of spite. Mpπ, we don't deserve you.

Back on track, if Taylor is able to jam the sub space portals shards are using, could that be used to disable endbringers?
 
Taylor's currently working trough the tutorial, but we have gotten foreshadowing of what is, if I'm reading it right, going to be the main plotline conflict. And it's not RCB constantly trying to stick her invulnerable nose into DARPA's business.
Pinklestia said:
Taylor finally gets a friend?
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Personally, I'm hoping for her bonding with Amy. Because SkitterPan (Brainy Pan here?) is a cute.
 
metalax said:
Havent you already done that with DOOMlor? I seem to recall quite a number of bodies/scorch marks where there were bodies left lying around?
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Oh, that's not dark. No, that's just fun with big guns and demons.

I've got some half-written stuff that's far more gruesome :) Perhaps one day I will finish it and post it.

I have to be in the right frame of mind to write like that though, because writing gruesome death scenes with lots of blood isn't something you can do when you're fairly cheerful. Or, if it is, you should immediately seek professional help.

Like, right now.

:)
 
mp3.1415player said:
so it's early days to have lots of tension of any form.
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lies! There is already a lot of tension going on. Hell, I'm half expecting for Becca to tell Doormaker to open a portal into "the tinkers workshop at GravTech." Then get frustrated when nothing happens because there isn't one there. So then she asks for a door to "the most important room at GravTech" only to be led into the kitchen.

Poor Becca just wants answers, but the universe itself is saying "you don't need to know."
 
cryptoam said:
Anyways..

How will Cauldron get discovered?
-Legend "defecting"?
-Deep dive into RCB after her attempts to probe for information passes a certain point?
-A Contessa plan getting derailed via butterfly effects from BB?
-Taylor discovering other worlds and an exploration mission by some military forces finding the hidden Cauldron base?
-Anything else?

Taking bets here! Wining this bet gives you the right to gloat about how you predicted the events and nothing else. Also providing internet cookies.
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I'll take Deep Dive Into RCB for 300 Alex

Wait, this isn't Jeopardy!
 
Epic Reader said:
They absolutely are!

But, on our earth at the federal level, that is mostly the FBI's bailiwick, along with the ATF and some other agencies. The CIA and the NSA and the military proper shouldn't be involved on the purely domestic side.

On Earth Bet United States, once they're classified as domestic parahuman terrorists, they're apparently in the PRT's bailiwick, and the PRT does not play ball with anyone else. Hence a very large amount of pushback coming now with Gravtech - the PRT has no goodwill with other government branches - the whole catch and release thing doesn't help them, never mind the Slaughterhouse 9, Nilbog, the Machine Army, and so on and so forth.
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There's also the problem that The PRT in canon (and possibly here) is deliberately set up to be a paper tiger. The goal of the PRT is not to actually arrest parahuman criminals or enforce the law. Doing that would reduce how many trigger events occur since I'd imagine a large number of triggers occur as a result of parahuman violence. The goal of the PRT is to appear to enforce the law while actually being ineffective. It's why in canon Costa-Brown tried to push Taylor into looking like a violent maniac, and thus getting sent to the Birdcage. Taylor was wanting to reform the PRT into something that is actually effective instead of something that merely appears to be effective. Or in otherwords, Cauldron wants the PRT to be a PR stunt instead of a law enforcement agency.

But really, anyone who says the story "has no tension"... I have to wonder if we're reading the same story. Are they not seeing the rapidly heating up cold war between the PRT and other alphabet soup agencies? While Max has been shown to have been warned off, can anyone really believe he's not going to arrogantly forget that warning and try something? Or that Coil isn't going to pull something? Or that any of the other players in Brockton Bay aren't going to try pull something? Not every story needs to have Major Events occur in every single chapter complete with life changing drama, violence, and 'conflict'. In fact, I was just reading a story yesterday where someone complained that it was too fast paced because a whole bunch of problems all occurred at once as a result of a single event kicking off a string of domino effects.
 
SIDoragon said:
lies! There is already a lot of tension going on. Hell, I'm half expecting for Becca to tell Doormaker to open a portal into "the tinkers workshop at GravTech." Then get frustrated when nothing happens because there isn't one there. So then she asks for a door to "the most important room at GravTech" only to be led into the kitchen.

Poor Becca just wants answers, but the universe itself is saying "you don't need to know."
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Updating list of scenarios here:
-Legend "defecting"?
-Deep dive into RCB after her attempts to probe for information passes a certain point?
-A Contessa plan getting derailed via butterfly effects from BB?
-Taylor discovering other worlds and an exploration mission by some military forces finding the hidden Cauldron base?
-Cauldron(members) getting teleported into GravTech trying to prove that is is tinkertech(lol nope)?
-RCB showing up and being outed as a Parahuman, causing a chain of events that uncovers Cauldron?
-Anything else?
Pethrai Darkos said:
I'll take Deep Dive Into RCB for 300 Alex
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Understood!
List of Bettors:
Pethrai Darkos: 300 for Deep dive
tfesmo: RCB double identity as parahuman uncovered

Any takers?
EDIT:
tfesmo said:
... Odds that since she's not getting answers elsewhere, RCB shows up in person and Taylor outs her as a parahuman?
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Acknowledged!
 
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rdmcmains said:
For that matter, Brad rarely comes across as someone who lets people tell him not to do something he wants to do. I won't bring Lung up again...
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Thank you for giving the mental image of Stabby Puppy getting shot with the GravTec railgun after smashing his way into the facility. He might even live to tell the tale in the Birdcage!
 
SIDoragon said:
lies! There is already a lot of tension going on. Hell, I'm half expecting for Becca to tell Doormaker to open a portal into "the tinkers workshop at GravTech." Then get frustrated when nothing happens because there isn't one there. So then she asks for a door to "the most important room at GravTech" only to be led into the kitchen.

Poor Becca just wants answers, but the universe itself is saying "you don't need to know."
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she could ask for a door to "the most important person in GravTech."
 
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