Story Update and Small Personal Rants · 6:55am Jun 23rd, 2015
Hello boys and girls. Just posting this to give you some updates on what I'm doing. The first is that I'm working on "Elements" as we speak, however, the next chapter might be delayed a day. The reason for that is... well, it's due to my own laziness, and I'm terribly sorry. There is a lot of character interaction and changeling backstory I need to cover for the next chapter. I won't lie, though. I feel a little daunted because of that. I will get over it and finally push forth the chapter I want soon, but if I don't get it done today, it will have to be done tomorrow night.
You're probably wondering "well, if the backstory and interaction is so daunting, why not try to shorten it?". Well, the reason for that is that I believe what I'm about to do for the chapter and the characters present are 100% necessary for the characters and for the current arc in terms of theming and ideals. Trust me, shortening ANYTHING for this chapter would dilute the entire intention.
Never the less, after that chapter, and the one after, the fun really starts, and I can't wait for that. I'm sure you, the few readers I still have, can't wait either.
Now, on to something that's been bugging me for a long time now: Displaced. Why is it still here? Why is it necessary? Why do writers still try to write for it and people still try to read it? I just... it's such a cesspool of wasted potential where interesting ideas go to die. The only, ONLY, displaced story I found worth reading was "Jeans and a T-Shirt", and that's a SATIRE and DECONSTRUCTION of everything that's wrong and incredibly stupid (and also rather asinine) with the concept. It is literally one of the only two "Displaced" stories I recommend anyone reads (the other is about Celestia being fed up with the haphazard destruction and blatant disregard for pony safety).
Allow me to explain why I bring this up. I just saw a story hit the Feature Box on the front page that was a Spyro story. A Spyro Displaced story... That made me sad. It was like seeing Skylanders all over again. Crushing disappointment. You know what I would have LOVED to see? A LEGIT SPYRO CROSSOVER STORY! Original series AND/OR Legend series. I don't care. Just an honest to the universe Spyro that isn't some schmuck pretending to be him for one arbitrary reason or another.
Displaced is such hollow concept that's ultimately convoluted as fuck. Some person goes to a Con and gets turned into whatever they were cosplaying, or whatever, and transported to Equestria, either to engage in battle, do evil, or do good (because they want to be different, oooh </sarcasm>), but aren't really the characters they are playing as, but kind of become them, but not really... Why not just have the actual character be transported to Equestria? Cut out the two middle men of the cosplayer and Merchant? Why not actually write the crossed over character in character legitimately and have them interact with the world they are now in? Why not be creative with a "X character goes to Equestria" concept rather than take that misshapen cookie-cutter labeled Displaced in order to write the premise for you?
Shit, I can come up with two interesting premises for both versions of Spyro. Original Spyro: There is a portal malfunction, and he's flung into Equestria through the mirror that originally took Twilight to the EQG verse. Legend Spyro: After the end of the world, Spyro and Cynder try to look for a place that managed to escape destruction, and find Equestria, completely untouched and pristine. There! Two story ideas that can be interesting as hell, and no god damned cosplayers or the Merchant!
Honestly, Displaced is just a less creative and honestly more aggravating version of that "Chess Game of the Gods" fad that used to be big on this site a few years back...
To those that defend the "Displaced" idea... please... tell me why you think it's so necessary to bring in such convolution and redundancy. Why is it necessary to bring in some jackass from a con to play as a character when we can just have the character themselves? Just, please, tell me why. I promise I won't bite your head off. I will, however, engage in a civil argument as to why it doesn't work, so, be prepared for that.
Anyway, my rant is over. Now, back to writing.
I think we need those "Displaced" story, i mean come on
we always need something to remember that even our most terrible work, isn't that bad next to a displaced fics
at least there was this one word they seem to forget "Work"
what i Wonder, is how they get featured with more than a hundred likes everytime, i mean don't tell me the same peoples are always liking it.
Don't they ever get tired of the same story ?
Anyway, those fics are terrible..but it doesn't looks like we're gonna see them dissapear for now.
3173431 Yuck... I'd rather have the low bar set a little higher, thank you very much... Still, kinda hope that Displaced DOES go away, despite it's constant traction...
3173436 what i really hope is that stories who are much better
will finaly get the likes it deserves
like "Elements"
3173438 Eh, no one want's to read my story, and I've tried... honest I have... Whored it out to so many groups, asked so many people to read it, even made several threads that no one read or commented on.
Woe is my story.
3173442 i can always try to make a blog on my side about "Elements"
Ask some friends to review it, if it can help
plus remember that at least, you can be proud of your work
the only thing i can be proud of on my side is a guest chapter, and it's not that great
3173454 Well, i'm sure if you cracked down a bit and wrote a story, it'd likely turn out great too, if not phenominal. But that's the optimist in me, so take that as you will...
Also, thanks for the offer man. I'd really appreciate that.
3173463 I got one i'm working on and the first chapter i wrote needs to be rewritten a bit but it's it's not going to be phenominal
to me as long as i got more likes than disikes, i'll be happy
3173475 let me know when you post it, and I'll take a look.
3173431
These stories upset Lord DIO so, and I cannot stand it!
pbs.twimg.com/media/CHVQllJVAAAkTdE.jpg
3173478 i think you can wait for that but thanks
3173496 we all know how this will end
31.media.tumblr.com/af009fc2f448628eeb8db512fcdbefad/tumblr_mtp1w5rRtW1r6mrcio7_500.gif
3173513 Hah hah hah hah hah. Make way for Giorno, the BETTER Dio!
While I legitimately enjoy the Displaced genre... I can see where it'd get old. I mean hell I'm writing one myself and I'm constantly trying to get away from the normal tropes that plague the genre itself. As for why it might be popular. With my guess it's probably because people relate to the guys who were cosplaying(at least their pasts sometimes) or find the stories hilarious. The one case I can point to for the latter is Mighty Hero of Epicness starring Gilgamesh. The guy uses Gilgamesh's natural hamminess alongside knowledge of his past life to deliver some hilarious punchlines... sometimes literal punchlines. In any case. It's up to the reader to decide whether or not they like displaced and if you don't... well honestly I can't blame you given the fuckton of them there are. Sometimes with multiple people using the same character.
Kamen Rider Bravo has been hit with all these Displaced fics and is not amused
theglorioblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/aesirkamen_rider_gaim_-_13hdab3c86aa-mkv_snapshot_18-23_2014-01-14_01-23-58.jpg
3173643 It's not just the amount of Displaced, or the trend of mediocre to terrible quality most of them are, but it's ALSO the sheer fact that the concept itself doesn't make sense if you sit down and think about it from an author or reader perspective. As I've said in the blog, the Cosplayer is given the identity and powers of the character they are cosplaying, but not really, but are kind of becoming what they are, but not entirely. EVEN if they become evil for the fuck of it, or good to "avoid the trope". It's all too convoluted right from the get go, and tends to fall into OOC territory in far too many respects. It has little focus aside from the hell bent drive to include cosplaying and the Merchant in the story at the beginning. It's NOT a good idea.
I want you to ask yourself this. Wouldn't it be a better idea just to have the actual character in the story instead of a cosplayer? Incidentally, wouldn't it be better if the cosplayer came to Equestria for one reason or another, but they were themselves, and not pretending to be someone else? At least if they were still themselves, there would be a level of consistency and focus. Shit, they can still have the powers you want them to have, which can allow them to also go through some character development where their legitimate personality is influenced by (or influences) the actions they take in using said powers. It would at least go into a decent "great powers comes great responsibility/insanity" story that can be toyed with because the main character is STILL technically a normal person, and not constrained by the idiotic laws of the Displaced universe, or any of it's offshoots.
I ask you, as one writer to another, to NOT do a Displaced fic. Just do a regular crossover or HiE fic instead. It'll make it far more genuine and entertaining in the long run, and won't HAVE TO succumb to the many MANY cliches that plague the FAD that is Displaced, which it ALWAYS succumbs to (the fact that you have to use the same damn premise is a handful of those cliches already).
Please man. For the sake of quality and to help slowly kill this tired rip-off of Chess Game of the Gods (which was also a mediocre fad), don't do a Displaced story. Come back to us sensible, creative people and write something that actually has some merit and isn't a mess from the get go.
3174970 For fun. People don't try and write Displaced for acclaim or to be featured or for praise they do it for the fun of it. I write some Displaced stuff myself (most of which with characters that don't actually express any personality in the first place so it would be really boring if they were sent to Equestria) but I do it just because it's fun. You get to bounce around ideas with people, get some basic writing experience and just goof around. Personally as an author I don't give a shit if someone throws hate on my story, because I had fun writing it. That's how it is for most people in the group I think.
Besides, those stories about the original characters aren't as original as you'd think. Usually they all follow the basic formula of 'Hero A goes to Equestria. Hero A makes friends/enemies with Equestrians. Hero A lies there for a while, maybe fights some Equestria bad guys. Hero A's enemy ends up in Equestria as well and tries to conquer/convert/whatever he/she does to Equestria. Hero A fights Villain A with help of Equestrians and wins. The End.' But there's one way they're similar to Displaced stuff:
Some are good and worth reading. Others are complete shit and will invariably receive hate. It varies author to author and story to story. If Displaced isn't your thing then it's no skin off my back, but don't throw hate on a story because of what type of story it is. Just move on and try not to be bugged.
*braces for the blowback this comment will receive*
3182511 I understand it's for fun. Many of the people here write just for fun regardless of what type of story they write, be it a straight Slice of Life story about some characters, an epic adventure, a dark horror or tragedy story, a crossover, clopfic, superhero story, etc etc. Everything I've written so far is for fun as well, even though I put a HUGE amount of effort into some of these stories. But there are few reasons why I truly think Displaced really doesn't have much merit compared to the many other stories that are on this site.
The first reason (to counter your "Hero/Original Character comes to Equestria isn't as original as you think" argument") is that Displaced is even less original, and quite a bit more restrictive. Displaced, more often than not, starts of with a Con goer, normally an Author avatar, if not the author themselves, that is dressed up as a character, and meets the Merchant, whom transports them to Equestria kind of as the character they are playing as with said characters powers. Many, if not most of them, fall under two catagories. Cosplayer turns evil and does whatever. Cosplayer tries to be Mary-Sue good. All of the stories end up in a situation where the cosplayer starts becoming what they are cosplaying (still keeping to the evil or good catagories, regardless of hero or villain), making the initial concept rather moot in the long run, and sometimes this can happen near the beginning of the story. It's so formulaic that the rules under the damn Displaced concept create this tight contrivance that becomes FAR more restrictive than a "hero/villain goes to equestria" character crossover. At least with a simple character crossover, you don't need to adhere to having the Merchant be the catalyst, having the Con as a start, having the character start out as an OC which won't even be relevent later, and won't have to fall under the two categories almost immediately. That, and it gives you more room to play with the character themselves in situations to see what would make sense for said character.
Reason two: it's a fad. It's a fad just like Chess Game of the Gods. Ever heard of it? It had a very similar concept as to Displaced, except it didn't need the Merchant to funnel Con goers to Equestria, stories in it don't start out at a Con, and the individuals that were original normal people STILL retain their same personality through the entire story despite being transformed. Already, those stories start out by giving the author SO much more legroom to experiment and play around without the ridged rules that Displaced has. However, despite it's merits, I still can't defend it. That fad was contrived in a different way. It had "too many cooks" syndrome, where everyone tried to get in on the action, and the whole "project" fell apart under the weight of so many people writing for it, adding far too many half baked ideas into the mix, and then dropping it when the original writers needed them most. On top of that, the majority of folks in the fad did nothing but ass-pat each other, whether their story was shit or just ok, and didn't even do anything to offer constructive criticism to their work. Those that DID try to give critique ended up being called out as a "hater" just because of their thoughts and opinions. In the end, it left those that stayed dedicated for so long with a bitter taste in their mouth as the whole thing crumbled around them, leaving behind absolutely nothing accomplished, from experience in writing better stories to works that were unable to be finished because of various reasons, most of which stemming from said collapse.
The final reason why I dislike Displaced is a bit more personal... Integrity and quality. Displaced has, more often than not, has produced cookie cutter, nonsensical, wanton idiocy with TERRIBLE cliches and tropes that it makes troll and crackfics look better by comparison. And the FEW that do try to treat writing with a hint of effort and respect still have go through the aforementioned contrivances that Displaced ALWAYS needs as part of its narrative. Remember, The Merchant has to be the catalyst of the story, they have to be a cosplayer, they either become evil or good REGARDLESS of the cosplay, and they lose the cosplayer's personality sooner or later. It's so much of the same slog that alot of people are getting really REALLY tired of it, especially if it pops up on the front page all the time. On top of this, when people see the image of a character they really really like and the tag "Crossover" in the bar above the description, they have a certain expectation. Take A New Flame for example, the story you likely came from. I'm sure a lot of people, when seeing the image and the title on the front page, they figured "Hey, look. A probably good Spyro Crossover!", and when they go to it and read the description, they go "Oh... that's not the real Spyro...". The FACT that it's Displaced is like if you were promised a cake, and you were given a cake made of plastic. It's LITERALLY setting itself up for failure for readers that think maybe it would be something they are really looking for, as said readers would indeed either just meander off without saying a word, or actually speak up after the seventh or eighth time they've been tricked by the Displaced concept in place of a legit crossover.
Now, I'm NOT condemning the writers... not 100%, at least. The guy who wrote A New Flame? I don't hate him. I didn't put any hate in my comment either. I expressed my dislike, sure, but I suggested that perhaps he could do a legit Spyro Crossover, because, at first glance, he seemed like a capable writer. And that's what I like to see. Capable writers actually put real effort into something worth while. But doing a displaced fic, even just for fun, just adds to the already concentrated sludge of the fad that takes the place of fics that could actually use a moment in the spotlight. Fics that aren't tied down by some arbitrary rules that hardly make sense but are NECESSARY to "Displaced". Fics that actually promote creativity and a real sense of fun and effort in them rather than just having some schmuck "pretend" to be something else before he/she melds into the cosplay personality.
So, I urge you, TRULY and HONESTLY, to not do a Displaced story. I won't condemn you if you do, but I still urge you to just be sensible, and make a proper crossover. Without the Merchant. Without an Author Avatar Cosplayer to start it with. Without a Con. Without ALL of that useless baggage. Take the character intended for the crossover, come up with a truly creative way to have them show up in Equestria, and play with the character's personalities and their interactions with the new world they're in. Trust me, when you put THAT much more effort into it, it's that much more fun...
Incidentally, care to take a look at my fic? Elements Change the Dark Hearts. I do do this for fun, but I do try to work hard on it, putting in as much effort and time on the fic as I can and improve myself in any way I can from positive and negative critique of all kinds. If you don't, that's ok.
3182795 Hmm. Well I suppose some of that is true. But still look over the comments sections of those features Displaced stories. Most of the comments are either people in the group expressing interest or people who hate Displaced throwing random insults. There's only a few rare times where someone who gives a negative opinion actually has something constructive to say. Heck I'd enjoy a fic with the actual Spyro but I can still enjoy the Displaced story.
Maybe it's a fad maybe not, but there's still enjoyment to be had. I write Displaced for the fun of it, it gives me a way to test ideas and practice writing. I don't bother pretending to be a good or even decent writer but since starting off I've met some cool people on the site, learned a good deal about writing, and had some fun. I know the Displaced isn't the best or most creative group out there but I can't help but like it anyway. And hey, I've got some plans for some normal HiE and crossover stuff later on so we'll see what happens. Cya round 0mega! Nice talkin with ya.
(Random question though, am I the only one confused by the fact that all this hate gets thrown onto the Displaced and yet people are totally cool with the popular stories and featured sections being clogged with Clop pieces? That slightly irks me)
3182823 As you've said, the positive critique all seem to come from the Displaced group, while those that aren't part of Displaced tend to be a bit more open, negative, and crass. I want you to put it in perspective, man. When have you seen a legit negative comment, constructive or otherwise, on a displaced story from someone that is part of the Displaced group? You don't, because everyone in the group, much like those in the former Chess Game of the Gods group, are a bit too interested in Displaced and to quick to ass-pat each other simply because they are a part of Displaced. Also, consider that alot of those that are a bit more crass about Displaced stories aren't part of the group, and are sick to death of seeing Displaced IN PLACE of legit crossovers. Remember how you said you would have loved to see a legit Spyro Crossover? That's how alot of non Displaced individuals feel ALL THE TIME every time they see a displaced story of their favorite character on the front page.
And not everyone that doesn't like Displaced throws insults, but it seems to be a common misconception that everyone that doesn't like displaced is just throwing around hate. Even YOU thought I was hating on the fic and author. I've read the comments. There were a fair few sensible people there that expressed their dislike in a reasonable manner, but were called haters anyway. And, it happens ALOT in the comments of Displaced stories.
Continuing on, I'm just going to address some things. Displaced is a fad, dude. It has the exact same atmosphere that Chess Game of the Gods had with a similar mentality. The fact you find it fun doesn't detract from the fact of what it is and how contrived it is. To add on to the point, and to address something I forgot to talk about previously, you mentioned that in your stories, the cosplayers themselves (before transformation) don't have much of a personality anyway, so you don't mind that they are eventually overwritten by the cosplay they had. There are two things wrong with that from different directions. On one hand, it proves that the cosplayer really isn't necessary in the slightest to the story. You could cut alot of fat simply by getting rid of the original premise and going with the actual character that would have been cosplayed. Saving time and still giving you alot of room to play around with concepts of the character. On the other hand, it's just showing that you aren't willing to put in the effort to GIVE the cosplayer a personality that you could work with. That is something that you, as a writer, SHOULD work on.
Though, I'll be fair to say that doing an HiE story is a good first step. But, do remember one thing. PLAY with the concepts. It's so easy to go with cliches and tropes just to get a story done, but it takes some real work and creativity to try something more unique. That's not to say you shouldn't ever use Tropes and Cliches. Rememer, not all tropes are bad, after all.
Also, that's not exclusive to Displaced for having nice people help you and welcome you properly. It's site wide. Sure there are some assholes, but what fandom doesn't have that? Crossover writers, Clop writers, SoL writers, Adventure writers, etc. Any writer of any genre can provide a pleasant chat and valuable info on how to better your craft and improve on your works.
As for clop fics... Human beings are a depraved race, no matter how you try to justify or cover up the fact. It's a fetish. It's there because people want to write and read/see/watch porn. It has existed forever, and is part of all fandoms. Thing is, it doesn't replace anything. It's there because it'll always be there. Thing about Clop fics is that they are so easy to identify and so easy to ignore. Either turn on the "Mature" filter to keep Mature fics out of your view, or keep an eye out for the "Sex" tag on Mature fics. With Displaced, more often than not, you can be pretty much tricked into thinking it's a legit crossover, only to discover it's about some schmuck PRETENDING to be a character you really wanted to read about... That, and because of the nature of porn, they can do any genre with any situation and any character... the only thing that stays the same from fic to fic is that sex is involved.
3182886 Okay two things: I wasn't saying that you were hating. You're actually being quite sensible about all this from what I've seen. I've only seen a few negative but also constructive voice out there, and I suppose there hasn't been much criticism within the group unless requested.
And you seriously misunderstood what I was saying about the personalities, I mean the OG characters had no personality, not the characters I write. I do my best to create unique personalities apart from the actual characters and stuff. I do my best to avoid the whole 'character gets overwritten by the cosplay' deal myself. Like one character I use is just a necromorph ala Dead Space. No personality there other than killing, so having a human mind there gives some opportunities to do my own thing. I prefer to make my own personalities and stuff rather than being he same face with a slightly different personality, I just make my own stuff.
But then again not everyone enjoys the same things. I'm still unsure if it's a fad (I wasn't there for Chess Game Of the Gods so I can't compare) but either way it'll be a fun ride until then. (And yeah I suppose seeing Displaced instead of the actual character can get a bit annoying. I enjoy both so I can't fully agree but I can understand that.) anyway, cya 0mega.