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No warning whatsoever, except the elusions I mentioned earlier. The two characters had a kind of draw to each other, and I suspected he (the writer) might take the fic in that direction.

It's funny, because I kept telling myself throughout the story that he wasn't doing what I thought he was doing. I credited it to an overactive imagination (a curse, at times), but now it seems my worries were not ungrounded.

He's still fairly early on in the situation writing-wise, but the fic is definitely leaning that way. I messaged him a bit ago, basically saying that I was uncomfortable with where he was taking things. I also told him that he should at least be careful with what he's writing, but I didn't press the matter. It's basically up to him to decide what to write, I suppose, and I have to live with that fact.

It's just that I've seen some of the things he's getting into cause some serious problems. That sounds intense, and I didn't actually say that to him, but I've seen it happen. In all honesty I'm kind of worried about him more than anything, because like I said I've had some experiences with this stuff that casts it in a rather dark shade for me. It's like watching someone reach for a stovetop that you know is hot, but they think is cold and you worry that they'll take your warning as an insult to their intelligence.

EDIT: v It did help. Thanks muchly.

Hmm... well, consider the amount of stories that have PokemonxPerson relationships (which personally is too... weird for me as well) stories that are around... I wouldn't worry about the person who's writing this him/herself, as more than likely if they're fine in actually writing this stuff, then they shouldn't really go into any 'serious' problems. A word of warning should be fine, but don't press the issue, and maybe hold it of for later if it does delve deeper into that sort of stuff (which it sounds like that it is...)

I'd say keep reading for now - if it does get worse, then state that as you told him/her, this sort of story is no longer for you and leave on good terms with the author. Besides, if you have had 'issues' with that sort of thing, than there's no blaming you for your decision to stop reading. The thing is, the writer as well should be aware that such stories are bound to put people off, and understand that.

Unless the fic hadn't been pre-planned to go in that direction, the author probably should have mentioned that in the beginning however.

Hope I helped...

It's just that I've seen some of the things he's getting into cause some serious problems. That sounds intense, and I didn't actually say that to him, but I've seen it happen. In all honesty I'm kind of worried about him more than anything, because like I said I've had some experiences with this stuff that casts it in a rather dark shade for me. It's like watching someone reach for a stovetop that you know is hot, but they think is cold and you worry that they'll take your warning as an insult to their intelligence.

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Wait, what? The way I understood your initial post, Pokémon/human relationships were a personal squick of yours and you yourself would have a difficult time reading it, but now you're sounding more like it's flat-out dangerous for the writer, and here I really don't understand how. Losing readers? No writer should honestly care about that, and if they're writing Pokémon/human relationships at all it's clear that they don't care. Are you implying that Pokémon/human relationships necessarily somehow make the story into something the writer doesn't want to write even if they were planning the relationship all along? Sounds pretty absurd to me, really. o_O

So unless you can elaborate on that and come up with some very good arguments for Pokémon/human relationships necessarily ruining a story for the author himself, you should definitely not tell them not to write it, politely or otherwise. Imagining myself as the author in the situation, I know all you would accomplish would be ticking me off and making sure I won't miss you when you stop reading as I would conclude you were an idiot all along. Your personal preference has absolutely no right to dictate what the author can and can't write, and Pokémon/human relationships aren't something people casually include for the heck of it; it seems pretty clear that the author had been carefully planning this all along, especially with the allusions you mentioned, and probably intended for this to be a big point in the story. I mean, picture telling Tolkien as he is halfway through writing Lord of the Rings that the story is great but he should make it happen in the real world and not involve any rings. When you read a story, you have to do it on the author's terms. When you criticize it, you have to be doing it with the aim to help the author tell the story he wanted to tell, not the story you want to read.

So. You can give simple constructive criticism on it, as long as there is something to criticize. Is the relationship too sudden or is there no good buildup of chemistry between the characters? (Sounds unlikely in this case, what with all the 'allusions' you speak of.) Is the relationship realistic in the situation? Do the characters accept it too easily? But don't just strive to find something wrong with it to disguise your personal taste as constructive criticism, and pretty much no matter how you criticize it, the relationship itself sounds like the author intended it to be a big point as I said before; you'd really only be giving advice on how to make the relationship work out better in the story and not encouraging the writer to remove the relationship. Again, you really shouldn't encourage the writer to remove the relationship if the story is obviously built around that relationship. You can encourage the removal of minor things that don't undermine the point of the story, but chances are this is not one of those things.

This is the situation where "Don't like it, don't read it" actually does apply. Just like you can't force the author to write something other than the story they want to tell, the author can't force you to read a story you don't want to read. Just tell them that you can't read the story anymore because the subject makes you uncomfortable. Or, if you're willing to tolerate it for the elements you like about the story, just read on and ignore it. Tell the author you happen to be uncomfortable with it if you wish, but don't try to dictate what their story should be about. Of course the author probably should have included a warning with such a controversial subject in the story, but it doesn't change that your personal preference can't tell an author what kind of story they should write.

i'm writing a fanfiction and I don't know how to post it. can some one help me here. just PM me if you have anything to say about it.

Taylor5 said:

i'm writing a fanfiction and I don't know how to post it. can some one help me here. just PM me if you have anything to say about it.

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Mmm. What exactly are you having difficulties with? Is it a formatting problem or a "I don't know if I should" sort of problem? If it's the former, just remember to double space between paragraphs (the way you see Dragonfree do so in the post above yours), and the other formatting shortcuts should be above the text area. If it's the latter, then I'd say find a willing beta reader, or someone (who you don't know personally -- so no family members, for example) who can read over your story to iron out the grammar problems and little details, first to be absolutely sure that it's quality work.

I will do that. but really I just wanted to know how to post my fan fic.

Yah Taylor I will help you with your spaces and stuff. ( good story bad way to write )

but really I just wanted to know how to post my fan fic.

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In the main section of Pokemon Fanfiction, there is a button that looks close to the "Post Reply" button, but it says "Post New Thread". Hit that, and you should be taken to a screen that looks like the Reply screen (where you type when you posted).

Type a title into the title box above the main typing area. Place your fic in the main typing area. Scroll down a bit past the rows of smilies to the "Submit New Thread" button and click that.

There's your thread.

Dragonfree, I think I'll just give you the sparknotes of what I said to this author to avoid a long and drawn out discussion of what I should and shouldn't do. I basically said
a) I was personally uncomfortable with the subject matter,
b) Pokemon/human relationships is sketchy territory,
c) to make sure he wants to take his fic in that direction,
and d) that, regardless of everything else, shipping usually merits a higher rating.
In my opinion, that was pretty honest. I was explaining my personal discomfort with the subject matter, as well as notifying him that yes, this is controversial stuff, and he should be sure he's ready for what that implies.

Now for his response. He basically said that he didn't intend his fic to be a shipping story, and that the situation was just something he figured the two characters would find themselves in eventually from having been together for so long. I can see that as something that would probably typically happen given the situation: it was more of a passing "what if" than a definitive acceleration in the relationship.

oni flygon said:

hmm...I made a new fanfic... a short Pokemon Special, Shipping, fanfic... it's called "Under the night sky" heh... I can't think of a better titile XD

btw, Congrats on your Modship ^^NICK^^

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A Pokemon Special fic? Those interest me the most...I'll be sure to read.

SilverSmeargleSplatter said:

A Pokemon Special fic? Those interest me the most...I'll be sure to read.

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You do know you quoted a message from five years ago, right? XD

EDIT: 700th post btw.

Hoh my gods, Silver. XD That's just...one of the more awesome thing I've seen today that didn't involve my Sims. XDXDXD

oni flygon hasn't written anything in a while, but I did find some of his old stories.

The Professor
What Are Friends For?
Smitten
Onii-chan
Valentine's Day
The Tree Across The Meadow
City of Blinding Lights
Love's Lost
Call of Dragons
Confessing and Paths
Ties of Love and Friendship
Roommates
Some Things Never Change...
Under the Night Sky
Friday

o.o There we go. All of oni's Special fics. If I find any more, I'll let you know. :D

SilverSmeargleSplatter said:

A Pokemon Special fic? Those interest me the most...I'll be sure to read.

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-Pokes my fic and pokes you-

Pokemon Special Fic in my sig, kid! :)

*Ding Dong* went the door bell as I rushed down the stairs in my pokegear. It was Travis and we walked out the door on our very first pokemon adventure! We ran till we reached the forest but I couldn't find my way out so I used my pokenav to look but just then team melancholy appeared and flew off with my Chickerita. "NOOOOO!" said Jerry as we ran after them but it was too late. We decided to make camp. I pulled out my sleeping bag and slept well. That morning charmander and cyndiquil and Mark cooked some stuff for breakfast and it tasted good. We ran the 100 meters back home and found a note saying my parents were kidnapped by team melacnholy. I ran after then but saw a helecopter with a yellow "M" on it and started to cry.

*one week of overly encouraging reviews later*

I needed to get Chickerita back so I asked my uncle if we could use his hot air balloon and he said yes so we all climed aboard. "Where we gonna find team malehghaoly's hid out?" said Brock. I"dunno but I think it's over by the mountains" we flew to the mountains and there was a big M carved in stone and so we went inside and June was captured by the guards. "GO POLIWAG!" and I threw out my pokeball. Venusaur used solar beam and June was set free and then we found Chickerita being held in some machine. We turned the machine off the the lever was stuck and then Chickerita was stuck until Zapdos burst through the ceiling and set chickerita free. It said we needed to follow it and so we got in the balloon and followed Zapdos to Pokemon Island

*Astinus' stamp of approval*

So on pokemon Isle people aren't allowed to I was turned into a pokemon and was following a meowth around until we came to a cave.

*random end with a cliffhanger and no intention of a follow up, instead I begin an entirely new story*

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Why did I just post that? Because I have a question for you people. How do you react to those types of stories where the author is obviously trying to tell a story? These are the types of stories that are in the middle between SPAM and quality work. So do you correct the mistakes or just quiz the author on why, say, Travis just appeared out of nowhere with no background story at all?

Just a question that was going through my head the last few days that I wanted to ask.

Oni Raichu said:

Why did I just post that? Because I have a question for you people. How do you react to those types of stories where the author is obviously trying to tell a story? These are the types of stories that are in the middle between SPAM and quality work. So do you correct the mistakes or just quiz the author on why, say, Travis just appeared out of nowhere with no background story at all?

Just a question that was going through my head the last few days that I wanted to ask.

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Well, it depends if that IS the case. If I can see their effort into writing a proper story, then I would dot he whole 'correct mistakes and offer advise' thing, but if I cannot see that at all, or very little, I would start to question the author more, and my review would be a tad nastier, so to speak.

Also depends on my mood, I suppose. Or if I have time to bother going every little thing...

Oni Raichu said:

Why did I just post that? Because I have a question for you people. How do you react to those types of stories where the author is obviously trying to tell a story? These are the types of stories that are in the middle between SPAM and quality work. So do you correct the mistakes or just quiz the author on why, say, Travis just appeared out of nowhere with no background story at all?

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Personally, I feel that SPAM would be more along the lines of a two-line story that violates every rule of grammar it encounters or a story that very obviously violates the rules of a board, such as lemon fics or fics that heavily emphasize the concepts of violence, drugs, and sex without actually trying to be serious.

That said, if a story like this is posted, I know for certain that the writer is most likely a kid who needs a little guidance (assuming that the things like "Astinus' stamp of approval" is not actually part of the story). So, I'll give him concrit and a bit of patience if he was going to continue. Point out the errors, suggest ways to iron out the little details, and generally try not to be overly snarky because you know the kid honestly doesn't know.

However, as you've said at the end, he has no intention on continuing the story, so I think a review wouldn't really be necessary. Instead, I'd go with reviewing his most recent work. (The exception to this rule essentially lies in finished stories and one-shots, I feel, except where the don't-revive-threads rule is in effect.) After all, he might have a reason why he's not continuing other than boredom, so if he realizes that his older story was crap, there's really no point in reviewing his self-acknowledged crap, you know?

Gummy said:

You do know you quoted a message from five years ago, right? XD

EDIT: 700th post btw.

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I did realize that. -hides- That's...bad. xD

Hoh my gods, Silver. XD That's just...one of the more awesome thing I've seen today that didn't involve my Sims. XDXDXD

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Why, thank you. O.o

Meh... I've kind of got a thing...well, two things I'm having a hard time making sense of in my upcoming fic Feral Twilight...and I was wondering if someone could give me some advice...

My first problem is that I've a few fakemon that that my main character Jay Christie is known to have from the beginning of the story, but two of them kind of look a little bit like two preexisting Pokemon. And these are them...

Skunter-http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff58/HuntsmanSkunk/Skunter.jpg
Lupudle-http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff58/HuntsmanSkunk/Lupudle2.jpg

To me, they seem to be kind of close to Skuntank and Mightyena, though really they not supposed to be like evos or anything like that. I was just wondering, though, if they're too close... Would anyone get confused if I used them? Really, I'd like to because their supposed to match a theme I gave my trainer using savage pokemon, which they're both supposed to be.

My second problem is somewhat related to my usage of Lupudle and another fakemon that's supposed to be the antithesis to its full evo, Metalupus. This creature's supposed to be one of two dragonite rank wolves who's evos are determined by whether their baby form loves or hates its trainer; Metalupus being the ultimate result of love and Canersia being the result of hatred. The thing I was wondering about is how I was planning to have Jay's Lupudle evolve into Metalupus during a battle against Canersia (who, in the fic, is manipulating the head of a crime syndicate using shadow Pokemon so that he can summon forth a demon that's supposedly able to create and control the shadows as a means to raze humans from existence) and whether or not that would be too cliche to have the wolf evolve then.

Reminds me of Plusle, Minun, and Pachirisu's relationship to Pikachu. XD

Seriously, though, it's okay. As long as your fakemon aren't essentially (insert Pokemon here) with a slightly different look, I really don't think anyone will notice. Most likely, you'll be working on describing them in the fanfiction, so you can assume that people's visualization skills will render the Pokemon further from the designs of those canon Pokemon than the mental image you have in your head of them, if that makes sense.

As to the evolution, it's something that I've seen many times in fanfiction, but personally, I really think it depends on the circumstances surrounding it. If that occurs at what is essentially the climax of the story, you can still pull it off because that does tend to heighten the drama of the moment.

I have a seal of approval? I honestly did not know, and now I realize that I've been kind of neglecting my mod duties in favor of...really happy Sims.

And I would never approve a story like that. Why? Because I'm a mean old b-witch without a care in the world, and no other color but black in my heart.

I would tell that person who wrote that story that they should improve, and at least know how to spell a Pokemon's name right. And to make paragraphs, and spell-check, and add more, and all these other random pieces of advice that I don't give anymore because I don't review.

And now I'm really confused. Seal of approval?

Oh, Skunter, your links...I can't click them. :< But yeah, if your fakemon fills a role that no canon Pokemon and fulfill, then you are all right.