They Literally Created A Place Where You Can Go And Learn About Something That Really Interests You And

a comic about fix-it fanfics

Saw a post about the reading order of a beloved author and how their early books are a bit rocky and mediocre. Imagine if we created a writing environment that believed in and supported people, so that they could start with a slightly dumb story, and be given the connection/resources/validation/support to grow over the course of a lifetime. They wouldn’t have to hit the ground running with a splendidly workshopped series, an mfa, and an audience of TikTok followers who have promised to buy it, so that all a gatekeeper needs to do is collect the money. They could just be a chicken shed cleaner, or a mediocre small-town journalist writing one column a week (which is a job that people used to have and support an entire family - imagine writing 500 words a week and having that be your whole day job lmao) with a bad book, and forty years later they’d be a Great.

I’d like to live in a world with more Greats. There are a lot of chicken shed cleaners who are Greats and we’ll never know them.

I do not want it to be like “back in the old days” where it was only men (with housekeeper wives) writing mediocre books. I want secure material circumstances for people, and I want time for them to do something that may never “pay off.”

Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era - Light Novel vs Anime Discrepancies

As enjoyable as the anime adaptation may be, I urge everyone to read the light novel itself!! The anime glossed over many, many important scenes which are plenty enjoyable, but one thing I feel the novel captures a lot better are Oda’s thoughts, which definitely help you understand his (slightly odd) way of thinking. Here’s just a few of the many scenes you’d have missed out on if you only watch the anime:

Prologue + Chapter 1

How Dazai injured himself on tofu.

Dazai’s cooking and his miraculous soups.

Oda’s extremely detailed breakfast routine.

Dazai’s interaction with Hirotsu.

Dazai making an order for coffee and his highly sweet tooth.

The shooter was around three meters away from Dazai, compared to the anime which was near point blank (even I could have shot Dazai at that distance without training, please.) Also, Odasaku’s thoughts about Dazai’s expression. In comparison, he’s a lot more vocal about asking Dazai to stop talking after having his hand forced.

Chapter 2

The fight with the kids.

Odasaku’s vacuum cleaner passage about Dazai. Well worth the read.

Ango commenting that Dazai and Oda stink of rotten tsukudani.

Chapter 3

At one point, Akutagawa had Gide tied up. Also, he punched him.

Oda and Gide’s first meeting, in which Oda describes Gide as handsome.

Gide has grey eyes.

Dazai proposes to arrange Gide and Odasaku’s wedding.

Odasaku’s inner thoughts when the Buraiha trio break up are also well worth a read.

Chapter 4

The chase scene when Odasaku goes for the orphans. This was moved to episode 15, but keeping this would have been more dramatic imo.

The utter resignation in Odasaku’s thoughts are much, much grimmer in the novel. Also, Odasaku picks up smoking again.

His fight with the Mimic soldiers was cut short. Just a little, though.

Odasaku smiles when he fights Gide.

Their pose is described as miraculous.

The singularity of abilities is better explained in the novel.

Odasaku’s past is slightly less glossed over/implied.

Gide tells Odasaku to say hello to the children for him.

The cigarettes. Also, Odasaku’s last words were about his true love, curry rice.

Epilogue

Only one scene was animated. Everything else is pretty important imo.

my love mine all mine

Your username in my notifs traumatized me

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ME NEXT ME NEXT ME NEXT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Expanding a thought from a conversation this morning:

In general, I think "Is X out-of-character?" is not a terribly useful question for a writer. It shuts down possibility, and interesting directions you could take a character.

A better question, I believe, is "What would it take for Character to do X?" What extremity would she find herself in, where X starts to look like a good idea? What loyalties or fears leave him with X as his only option? THAT'S where a potentially interesting story lies.

In practice, I find that you can often justify much more from a character than you initially dreamed you could: some of my best stories come from "What might drive Character to do [thing he would never do]?" As long as you make it clear to the reader what the hell pushed your character to this point, you've got the seed of a compelling story on your hands.

Y’ever read something and have understanding that has eluded you interminably suddenly stop, curl up, and snuggle neatly into a fold in your brain because a new way way opened to it?