Minor Series Giveaway #94 - GEARGUNS Tank offensive [MINOR]
All kinds of comments welcome!
Good luck to win and have fun if you do!
Major Series [MAJOR] - Mainstream games as well as generally popular and cult hit ones; they often have "AAA" production quality or high monetary value.
Minor Series [MINOR] - Almost everything else, usually something that is good but not quite popular or valuable enough to warrant Major status.
???? Series [????] - To Be Revealed.
thanks
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Consider this a kind comment ;)
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Ah... Took me a second. :)
Thanks and good luck next time!
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Thank you most kindly! ^.^
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Not a problem!
Thanks and good luck next time!
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ty
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Thanks!
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Whaddup Jack I'm replying to your message about What Makes A Sweet Ass Romance and I originally replied in the thread but after typing everything out I was like 'oh no this is too long and off topic for this discussion so I'm bringing it here so I'm not bothering anybody just reading through wanting Telltale reactions; I did a big enough digression for the book recs okay here we go copy paste:
You're very welcome! I'm glad it helps, and I hope you enjoy them like I did. That's a really interesting question and I'm kind of grappling with how to begin.
There's a lot of places to start - wish-fulfillment and sexual and romantic fantasies between broad-category women and men are really widely varied, different tropes and kinks for different people produce different effects (I, for one, love robots learning to feel and falling in love, which isn't everyone's cup of tea; other people like snarky badboys tamed by their partners which I dislike), cultural baggage around romance and sex influences romance and sex in media (see: even Japanese otome visual novels where the girl is the one 'pursuing' guys often has the male characters be the sexual instigators and even aggressors because that's just The Social Script, The Good Girl Has To Pretend To Say No Even In Her Fantasies Just For Her), cultural baggage between romance and sex is different between straight and queer audiences -
But the bottom line is, to me, sweet-ass romance is when two characters love each other as people. When they see each other fully, flaws and all, they accept each other, if not in awe of each other, and they both want to grow to be better for each other, and strive together for a future they both want as full equals and partners.
When it's a romance between a man and a woman, I strongly prefer it when the man is more vocally supportive and in awe of the woman, 'holy shit did you see that that's my wife!!!!' 1. because overarching social mores in America is still very much not like that and 2. a LOT of stories (and a lot of preserved history!) are about the woman being supportive and shouldering the burden so the man can live his dreamz n shit so 2a. that's been done, 2b. so it's boring and, 2c. that's definitely not a fantasy of mine.
Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a little more bodice-rippy than that, but also my god it works! A human goes toe-to-toe with a god and comes out on his level? Yes ma'am I'm about that.
For some sweet-ass romances in games, please see: Nat and Bert in Tacoma and Estelle and Joshua in Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. For a while, Red and the Man in the Transistor from Transistor were my Most Best Favorite romance in a game because, my god, listen to that man talk about Red, but then:
the Best Romance I've Ever Seen In A Video Game is in the House in Fata Morgana, conveniently also The Best Visual Novel of All Time. (I wrote a review for it here if you're interested). Everything I said three paragraphs ago? That's the central romance of this game. It's spectacular. There's so much more to this game than the romance, but the romance is its heart and its lasting power and uncovering it is amazing and I love it and it's - it just - it just clenches fist you know, it's going up to the Romance Bartender and going 'just fuck me up' and then it knocks out your heart's teeth and this metaphor is getting away from me.
I'm not a Romance Analyst by any means and many people smarter than I have much more intelligent thing to say about What Makes A Good Romance but that's what I got and I appreciate u asking and reading this far.
Edited to add: This also counts as a Sweet Ass Romance, too.
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:O
Please, call me "Zank". :) Fair idea, I still get the notification and people in the other (still active?) thread don't get totally unrelated fluff.
Honestly all of those books sound interesting so I will gladly give them a whirl.
Glad to have interested you! So...
First paragraph:
For example, your "robot" example to me is an excellent trope that I don't think falls within the "wish-fulfillment" category; it can if executed in such a way, but by default I don't think it does.
The "badboys" example on the other hand does sound quite like such a thing.
As far as serious works of fiction go, I think that they should include those elements and factors only if they are trying to be realistic - and for fiction they should create their own, for authenticity. :)
Second paragraph:
Haha, well, that sounds like the ideal romance for anyone to wish for; but for fiction, I am not sure if that would quality it as "sweet-ass"... When you mentioned that, I thought along the lines of "exciting" and "gripping"... But well-written and fulfilling "ideal" romance that just works greatly does sound like a 10/10 romance for a reader - though I assume many would also like it to have some "down" moments of trials and tribulations.
Third paragraph:
Hm, can't say I've ever thought about this aspect. I can see why the real-life factor would make it a desirable fantasy.
Do you have examples of both sides (vocally "supportive" man and vocally "supportive" woman)?
Ah, so you mention personal fantasy... Can one enjoy romance without any personal investment in such an "indulgement" sense?
Fourth paragraph:
"Bodice-rippy"? Well it does sound like it can be interesting haha.
Fifth and Sixth paragraph:
I've not played/read/experienced any of those. :D
So, I'll take your word for it and (maybe) get to them one day... One day I'll have the desire to visit the Romance Bartender, I'm sure!
Fin:
Not a problem, glad to probe you a bit! It's an interesting topic I haven't thought much about before, so it was quite interesting to get someone's take on it (especially as you are well-read).
Kevin is creative if nothing else, haha!
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Nice to be introduced to you, Zank! Feel free to call me tsuper.
So there's good as in well-written, well-thought out, well-reasoned, and then there's good as in 'oh yeah this is that Good Shit'. When it comes to that Good Shit, I don't know if it has to be EXACTLY wish-fulfillment, as in 'wow I wish that were me'. I think it's more about whether something resonates with you, and that resonating usually comes from a need that's being met inside you (sexual or otherwise).
To continue the robot example, that kind of thread came all the way from childhood with the Velveteen Rabbit and 'If you love something enough, it Becomes Real'. It ties to something in myself that relates to creating something out of nothing with effort, with feeling different than others, with not Being Real and then Becoming Real (in an... abstract sense) that I just relate to.
For the bad boy example, that could come from a place of fulfilling a need to believe in Love Conquers All, where you can love someone enough to change them, along with the thrill of danger and the illicit and 'loving someone you're not supposed to'. Does that make sense?
It could also just really Work for someone and be fun to think about and make you giggle and blush. It might have deep roots but just be hard to articulate beyond 'uuuuuuuuuuuuuu tee hee!'
I love it when good worldbuilding has good culturebuilding, but almost all of this baggage is included unconsciously, because it's normal for the authors. As normal as it is, for example, for the man to get down on one knee and propose in most white, Western cultures. It just is that sex and romance go this way, and a lot, if not most, heterosexual people rarely have to think about it. That I've found, anyway.
Second paragraph:
Oh, exactly! Oh, yeah, the rockier the road, the better - I mean, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy don't get together until near the end of the book, and they both need to overcome their pride and their prejudices (ehhhhh???), but at the end it's from a place of huge respect for one another. That's what's gripping, the journey! I was contrasting that with 'we're just together bc I'm the female lead and you're the male lead' or, even worse 'I wore her down and it's written into the script that she falls for me even though we have nothing in common and barely seem to like each other!'
Third paragraph:
I totally could have worded that better, that idea of 'man who looks at woman like she's the moon and stars hell yeah baby I'm being you 100% u go best friend that's my best friend!" I'd say Red/Man in the Transistor for one and... pretty much... most heterosexual romances for men for two. Any shonen hero/his love interest, action hero/HIS love interest - where they're supporting characters in the story rather than active agents/leads of their own. I reaaaaally dislike that, so I'm struggling to think of cogent examples because I try to block it from my brain. Um. Uh. Ichigo and Orihime from Bleach. Sakura and Sasuke from Naruto. Liara and Shepard from Mass Effect, to a less annoying degree (though she always weirded me out some)
Actually, a good version of that that I love is Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama from Super Dangan Ronpa 2. Talking about it is fairly... spoilers... but it's lovely!
Mutual hyping relationships like Amy and Jake from Brooklyn Nine Nine, Leslie and Ben from Parks and Recreation or (not established... yet /eyebrows) Rey and Finn from Star Wars are also pretty feckin sweet, too.
Jesus christ this is so long
You know, I was trying to get my thoughts together to answer 'yes,' but really I think I have to say no. If we say indulgent in a matter of 'that's good and makes me feel good,' then that's most of the enjoyment, right? Like intense enjoyment, like 'YES! YES! YEAH! THEY KISSED! YEEEA!' rather than 'oh okay good for them c: ' sense. This kind of ties in to the, jesus christ I have to scroll up, first question's response. The answer might be yes for other people, but it's a no for me!
Fourth paragraph:
Oh, yeah, like how spicy romance novels have been called 'bodice rippers' because of the scandalous content (someone getting so passionate they rip open a bodice in haste!) That's not suuuper emotionally in-depth, but still fun and thrilling and gripping like you said!
Ha! I hope so. Whenever you feel like getting clocked right in the heartstrings. Also: aww, shucks, I just know a little bit about a lot of things. I appreciate the opportunity to go on and on about stuff like this, and I'm glad you got something out of it, even though this response was longer than the last!
If I may ask, on your end: Where is this interest coming from? What sparked it? Do you have any romances that you found incredibly gripping?
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Hello tsuper! Sorry for the belated reply.
That is an excellent word and, yes... Ultimately it is why you sometimes watch a movie (to give a simpler example) and think "yeah that was a pretty damn good movie" and other times... Other times you just feel moved. Felt that it was special.
I can indeed see it having to do with "meeting needs", even if not specifically of the wish-fulfillment kind.
Interesting. "Effort to create love" is an interesting premise, haven't thought of it in that way.
It does make sense - the thrill of "danger" part, for sure. The appeal of "love changing someone for the better" is again an interesting concept and I do think it actually pertains to my own self, now that I think of it.
Indeed, it might just be like a taste in something - it's difficult to rationalize and explain, but it is there.
It makes sense, I think your example of the "stereotypical proposal" is brilliant, I hadn't thought of that! Again, it doesn't have to be a bad thing depending on the setting, but it is something that is difficult to shake-off and avoid otherwise; I have seen some attempts that end up being a bit too ham-fisted.
It's almost all about execution at the end of the day? A differently written chapter or two and you can easily go from that best case scenario and worst case scenario that you described. But yeah, rocky roads tend to be more memorable and exciting than smooth ones!
I really have to get to Transistor, eh! Bastion, too.
Unrelated to the book stuff, but since it is implied by that example (if I understood it correctly): True love includes being best friends?
Yeah, from my limited knowledge of those examples, they are true, especially Ichigo/Orihime... But in general, yes, it is one of those things that is almost always the case in most mainstream media.
As far as the other examples go, I am most familiar with the Rey/Finn one and can 100% agree on that; I do like their dynamic.
Yeah, I've been typing this reply for 5 days now!
It makes sense and I can see it being a personal thing rather than an universal fact; but yes, I could tell from the passion in which you discuss the topic!
Oh, sure, I get it now; kind of a like a light novel in terms of content/quality but still fulfils you in a simple way, like a goofy comedy or explosion-filled action movie.
Not a problem, I am glad to read through, learn a bit and share (or at least absorb) thoughts.
Not quite, no; I was just interested in someone's perspective given that I realized I had not given it much thought prior - and based off of your posts you seemed like a fair person to ask.
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