Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[Ireth313]

SoH is actually older.

Oh! SoH mentioned! Let me complain about that one: I used to follow the author on Tumblr, but the Blade favoritism... (As you may have noticed from my previous posts, I have a severe dislike of 'oh, look, they are soooo cold towards you! they don't know how emotions work!' ROs. Funny thing is that I think that favoritism doesn't translate to the actual game, but the way she tends to favour him in her posts... Sigh..
Are there any IFs out there where 'is cold, but warms up later' ROs that don't give the aura of emotionally being emotionally stunted or making you feel like a creep for pursuing them? I can name O from Infamous, because they are just a reserved workaholic, but other than that I am drawing a blank.

 

[seneya]

the Blade favoritism...

It's not even about the favoritism, it's the fact that the way the author talks about him has ruined his character for me. "poor uwu baby cannot handle his emotions" yeah, if you're not treating your character seriously, why would I?

the aura of emotionally being emotionally stunted

Because these characters are written from the POV that them being cold is wrong and a defect of some sort, and they need to be "fixed" into an outgoing extravert or a soft uwu baby or whatever. Really, I think it's an extension of the societal attitude where extroverts are seen as more "normal" and introverts/less emotive people are told they need to change to fit this "normal".

 

[blossom1]

i have to say i had the same criticisms about Blade but the last interludes and his confession really changed it for me, its all so precious. He doesnt really become extroverted or anything just changes the way most people do in a relationship (happier)

And tbh i would say Orion is colder to the mc (plus the thing w the ex....)

 

[Ireth313]

it's the fact that the way the author talks about him

that, and also the mentions of him being the OG MC's (the book version) one true love

And tbh i would say Orion is colder to the mc (plus the thing w the ex....)

See, imo, Orion is just a person who tries to conduct themselves professionally while everyone around them is a clown... While Blade is surrounded by capable people and is still... like that. That being said, I am never romancing Blade because the first impression + author's way of talking about him totally put me off, eh.

 

[SasariRomanii]

See, imo, Orion is just a person who tries to conduct themselves professionally while everyone around them is a clown...

The band members in Infamous don't get enough hate imo.

Seven's hate is valid, but I gotta say our "friends" are lowkey toxic and codependent to the point of it feeling almost parasitical. Like them leeching off of MC for mental support (meanwhile they're poof GONE when MC needed them), loading the leader position solely on MC because they don't want any of that responsibility, etc etc.

They're also the reason why Seven and MC's beef started in the first place by shoving one of the band's founders to the lowest position as a backing vocal. Because they care more for revenue than music. They care more about what other people think of their art than what they think of it, making it just a business. Soulless. No wonder nobody sees anything special in them and they always got outshined by MC (I don't think that happens solely because MC's the main vocal).

Can't wait for MC to go solo with O as their manager. The members can eat dust, they're such clowns.

But seriously MC and O are the only two likable characters in Infamous. The rest are a55holes that sees MC more like a fix than a person.

 

[seneya]

loading the leader position solely on MC because they don't want any of that responsibility

I think they just continue treating everything as some high-school clique business rather than becoming professional about it, and they expect MC to play along because "but we're friends!!!". There's no distance that would've made them put their personal opinions aside "for the greater good", or rather, because they played so long together and had fun, they continue prioritizing their own comfort and fun, since to them, that's more or less the point. MC might feel some sort of higher calling for the Art or whatever, but these guys don't.

They care more about what other people think of their art than what they think of it

I honestly feel like they were so deep down the "but we're friiieeends" business that they expected everyone to just take the result, no offense taken.

Ok, now I need a deconstruction where it's shown that all of them had "wrong" reasons for staying in the band and would be better off quitting and moving on.

 

[Parallax]

The band members in Infamous don't get enough hate imo.

Seven's hate is valid, but I gotta say our "friends" are lowkey toxic and codependent to the point of it feeling almost parasitical. Like them leeching off of MC for mental support (meanwhile they're poof GONE when MC needed them), loading the leader position solely on MC because they don't want any of that responsibility, etc etc.

They're also the reason why Seven and MC's beef started in the first place by shoving one of the band's founders to the lowest position as a backing vocal. Because they care more for revenue than music. They care more about what other people think of their art than what they think of it, making it just a business. Soulless. No wonder nobody sees anything special in them and they always got outshined by MC (I don't think that happens solely because MC's the main vocal).

Can't wait for MC to go solo with O as their manager. The members can eat dust, they're such clowns.

But seriously MC and O are the only two likable characters in Infamous. The rest are a55holes that sees MC more like a fix than a person.

Seven's hate isn't "valid". Especially if MC was against that idea. For God's sake, the pathetic fool is acting like MC tried to murder them back then or something equally serious.

 

[Ireth313]

Seven's hate isn't "valid". Especially if MC was against that idea. For God's sake, the pathetic fool is acting like MC tried to murder them back then or something equally serious.

Tbh if all my friends sprang up this kind of thing on me, I would've sided with my bestie\partner they are trying to edge out, and, were I in the Seven's place, if my friend\partner didn't stand by me, I would've lowkey resented them. So I really don't know how Amy is going to make MC's passivity believable\relatable here. Do I think the way 7 is behaving now is mature? Nope. Do I think it is warranted? Well, yeah, I think they felt like they went through YA band version of Ides of March.

The band members in Infamous don't get enough hate imo.

Full disclosure, if Amy allows us to go off at them properly, without being a doormat, I will forgive her for forcing MC to always be a people-pleaser. I am a certified band hater; lemme steal Vic from G, go solo and live the life of scandal.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Seven's hate isn't "valid". Especially if MC was against that idea. For God's sake, the pathetic fool is acting like MC tried to murder them back then or something equally serious.

Idk how you read that one, but I mean the readers' hate for Seven is valid, not that Seven's hate for MC is valid. Seven's mentality towards MC is... disturbing to say the least. After reading the POVs leaked here, I'm gonna go down and say that Seven is kind of a creep.

Like I said people treat MC more like a fix than a person with how much they obsess and got irrational over the MC, G and Seven being prime example. Especially in the G POV where they literally get high (on some artistic epiphany) when doing a duet with the MC.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Tbh if all my friends sprang up this kind of thing on me, I would've sided with my bestie\partner they are trying to edge out, and, were I in the Seven's place, if my friend\partner didn't stand by me, I would've lowkey resented them. So I really don't know how Amy is going to make MC's passivity believable\relatable here. Do I think the way 7 is behaving now is mature? Nope. Do I think it is warranted? Well, yeah, I think they felt like they went through YA band version of Ides of March.


Full disclosure, if Amy allows us to go off at them properly, without being a doormat, I will forgive her for forcing MC to always be a people-pleaser. I am a certified band hater; lemme steal Vic from G, go solo and live the life of scandal.

Yeah MC is too much of a doormatt on the flashback. Easily peer pressured by the band to essentially kick out their long time best-friend/lover. If MC had been more firm in their stance of keeping Seven, the band would probably bend because what are they gonna do? Find another singer? There are many bands who would play for both Seven and MC, I'm sure. But how many singers would sing or write songs for the band? Then again, knowing how MC's raised... their passivity and people pleaser tendency makes sense.

I understand Seven's beef (to put it lightly) with the band and MC, though they're still a big obsessive a55hole who canonically break down when they're not being around MC for a short time. Yeah. It's so unhealthy that even junkfood feels less toxic than whatever this is.

 

[SasariRomanii]

I think they just continue treating everything as some high-school clique business rather than becoming professional about it, and they expect MC to play along because "but we're friends!!!". There's no distance that would've made them put their personal opinions aside "for the greater good", or rather, because they played so long together and had fun, they continue prioritizing their own comfort and fun, since to them, that's more or less the point. MC might feel some sort of higher calling for the Art or whatever, but these guys don't.

I honestly feel like they were so deep down the "but we're friiieeends" business that they expected everyone to just take the result, no offense taken.

Ok, now I need a deconstruction where it's shown that all of them had "wrong" reasons for staying in the band and would be better off quitting and moving on.

Hmm, let's start with the band's guitarist, Rowan. Dude is a star footballer/soccer player in his highschool, also good with art, but for some reason he insists that music is all he can do. All he is. All he knows. He has potential outside of music, but he sticks to it even if he's clearly very insecure about it. He doesn't even contribute much except to cause trouble and play the guitar. He doesn't write songs or anything. He's replacable and he knows this. Also he has something weird for August.

Devyn and Iris the two lovebirds. Not much has been shown about why they stay in the band, but I guess they stay because of each other? Their relationship is built on the band, which they just realized isn't forever after seeing MC and Seven's breakup. I think they'll be the second to leave after Jazz, or maybe they will breakup in the future.

August is a new recruit, they're in the band to escape their parents who are political figures. They're not yet attached to the band though we certainly can make them (but it leave a bad taste in my mouth somehow, they deserves a better band to grow into).

 

[Ireth313]

Yeah MC is too much of a doormatt on the flashback.

Yet the whole band, knowing that MC folds under pressure, makes them their leader. Make that make sense I am forever sharing the bus with Blake and their band so that Rowan and co. learn that sometimes actions have consequences. I just hope that in the end MC can become Beyonce of the band and it won't be 'you broke off and flopped hard'.
Seven probably has dependent personality because whatever happened with their father and their fear of abandonment? BUT imo, irl a smart thin to do with someone like them is to look back, say 'wow, I was so cringe' and move on without reconnecting romantically or platonically.

Like I said people treat MC more like a fix than a person with how much they obsess and got irrational over the MC, G and Seven being prime example.

Funny thing, I was initially planning to romance G, but once I realised that they want a yes-person, my interest plummeted. Now for me it's either Vic because we can commiserate (since she's also is expected to yield to everyone's whim) or O as the only one in the game who knows how to behave like an adult.

 

[Parallax]

Idk how you read that one, but I mean the readers' hate for Seven is valid, not that Seven's hate for MC is valid. Seven's mentality towards MC is... disturbing to say the least. After reading the POVs leaked here, I'm gonna go down and say that Seven is kind of a creep.

Like I said people treat MC more like a fix than a person with how much they obsess and got irrational over the MC, G and Seven being prime example. Especially in the G POV where they literally get high (on some artistic epiphany) when doing a duet with the MC.

Sorry. I misunderstood your previous comment.

Tbh if all my friends sprang up this kind of thing on me, I would've sided with my bestie\partner they are trying to edge out, and, were I in the Seven's place, if my friend\partner didn't stand by me, I would've lowkey resented them. So I really don't know how Amy is going to make MC's passivity believable\relatable here. Do I think the way 7 is behaving now is mature? Nope. Do I think it is warranted? Well, yeah, I think they felt like they went through YA band version of Ides of March.

So they might have felt hurt and angry, normal thing, but that's no reason to *hate* for the rest of the life. You just resolve it eventually, reconcile with them or not but no longer hold a grudge - and if you still do, at least you learn to behave professionally while you have to be around them. Seven does none of these.
Absolutely ridiculous. If the author wanted to continue this hate thread, throughout most of the story, she could have come up with a more sensible reason.

 

[seneya]

she could have come up with a more sensible reason.

I mean, some people are precisely this... petty? Vengeful? I've seen some s h i t irl happen where the "you have ruined my life!!!" perception is concerned. Hell, 7 is even not that bad cause at least they don't go out of their way to ruin MC ('s band) on purpose in return

Edit: I think the right word is vindictive. Maybe.

 

[Ireth313]

So they might have felt hurt and angry, normal thing, but that's no reason to *hate* for the rest of the life. You just resolve it eventually, reconcile with them or not but no longer hold a grudge - and if you still do, at least you learn to behave professionally while you have to be around them. Seven does none of these.
Absolutely ridiculous. If the author wanted to continue this hate thread, throughout most of the story, she could have come up with a more sensible reason.

Nah, I kinda see the vision and the logic here.
- Seven + MC had 10+ years long co-dependent relationship; music was the 2nd thing Seven used to self-validate and self-identify. The only other grounding point for them was their mom, I assume.
- MC and friends 'ditch' Seven, from 7's perspective robbing them of 2\3 pillars of their world. Cue identity crisis, not an insignificant amount of resentment.
- Some ppl hate their ex-spouses for YEARS after the divorce. For 7 it was essentially that, because they lost a good chunk of what they thought was their identity. Is them not processing it healthy? No. Is it realistic? Yes, because people process emotions differently; some still hold the grudges from high school when they themselves are in their 30s. Not everyone practices mindfulness. Does 7's childishness irk me? A ton. But I treat it as.. you don't have to like all the characters in a book for a book to be fun. Some are there for you to hate them.

Imo, the problem is not 7's character but the way the conflict itself was handled. I do think Amy fumbled A LOT when she pre-defined MC's stance\behaviour in this conflict, because no matter what MC ends up being a spineless pushover, and for some MCs it makes zero sense? Certainly doesn't fit mine. Imo, it would've been wiser to let us pick'n'choose from several possible conflicts that broke things up, like... 1) making 7 a backup scandal for meek or fame-driven MCs 2) MC being neglectful for cold MCs 3) MC or 7 having an addiction 4) MC starting to get uncomfortable with co-dependency... etc.

 

[Harwoof]

Nah, I kinda see the vision and the logic here.
- Seven + MC had 10+ years long co-dependent relationship; music was the 2nd thing Seven used to self-validate and self-identify. The only other grounding point for them was their mom, I assume.
- MC and friends 'ditch' Seven, from 7's perspective robbing them of 2\3 pillars of their world. Cue identity crisis, not an insignificant amount of resentment.
- Some ppl hate their ex-spouses for YEARS after the divorce. For 7 it was essentially that, because they lost a good chunk of what they thought was their identity. Is them not processing it healthy? No. Is it realistic? Yes, because people process emotions differently; some still hold the grudges from high school when they themselves are in their 30s. Not everyone practices mindfulness. Does 7's childishness irk me? A ton. But I treat it as.. you don't have to like all the characters in a book for a book to be fun. Some are there for you to hate them.

Imo, the problem is not 7's character but the way the conflict itself was handled. I do think Amy fumbled A LOT when she pre-defined MC's stance\behaviour in this conflict, because no matter what MC ends up being a spineless pushover, and for some MCs it makes zero sense? Certainly doesn't fit mine. Imo, it would've been wiser to let us pick'n'choose from several possible conflicts that broke things up, like... 1) making 7 a backup scandal for meek or fame-driven MCs 2) MC being neglectful for cold MCs 3) MC or 7 having an addiction 4) MC starting to get uncomfortable with co-dependency... etc.

Indeed in this scenario I think it is not the character that people dislike but the lack of options to react and respond, there are indeed characteristics there for you to hate and dislike seven is one of them.
Problem is you can only react a certain way and never confront/talk back/be cold/disdainful/ angry or straight up hateful.

 

[seneya]

Crown of Ashes and Flames is apparently getting a rewrite.
I wonder if it will address the criticisms people had of its story.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Crown of Ashes and Flames is apparently getting a rewrite.
I wonder if it will address the criticisms people had of its story.

Nah, that's too much to ask. It'll probably be some minor irrelevant changes at best, or a bigger downgrade at worst. But! We'll see~

Sorry for being so negative. Just don't wanna be faced by another disappointment

 

[seneya]

It'll probably be some minor irrelevant changes at best

Apparently Luceris will get even worse lol. That's what I got from a brief glance at the game's blog. YMMV on how this will go

 

[SasariRomanii]

Apparently Luceris will get even worse lol. That's what I got from a brief glance at the game's blog. YMMV on how this will go

Just... why...

Hh hh. Guess that's what happens when an author is surrounded in an echo chamber full of blind support where any little criticisms are shut down