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A request for feedback (Patreon)

Published:
2026-09-08 01:10:33
Imported:
2026-11

Poll

A request for feedback

  • I like the current arc / I think a cool down arc would be a nice change after the last two books 24
  • I like the idea, but I don't like the dirrection the current chapters are going 1
  • I don't think we need a casual arc - We can continue into another action arc (please be aware, I'm not 100% sure where this would go) 2
  • I think we need a casual arc, but I think it would be better to skip ahead and start the book after Teddy arrives home 8
  • 2026-09-07
  • 35 votes
{'title': 'A request for feedback', 'choices': [{'text': 'I like the current arc / I think a cool down arc would be a nice change after the last two books', 'votes': 24}, {'text': "I like the idea, but I don't like the dirrection the current chapters are going", 'votes': 1}, {'text': "I don't think we need a casual arc - We can continue into another action arc (please be aware, I'm not 100% sure where this would go)", 'votes': 2}, {'text': 'I think we need a casual arc, but I think it would be better to skip ahead and start the book after Teddy arrives home', 'votes': 8}], 'closes_at': None, 'created_at': datetime.datetime(2026, 9, 7, 23, 57, 56, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc), 'description': None, 'allow_multiple': False, 'total_votes': 35}

Content

This is a long post, but TLDR; I'm looking for feedback on the current arc of TBoB.

For those of you that don't subscribe this means I'll probably be writing VG, WWotWW, and Imaginary exclusively for a day or two while waiting for feedback. May do double TBoB to make up for it after.


Hey all,

So, I managed to sit down and started getting some words down on virtual paper at a reasonable time this morning; I actually started at my old, scheduled time today!

The problem? I've been sitting here for close to twelve hours and I still don't have a chapter. It has nothing to do with focus, I've wrote and rewrote the latest TBoB chapter three or four times now, it's a matter of insperation...

I'll be honest, I didn't expect to continue TBoB for as long as I did, or for it to get as popular as it did, and now Teddy is so powerful I need to find excuses to either bring in excessively strong threats, or to nerf her forces.

While the next big action sequence IS a concern for me, my problem is with the current story line. I wanted to do sort of a cooldown / casual story that allowed me to go over the cleanup efforts after all the shit that went down over the last two books.

I guess I could technically jump to Teddy back in Calgary, after all this stuff, but I feel like while the recovery isn't important, it feels wrong to leave it out.

My main issue right now is the current chapters feel like waffling filler, not adding anything and not important to the story. Oh, I know they're helping build the world, and show how the bears have developed, but I can't help feel like they don't have enough dirrection.

Now, I admit, this feeling of discomfort with the storyline isn't as bad as it was for Book 3, the first half of DD book 1, or sovierign stones, but I'm not sure where to take the story next.

I spent about an hour and a half talking to one of my friends, and she gave me an idea... One that could take the story in a suprising dirrection, but I haven't decided if it's the way I want to go yet. I'll post the idea at the end for those that want to know, after a spoiler seperator (I can't hide it though, so be warned.)

So, since I've been having such a problem with the latest chapter I thought I'd take a moment to get your feedback. I know the free members don't have access the newest chapters, but so you know they're low impact chapters where Teddy visits Great Falls again. Something to slow the pace after the action of the previous two arcs.

What I'd like to know is what you guys think of the current arc (or if you haven't read it, whether a social arc is nessisary).

I'd like to avoid writing another twenty or thirty chapters before finally deciding the current arc isn't working out... again.

Filling out the poll will be useful in helping me figure out if I'm going in the right direction, but it would be even more helpful if you'd drop a comment below with your thoughts (Not strictly nessisary, but helpful)

Once I get enough feedback I'll figure out where to take the story next.

As I mentioned in the TLDR; I'll probably write the other stories the next few days while I'm waiting for the feedback, since I've wasted the entire day on this chapter, but once I've got some replies I'll probably write a couple TBoB chapters back to back in order to make up for it.

That's it for now. Hope I didn't tire you all out with that wall of text, thanks for reading it though!

-Wombat

PS. I didn't forget about the possible storyline, just skip to the poll if you don't want to read it!

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT BE WARNED

So, after talking to my friend the concenses we came to was that in order to make any action storyline interesting I need to seperate Teddy from the Bears. Either throw so many enemies at her that she has no choice but to leave the entire force behind, or have some other excuse.

I did the wave tactics in Great Falls, so one idea that I was given was that one of the moon colonies that were mentioned to be abandoned in SCS was still active, was still active. While visiting one of the orbital ships the samurai recieve a distress call which requires immediate intervention, and the only way to save them is to send a small squad on the fastest available ship.

While it would require some... questionable logic and timing, I think it would be interesting to see Evelyn running around without her limitless number of backup forces again.

Let me know what you think.

Comments

FopsAlex

Im honestly honoured my ramblings are worthy of mention. I shall finish newest chappies and comment on poll post haste!!

Dylan

Like with any good RPG, fun to go back to the start once you have got the first few major power levels and enjoy easily violating the previously hard problems and enemies, a holiday to remember how far you have come, etc.

Thronedplatypus

I really like teddy and her adventures I think its a good place to go as well and I think its a good idea about having a small strike force plz keep up the good work 👏 🙌

phillip page

What about having teddy return home and start up the hover bus business idea that was brought up in earlier books. You could have some corp try to claim that it was their design and try to patent it after hearing someone discussing it or just trying to steal the design. The corp could either not realizing they are screwing over a the family member of a Sam or just not care and you could make it so that they actually have a bit of legal standing for their claim so that she cant just use the bots to force the issue. This would force her to rely on her corpo samurai buddies like mirage to solve the issue.

David F

Okay I def think we need a cool down chappy the part I'm torn on is the need to stay and check in on everyone/meet new weirdos lol.. and also kind of going back home to meet/talk with the family and all of the samurai that just returned from Mars, Teddy had to be on the news and maybe it's the first time the kids actually SEE what she does when it's SERIOUS.. like from what I remember they've seen small stuff but never the REALLY TOUGH stuff... Maybe we can get some real resolution from those that left for Mars maybe a change in perspective/character for them... I think it would be kinda cool to maybe meet some of Sharon's new friends from mars... Maybe she's got a sidekick/new roommate that's also weird like Teddy.. ik it's not brought up but I would have to imagine that the mars crew has a lot of issues/PTSD from that.... It was a lot of high level people Yea... But also doing some awful stuff in isolation... Maybe we could touch back on the the fallout from the Denver takeover from a few books back... It's been awhile since I read that part but if I remember it was shortly before this arc.. maybe a year at most I think in world, would be good to touch back on that now that pretty boy is coming back and he was kinda at fault for a bit of it.. just because bird did a school arc... You could do one... But Teddy has to get her Frog University finalized/accredited

Jeff Pilant

Part of becoming powerful is learning to let the new blood thrive. Being designed for land makes water fighting tough. But everyone needs logistics. Teddy has plenty of that. Limiting herself, however, is half the plot. I like how it is going currently.

Ragna

People like Spiderman because the like how peter paker deals with being spider man. If you go with a cool down arc you need personal development of teddy, so less bears more human and more personal problems that can't be solve with points and remember the rule of three for character focuse, like Han Luke and laya or Kirk Spock and Bone. I think the problem for your next Arc is that it is too close to earth. Aa

Alex

From the poll, I can tell my opinion is less popular, but I've always enjoyed TBoB the most when the action is intense. The siege at Grand Falls was probably my favorite arc. I believe that whatever you're most excited to write will most likely be the best version of TBoB, including the interesting SPOILER idea. If you do go through with a story like that I would like to see Bob, Dusty, and the gang go along with her. Evelyn has admitted her personal combat skills could use some polish, maybe there's a way to do some introspection through that angle? She keeps investing in logistics and (bear)power, and knows in her head that it all falls apart without her, but maybe a particularly close call could shake her priorities up?

M R

Cool down arcs are fun and Teddy really could use to learn to do more with her bots and clean up is a great way to do that. Yes Teddy has become very powerful but she could still use training on her forces working together and actually command structures, not to mention her own abilities when she doesn’t have the bears

Alex

I do like when Teddy goes home and catches up with all her old problems. And I love anything involving her family. But I would be lying if I said I wanted another vacation arc over some intense action that generates points hand-over-fist

fleatingday

What about threats that are not physical. Teddy could very well be seen as the boogey man of calgary. What about a group using bear mechs facimalies to tarnish teddys image or using them as a shield to commit illicit activity. Hell i could see a terroist organisation that think all samurai and antithesis are in league and want them gone. Conflict does not have to be direct after all. Another way to hamper Teddy is logistics. If you destriy enough bears at one time and give her no time to rebuild. Hell have 3 events. Large force lost, production destruction/ sabatoge/hinderance, and too many places for bears to be.

Alex

SPOILER TALK DON'T READ Your friend is probably correct. TBoB has sort of out-scaled SCS (Cat is only PART of a seige in the arc on RR). I think separating Teddy from her troops is an interesting solution and could have a really great payoff. It does sort of kick the can down the road, so to speak, even though it would be absolutely worthwhile to read and write. Stories similar to TBoB, like superhero and progression fantasy stories, do tend to run into a problem like Teddy's bears. Sort of a 'we killed god, now what?' conoundrum, where we want to see protag overcome stronger and scarier things but if the story goes on long enough we start throwing galaxies at each other (yes, that's a specific anime reference). As merely a dilletante and patron, I know my opinion is not the most compelling, but I think I would be disappointed if we didn't eventually get to epic scale battles with a maxed out Stratocarrier (or two) printing hundreds of bears or dozens of vehicles at a time. I will happily remain a patron for as long as I can do so, regardless of what happens. I hope my words will be understood in good faith.

Michael Yust

The problem with the action arcs (for me anyway) is that they started to feel like Monster of the Week episodes. Teddy finally kills one monster and then poof, another one shows up. Teddy is perfect for the next phase of the SCS timeline; she has the forces to saturate an area and hunt down hidden hives. Then, when she finds one, she can concentrate her forces on eliminating it. She also has to deal with the growing power of the Undercity. They used to be ignored by everyone unless someone wanted indentured servants or cheap drugs. Now it has better schooling and better food than most middle-class sections of the city. People are going to want a slice of that pie. Not only hostile corps but some that want to move in peacefully but who are unaware of the culture of the Undercity.

Lumizi

I think this would be a good time to finish the cleanup in Great Falls within the next two chapters and then skip back to Calgary, where Teddy can focus on the next step in City/Undercity development. Get Jennifer's bus idea rolling, build more schools, use the new dissolving rigs to speed up the cleaning of the undercity's toxic lake, and build a new, big military base or centralized school complex with food production etc. there, or something else. Also, make the council hire a new PMC or get paid for providing these in the form of her bears, who could still work fine after her death. You could use the argument that, in case of her death, the bears can be inherited by her family or something, so that the city is not dependent on her.

Horty

A problem I have with the story is, that points don't really matter and Nyx is too passive. I think the idea of Teddy without her army arc is good. But she would have to be broke and there needs to be a good reason to not just buy bears. Points at this point aren't even mentioned. She just has enough to buy whatever. Teddy really lost this "I grew up broke and am stingy" vibe. Some introspection would also be good. I mean she is basically full synthetic at this point, but she never really thinks about it. At some point people loose their shit to come back stronger. Options for character development. Could do with a casual arc. The SCS style of casual-action-casual mix is great. Just personal power alone is boring after a while. Her impact to her surroundings and perhaps improvement is always nice to see. That's what I really like in Azarinth Healer for example. And in the casual arc she could tackle problems like resources. I dunno, maybe she starts a mine or something. Become an employer. Build something of a factory for mass bear production. Maybe even build something to sell to people. A "Teddy as a boss"-short-arc could be fun. Gives room for some new PoV Chappies and also the good old classic "corpos trying to disrupt a samurai project and get fucked"-chapters. Cat shooting the mayor lives rent free in my head.

Wombat's Writings

Yeah... I'd like to write Teddy trying to survive without her regular kit. I think it'd be fun to see the other Samurai look at her and be like: 'What the FUCK are you doing?'

Wombat's Writings

Oh, I was definately planning on having more home time once Teddy got back there, reviewing all the kids hobbies and seeing how her support system had developed. I like going over that stuff, I'm just aware that some people aren't

Wombat's Writings

Muhahahahaha... I like the idea of Sharron having a 'Mars Teddy', maybe I'll throw something like that in since I'm planning on introducing some Mars samurai reguardless

Wombat's Writings

Hmmmm.... it's a good point. I've been focusing on developing the bears and showing how bad Teddy is at actually being an adult, but showing more of her social awkwardness might be a good idea too. (She is awkward, but she usually covers it up by throwing bears at her issues.)

Wombat's Writings

That is the problem I'm having with TBoB right now. Teddy's done a lot, and can take on some real monsters. Granted, SCS is pretty much tailored to monster of the week, but I don't want to keep resorting to 'here's this new thing' The undercity will almost certianally be a focus of at least part of this book, there's just too much to cover back there to leave it alone

Wombat's Writings

It's true, she could help with the cleanup more... or at least go explore teh burrows that have been cleaned up. I rarely have her right on the front line, or spending a lot of time studying the structure of hive tunnels because she's running through them trying to kill/avoid getting killed by things. Perhaps it's time for an investigation.

Wombat's Writings

Training arc? Actually... that's brilliant. After what happened in the pacific I could see Sharron forcing Teddy to do some actual combat or aquatic training so she doesn't just flail around (but still achive her objective) while she's on the front lines.

Wombat's Writings

That's true, she did loose quite a few bears to aquatic threats (even though she only brought a portion of her forces) so there could be reasons for her to have to operate without bears. Even if her forces weren't sabotaged, having them tied up wiht something like civil protection, or riot control, could force teddy to work with a limited team. Soemthing to think about

Dylan

Having a non Sam love interest persue her world be fun. Esp as an alt POV, giving context to how batshit her life is. A fun template to consider is how Miles is gently chased in Komarr: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komarr

Wombat's Writings

Yeah, TBoB was my first 'serious' attempt at fiction and although I stuck close to the original SCS format at the start, I quickly learned that trying to stick point costs on everything wasn't my thing. Even when I was keeping track a lot of people would complain that I was either giving her too many, or to few points. Don't get me wrong, points are a core idea to the SCS universe, it's just my scatter brain is TERRIBLE at managing something like that, which is why I slowly went to a more 'you have a lot' stratagy. And I made Nyx passive because I realized early on how much of a cheat the AI could be. They could spoil exactly what type of antithesis were in the area, the exact location for each, and the best weapon or technique to exterminate them. That's why I tend to avoid relying on Nyx, since they could do everything. Making them passive means they won't be spoiling the engagements. Introspection is definately a good idea. Teddy's been through a lot, and although she's done some growth over the series, she rarely thinks things through. She needs to start confronting her weaknesses / issues. As for the casual arc ideas: All good! I hadn't thought about her being the boss somewhere, but since she has the hydroponics, and is helping the locals, she's probably at least nominally in charge of some things. It'd be interesting to see how the people around her see her.