#and as such while the worldbuilding is important to understanding the plot from an overarching perspective thats not rly how the story is

[arolesbianism]

Sorry for failing to post more than once every 3 am anyways more stalien icons 👍

[clueless-fan-critic]

Why Helluva Boss Surpasses Hazbin Hotel In the Best Way Possible

The Helluva Boss Christmas episode dropped and I caught up with Season 2. I love this show so much for so many reasons. But that doesn't diminish Hazbin Hotel in any way at all. In fact, because of the show, it gives us a much deeper appreciation for what Helluva Boss is doing. I mean Hazbin Hotel was cool on Prime, but I want to talk about why Helluva Boss is the "Shrek 2" of the R-Rated animated musical series by a YouTube Animator. And that's a weird mouthful.

Getting Better with No Reward

Helluva Boss makes pretty clear that the "evil" demons of Hell are basically regular people with problems. Whether a majority of demons are born in Hell or damned souls, it's clear that they grow up from children to teens to adults. They have jobs, families, homes, and all the mundane things in our lives. And do in fact die. Possibly? That part is vague in whether they just get erased from existence or reincarnate Chainsaw Man style. But with those in mind, what would exactly be the point of being a "good" or "bad" person?

Throughout the series, many of the demons have some moral code, ethics, empathy, or rationale that sets them apart from the more chaotic and stereotypical demons. What I saw with a lot of characters is they willingly try and change for the better, all without Charlie Morningstar or the promise of Heaven, but redemption. This is especially in the case of Blitzø with a silent O.

Blitzø is one of the more unhinged characters you would see as a demon: immoral, selfish, hedonistic, all those demony things. But we, the audience, get to see his life, his failures, and his pain and how it shaped him. While it doesn't excuse his actions, it does make us understand. Once realizing these feelings, Blitzø tries to confront the consequences of his actions, with some trial and failure. Reconciling with his twin sister Barby: failed. Apologizing to his exes: failed. Talking with Fizzoralli: okay but still some scars, literal and figurative.

In fact, both Blitzø and Charlie share one major quality: attempting to change the status quo of Hell. But Blitzø wants to be seen more than a lackey to other higher demons while Charlie wants to prove people can change for the better. While Charlie's reason is more rooted in selflessness and hope, Blitzø's feels more human and genuine. From what I could see from the show so far, Hell is getting a whole lot bigger in what it can offer.

What's The Big Difference?

Helluva Boss is a more grounded and relatable show than the epic musical of Hazbin Hotel. The show allows for a lot of worldbuilding moments with the different rings of Hell along with their functions and associated demons. We're introduced to imps at the bottom of the demon hierarchy, demon royalty through Stolas and the Goetia royals, and six of the Seven Deadly Sins.

It seems the Seven Deadly Sins hold the most authority compared to the Overlords. It might be that the Overlords are more rich people like CEOs, industrialists, and entertainers while the Sins are like government officials, both holding power and influence but in different areas of life.

Whenever Hell is used in a show, it's represented in a myriad of ways ranging from classic burning pits to existential or nihilistic despair. It does make it clear that Hell is more a dark reflection of life on Earth, but more dirty, vibrant, and chaotic nonetheless. Even the Earth depicted in the show isn't really different aside from the whole demonic powers and magic stuff.

What Makes it More Interesting than its Predecessor?

Helluva Boss uses episodes as vehicles for their characters. Basically, getting to know who we're watching, why they're important, how they are as people, and so on. It doesn't have an overarching story that builds to a final battle. They're just chilling with exploring characters and their impact to others and the present stories in different episodes. Although there are interconnecting plots and stories, the show is mostly episodic.

Its strongest element include the characters, its main cast, supporting, and even one-off jokes, they all leave impressions on anyone who sees them. Millie is given more exploration in later episodes with why she always put up with Blitzø and believes in their business despite his total incompetence and hangups. You think Millie is just this bubbly tank, but shows a much more vulnerable side who wants to be seen more than her "intended role."

Stolas is another character is breaks the mold of his role. With disastrous results for everyone he cares for. Stolas is the love interest of Blitzø who aids IMP with his magic. He slowly breaks out from being a prince into someone else he hasn't found yet. We see his royal comfort implode in the Sinsmas finale, he loses his status, power, and even his daughter because of a perceived fantasy or escape that would free him. But, like a lot of caged birds, he doesn't fare so well in the real world. Now left with truly nothing but the very person he made his "sacrifice" for. Even uncertain of that as well.

But, the songs from both shows are incredible!!!!

My favorites include Loser, Baby performed by veteran Keith David and newcomer Blake Roman and U 2 Me performed in "Apology Tour" by Bryce Pinkham. Both those songs really connect with me while conveying character moments. The songs in Helluva Boss develop and explore character like a musical would use them for those big "Declaration of Something" anthem. Defying Gravity, We Don't Talk About Bruno, even Cell Block Tango, all are songs that explore one's mindset, opinions, and personal struggles.

Why Should I Watch...?

The Characters, the plots, the songs, the animation, so much F^$King things to admire and love that I can't... I just... 😣 😩 ... I don't know.

Just Watch It and See for Yourself!!!

[novlr]

How do I write a good monologue? Where a character has the upper hand over their rival, and they want them to KNOW IT

As a creative writer, mastering the art of writing a monologue can enrich your story and be a great tool for worldbuilding and revealing shocking truths. Characters may deliver monologues to express their inner thoughts, reveal their motivations, prove they have the upper hand, convey their emotions, or share their personal insights with the reader.

Understanding the reasons behind a character’s monologue can help you create one that is both compelling and resonant. Let’s explore the essential elements and techniques for how to write a monologue that truly connects with your audience.

Understand your character

Before writing a monologue, it’s essential to delve deep into the complexities of your character. Understand the motivations, fears, and desires that drive them both within the story, but also within the scene.

A well-crafted monologue should offer a window into the character’s inner world, revealing their personality and inner conflicts. By considering the character’s background, experiences, relationships, and the journey that led them to this point, you can discern how these elements have shaped their perspective and informed their voice. This depth of understanding ensures that the character’s monologue remains authentic, resonant, and true to their identity.

Establish theme and purpose

Every monologue should serve a purpose within your story. It’s crucial to know the thematic significance of the monologue and how it contributes to the overall narrative. Whether it serves as a moment of revelation, introspection, or a pivotal decision for the character, the monologue should align with the plot’s overarching themes.

A character’s emotional state when delivering their monologue is also a key element. Whether it’s passion, vulnerability, anger, or resilience, the language and tone should resonate with the character’s emotional journey, ensuring that it serves an integral part of their development and the story’s progression.

Craft compelling dialogue

When you write a monologue, pay close attention to the rhythm, pacing, and cadence of the dialogue. Consider the emotional state of the character delivering it, and let it influence the flow of their words.

Utilise vivid imagery, metaphor, and sensory details to create a striking and evocative monologue that engages your reader’s imagination. Experiment with the structure and length of the, allowing it to mirror the character’s state of mind. By carefully considering these elements, you can create dialogue that truly captivates and resonates.

Don’t infodump

Monologues can serve an important purpose in any story, and while a certain level of information reveal is necessary, it’s also important not to go overboard into infodump territory.

When you write a monologue, it’s essential to avoid excessive exposition of backstory or revealing plot details in a way that feels forced or unnatural. What this does is overwhelm your audience with large chunks of information, breaking the pacing and flow. Instead, try to integrate relevant details seamlessly into your character’s dialogue. Allow the information to unfold naturally, and make sure that you also reveal information at other key moments in the plot, rather than saving it all for a single monologue.

Embrace vulnerability and authenticity

A powerful monologue often stems from a place of vulnerability. Allowing your character to express raw and genuine emotions, even if they are conflicted or imperfect, can deeply resonate with the audience.

Try to avoid clichés and generic expressions; instead, infuse the monologue with your character’s unique voice and perspective. Authenticity and vulnerability not only add depth to the character’s words but also create a genuine connection with the reader, inviting them into the character’s inner world.

[akkivee]

A sudden thought I had in relation to my epiphany while thinking about the NGE parallels, but I'm starting to wonder if BB and BAT's lack of deeper plot is BECAUSE of their ages? Like they're so young, (Hitoya is 14 y/o at heart adsjflkasdjl;), so realistically why would they be involved in government shenanigans? But really, what I'm starting to wonder is if they're actually meant to represent the struggle of youths inheriting a world destroyed by the prior generation, a struggle that is pretty universal with the millennial and gen Z demographics globally. Like all they can do is survive the best they can with all the craziness happening because of the actions of the characters older than them.

i'm not sure if bat's there just yet, despite kuukou going thru some of that by proxy of being on a team with ichiro back in the day, but yes absolutely on bb's part lol, it's how they help hypmic's worldbuilding lol. bb also expresses a desire to change their world, but are pretty aimless about it for the most part, which you usually ascribe to youth lol

the block party tho shows ichiro's initiative to change the world and is also meant to show the hope for a better world adults (esp those in higher positions, like the neighbourhood president in bb's track) tend to push on to the youth, as evident from rei using this as a time to point ichiro to the real fight, and samatoki in his next appearance saying he understands the power hope can have. (hip hop was born from these high school kids throwing a block party calling for the end of gun violence that was killing their community. the block party is taking inspiration from that real world event)

bb and bat share a same writing beat where they introduce an ideal that's very important to live by in their messed up world and is an overarching lesson hypmic wants to impart, such as the need to protect your community or the importance of music, and i wouldn't be surprised if bbbat are in a more unique position to follow thru with those ideals bc they're young and without adult responsibilities, and that hitoya is there as the adult arguably with the best position to help them further along those ideals (bc adults need to be able to help clear the way for the youth too, instead of making it harder for them to change their/our shitty world)

[writingingraves]

RO

Am citit a doua carte din seria Zburătorii, de @renataroshu ! Mi-a plăcut mult! Şi m-a lăsat pe gânduri - adică a trecut ceva timp de când o poveste m-a lăsat cu sentimentul "acum ce urmează?". Gândurile mele despre prima carte.

Bine, bine, bine! Povestea e şi mai bine formată şi executată; scrisul e consistent, stiul din primul volum fiind fost întreținut; caracterizarea e realistă şi bine făcută, personajele se simt ca persoane reale pe care le-am ştiut la un moment dat, oh ho - Orion m-a enervat mult dar încă îi apreciez personajul mult - iar povestea principală le oferă o dinamică rar întâlnită în cărți pentru copii şi adolescenți; firul narativ pur şi simplu rupe (da am băgat slang); elementul misterului şi revelațiile sau descoperirile sunt executate extrem de bine în seria asta; construcția lumii e suficient de convingătoare şi demonstrează o anumită atenție dată detaliilor, ceea ce apreciez; tonul e mult mai greoi şi matur spre deosebire de prima carte, dar a fost cu grijă formulat, iar astfel e foarte efectiv şi intens. Felix tot favoritul meu nr. 1 e (din păcate nu e la fel de mult focus pe el, aceea atenție împărțită cu alte personaje importante). Ia acum Shomkereki e personajul meu preferat e numero dos. Îl ador. Îi ador.

Finalul, pentru mine, a fost satisfăcător dar ba chiar - prea satisfăcător. A lăsat la un punct unde majoritatea poveştii protagoniştilor a avut o rezoluție anume. Multe puncte narative au rămas să fie rezolvate sau explorate, da...nu ştiu - m-a lăsat cu ochii în soare. Poate pur şi simplu vroiam mai mult cu ei, personajele, mai multă poveste de citit pentru că mi-a plăcut mult.

Tare povestea până acum, @redotter!

EN (slightly to the left)

I read the second book of the Soarers series by @renataroshu! I liked it a lot! It sent me into a lot of thinking, theorising and pondering! It's been a while since a story has left me in the "what now?" after being done reading.

*Here are my thoughts about the first volume.

Ok, ok, ok! My messy thoughts are these: this story is goddamn tight! The consistency, linear storytelling, overarching conflict and its subplot mysteries are wonderfully executed and utilised! This story has a lot of moral ambiguity and a lot of nuance in characterization and plot! The characters feel a lot like real people, which fits the realism of the story told. Orion disappointed me so fricking much as a person this book (I can be understanding but oh my god get a grip, kid. Be a little less self conceited) but I really appreciate him as a character (dynamic, nuanced, fun to read and impactful). The character arcs slap, seriously. Felix is still my top favorite boy I love to bits, yet now I have a numero dos favorite boy: Shomki! I just love his maturity contrasting with his mischievous personality in this one haha. Sadly, Felix didn't have as much "run time" this time around because it had to be shared with other important characters. It's fine, his moments were all gold nonetheless. Ugh, I love this kid. He is my favorite character: the beloved baby.

Rambling aside - the overall tone is much heavier, serious and mature than the first book and oh man I loved it but it brought migraines and disturbed pauses from reading because of the fatigue. Some stuff legit brought emotional fatigue! But they were handled very well. Nothing seemed romanticised or treated too light to me. Crazy fun stuff, holy smokes. The storyline fucks hard (yes, slang). That's it. The worldbuilding is very good too - convincing enough, suficient. It has a lot of care put into it. I like that the writing style from the first book remained intact (the switch of narrator pov and person; fairly light vocabulary; specific descriptions). I hoped for it, actually.

The end is satisfactory - but... maybe a bit too satisfying? To me. It stopped at a point where a lot of main stuff was settled, explored or wrapped up. There is still a lot of stuff to be solved and seen, obviously, it's just that it left me feeling a bit empty. In the sense that, it was great, it was enough and I do not feel the same urge to continue the series as the first book's ending did make me feel. In other words, I guess I expected to be hyped up for the grand to come in the following volume (I'm pretty sure there'll be a third...yeah.) and I wanted that cliffhanger to grab me in a chokehold. The ending of this volume is very good and I still want to continue the story - I was simply left with this conflicting feeling of... "oh. ok".

Anyways-! I'm looking forward to how the overarching plot line will turn out.

Solid story for now, @redotter .

[disdainforbroussonetia]

Okay, so I started to make this comic about Kars from JJBA becoming best-friends with Steven from SU recently, and I want to explain a few stuff:

The comics will have an episodic formula, with an overarching plot, but nothing too serious or high-concept, just chill stuff for now.

Regarding the story (this'll be pretty long, but trust me, it's important):

First of all, you don't necessarily need to know much about Jojo to understand what's going to be happening here, any relevant info will be revealed when needed! But you should have some knowledge of SU, as I won't be explaining much of the things from it.

How closely will it follow the lore/plot of the original source material(s) tho?

As closely as I possibly can make it. Regarding SU, this story happens roughly after season 3 episode 25 (bubbled), timewise. Anything that happened up to season 3 episode 23 (Earthlings) happened the exact same way here too (this means that Jasper is currently corrupted, Bismuth has been bubbled by Steven, Nephrite got semi-healed by Steven, who revealed how the gems on Earth got corrupted, and Steven is aware that Pink Diamond was shattered by Rose). As for Jojo, all of the events up to the end of part 4 (Diamond is Unbreakable) happened pretty much the same way here. But do note that just because certain worldbuilding/lore weren't touched on up to that point in either stories, doesn't mean it won't be relevant here.

Now, the main problem I ran into, when trying to connect the worldbuilding, is while the Earth in Jojo looks practically the same as it does in real life, albeit with a few made up locations, the Earth in SU looks like this:

many of the countries have different names, and stuff (for example Canada is instead the Great North, and America only has 39 states). They way I've "solved" this, is that every country(both real and fictional) mentioned in JJBA up to part 6(Stone Ocean) exists on this map, but if SU has an alternative name for it, then they're both canon here (idk if I should be using the word "canon" in this context tho, it feels kinda weird), so Great North is called both the Great North and Canada for example. Any states of America, that don't exist in SU, but are explicitly mentioned in JJBA exist as "lower ranking states", or "lesser states" within their closest SU equivalent (though "Florida" and "Florida Island" are the same thing here). Just in case, here's every mentioned location on Earth (not including Gem Locations, or places within Beach City), according to the Steven Universe wiki (I just copypasted it from there):

Africa: Ghana (Sahara desert) Asia: China • India • Japan • Korea • New Australia • New Zealand • Philippines Europe: Albania • Bulgaria • Greece • Italy • Middle East • Spain • Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway) • Russia (Siberia (Tunguska Sea)) Americas: North America: (The Great North (Newfoundland) • Greenland) USA: Arizona • California • Delmarva (Charm City • Ocean Town • Wilmington) • Empire State (Empire City (Le Hotel)) • Idaho • Georgia • Florida Island • Jersey • Kansas (Hollywood • University of Jayhawk) • Keystone (Keystone Motel • The Best Diner in the World) • Nevada • West Keystone (Showne) • Utah South America (Brazil) Antarctica: South Pole Other: Connie's School • Cram School • Cool Ranch • Hospital • Maheswaran Residence • Space Camp • Starlight Roller Rink

Places that are mentioned in any SU comics/games may appear in this story, but I'll be a bit more selective with them.

Any real life people and brands mentioned in JJBA also exist in this comic, for better, or worse.

Another thing is, that apparently neither of the world wars happened in SU??! I don't have a source for this, but I do remember hearing it from somewhere. Regardless, both world wars happened in this fic, as that is a major point in Kars' story. (and yes, Steven will punch at least one(1) nazi in this comic)

edit: I forgot to mention this, but the dollar in this comic will look like how it is depicted in SU, unlike in JJBA, where it's depicted realistically.

In case something contradicts the lore/events of either stories, that'll be for plot important things (unless I did genuienly fuck something up, then my bad! Both of these stories have pretty extensive lore!)

Also, this is my first time making a comic, so any constructive critiques would be appreciated!

If you have any questions regarding the worldbuilding (well, more accurately "world-smushing-two-incompatible-stories-together-until-they-form-one-cohesive-enough-amalgam-ing"), feel free to ask!

[valleygirlmukuroikusaba]

wait. ohhhhhhhhhhh now with a lot more info talking with more long-time fans i understand why emo mukuro is more widely accepted

bc non-despair junko was just simply just a Fanon junko interpretation that was well known so basically Mukuro being in her stead in canon(UDTP/USC timelines) meant nothing to most long-time fans so like apparently to most ppl mukuro would be more interesting if she didnt fill the valley girl archetype bc like they got a fanon junko running around just doing that and thats why ppl were dissatisfied when mukuro as is was left out n is parading around as "chiller" junko in like any new media which i mean i wasn't in the fandom when USC came out so its vv much. times were different back then and i was absent lolllll

also they probably had more information and time to process than me who's like. i played thh blind like 2 months ago saw the twist blind and went. aw man they replaced the chill junko from ch1 with this FREAK LMAOOOO . basically i see mukuro how the fandom views twogami lol..........(tho twogami straight up doesnt have a name of his own) tho preference wise im way more partial to just friendly valley girl characters so its just ch1 syndrome where everyone friendly and likable dies instantly(stares at sayaka and leon)

but im like open-minded that she could be her more of her devout emotionless empty self for her inner-life but imo with the story with what i want to tell with mukuro with my AU the line blurs but i did want it that theres still a bit of stuff i wanted to take a crack at trying to repurpose her unmasked maladjusted servitude as a irreversible aftereffect bc . girl she's going thru it 😭😭😭

also it makes her dynamic with makoto and sayaka kinda somber to me bc both of them benefit off of her than mukuro can off them. like she's literally a conduit that feeds into makoto's savior complex being like the closest person to junko. at bottom of the barrel for every victim junko fucks up not even nagito comes close with how much he thinks he beefs with junko(but then he just kinda beefs with everyone atp) and sayaka is very much capable of influencing others to get things done her way and if she was more attached to mukuro then basically mukuro would simply be "under new management" just its someone that isn't her sister instead and nothing rlly changes or drives them to change each other but sometimes that kind of calm is beneficial to mukuro. it would feel at home for her(?) i do think their relationships to mukuro r STILL important to the AU bc while i plan to make mukuro very different(sorry emo mukuro fans this isn't for you its for me lol) the thing is that. take her away from her sister and either she'll internalize her memory of junko(like how korekiyo does. ?) or she'll literally just be in a perpetual state of agony and feels like she has to do anything to get back to junko to get her "needs met" bc thats junko's the only meaning of her existence so she needs those relationships even as bit of distraction to get her to like even break out of that mold bc its digestible for her even tho to me personally its strange and unfair to me but the alternative is that makoto never bails her out and continues to be a empty shell of a person serving junko out of whatever remnant of nostalgia is left after ego death or smth.

tho i need to read drif and dr0 for real this time(have the documents just havent got around to it). bc ive been putting it off bc im USC brained atm and also i kinda need to be in the right headspace to tackle it bc it's in junko's POV i think? love a unreliable narrator. hi junko enoshima cant believe i have to figure out her whole deal too tho that deep dive is probably inevitable for my research of seeing what i can work with bc like even tho i hate the overarching HPA/FF lore plot bc like. if it was like v3 lore then id probably not even have such a big lore overhaul bc my AU worldbuilding is very much v3 inspired n just sighhh why is there so much bullshit in the world abt a weird school filled with crazy kids that probably look like they'd preform just as well if they were all high school dropouts or something idfk

ok rambles over i gonna go look at my 600+ downloaded reaction videos to post on here now

[rosysreadingrefugium]

Review: The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy)

read from 18 June to 2 July

read for bingo square " Featuring Robots"

These novellas were the first Science Fiction books I have ever read (excluding Gideon, Harrow and Nona the Ninth). I did not know what to expect but I was not disappointed. I have devoured these books in such short time and I have loved each one of them.

They were so short that I have decided to treat the 4 novellas as one book and to not rate each novella separately.

Basic Facts

Title: The Murderbot Diaries (All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy)

Author: Martha Wells

Pages: 534

Synopsis: The Murderbot Diaries is a series concerning a violent, self-hacking cyborg searching for the meaning of life. In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth. (Synopsis of the first book: All Systems Red)

Review / Rambling (Beware of spoilers)

I am going to be honest, it took me a while to get used to the setting of these novellas. Since I am not very well-versed in Science-Fiction literature, I needed some time to arrive in the setting and understand the worldbuilding. Especially the concept of the "feed" took me a bit to understand (I am not sure if I even understand it correctly). I cannot say if it was "typical", "tropey" SciFi worldbuilding but it was everything you would expect from such a story. There are spaceships, planets, space stations, etc. in a very futuristic setting. I liked the setting but I did not like the getting used to it (it really took me some time to understand the bulk of concepts / new things). 3 stars for worldbuilding/setting.

All 4 novellas have on overarching arc that begins in Book 1 and ends in Book 4. They are loosely connected but every book tells a different story and has an own arc. Being novellas, the plot begins suddenly and in action. It feels quite rushed and there is no fluff. Everything happens fast and the conflict is over before you even know it. The topics that are explored are overall interesting and important (cyborgs that develop feelings and relationships, slavery, capitalism etc.) but since the space is limited, they do not get explored as much as they should. There is not time for mysteries - they are solved almost instantly. All these things are typical characteristics of novellas, but if you want a really long and rewarding read, these are not the books for you. 3 stars for plot.

Martha Wells really shines when it comes to her characters. Murderbot is such a great protagonist. It is not very relatable in its struggles but it still captures such a beautiful look on humanity. Murderbot is also quite funny, esp. its internal monologues. The other characters were well-written too, I esp. enjoyed the relationship between Murderbot and ART and between Murderbot and Miki. In books 2 and 3 however, the characters seemed to not be as distinct from each other as the characters from the first and fourth book. 4 stars for characters.

The writing style of Martha Wells is also quite easy to read and understand. She likes to describe a lot of things but sometimes these descriptions were a bit too lengthy and too science-y. Also, at some points, I had the feeling that she described too little of the actual important stuff. Apart from that, her writing style was pretty straight-forward and I enjoyed it a lot. 4 stars for writing style.

+ 0.5 for overall vibes.

final rating: 4 stars

[jjsanguine]

I am so confused my people calling character driven episodes/arcs filler. Apart from that character focus being necessary for even the most plot driven stories, that is not what filler is?

Filler is when they are adapting something, say a manga, and in the adaptation, say an anime, they start running out of source material to adapt. So they write a few self contained episodes or even a while arc These episodes fill time, that's why they're called filler.

This filler cannot have any meaningful impact on the plot or character's arcs, because then it would feel disjointed when the adaptation starts following the source material again. That's why it's a waste of time, not the fact that it isn't overarching plot focused.

Let me give an example. Say we have a sports show about Abi. Abi is the best player, is new on the team, and Abi trying to win the big sports tournament is the overarching plot of the show. Abi is a loner and isn't playing a team sport, so there's no faffing around with giving personalities and backstory to all of the teammates.

Then, right before the important game at the end of season 1, there's an episode showing Abi being taught how to drum by their friend Bukky, who always wears lavender perfume.

If drumming or Bukky or lavender never came up again, it still wouldn't be filler if this sports show is not an adaptation of anything. It might be annoying or a bizarre direction for the show to take, but it's not filler.

But if all of those things do come up again, this episode could answer or prompt all sorts of questions about the main character Abi.

Does Abi drum absentmindedly, indicating that drumming used to be a big part of their life? Do they drum when they see or smell lavender because it reminds them of Bukky? Do they drum when they're nervous, indicating that they aren't as cocky or stoic as they appear?

Next episode, the important game. Abi misses a play or goal or whatever because there was a lavender air freshener in the team bus and during the game Abi's hands were too busy drumming absentmindedly.

If an audience member dismissed the drum episode as filler and skipped it, this seems nonsensical, contrived. The overarching plot indicating that Abi must repair or resolve their relationship to someone called Bukky in order to win the big sports tournament comes out of nowhere. But people who watched the episode saw the air freshener in the bus and knew what was up.

Now, maybe there wasn't enough foreshadowing, or the pacing was off, or whatever. But those are problems with the execution. This character driven episode is absolutely necessary for understanding both the characters and the plot direction.

If the only things standing between Abi and winning the big sports tournament were time, training and willpower, it isn't a story, it's a training montage. The characters need to interact with other characters and/or the world or you're muddying a worldbuilding project with characters.

If this is a show with like 6 episodes a season, or a film, maybe there's not enough time for a whole episode. But unless people want to watch action sequences interspersed with star wars scrolling text to give context, this is what episodic storytelling is, these pauses to process and prepare for the next plot heavy arc.

[fictionadventurer]

Fairy Tale Retellings

I know that @magpie-trove has been recommended enough books to fill several years, but since fairy tale retellings are my niche, I’m going to throw some more titles out there. (I’m limiting myself to 1) books/short stories 2) that I enjoyed 3) that I haven’t seen mentioned in connection to the original post. I’m also trying not to branch out into too many tales, so I’m going to be leaving out some slightly more obscure ones).

Before I go into the specifics, I’m just going to say, that if you only read three books out of this list, read Entwined by Heather Dixon (12 Dancing Princesses),  Brine and Bone by Kate Stradling (Little Mermaid) and Valiant by Sarah Macguire. (And if you only read one series, make it Regina Doman’s Fairy Tale Novels.)

Cinderella

Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: Short, sweet, autumny retelling that I like for the atmosphere and the loving relationship between Cinderella and her stepfamily.

Silver Woven In My Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Extremely short, traditional retelling, starring a mistreated girl who collects Cinderella stories while being in one of her own. Has a sweet charm to it.

Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: A short retelling set in a traditional fairy tale kingdom, but with an excellent plot twist. I like it very much until the ending entangles it in a far-too-complicated magic system.

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo: A sassy retelling starring a grumpy fairy baker who tries to get out of his godfather duties by getting his two charges to fall in love with each other. Gets points for a unique, almost Wodehousish parody element that is an extreme breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by YA romances.

The Spinner and the Slipper by Camryn Lockhart: Mashes up the story with Rumpelstiltskin. Clearly the work of a very young author, but I’m putting it on here for the fun use of the fairies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Beauty and the Beast

Unseen Beauty by Amity Thomsen: Traditional fantasy retelling from the POV of one of the invisible servants. Writing that’s a cut above most self-pubbed books, with extra points for featuring a female friendship that’s just as important as the main romance.

Snow White

Fairest Son by H.S.J. Williams: Gender-flipped version involving the fae. Is the only Snow White retelling that had me uncertain for a while of where the plot was going to go.

Sleeping Beauty

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan: A sci-fi retelling involving a girl who was regularly kept in stasis for the convenience of her corporate mogul parents, then was left in stasis for more than 70 years while the apocalypse happened. She wakes up to a world that’s recovered to become a very different place and has to deal with the emotional fallout of everything that’s happened to her. And it’s intense. This book has the distinction of being one of only two books with scenes that made me put the book down so I could sob uncontrollably. (The other is Rapunzel Let Down). There’s a little bit of content (a couple of kissing scenes that veer toward steamy, and use of futuristic swear words that have clear connections to modern swear words) but easily skippable.

The Little Mermaid

Brine and Bone by Kate Stradling: On first read, I appreciated it as a faithful-to-Andersen retelling, but found it otherwise forgettable. I reread it earlier this year and cannot understand how I possibly came to that conclusion. This has beautiful character work in a unique world that, I cannot stress this enough, is loyal to the Andersen version while appreciating the true joy of that ending.

Silent Mermaid by Brittany Fichter: First half had some excellent world-building and interesting conflicts that fell apart in a more cliche second half, but I remember it being enjoyable overall.

The Princess and the Pea

The Bruised Princess by A.G. Marshall: Part of her Once Upon a Short Story collection. They’re all decent-to-great, but this one is my favorite, a sweet little romance that makes the story make a surprising amount of sense.

I need to give a shout-out to my favorite retelling of this tale. I can’t remember the title. It was on Fanfiction.net back in the day. (I tried looking it up, but it wasn’t part of the collection I assumed it was in). It was from the POV of the servant who had to stuff all twenty mattresses. She has allergies and is miserable by the time she’s done, and gets her revenge by stuffing the top mattress with gravel.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Entwined by Heather Dixon: One of my very top favorite retellings, a creative and whimsical and touching story focusing on the twelve close-knit sisters and their relationship with their buttoned-up father in the aftermath of their mother’s death.

The Brave Little Tailor

Valiant by Sarah McGuire: The only retelling I’ve ever seen of this tale, starring a girl who has to masquerade as a boy to get work as a tailor, and winds up entangled in a kingdom’s battle against giants. The first act is very boring, but it turns into a very well-done retelling with excellent characters and worldbuilding.

Bonus: Series

These are series that retell several fairy tales in the same universe, and I thought it’d be easier to present them all together than separating them out by fairy tale.

The Fairy Tale Novels by Regina Doman: Catholic retellings set in the modern day. They have their weak points, but they’re my gold standard for how to write a modern retelling and how to write a religious romance.

The Shadow of the Bear: Snow White and Rose Red. Fun and adventurous. Gets points for introducing me to Chesterton.

Black as Night: Snow White, focusing on the Snow White character from the first book. Darker and more intense, but with some deep themes.

Waking Rose: Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the Rose Red character’s adventures in college. By far the most popular book in the series, it’s overlong, but extremely good.

The Midnight Dancers: The Twelve Dancing Princesses, focusing on mostly new characters with a side character from Waking Rose in the soldier role. A slighter story with a pricklier main character, but it’s a strong contender for my favorite in the series, exploring the connections between beauty and truth and goodness.

Alex O’Donnell and the 40 Cyberthieves: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, starring Waking Rose side characters. This is a lighter adventure tale. All the stuff surrounding the hacking subplot is slightly ridiculous, but it’s one of the only YA novels I’ve ever seen that explores the realistic nuances of considering marriage with someone very different from you.

Rapunzel Let Down: Rapunzel. By far the darkest themes (it’s classified as an adult book). All new characters with some cameos. I thought it was decent on first read, but on reread, it blew me away with some of its themes (Except for a very melodramatic fifth act).

The Andari Chronicles by Kenley Davidson: Retellings set in a very mildly magical fantasy world, mostly focused on political intrigue.

Traitor’s Masque: Cinderella. 60% longer than it needs to be because of the extremely wordy writing style, and it makes me tear my hair out every time I try rereading, but the core conflict between the two brothers is compelling.

The Countess and the Frog: The Frog Prince. A short prequel novella focusing on a side character from the first book. I think it’s only available as a freebie on the author’s site but may be one of my favorite romances because the leads are so cute and sensible together.

Goldheart: Rumpelstiltskin. My favorite in the series, focused on a shy painter given an impossible task and the friends who help her get through it. The writing style’s much more concise here.

Pirouette: The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Political-intrigue focused. Also much wordier than it needs to be, though not as much as the first book. Twists the fairy tale in extremely interesting ways and has some great characters. (Prologue and epilogue are some of my favorite bits of writing in the series).

Shadow and Thorn: Beauty and the Beast. The most magical book in the series, and the most confusing because of that. There was one really cool moment with Beauty’s father, but otherwise I didn’t care for it all that much.

Daughter of Lies: Snow White with spies. Short, but fun. Reminds me of a Georgette Heyer farce.

Path of Secrets: Red Riding Hood with spies. I remember nothing about this story, which may tell you all you need to know.

Once: Six Historically Inspired Fairy Tales: What I think of as a kind of spin-off to the Rooglewood collections, this novella collection by six different authors retells six different fairy tales. My favorites are a dark but beautiful “Little Match Girl” retelling set in WWII, a steampunkish Rumpelstiltskin, and With Blossoms Gold, a Rapunzel retelling set in the Renaissance. (The only one I didn’t like at all was the Sleeping Beauty story).

Destined series by Kaylin Lee: Includes retellings of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty in one interconnected storyline. I’ve only read the first four; they’re okay-to-decent books whose main strength is the unique world they’re set in (think magical steampunky 1930s, which seems like a work of genius after you’ve been reading through a million retellings set in generically fairy tale kingdoms). My favorite is the fourth, Betrayed, which retells Little Red Riding Hood and mostly stands alone (until the last act veers it into a really complicated overarching plot).

[seraphym100]

100 Days of Writing

[Day 5] Worldbuilding

The prompt we were offered today by @the-wip-project was to describe a worldbuilding detail in our WIP that we really liked.

I’ve been writing fanfiction only for the past few years. I hadn’t written for decades and fic was what got me writing again. I haven’t moved away from it yet.

So I thought I’d write a bit about that. Specifically, what writing fan fiction is like versus writing original fiction.

The amazing thing about fanfiction is that the world has already been built. Depending on the fandom, there might be centuries of history, an entire planet, countries and cities, races, and political systems. Dragon Age, for example, has all those and religious beliefs, human rights abuses and champions, several wars, a rebellion, I mean, it just goes on and on. For me to come up with a world even half as rich would take years and years.

Another thing that’s already in place when it comes to fanfiction is the plot. Again, depending on the fandom, there could be a huge, winding plot full of endless loose threads to explore (and exploit), or it could be a loose, overarching plot with lots of room to make up things that happened ‘behind the scenes’. But like the worldbuilding, it’s not something we have to come up with from scratch. We can add things, insert things, expand things, all of which is easier than building the scaffolding of the plot and making sure it works well and there are no holes or draggy bits.

If you don’t write fanfiction, I can hear the question forming in your brain even as you read this:

So… if the world exists, is already populated, and there’s a plot.. what’s the point of writing fanfiction?

I live and breathe analogies, so humour me, if you will. If you’ve ever been tasked with entertaining a group of children outside, you will likely be familiar with their amazing ability to have fun with next to nothing. I worked as a nanny a few times in my teens and 20s, and then became a parent much later, and kids have this incredible capacity to bring life and stories to a backyard littered with a few foam noodles, a three-wheeled skateboard, and a broken dump truck.

For a while. But if they see the same backyard day after day, eventually their enthusiasm wanes and you need to switch it up. Or sometimes, the kids have never actually played outside before… they’ve grown up in daycares and are overscheduled with lessons and activities and have no idea what to do when faced with an empty backyard or a bare field.

This is when a smart caregiver will take the kids to a playground filled with equipment or a water park. Then the bored kids and the clueless kids have two things going for them: there are structures to explore and interact with, and they have examples of possibilities from the other kids already playing there. They give each other ideas and they build on them and it’s really fun to see how pirate battles and alien invasions and touching ‘playing house’ narratives are spun out between kids who have never met before, but who are drawn together by the cool shit they’re playing on and their ideas.

The kids are writers. The empty backyard and bare field is original fiction and the playground and water park is fanfiction. Most kids can handle both the bare field and the playground equally adeptly, but one brings something to their play that the other doesn’t. We don’t ask ‘what’s the point’ when kids are playing in a playground. We don’t think their play is somehow limited or ‘lazy’ because it’s utilizing an environment or structure that already existed! In the same way, writing a story that uses an existing world and developed characters is still deeply creative writing.

Just like kids can adapt structures to their play - such as inventing games to play with the foam noodles - they can expend the application of existing structures to accommodate their imaginations. A swing becomes the launch pad for a rocket. A slide is now the preferred way to get from the bedroom to the kitchen. In the same way, a writer can invent a world made up of things they find in their heads, and they can adapt and extend existing worlds to accommodate their own stories.

It’s kind of fucking brilliant, in my opinion.

But… if the world already exists, and it’s already populated… and you know what happens… what exactly are you writing?

I get it, I do. I don’t know any fanfiction writers in real life, so I’ve had to try to explain it a few times and the question is genuine.

And the answer is, just about anything we want to. We invent our own original characters and then make them play with the canon (established) characters. We take a scene from the movie, or book, or game and we change a detail that gives the whole scene a new meaning. Or we take something the original content mentions in passing and we go to town on it and develop it to our heart’s content. Did you think those two characters deserved more than a chance meeting when their shopping carts ran into each other? Then write a whole story on how they helped each other deal with the mess, how they teased each other about the contents of their carts, how they stared at each other for a minute and a half because neither of them were ready to walk away until finally one blurts out ‘do you wanna get coffee’ and then they become best friends for life.

Should those two not have broken up? Write the characters working through their problems and staying together. Was the ending absolutely fucked up in that movie? Of course it was. You can do better. So do it and share it with all the other people who feel the same way you did about that ending. Oh, holy hell did you see what that writer did with this character and their OC? What if they… yas, Royal, you go!

I still feel like it’s lazy, tho. Like, are you really developing as a writer if most of the imagining has already been done?

This took me longer to understand. But the short answer is that yes, absolutely you are developing as a writer. I can say this so confidently because worldbuilding, plot-developing, and character invention are still just some aspects of what good writing is all about.

Being able to move within and build upon a world, recognizing opportunities within a plot for expansion and development, and character development are also important. And many writers who have ample skill with the first things actually struggle because they’re weak in the next few things. They spend a lot of time constructing a whole world and peopling it, but the rest of the story is cobbled together.

Fanfiction hones certain skills extremely well. In order to write a fic that resonates with other fans of the same fandom, you have to write the existing characters consistently. Which means you have to know this character so well that you can introduce new people and new scenarios and the character can grow and develop while still retaining the voice and features that make up who they are. Most fans like their fic to be at least somewhat canon-compliant (following the original plot, lore, etc.). So you have to be able to identify which scenes or plot devices in the original lend themselves to your story idea and the characters you’re writing. And anytime you’re doing these things, you’re practising your writing skills, and that is never wasted.

[tfw-no-tennis]

ani....morphs.....

ok so picking up after the david trilogy, which hit hard as FUCK, we have book 23, which basically was a semi truck that ran over my corpse, jesus christ, they really followed up the david trilogy w/all that....

23 was so so good and also painful. its the culmination of a lot of tobias’s characterization in the series thus far and also we finally get the reveal we’ve been waiting for about elfangor....ooooh man 

and there was a lot of painful stuff in this book but the worst imo was tobias wondering if it were possible that somebody wanted him and would take care of him, only to have it all come crashing down in the worst way when it turned out aria was visser three in morph, ouch. 

that was so brutal augh. and when he figured it out and just crash landed and kept thinking about how he wanted to die and how he was stupid to think he could have a home...bro get these kids some THERAPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

so yeah that book was absolutely brutal but also so good...and it further fleshed out the animorphs working as a near-flawless team, w/the whole setup of tobias meeting w/the lawyer being so airtight and well-planned 

also more free hork bajir!! its cool that there's stuff happening w/them offscreen, I like that 

I literally had to take a break from reading the books bc the david triology + 23 was like so much, and also bc the olympics were on and all my time got dedicated to watching those, but then I opened 24, not sure what to expect, and BAM it was the helmacrons lmaoooo

I don't even remember the helmacrons but ig a lot of people hate them? lmao so that whole reputation preceded the book and I was like oh wow time for a change in tone

which wasn't wrong but also I liked that book?? I was never bored, even tho the whole thing was patently ridiculous and also had very little bearing on the overarching story

but I think it would be a standout if it were a TV episode w/a good budget - the visuals were amazing even in text, and I can imagine all the cool shrinking/growing/cellular stuff would be WICKED cool visually (ideally 2d animation but an ant man-esque live action adaptation wouldn't be terrible if they had the budget for it)

whatever let me dream. so yeah I didn't hate the helmacron book even tho the helmacrons themselves were...sure something. lmao I think they come back? that should be interesting

next book is the arctic one, we have yet another alien of the week style adventure - I liked this one too, it felt like more plot-y stuff happened since they destroyed the base, and marco’s POV is always fun 

I do find it funny/interesting how sometimes when the animorphs do something - like in this book, destroying that base in the arctic - it doesn't really seem to impact the yeerks much/it doesn't get brought up much after that. and then other things like them destroying the ground-based kandrona get mentioned a lot (that example is understandable tho bc that WAS a big deal). its just hilarious to me how blowing up entire building complexes has become so routine that it isn’t even worth mentioning at this point

Also I adore when they meet other random people/kids and are chill w/them, like w/that kid they met in the rain forest earlier on w/the time travel 

the descriptions of the brutally cold weather were great. I hate the cold so I was like oof this is a nightmare lmao

also ig that was the first ghostwritten book and I did kinda notice it was slightly different than usual? maybe? I could be imagining it tho 

okay but book 26 tho...BOOK 26. bruh 

that was SO good and I really didn’t know what to expect - but when we finally revisited Jake’s dream w/crayak I knew it was gonna be good (but I didn’t expect it to be a chess game war epic..!)

basically I loved it. SUCH a good Jake book - I really appreciate his character now as opposed to when I was 10 and often overlooked him (sorry jake).

similarly, when I was a kid and read these I sympathized a lot w/the chee and felt bad for them towards the end of the series when they had to get more involved in the war (genuinely don’t remember what they even do but ik I felt bad) 

but now I've basically 180′d and I'm like damn those chee sure are hypocrites huh. 

like they could solve So many of the animorphs problems but their stringent adherence to nonviolence leads to them actively getting in the animorphs way sometimes? and obviously pacifism is a complicated topic, but in this case it also intersect w/the whole ‘child soldier’ thing, and as beings who are insanely old and wise, the chee probably shouldn't just leave all the dirty work to a bunch of literal middle schoolers

aaaaanyways. there’s so much I love about this book. the iskoort! they were sure something. and the ‘plot twist’ that they are actually 2 beings, the Isk and the Yoort - and the Yoort are essentially Yeerks - that slapped. the symbiosis of it all! 

I loved the part where they all realize what this means, that this is why Crayak wants the iskoort destoryed - because someday the yeerks might come across them and realize parasitism is not the only way. I love it! 

alas I don’t recall the iskoort returning in the story (but also my memory is terrible so who knows?) but still that would be cool

basically I feel like this is the book where Jake Truly comes into his own as a leader, in every sense. he outmaneuvers Crayak, and even the ellimist, who’s yanking them around in his own way

the scene where jake shoves the howler off the cliff and jumps off and morphs and acquires the howler...that was fantastic and tense. 

also the murder is definitely becoming more overt. I mean, it has been for a while, but it isn’t really pointed out as much anymore. oof

more on the chee - as Jake points out in this book, and other characters point out in other books - the chee could have saved the pemalites, but instead just stood by while their creators were slaughtered. on the other hand, jake says, what do the chee do AFTER they’ve killed the howlers - where to point them next? when is the end of their violence? 

buuuuut also standing by while atrocities occur is pretty damning, as is frequently mentioned in this series - from the very beginning, when marco initially doesn’t want to get involved in the war at all, and the other animorphs basically tell him that turning his back on the war and acting like he doesn’t even know it’s happening would be immoral and cowardly (which imo this reaction helps to push marco in the direction he ends up going, but I digress) - this topic comes up again in 19 when cassie quits the team and rachel is upset bc she sees it as cassie elevating her own feelings above the greater good (as in, as long as cassie feels good about how she acts, it doesn’t matter how much preventable evil the yeerks are committing while she turns away). etc etc. but that’s essentially what’s happening w/the chee - even tho they help w/intel, the lack of any sort of Action on their part means that they’re essentially allowing awful things to happen when they could prevent them. this is rambly but basically...animorphs deals so much in grey areas, and the chee are noticeably black and white in their actions, despite falling, in a meta sense, in an extremely grey area. its such good, thought provoking writing!

anywayssss I keep talking about the chee lmao what else was there. oh YEAH jake and cassie kissed for the first time awww that was super cute 

and ofc immediately marco teases them as asks jake if he’s gonna kiss him next, and all I can say is...marco is a bicon 

also I love the background worldbuilding w/the iskoort, how they have all these groups and guilds and stuff - its not dwelled on much, which actually works really well to give the world/species a sense of lived-in realness 

okay oh man and the reveal at the end that the howlers were just like...children who thought the whole thing was a game...AUGHH man that’s sooo fucked 

like, when jake morphs the howler and has rachel ready to knock him down in grizzly morph if he gets out of control due to the howler’s murderous instincts, and he morphs to find that the howler is...playful, like a dolphin morph. SUCH a good fucked up sense of dawning horror there 

and the fact that as far as I can tell the chee KNEW this, but wanted revenge anyways, so they let the animorphs assume that the howlers were Evil On Purpose

also I love smaller moments, like jake seeing that ax is ashamed for briefly running away during one battle w/the howlers, and then entrusts him w/an important task bc he knows that ax will see that as redemption - and when everyone thought jake was dead and were so happy when he wasn't (they all love each other so much im gonna cry about these child soldiers augh)

basically that book was so good

man one thing I absolutely love is that the longer the series goes on the more obvious it is that andalites, despite inventing morphing technology, barely use it themselves 

like, most of the andalite characters we see barely morph. its kind of a last resort to them, as they’re already plenty dangerous in their regular forms 

meanwhile for the animorphs, that’s all they have to fight with. that’s their only weapons against the yeerks, and its so fun to see them use the power in so many varied ways, and so creatively, while the andalites have barely scratched the surface of their own technology

its also interesting to contrast against the yeerks who start out w/absolutely no technology, and the andalites share some but not all of their technology w/them...its too bad that morphing technology was just starting out cause that would’ve been interesting

like imo a lot of the conflict w/the yeerks could’ve been avoided if they could just nothlit into better forms - of course, there’d still be plenty of yeerks who want to go start wars or w/e, just like pretty much any species in the series, but a lot of yeerks would probably be like ‘yeah I'm good’ and just chill out as nothlits

also people online love to talk about how humans are alienfuckers and would definitely have sex w/sentient aliens and whatnot, and while I'm not saying that's untrue, its just funny bc in animorphs the truest alienfuckers are definitely the andalites

as of the hork-bajir chronicles, we now have a second instance of an andalite morphing another species to be in an inter-species alien romance (and eventually have kids) 

speaking of, I don’t think I’ve talked abt the hork bajir chronicles yet??? even tho I read it a while ago lmao 

HBC was great...I honestly haven’t really run into an animorphs book I’ve actually disliked at this point, I’m sure it’ll come w/all the ghostwriting and whatnot, but I’ve liked at least some aspects of every book

anyways HBC was great, and it’s funny bc I remember that I read this book as a kid, and yet rereading it now I didn’t remember a single bit of it lmaooo

I really liked the framing device of the free hork bajir telling this story to tobias. I also liked how we know from the beginning that this story wont have a happy ending - we know all the hork bajir end up enslaved by the yeerks, but it’s still somehow hopeful at the end? I think this is largely due to the framing device tbh. 

also I love toby, and I love that the First free hork bajir named their kid after tobias ;_; 

and oooh mannn I LOVED the different POVs from this book. all the characters were so interesting! aldrea was fascinating - I really like the increasingly negative view of the andalites that the readers are getting, all while maintaining the sense that they aren’t like, actively evil, just that they have their issues - like aldrea’s arrogance, and the general andalite arrogance which lead to the loss of the hork bajir. also, who knew andalites had their own brand of sexism? Ls

I did like getting a female andalite tho, that was cool. and dak was really cool, he was such a good, compassionate character who was able to maintain his morals in an interesting way throughout the story

and VISSER THREE...or should I say esplin 9466, because he’s not visser 3 yet...getting his ‘origin story’ was excellent - I really like how we’re learning about visser 3 backwards - we start off the series w/him as the main villain, and he’s campy and menacing, and then we see him in the andalite chronicles as a power-hungry sub-visser trying to climb the ranks and eventually getting alloran as a host, and then back even further here, w/the start of his focus on the andalites and the beginning of his ambition. its been very cool and interesting to see

plus, the beginning of the yeerks as we know them! seerow! alloran! it’s a party and nobody is having a good time, except for some of the yeerks. 

I like how it’s pretty obvious that the andalites are well-meaning with their interactions w/the yeerks, but go about it the wrong way - they give them enough technology that the yeerks realize there’s a whole world out there to experience, and then they blockade the yeerks on their planet and tell them they can’t leave. nnnnot the best approach imo

again, as I said above, I’m interested in how things could’ve gone if the andalites had given the yeerks morphing technology early on - could a lot of the conflict have been avoided, or would it have been worse? the yeerks seem pretty evil in this book, immediately jumping to enslave anyone they can. otoh we hear from esplin that not all yeerks like having host bodies, and find it overwhelming, preferring to swim around in the yeerk pool as a slug - I assume as host bodies became more available this type of thinking was probably stamped out in yeerk society or w/e, but there are a lot of interesting what-ifs in the situation 

I loved the scene where esplin first experiences having a host, and immediately knows he can’t go back. there are a bunch of great sensory descriptions, and it’s a nice scene to pinpoint as a foundational moment for the visser three in the current story, who spent a lot of time and energy getting what he sees as the best possible host body, an andalite

I find it interesting how much visser three clearly respects the andalites, even while constantly deriding them. and you can see the origins of that here as he immediately focuses in on the andalites, working to become an expert on them in order to make himself useful enough to move thru the ranks

another thing I like is how esplin seems a lot more crafty and ambitious than the visser three from modern times - I would guess that reaching his goal (andalite host body) and being given all that power was detrimental, playing on his weaknesses instead of his strengths. basically, I don’t think it’s ooc or anything, I can see how HBC-esplin became animorphs-esplin, especially w/TAC in between

as for seerow...poor dude. you really do have to feel for him, because you get the sense he really did just want to be kind to the yeerks, but it was borne from a place of pity, and he (and the other andalites) consistently held too much power over the yeerks for the species relations to ever be truly equal and functional 

AUGH I have so many thoughts about alien space politics. omg. I need to talk about the actual story lmao

so yeah I also feel for aldrea, she had a rough time, watching her entire family die and being thrown into a hopeless war

and then the andalite council or w/e not listening to her bc she's a girl AND seerow’s daughter...oof

also, I really really liked the running theme of the andalites - specifically aldrea - looking down on the hork bajir as ‘simple’ and constantly underestimating them, especially dak

and I like how this is portrayed as a bad attitude for aldrea to have, and she still remains and interesting and sympathetic character even while having obvious flaws. it’s about being 3-dimensional baby!

and oh man I love that dak realizes that aldrea looks down on him, and his entire species, but he can see that that’s how the andalites are, and it all connects back to the beginning of the story w/the yeerks, bc the andalites looked down on the yeerks and treated them with pity and kept them pinned under their proverbial thumb ‘for their own good’ and look how that turned out 

but dak is wise and kind enough to not hate aldrea for this, even acknowledging when she’s using him, but not pushing her away because he recognizes good in her too - and she ends up changing, partially because of his faith in her

and I feel like it can all be compared to that scenario of like - a hypothetical creature that lives in a 2D world suddenly being thrust into a 3D world, and comprehending what its seeing, and understanding that there’s so much more out there outside of the flat lines of its world - and then its dropped back into 2D-land with the knowledge of all the stuff its missing out on, and no way to get back to it or explain it to anybody else

I loooove that ‘trope’ or w/e you wanna call it, and it’s done beautifully here w/the yeerks - whos the say they wouldn't have been fine in their pool swimming around; as esplin said, a lot of the yeerks were terrified of having a host, it was only from the andalites’ perspective that their lives were sad and pitiful, and the andalites showed them what the world could be like, and then said ‘no, you can’t travel the stars like we do, you have to stay here on your planet and do what we say.’

and then again, w/the hork bajir - dak talks about how, even though he drinks up the knowledge that aldrea gives him, in the end it might have been better to just have lived peacefully, not knowing what was in the sky or the Deep - as aldrea says: “It was too late for Dak: he knew that the stars were not flowers.” 

plus the hork bajir having to go from a completely peaceful species who don’t even understand the concept of violence, to a bunch of soldiers fighting a war...oof 

basically everyone in this story uses the hork bajir. the yeerks use them as hosts, the andalites use their planet as a convenient place to dump seerow and then take their sweet time coming to help, and the arn created them as means to stabilize the planet, but block them off from their society and refuse to help when the yeerks come

like, the arn modifying themselves to be un-infestable by the yeerks and then being enslaved for physical labor instead? oof guys. if they had teamed up w/the hork bajir resistance things might have gone better, but probably not 

more on aldrea - throughout the story I was always thinking ‘how am I supposed to see her? as a good person, or as a bad person?’ 

as a POV character, especially a ‘good guy’ andalite, you just start off automatically thinking of her as a good person, but as the story goes on, she starts getting lost in revenge and begins using dak and the hork bajir, and you’re left wondering if this is a story about her slide into darkness, and then towards the end of the story her character development culminates in her making the decision to stay w/the hork bajir, and the be with dak, and that’s about when I went ‘ohhh right this is animorphs so every character is pretty much gonna be grey’

I feel like that moral grey-ness was on full display w/aldrea, and I really enjoyed that. I love so much when characters who are good do bad things, for good or bad reasons, especially in media like animorphs that’s aimed at kids. it’s so compelling. 

oof, and the ending when aldrea convinces dak to mobilize the hork bajir and teach them violence...and dak asks her if she’s ever killed another andalite, and she’s horrified, and says of course she hasn’t, and he says that that’s what she’s asking him, and all the hork bajir, to do - to kill their own people, even if they are being controlled by the yeerks. biiiig oof. I love that dak can keep up w/aldrea and her andalite supremacy attitude - it seems that the non-andalite characters who get along best w/the andalites are the ones who wont take their bs 

what else happened....oh my god how could I forget about alloran, and his quantum virus. oooof. I like how we find out about alloran in parallel to visser three, in the same backwards way - in animorphs he’s the tragic host of visser three, in TAC he’s the disgraced but still semi-respected war-prince who becomes the first ever andalite controller, and here he’s the guy who decides to commit some war crimes because, hey, we haven’t tried that yet 

but yeah that was fucked up, I love it. I’ve said it before I think but I like that alloran isn’t some perfect martyr tragically taken by the yeerks - it’s a lot more compelling that he’s a very flawed person who was taken as a controller partially due to his own bloodthirstiness. 

but yeah, the part where aldrea morphs alloran and ‘sneaks’ into that room was great. aldrea’s dedication to disposing of the virus is a great indicator of her character development - it really feels like the straw that broke the camels back w/re: to the andalites not being what she thought they were, w/their tardiness coming to help the hork bajir planet and the way her father was treated being the precursors to this realization. it all culminates nicely in aldrea saying ‘fuck this actually’ and nothlit-ing into a hork bajir.

and it’s really tragic but realistic that even though aldrea and dak end up seeing eye to eye at the end and getting together, the virus ends up being released anyways (and fails in its objective to stop the yeerks from using the hork bajir - the whole thing was p much a lose-lose situation oof), and aldrea and dak still die fighting a hopeless war 

but then we have the free hork bajir on earth, including toby, who, like tobias, has andalite ancestry, but no DNA to show for it - I like that they have that connection as well as tobias being her namesake

so yeah I enjoyed that one and its many-layered themes

WOW this got long uuuuuhhh ok I think i’ll leave this one off here. at the time I’m actually finishing the writing and editing, I’m on book 35 lol so I have some backlogging to do. never fear, I have a lot to say....

[aspenlovesgrimm]

Lol, sorry I reblogged using the wrong account. My bad.

Anyway, yeah I had genuinely completely forgotten about that. That being said, I do still think Zerstörer is in some way connected to biests, although I can’t say for certain what that connection is as the only thing we really have to go on is his design and abilities from his very breif appearances.

My own personal headcanon on the matter is that grimms did keep better track of their history, however after the 7 knights betrayed the Royal Houses and as more grimms were killed either in failed hunts or by Reapers, a lot of it was lost. To protect their kind they may have even purposefully not written it down or maybe even specific grimms were tasked to keep the history so it wasn’t lost forever. I think the Kesler family may have not written down their family history intentionally due to their connection to one of the grimm knights who turned. I also believe in a similar way to how Hexenbiests try their best to keep the fact grimm blood destroys their powers, grimms may do the same thing to keep their reputation and to keep the details on how they work hidden for protection.

It’s implied most grimms are travel a lot and tend to stay away from other grimms (although I think family groups either stick together or will ask each other to aid on hunts rather than grimms outside their family). They do seem to work with other grimms where they need too though, so I think most grimms aren’t hostile with each other, they just don’t want to step on each other’s toes.

I have done a post before on how weird Biests are. They never clarify the difference outside of gender (which also makes me question what happens when a Biest is trans lol), and it’s so annoying. It’s the same as it’s impossible to figure out if the Royals are actually human or not, as they are sort of implied to not be, but they’re clearly not wesen and I’m 99% certain they’re not grimms so they’re just this other thing which never gets explained.

I understand why Grimm kept a lot of things vague, but when you watch the behind the scenes stuff you find out they didn’t even have a plan on what the grimm knights hid until they got to that point in the story, which personally as a writer I think is a bad idea. For tv reasons, I get you have to be careful with how much you do as you don’t know how many episodes you’ll have left, however when you set something up from ep 1, you should have that figured out beforehand, or at least when you’re doing s1 after you’ve figured out what you’re doing with the show a bit more. The same thing goes for if you’re going to have the destinction between a Hexenbiest and a Zauberbiest, all it takes is 1 line to clarify what that difference is, and never explaining it is just frustrating for fans.

I worldbuild for fun so I kinda have the opposite problem to Grimm where I make all the little details I’ll never have an excuse to write about, but that’s also because I write novels, not tv shows. In a screenwriting context, you have less words and more limitations on time, so everything you do write has to be important either to the plot (overarching or episode), characters or worldbuilding, and all of these things are very important to each other too. I will die on the hill that Grimm, while still being a very good show and one I adore, needed a better plan going in. I’m not saying they needed to stick with it as again, not knowing how long your show will go on for makes writing really hard, but you at least make a plan to get you on the right path. It’s super obvious with characters like Adalind and Juliette that they had no plans for them really, which leads to some of the worst moments in the show as they decide where they want a character to end up, but a lack of planning means it wasn’t set up or is set up poorly.

Sorry about that rant at the end there lol. Sorry if any of this is confusing, I’m finishing this post off whilst very tired.

So what are everyone's theories on the origin of grimms? We have very little backstory/lore on grimms themselves. Are they simply human with some extras, evolution's answer to the predatory wesen species? Were they created in some magical way? Perhaps by humans seeking a way to fight back against enemies they couldn't recognize until they attacked? Or maybe by wesen who either wanted to give humans a sporting chance or maybe use them as tools against other wesen? Perhaps the royals wanted a group that could help keep the wesen under their thumbs? The grimms, of course, ultimately turned out not to make great pets and went off to do their own thing. Or grimms could be wesen that happen to be much more human-like and don't really woge (except for the involuntary eye thing when another wesen woges).

One possibility that makes a lot of sense to me is that they're a kind of off shoot of wesen. Monroe and Rosalee said that when a wesen and a human have children together, the odds are about 50/50 on the offspring being wesen. And it seems that some species, like hexen/zauberbiest, can have kids who are not all one or the other. So, there's gonna be some folks in the human population who are sort of wesen lite or don't manifest any wesen traits, but do have a wesen bloodline. I presume that any of these folks who marry a wesen will likely have better than 50/50 odds of having wesen kids. But what happens if a human with a wesen parent or grandparent marries another human who also has some wesen in their family tree? Maybe nothing a lot of the time, especially if they don't have similar species in their background. But what if you had maybe two or three generations of wesen bloodline humans? It makes sense to me that the kids would start to develop some not so human traits. That could easily turn into something like a grimm, which then develops into it's own thing. The stronger grimm families are ones who (mostly unknowingly) have more marriages with wesen bloodline humans.

There are probably a ton of different origin stories from various groups and cultures, with some similarities and many differences. If Aunt Marie's book collection is anything to go by, the grimm don't keep any information or lore on themselves. It's probably a topic of much debate in scholarly wesen circles.

So what are your thoughts and theories on the origin of grimms?

[nothinggold13]

Things the people in charge of Netflix’s Narnia series should do:

Read all the books before beginning. Not just the book they’re currently working on. Know all the stories before going in.

Make notes about how the stories connect. Make sure they know how one book leads into another. Note how the characters grow and behave from one book to the next. Narrow down the continuity. Understand the overarching plot.

Make notes on continuity errors, as well. Come up with answers for each of them. Know which ones can simply be removed, and which ones need to be explained. If there are conflicting details, consider carefully which ones to use, and what will best serve the story.

Consider the timeline. Make certain they know all the characters’ ages and how long each story takes. This will make it easier to to figure out the best order to film & produce the stories. The schedule is tight between some of the books, whereas there is plenty of time to spare between others. Those in charge should be experts on this before they begin.

Most of these come down to this: know all the stories. I daydream a lot about what the series should have and what it shouldn’t. I post about it a lot. I think a lot about how scenes should look and what could be added while still remaining true to the greater story. And let’s be clear, I would be thrilled if any of those ideas came to life. But this is the most important thing the producers need to know. They need to know all the stories. They can’t go into this one book at a time. They can’t get by with only a vague idea of what comes next. To properly produce this series, they need to fully understand the timeline, the characters, and the worldbuilding. And sure, that’s true of producing any series. But with Narnia, and the way the stories are sometimes disjointed from one another, and the constantly changing cast of characters, it’s so important to know the central point of each of the stories, and how they connect to one another. From The Magician’s Nephew to The Last Battle, 49 years of English time are covered, as well as thousands of years of Narnian history, and the years don’t always match up. The 7 books span a lot of time, characters, and content. So there it is. All other things I would love to see aside, the most important thing is understanding every story fully. There is so much to know and love and understand.

[rwby-redux]

Deconstruction

Worldbuilding: Illness and Diseases

You know, I actually debated the necessity of this post. As I sit in my home for the twentieth week in a row, face masks and disinfectant stockpiled by the front door, I found myself thinking: Surely I don’t have to explain to people how disease impacts our day-to-day lives. It’s like calling water wet. There’s a presumed level of personal familiarity that everyone has with the subject at this point. Think of it like going to a public pool—whether you’re jumping in or sitting off to the side, at the end of the day, everyone’s going home in various stages of drenched.

But hell, why not? I’m already passing out towels; might as well start splitting hairs. If nothing else, it’s a good way to pass the time while we’re all cooped up indoors.

Sickness is one of those topics that—unless you’re directly confronted by it—tends to occupy the back of our minds. When our paths do cross with it, our focus tends to be on the immediate impact: How will this change my quality of life? Will I die? Am I going to be physically, mentally, or emotionally incapacitated? What changes do I need to make to my current lifestyle while I recover/adapt? Do I have a support network that can help me navigate these changes? How will my financial status be affected? Will my insurance cover any treatments, or do I need to foot the bill?

You can understand why our priorities might only encompass the things that occupy a smaller, more personalized niche. Depending on the extent of the illness, at best, it means inconvenience; at worst, it means contending with our own mortality. It’s hard to dwell on the impersonal nature of the existence of disease when our focus is on surviving minute to minute.

In a story, however, a writer is afforded the ability to contemplate the function of disease on a larger scale. It isn’t just about the epidemiological models, pathogens, or raw science; it’s also about the historical intersectionality of illness and social dynamics. It’s important to not only consider the inclusion of disease, but to ask what role it plays in the story.

Why?

Because diseases can dismantle nations. Because they can foreshadow important elements of the plot. Because they can define the cultural identity of a people for generations to come.

If you’re familiar with my Amendment post on Grimm: Auratic Diseases, you’ll quickly get a sense of what I’m talking about. But before we get into that, I want to establish some general categories.

So, what is the purpose of disease in a story? What sort of relationship does it have with the worldbuilding?

It can establish or contribute to the overarching plot (or subplots).

It can provide a source of conflict for character development.

It can convey information about the lore and settings of the story.

It can act as a system of checks and balances that nerfs otherwise OP abilities/skillsets.

Before we go any further, I want to draw attention to an important caveat: this post won’t be containing any examples of disease in RWBY for us to analyze, compare, or contrast. This is due to the show, at time of writing, not having a single example of disease anywhere in its lore. With one potential exception being Fria—who may or may not have a neurodegenerative disease similar to dementia—we simply don’t have enough canon information to speculate on, let alone say with absolute certainty, what diseases exist in this world. You’ll have to forgive me for relying on IRL and fictional diseases from other franchises for the duration of this post.

Glad we got that out of the way. Let’s get into the specifics, shall we?

Plot Development

One of my favorite modern examples of disease and plot is Bloodborne. The game centers around a plague known as ashen blood, an affliction that transforms its victims into marauding beasts. Like many other titles in From Software’s lineup, the story is extracted from NPC dialogue and apocrypha gleaned from item descriptions. As the player ventures into the abandoned district of Old Yharnam, fighting through beasts and bloodthirsty townsfolk alike, it’s gradually revealed that the Healing Church administered a miraculous substance known as Old Blood on the populace. This panacea was extracted from eldritch beings known as the Great Ones. In time, the city garnered fame for its blood ministration, and the Healing Church rose to immense power as it eliminated seemingly any and all ailments.

Like all professed miracles cures, however, the blood was simply too good to be true.

An outbreak of the scourge of beasts led to the town being cleansed with fire, and the Healing Church isolating itself from Central Yharnam for fear of retribution. The general consensus among the Bloodborne community is that the Old Blood is the source of the ashen blood disease, and through item descriptions (like the Antidote, White Church Garb, and Poison Knife), it can be deduced that the Healing Church poisoned Old Yharnam’s citizens as the pretext for treating (read: experimenting on) people with their conveniently-ready transfusions. [1]

Mind you, not every disease in fiction is going to be the result of corrupt organizations treating people like lab rats. Sometimes people just get sick through no fault of their own, usually due to semi-related factors (like poor sanitation practices, no access to clean water, underfunded healthcare, anti-vaccination movements, immunocompromisation, exposure to pathogen vectors, etc). It’s also worth mentioning that a fictional disease doesn’t have to be massive or pervasive in scale in order to provide relevance to the plot. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be real.

Take a look at Avatar: The Last Airbender. In Book Two, Episode 3 - “Return to Omashu,” the kids help the local resistance movement evacuate Earth Kingdom citizens from the Fire Nation-controlled city. They fabricate a contagious disease called pentapox, and fake symptoms by using the native wildlife to create pockmarks on people’s skin. The appointed governor, fearing further spread of the “epidemic,” orders the guards to drive the people out of Omashu. It’s a great example of a disease (albeit a fake one) being used to its full storytelling potential, despite appearing in just one episode.

So, how do we apply these concepts to RWBY? Personally, I’d be leery of the show introducing something like a pandemic, given that it already has a hard-enough time juggling all of its major story elements. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility of using disease to elevate or expand upon already-established plotlines. For example:

While travelling through Anima, Team RNJR stops at a settlement for provisions and directions. The villagers are currently dealing with the outbreak of a flu-like disease that’s left too many people bedridden, unable to hunt, tend their farms, or fight off Grimm. This presents Team RNJR with an ethical dilemma: Do they stay for as long as they can to help the villagers, even at the risk of themselves getting sick? Or do they prioritize their mission and continue to Mistral? This creates tension in the group, and allows the characters to see the socioeconomic disparity between Mistral’s upper and lower classes up-close. Despite this farming community being an agricultural pillar of the kingdom, the people are disproportionately neglected by the government, compared to the wealthy elite thriving within the walls of the city.

Remember how Cinder’s Dust robberies had no payoff in Volume 3, and did absolutely nothing to contribute to the downfall of Vale? Well, perhaps Cinder could’ve found alternative means of crippling the kingdom. In Dishonored, the Royal Spymaster Hiram Burrows caused the Rat Plague in Dunwall by importing infected rats from the Pandyssian continent in order to eradicate the poor. Consider a RWBY subplot foreshadowed as early as Volume 1, in which a newscaster reports on an increase in the number of cases of an unknown epidemic. As the show progresses, the death toll rises, and with it, life in the city struggles to adapt. Criminal activity increases, the public begins debating whether or not to host the Vytal Festival, and the city is choked with fear (which increases Grimm activity). By the end of Volume 3, the disease has either killed or incapacitated a number of law enforcement officers and Huntsmen, making it easier for Cinder to mobilize the Grimm and White Fang operatives during the Tournament. Later, it’s revealed that the disease was a bioweapon engineered by Watts, in order to help facilitate the Fall.

Character Arcs

The example that immediately comes to mind is the HBO adaptation Game of Thrones. In Season 2, the audience is introduced to Shireen Baratheon, a young child whose face is disfigured from a bout of greyscale during her infancy. Her presence in the story not only adds fuel to the (literal) fire in Stannis’ war for the Iron Throne, but more importantly, she provides the audience with information. Through Shireen, we learn about the pathology of greyscale, and the afflicted stone men residing in the ruins of Old Valyria. This Chekhov’s gun allows us to fully appreciate what’s at stake for Jorah Mormont in Season 5, when he becomes infected with the disease while travelling with Tyrion through Essos. His infection leaves him despondent and desperate, and motivates him to participate in Meereen’s fighting pits before Daenerys; as a man faced with almost certain death, he has nothing left to lose in forfeiting his life in the fighting pits while trying to earn his queen’s forgiveness.

By Season 7, Jorah has reached Oldtown on Daenerys’ orders, searching for a cure from the maesters of the Citadel. Through serendipitous circumstances, Jorah meets Samwell Tarly, maester-in-training for the Night’s Watch. Prior to assuming Aemon Targaryen’s position at Castle Black, Sam served as a steward under former Lord Commander, Jeor Mormont, whom he feels indebted to. As Sam was unable to save Jeor Mormont’s life during the mutiny, he opts to save the life of his son, Jorah, instead, by performing the dangerous procedure of debriding the greyscale.

These pivotal character moments derive their payoff from greyscale, a disease that—while not integral to the show’s main plot—still provided emotional weight, complexity, and depth to the cast.

At the end of the day, no writer is obligated to use disease as a component of a character arc. And it’s understandable why many might not want to. It requires the writer do the necessary research beforehand in order to avoid misrepresenting those with diseases, or depicting their struggles in an invalidating light. It’s a difficult subject matter to implement accurately and respectfully.

But when done right, the narrative benefits are undeniably powerful.

Lore and Settings

When I talk about lore, I tend to focus on topics such as culture, history, and technology. Those right there are your heavy hitters—the aspects of lore that carry the most weight in regard to the worldbuilding. They’re also the parts of worldbuilding I personally enjoy analyzing the most, because they’re basically my excuse to go nuts. The intersection of lore and disease is the perfect breeding ground for creative brainstorming, largely due to the absence of limitations (beyond the self-imposed). As long as you’ve provided the appropriate backstory or context, you can justify just about anything.

Chances are, whatever ridiculous-sounding idea you want to include in your story, there’s a real-world basis for it.

Want to create a playground game or nursery rhyme based on a plague? Go for it.

Interested in making a pseudoscientific principle that assumes a plant’s appearance indicates which body parts it heals? You’re gonna love the doctrine of signatures.

Want to create an iconic aesthetic based on physicians’ attire, and later have it become visual shorthand for disease? Hey, what’s good enough for Medieval Europe is good enough for you.

What about cultures that worshipped gods of health, disease, and death? Turns out Wikipedia has an entire list just for that.

How about a disease bringing about the collapse of an entire empire? Sounds legit.

Want to name a metaphor after a physician who was scorned by his peers because he believed that handwashing prevented disease transmission? Allow me to make some introductions.

Injuries that glow blue due to infections from bioluminescent, antibiotic-producing bacilli? Check it out.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. When talking about diseases, we need to not only speculate on the introduction of potential lore, but consider how disease impacts already-existing lore as well.

Are there illnesses unique to Faunus with certain traits? Can reptilian Faunus contract scale rot, or deer Faunus acquire peruke (cauliflower) antlers? What about an arthropod Faunus that has difficulty molting?

How does systemic discrimination affect Faunus healthcare? Are physicians trained to diagnose and treat conditions found in certain Faunus demographics? Or does medical bias increase the rates of otherwise-preventable diseases?

Has disease limited where people in Remnant can colonize? What about zoonotic diseases found in certain ecoregions? Do settlers ever deforest the terrain or drain bodies of water in order to mitigate the spread of those diseases? Has that contributed to environmental issues in any significant way?

How do people living outside the capitals and major cities deal with disease? Do they have access to medicine? How does living outside the kingdoms affect their ability to navigate the healthcare system?

Can Grimm transmit diseases? Are there diseases that affect Auras and Semblances?

Can Dust exposure cause sickness akin to radiation poisoning? Can Dust be used in treating disease?

Are certain members of the population prioritized when it comes to healthcare? Because a Huntsman’s career path involves voluntarily placing themself in harm’s way in order to protect people, does that mean they receive preferential medical treatment? Do governments offer people free healthcare as a recruitment tactic, resulting in minorities enlisting at the academies at higher rates?

How have medical techniques developed throughout Remnant’s history? Have any diseases been wiped out due to public education, preventative measures, or quality of care?

Because human and Faunus populations are concentrated in certain areas due to the presence of Grimm, are infectious disease more likely to spread? How does each kingdom’s government deal with potential epidemics? Do they have efficient sewage systems, or other means of waste disposal, in order to maintain sanitation? How does this impact the public perception of sanitation workers, like janitors and garbage collectors? Are they held in higher regard because their jobs are essential for Remnant’s societies to exist as they do?

Regulatory Functions

The last function of disease I want to talk about is a rather unique one. It’s a role usually found in fantasy settings, and it tends to go hand-in-hand with magic.

When designing a magic system, one of the fundamental things to consider is how to go about balancing it. This is a common problem, particularly in interactive media, like video games and tabletop gaming. You don’t want your player to be bored by a lack of challenge due to poor implementation of power-scaling. Similarly, in non-interactive media (literature, films, etc), you don’t want to make your magic system so incredibly convenient that it delegitimizes the threat posed by your antagonists. 

I touched upon this back in Worldbuilding: Aura when I ranted about Aura having no drawbacks, and therefore it not making sense why everyone on Remnant hasn’t unlocked it. Nothing kills immersion faster than watching a character tear through monsters like a freight train with legs, then turn sorrowfully to the rest of the cast and ruminate aloud on the dangers ahead.

You motherfuckers are literally walking around with the magical-equivalent of the shielding from Halo. The only thing with more durability than you is a cockroach.

So. How do we fix this?

One possible solution (the one which I’m currently wedded to) is introducing Aura-based diseases. Franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Dungeons & Dragons do something similar with their magic systems. The addition of Auratic disease not only provides worldbuilding potential for the lore, but it would nerf Aura by making it either inconvenient or dangerous to use under specific circumstances. Suddenly, characters in the show have to contend with trade-offs and risks: Do I fight Grimm up-close and potentially contract an Auratic disease? Or do I specialize in ranged weapons, and keep my distance? Do I engage that Grimm if it looks infected, or do I retreat and wait for a better opportunity? If I start showing symptoms of an Auratic disease, will I be able to reach a doctor in time? What if I’m in the middle of the wilderness, and the nearest village is several days from my coordinates? What if the disease becomes permanent?

It’s something to think about, at least.

-

[1] VaatiVidya. “Bloodborne Story ► Djura, Retired Hunter.” YouTube video. 25 July, 2015. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZ2b6BBrJI]

[bookswithelli]

a darker shade of magic: review

synopsis:

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

review under the cut!

stars: ★★★★☆

First of all, although I rated this book 4 stars, there were some issues with it (mainly involving representation and characterization). I rated it 4 stars because I enjoyed reading it despite its issues, but I recognize that the mediocre representation may turn others away from this book.

characters & representation

Before I begin this section of the review, I would like to say that I am not visually impaired and therefore do not have any authority on that subject. My comments on the treatment of Lila's missing eye are merely based on my own observations and what I have heard from visually impaired people on the topic.

Lila:

A cross-dressing thief and aspiring pirate with a penchant for knives, Lila Bard brings to mind the likes of Inej Ghafa from Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean. There were times when I really liked Lila; she can be sassy and morally questionable which is always interesting to see when well done. However, her character had a few issues that I wanted to address.

“Delilah Bard looked like a king. No...she looked like a conqueror.” pg. 289

When will fantasy authors stop romanticising conquerors and colonization?! This may be a smaller issue since aside from White London (which is villainized) there is no mention of it in the overarching plot, but this line just really bothered me. It makes me think that V.E. Schwab is a fan of adult and YA fantasy authors like Sarah J. Maas and others who write their main characters to be colonizers and romanticize it in the process. I don’t think this line was necessary at all, and I wish the second sentence had been removed or modified to something a little less problematic (e.g. she looked like a pirate/captain/etc.)

"How did you lose it...your eye?" -Master Tieren, pg. 327

It is revealed near the end of the book that Lila has been missing an eye for as long as she can remember, and she wears a glass eye as a replacement. This is all well and good, but the consequences of her impaired vision are never explored. The only reason the reader knows that Lila is missing an eye is because the author tells them. The narrative never discusses how Lila's lack of an eye affects her day to day life, and it's only brought into the story when it is needed for the plot.

It’s also worth mentioning that Lila is the only female character with a large role in this book, and no matter how “feminist” her character is, there’s not a lot of women in this book that are portrayed positively and with depth.

Rhy:

I actually really liked Rhy and I loved his relationship with Kell. I love sibling love in books and we so rarely get positive sibling relationships, so this was nice to see! It’s also really important to have queer people of color in books. However, I don’t think Rhy’s character is good bi/pan representation (I will refer to him as bi in this review for the sake of brevity, but it’s worth mentioning that neither term is mentioned so Rhy could canonically identify as either).

“He would flirt with a nicely upholstered chair, and he never takes anything seriously.” -Kell, pg. 254

As a queer girl who has identified as bisexual in the past and may in the future, this is bad bi rep 101. Schwab is perpetuating the stereotype of the “promiscuous bi”, or one who flirts and/or sleeps with everyone and everything. This is not a bad characteristic in itself, but it is harmful bi rep because that is the way every bi character is portrayed in media. It reinforces the idea that bisexual people in real life are all like this, and it also reinforces biphobes’ points of view when they say that bisexual people are more likely to cheat because they sleep with more people. This is pretty much the most common stereotype of a bisexual person, so while I doubt that Schwab intended to be harmful in her portrayal of Rhy, it shows that she did not do much research on LGBT+ rep when writing her characters. I do know that some bi people were not bothered by this; however, I believe that writers should stay away from stereotypes, especially when writing characters that are marginalized. Even though promiscuity is not an inherently bad trait, it is harmful when applied to bisexual people because it reinforces real peoples’ beliefs and affects real life bisexuals. This is especially important here because Rhy is the only narrative-confirmed LGBT+ character in the first book. It's not the worst representation I've seen, since Rhy does have a personality outside his flirtatiousness and promiscuity (in fact, it's confirmed that this is a coping mechanism for him) but it's certainly not the best, and I'm just tired of seeing bisexual people represented this way in fiction.

Kell:

I know a lot of people who didn’t like Kell very much, and that is understandable. However, I found him really compelling. It’s refreshing to see a male lead in this genre who’s not jacked and a brooding asshole whose only redeeming quality is his dick size. He’s definitely moody, but not to the point where he becomes an abusive alpha male type guy (yes, I am aware that this is a very low bar). I genuinely enjoyed his character because he’s flawed. He’s stubborn and moody but he’s incredibly caring and he genuinely wants to help people. He feels alienated from his family so he rebels and gets himself in trouble. His character is written well because he’s not perfect by any means, but he’s still likeable and you still root for him.

Holland:

Holland is what every YA love interest wishes they were. Honestly. He’s given no excuses for his actions, and yet he is still sympathetic. You understand that he is under the control of Astrid and Athos, but you also understand that all he has done for years is carry out their orders, and that changes a person. His story is heartbreaking, but that doesn’t change what he has done. He knows it, Kell knows it, Lila knows it, the reader knows it. Honestly, if he were in a YA fantasy romance, I bet Holland would be the love interest; his female “mate” would change him for the better, and he would never face the consequences of his actions. That makes his arc in this story all the more enjoyable. Holland is one of my favorite characters of all time, and not because he’s a perfect “book boyfriend” or whatever, but because his story and character are genuinely interesting and executed well.

worldbuilding

I loved the worldbuilding in this book. There was a bit of an info-dump in the beginning, but I’m willing to look past that because the world was so engaging and interesting that I forgot about the dense first chapter once I got past it. Each London has a distinct feel, and they are all almost tangible. The descriptions of each made me feel like I was in the Londons along with Kell and Lila. It seems like the system would be complicated, but Lila sums it up well:

“There’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London.” -pg. 198

After the initial info-dump, Schwab weaves information about the magic system seamlessly through the book, leaving enough mystery for the reader to wonder at what might happen in the next books, but never leaving out so much that the reader is confused. I really appreciated the rules that existed around magic. It’s draining, and Antari magic requires blood, which means there is a limit to how much you can perform at once. Magic is seen to affect the world beyond the characters and their main conflict, which I was very happy about as well. There are too many fantasy novels where the magic system has no rules and only exists to further the plot, but in this world you can see it everywhere. The politics of Red London and White London are affected by magic, even where it is not necessarily relevant to the plot. You can see small amounts of magic being performed in the streets of Red London: spells to protect from thieves, etc. Magic is normal for the people in Red London, and it is treated as such in the text.

pacing & plot

This book flew along. I’ve read it multiple times now, and every time, I can’t stop until I finish. And then I want to move along to the next book immediately. It manages to keep up a great pace and still build up to an exciting climax. Schwab’s lyrical writing is not flowery, but it draws the reader in and carries them along the story effortlessly. It’s very engaging and accessible language, which makes it a good stepping stone into adult fantasy (especially if you’re coming from YA).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The representation that it gets praised so highly for is disappointing, but aside from that I enjoyed most of the characters and the writing was beautiful. The plot and world were engaging and made me want to read the second book immediately (even though I’m on my 3rd or 4th reread). I would recommend this book for fans of YA fantasy who want to get into adult fantasy - this book is categorized as adult, but I found it a lot easier to read than other adult fantasies. For me, this book is a reminder that you can recognize the flaws in a book and still enjoy it, so remember to stay critical, even of your favorite books :)