#i think when i find out who my favourite engage character is I'll go with them

[snowflop]

It's time to bust out my traditional festive icon, heres my standard "I'm changing my icon" warning so nobody gets confused ^w^)b

[highlordofkrypton]

I am going to ask way to many of these

2, 3, 5, 7, 20, 31

I want to ask many more but I am restraining myself

PLEASE ASK AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, I'M IN A YAPPING MOOD!!

Linking to the ask game in question!

2. Anything you want to write but feel like you're unable to?

Porn. Straight up raunchy multiple thousand words for just filth. Feelings get in the way, we're all laughing or crying. I think it's an art to be able to focus on just the kinky stuff in a way that's engaging but not too anatomical. That's dirty but in a way that isn't gross, but just right, if you know what I mean?

I love smut, but the mental toll it takes on me to write pure smut is wild. I can usually shoot out 1k words in 15 minutes if I'm focused. It can take me three days to figure out like... where the character should kiss next 😭

3. How would you describe your writing style?

Oh gosh, are we supposed to use real writing terms? I don't know what styles there are out there, but my way of describing my writing would be: lived in.

I always say I'm a lazy writer, so I don't describe anything more than I have to. Usually, I will describe what matters to the character. I live in their shoes at that moment, and when I write, I embody their emotions as well. If the character is crying, my ass is sobbing over the keyboard. If they're angry, I'm rolling my eyes.

I do think that my style also means that the details I do include are a bit miscellaneous. It's natural to describe the setting, and clothes and items, but I feel like if you're really living in a universe, you get attached to the really random, if weird, shit.

5. What's a tag you never want to use for your works even when it applies?

THIS IS A TRICKY ONE!

Okay, let me start off by saying I am both pro and against tags. I think tags are a great way of searching up fics to make sure that you get exactly what you want, but I also think that for some fics it does a disservice to the fic. Disclaimer: I'm new to AO3 and I don't think I tag well enough.

So, on the point of disservice, I'll use my fic for example because I've been thinking about it for a while. So for Wildflowers, I consider it an ACOTAR prequel, first and foremost. While Tamsand is the main ship, I think by tagging the ship, it does the fic a disservice because the world is so rich, it doesn't just focus on the ship. There's so much more I want to gush about with people, and I find it answers so many complaints I see from ACOTAR fans who were disappointed by the rest of the books, but people will stop at the ship tag.

Also both characters are so polarizing in the fandom that if you hate one, you won't give this fic a shot which is FAIR but one of my goals was to convince readers to fall for the one they might not have thought they would, but yeah, I played myself with that idea.

I also tag to be safe than sorry so not to trigger anyone, but I'm very much a reader that is in for the ride no matter what, and I feel like tags can be spoilers, etc. Still, I do want to be respectful of others, but for me, I worry that if I tag 'SA' the fic might be misconstrued as it focuses on that topic whereas it's one scene that impacts later character development.

I wouldn't use the term never tag, but that's how I feel about tagging.

7. Your favourite AO3 tag.

Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne.

That's it. That's the whole tag LMAO.

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

I've tried both and HOLY CRAP, I'm bad at multi-tasking. A SINGLE PROJECT. DO NOT LET ME START OTHER SHIT AT THE SAME TIME, I WLL FORGET TO UPDATE THE OTHER PROJECT.

Hyperfocus or bust, apparently.

31. What was the most difficult fic to write (but in the end you made it)?

Pick any of my smut oneshots, except Regrets and that is probably one of them.

I would say that my Lucien x Elain (Elucien) fic Warmth was difficult because I knew the setting and how I was gonna start it, but I don't know Elain very well (I haven't finished reading the series) and I don't write Lucien enough. It's one thing to know the character, but another thing to know how they are when they are being intimate. That was really tricky.

I always try not to re-use the same tropes, positions, expressions and wording in my smut, but since I don't write enough of it, to me, it reads like I'm writing more or less the same and... I hate that.

MY GOD I RAMBLED SO MUCH I'M SORRY

I STILL LIKED IT IT WAS FUN!!

[anaer]

fic writer asks: 4, 14, 24

✍️ more fic writer asks!

4. a story idea you haven’t written yet

SO MANY. Sukugo lives rent free in my brain. Here is a (not at all comprehensive) list of some of the Sukugo fics I have planned:

The main one on my list is a pre-Shibuya "Sukuna seduces Gojo to evil" fic that I've been thinking about forever. It will be no longer than ten chapters. Ideally, eight or so.

I do also have a big dark, alternate canon stsg/sukugo fic I've been planning that goes AU when Gojo kills all the cultists in Hidden Inventory before Geto gets there, and Geto gets radicalized in the opposite direction supporting the higher ups over Gojo and lowkey gaslighting Gojo into accepting the ensuing punishment and the disastrous way that impacts everything and the resulting fallout which mainly happens when Sukuna incarnates years later. Cuz Gojo is pissed. No one will be good or nice in that fic except probably Yuuji who doesn't ever deserve to be involved in any of this, hahaha.

Then, I also want to write just some toxic no powers AU filthy kinky smut with like 18-20 year old Gojo trying (and succeeding) to get into Sukuna's pants. Not BDSM because nothing about them should ever be safe or sane.

Then there's immortal crime boss Sukuna who kills this pesky guy getting in his way, but plot twist: Gojo is also immortal and pops back up. Annoyingly.

I have also actually started the coffee shop serial killer AU lol, but it feels like I haven't because I only have one page written.

I have more, but these are the main ones directly on my list. This is of course not including the ones I'm already writing. I actually have a written list of JJK fic ideas, for various different ships. Sukugo is just my favourite.

14. where do you get your inspiration?

My hyperfixations, fml. But also talking to other people.

24. how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

When it comes to writing, I don't really have a way of recharging? But I rarely don't feel creative, and if I don't, I try to just write a little bit more anyway. Or I'll rewrite what I've got word for word. Or I'll just jump to a different fic: I can't stay stuck on one fic nonstop; it wears me out on that particular story. I do get distracted with video games, but that doesn't help my creative process at all, hahaha.

If I feel particularly drained by one fandom, I will usually end up jumping ship to another, and finding something new that hits will always recharge my creative batteries. I.e. the reason I'm not writing DC anymore: I feel like I used up all my good ideas, and the comics also started just wearing on me. I'm mostly surprised I still feel like writing for JJK at the moment because when a story disappoints me as badly as this one has (and I could write an essay on all my issues with the storytelling that have brought us to this point), normally I tap out. I feel drained, canon isn't really giving me anything new, I'm honestly not even engaging with canon directly anymore. I hear about what's going on through my friends. That's way past the death knell of my time in a fandom, but. Idk, man. Something about Gojo keeps me going; he's a character I could write forever. I have so many ideas, and I find writing them more rewarding than engaging with canon, which has never happened to me before.

[highladyluck]

13 books tag game, tagged by @amemoryofwot and @asha-mage (incidentally I typoed that as "amemeryofwot" which would be an excellent sideblog concept, maybe snatch that one up?)

1) Last book I read:

Mistress of the Empire by Raymond Feist & Janny Wurts (at the time I started filling this out, anyway… I've been working on this ask for several days) This whole trilogy was a delight, thanks to @sixth-light for telling me I would love Mara!

2) A book I recommend:

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord. It's a quiet little road trip romance exploring grief & diaspora, in a setting that I can best describe as 'if Madeline L'Engle had been in charge of Star Trek worldbuilding'. (If you squint you can see analogues to humans, Vulcans, Romulans, and Orions, but the tone is reminiscent of L'Engle.) There are sequels that follow different characters but this is the first one and it works as a standalone. I feel like it has a lovely light touch on some intense subjects and I appreciate the way each chapter works as a separate story while still fitting into the whole.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

I remember staying up past my bedtime for The Monster Baru Cormorant, I think? At the very least, that's where we first get my beloved Tau-Indi, and the pacing on the climax is kinda weird, about 2/3rds in, so I think I would have read through to it without stopping. I don't know if this question is supposed to be about compellingness or pacing? Probably compellingness, I think I'm weirdly fixated on structure when I read things. But sometimes I think books you 'can't put down' are at least partially that way because there's no damn place to breathe, and I don't entirely approve.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more)

I see from literally everyone who has tagged me in this that this is one of the two free spaces for Wheel of Time, but I'll switch it up: Lifeboats by Diane Duane. It's set between Young Wizards 9 & 10 and deals with an emergency response team permanently evacuating an entire alien population from a natural disaster (RIP their moon and also consequently their planet). This novel is a huge comfort read for me and is undoubtedly the Young Wizards work I've read the most. I don't really know how to explain what it means to me… I wish I had had it when I was living and working in a foreign country.

5) A book on my TBR

A friend recommended Cahokia Jazz (in general, not to me specifically) and it sounds SO MUCH like my jam. I suspect if I can't find it at my library soon, I'll end up buying the ebook.

6) A book I’ve put down

Can't think of a recent one, but if I hadn't forced myself to finish reading it because it was a Hugo Award nominee, I would have DNF'd Project Hail Mary.

7) A book on my wish list

I wish for more Baru Cormorant but I also literally cannot imagine how Seth is going to write that next book. So like, I'm girding my loins for Baru #4 either 15 years from now or never.

8) A favourite book from childhood

When I was really little I loved the Berenstain Bear books and my mom HATED that I loved them ("they were so badly written!" - my mom the children's librarian) but she bought them for me anyway. That's love.

9) A book you would give a friend

You all need to read Middlemarch by George Eliot. I don't care what stage of life you're at, you will find something resonant in it. Read it now, and read it again in 20 years. Give it to recent high school grads. Give it as a wedding present. Take it to the beach. BUT I am specifically recommending it to the WoT contingent, because the characters are so good!

10) The most books you own by a single author

It's actually either Diane Duane or Terry Pratchett, and DD's probably winning because I don't have every Pratchett book but I do have almost every DD book including tie-in novels.

11) A nonfiction book you own

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz. I don't read a ton of nonfiction but the writing is very engaging and I think cities are neat.

12) what are you currently reading

I'm between books but I just finished The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (as I am writing this part several days after question 1). I didn't like it as much as the first one, The Mimicking of Known Successes, but I think it's just a taste thing. I didn't like being in Pleiti's POV very much, her overthinking is too much like mine and it alternately stresses me out and makes me angry, because I can see the assumptions/unhelpful thought patterns but I can't fix them. Obviously, to draw that reaction from me the characters are well-defined, and I like everything else about the series, I just hope it goes back to Mossa's POV.

13) what are you planning on reading next?

WHEN WILL 'RED SIDE STORY' BY JASPER FFORDE REACH MY HOUSE??? I have been waiting like 15 years for this sequel to Shades of Grey and the entire point of preordering it was so I could have it ASAP. I could have walked into a bookstore on May 9th and walked out with it, and instead I won't get it until tomorrow. >:(

I think I am supposed to add a shelfie? The organizing principles(s) of this shelf in my bedroom are very weird…. Classics/adventure, fantasy, popular science writing? Someday I need to reshelve everything in the house according to size/favoriteness/genre/theme/vibes (in that order) but I haven’t felt like it.

I think pretty much everyone I was going to tag already got tagged, so whoever want to do it, go ahead!

[deadgirlwalking91]

Hi, this the "three reasons" anon. My day did get better- listened to some music, etc.

No no no, thank YOU for possessing such creative genius! I wake up super early so I saved the fanfic for this morning and it was the most amazing thing to start my day with!!

Please do give me some Guitarspear fic recs! I'd love to know what some of your favorites are!

Good morning, Anon!

So pleased to hear your day got better <3

I'm so glad you liked the latest chapter of TYftV! If you ever have any fic-specific questions feel free to inbox me whenever! My favourite part about writing this fic is engaging with the readers, honestly. It makes my day. Here are some of my favourite guitarspear fics (they're not all finished but they're great WIPs)! Profane/Blasphemous/Apostasy by Anonymous - all part of the same collection. Profane and Blasphemous are finished and I believe there are two chapters of Apostasy to go. It's a Sinner!Adam take, but the storyline, characterisations and character growth are AMAZING and unlike anything else I have read. Author updates daily and this is what I read first thing in the morning. Fair warning, check the tags because some of the content can get a little heavy.

we are the dust of dust (the apple of god's eye) by astriloquian - a 5+1 fic, where we get the perspective of the moment 5 characters realise something is going on between Adam and Lute, and I think the last chapter is meant to be them realising it for themselves. The second chapter is my personal favourite (I've read it a few times now), but the whole thing is so beautifully written. Can't wait for the next update.

Vile and Blasphemous by Museflight - a genderbend take on the Sinner!Adam tale. Lute finds out that Adam's alive and goes down to Hell to find him and unexpectedly teams up with a foul-mouthed sinner called Eve who helps her. This fic is SO good, it's such a unique take on Lute finding Adam in Hell and I am so invested even though only 2 chapters have been published. The characterisations are just spot on, and I have no other words for Eve other than she's a fucking riot and I think I love her.

Changing of the Guard (chapter 3 of a HH/HB one-shot request collection) by InconspicuousBosch - Adam loses a bet with Lute and has to pay the price. I'll be honest here - I am extremely picky with the explicit content I choose to read (mostly because poor characterisation will take me straight out of the scene, but I also find a lot of it is written so explicitly it's comes across clinical), but this fic is GOLD. I LOVED it because Adam and Lute were in character the whole time and it was so hilariously well written. Plus, it was hot so it ticked all my boxes when it comes to smut - good characterisation, well-written, steamy. Big kudos to the author.

Now, this list wouldn't be complete if I didn't recommend everything guitarspear-related that @branded-rose has written and drawn. Her art is so beautifully layered, and the accompanying mini fics she writes to go with them are gorgeous and when you combine the two together, the feels that I feel from them are, ugh, so intense. She can go from making me squealing and kicking my feet to having my heart broken into a million pieces.

There are MANY other guitarspear fics out there that I enjoy, but these are the immediate ones that come to mind. Happy reading!

[buriedlove]

BL Sunday Update

Hello Buried Lovers,

I thought I would get back to doing little updates each Sunday. They won't all be super exciting with word counts/ release dates (yet!) but I thought it would be helpful for you guys to know what I'm up to with Buried Love, and for me to just sometimes use this blog for some reflection on the whole process of writing an interactive fiction. It's such a different way of writing and I've definitely hit a few hurdles here and there. I thought I'd share in case they help anyone else who also occasionally feels like the IF they're writing is more challenging than finding their way out of the worlds most complex labyrinth (although at least we know some people who can help with that, right?)

The Characters

For the past couple of weeks I've been spending a lot of time re-engaging with the characters - reading and adding to character notes and working through the emoji asks you've been sending through (thank you for those - they've honestly been so helpful in allowing me to get back into the heads of the characters).

Characterisation is always my absolute favourite part of writing - I love understanding each character, why they do what they do. Who they are - what drives them, what they fear, who makes their hearts feel like they're pounding out of their chests.

Working through how to write for each love interest in a way that feels true to them, but in a way that is manageable within a branching IF has been one of my biggest writing challenges.

I've tried writing a section at a time for each character, I've tried writing each character's options as I go through (this was the quickest approach for me but when I read back what I'd written it didn't feel true to the characters at all), and I've tried writing a whole day for one character and then going back and adjusting/ changing for each character (and this is the approach I'm using again now).

Unfortunately I think the approach that makes me the most comfortable from a characterisation perspective is the slowest (sorry!), but I hope in the end it'll mean we have a story where each route feels authentic and different. If feels like a huge relief to have found a writing model that seems to work for me!

This week I've also been building the details for the 3 characters who aren't in the game yet and doing some background research - I'm so excited for you to meet them!

...and other things

One of the reasons for my spectacular writers block was a challenge idea I had that I just couldn't make work from a character/ branching perspective. So another important lesson I've learned is - if you can't make it work then put a big ol' pin in it and write something else. It's something I've done with other writing but for some reason I was fixed on the idea I needed to keep writing everything in a linear way because of the branching/ coding. But the pin approach worked - I've solved how to approach the challenge (as of yesterday) and it's flowing much better (yay!)

That's it for this week - I'll be sharing lots of ask responses over the next week, and have some dating app profiles for all of the characters to start sharing. I also have a beautiful art commission to share next weekend of our favourite book shop owner. If there's anything you'd like to ask or see on this blog please just let me know.

[johannestevans]

Hey there, long time listener first time caller,

One of the things I’ve loved for ages about your stories is how you’re able to impart a huge amount of characterisation very quickly through character voice and fun, effective shorthand. Within two paragraphs I have a strong sense of what one of your characters is about, even if there is naturally more depth to come. I’m able to buy into the basic nuts and bolts of how they think and who they are, and want to follow them through whatever they’re up to.

I’m trying my first stab at original fiction after writing fanfic for a good few years, and I’m finding a bit of trouble. While I’ve gotten alright (from what I’ve been told) at doing (ostensibly) engaging stuff with characters whose traits and characterisation is known by readers who are already up to speed on who XYZ is and who they broadly are, I’m finding that I’m having trouble introducing the lead characters effectively. What I’m doing either comes across as 1) didactic and heavy-handed, meaning the moment I’m using to demonstrate character feels out of place or 2) weak, meaning there’s not a strong sense of character as I’m launching into their adventure.

You always have such a strong characterisation in all of your stuff, whether long form or short, how do you do it?

Hey there, Anon!

I'm a strong believer in dialogue as one of the biggest things that establishes a character, and part of crafting good dialogue is creating unique and individual - especially contrasting and/or complementary - voices among your characters.

I've done a big in-depth guide to crafting unique dialogue that's about 8.5k that I think you might find useful - it's basically in the format of explanation, and then a bunch of questions to ask yourself to help you craft this stuff from scratch, so definitely don't feel you have to adhere or use the whole thing!

Have a scan through and see whatever is most useful to you:

(And as ever if you can't sub on Medium and you're out of free articles, just use an Incognito window.)

I'll repeat this rec list of good studies for dialogue from the article because these are all pieces that do great individual characters from the immediate intro:

I have a few absolute favourite media which I consider to have some extremely tight screenwriting and/or extremely strong character-led dialogue, and specifically very unique individual character voices, which are:

Cabin Pressure (Radio comedy. Comedy, 4 seasons between 2008 and 2012. Written by John Finnemore.)

The Great White Hype (Movie, 1996, dir. Richard Hudlin. Sports comedy.)

Deep Cover (Movie, 1992, dir. Bill Duke. Action thriller.)

Hustlers (Movie, 2019, dir. Lorene Scafaria. Comedy/drama.)

The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, particularly The Truth, Going Postal, and Lords and Ladies.

Jeeves and Wooster (TV Series, 4 series from 1990–1993, but I only really recommend S1 and S2, as S3–4 are much weaker. With that said, the whole series is very directly adapted from the Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse, so I would recommend those).

A lot of this is practice-based, though, and it sounds like you're on a really good track!

I know it doesn't feel like it, but when you're reading back through and you can immediately identify the problems in your own work and where it's not hitting in the way you want, that's a sign that you've already got the skills to analyse this stuff and see what does work!

Many artists have a keen sense of what makes good art in their field, and that means we have a good critical eye in other people's work to see what works and what doesn't - when we can turn it on our own work and immediately see the problem and what we want to change, that's half the battle.

If you're coming at this from a fanfic perspective, an exercise I might advise is to pick a few favourite characters that you've written in fandom, and basically strip them down to their absolute brass tacks.

Not their whole backstory or biography, but like... Take a character you've written again and again and again. Say you're transplanting them into a different AU to their base universe - so if they're normally characters from a cop show, but you were theoretically going to write them into a sci-fi universe on a space station, or a fantasy universe with dragons, or a historical AU set in the 1860s.

For that character, what traits are most important that they keep, and will have to be adapted to the new universe to keep them "the same" character? Aspects of their appearance, their voice, their class, their parents, their upbringing, their job, their style, their personality? What stays the same, and what will change?

And then think about how you'd introduce that character to the reader within that new universe - this is someone they know and love, but they're different now in many ways. When we put a character in an AU, in many ways when we bring them to the reader's gaze, we're reintroducing them - it's the same person they know and love, but it's also a stranger.

Crafting new and individual charcters and introducing them to a reader is the next step on from that!

[dauntlessdiva]

i wish my stranger things Huge hyperfix was still around :( i miss having brainrot over steddie and such yk? but it’s still lovely to see it on my dash depsite not participating as much anymore. and the fic idea is so good??? i think i’ll go and add some of your fics on ao3 to my read later list! :]

i have tried to watch d20 and specifically fantasy high… i think i got to, like, episode 2 or 3 of season 1. my brain can’t comprehend all of the talking and trying to keep up with story. i love dnd so much and i’d love to delve into d20 more and also critical roll. feel free to talk to me about it anytime! who’s your favorite fantasy high characters??

i also have never watched bridgerton! i’ve seen posts on here about it but i really have no clue what it’s about! i’m guessing it’s british but i’m not even sure about that lol. it’s lovely to watch something with your family like that, it’s really sweet

OH SAME!! i love minecraft and i love baking and i love watching crochet stuff but i don’t participate in the hobby. tell me some of your favorite things about minecraft, your favorite things to bake, your favorite crochet project possibly?

i love music so much AHHH!!! who’s your top 3 artists? or what are some of your favorite songs right now? personally, there’s a new album coming out soon that i’m really excited for! and new music actually released tonight for me as well, just has been a great music month for me ^w^

(hope this is okay, i mean, to send multiple asks as conversation!)

I love this, it's like getting letters but online.

(This is what email wishes it could be)

I also have a hard time concentrating on the words with d20, but also woth podcasts and audiobooks too, so I typically find another task to do to keep my ears engaged. Like I'll listen to Dimension 20 while I bake! Or I'll draw in my sketchbook while listening to an audiobook.

In terms of my favourite character from Fantasy High, it's a tie between Fig and Gorgug. My angry little sweethearts.

Bridgerton IS British! And if you like regency era romance vibes but don't care so much about the historical accuracy, then you'd probably like it. There's a lot of sex scenes though so do with that what you will.

My favourite Bridgerton character is Anthony Bridgerton. He's the eldest and he's so stubborn that I wanna box his ears sometimes, but he is also a sweetheart.

My dad likes to hog the tv for the majority of the week, and we have family movie nights all together on Saturday nights. But on Friday nights, my dad invites his buddies/our neighbours over to hang out in the garage for some beers and good conversation, and me, my mom, and my sister will all go watch something on Netflix together.

We've been doing it since Stranger Things season 4 part 2 came out, and we will just sit and binge entire shows a few episodes at a time.

I may be aging myself with this one, (and that feels so odd to say as someone who just turned 25 last month) but my favourite minceracft youtuber has got to be Vintagebeef. I started watching him when he was in his second season playing on the Mindcrack server (it was their 3rd season I believe), back when I was 12.

I love watching him on the Hermitcraft server these days, and it's nice to see him interacting and having fun with minecraft legends of old and new. I also love any Team Canada (Vintagebeef, Ethoslab, and PauseUnpause) videos. It's as fun as it is chaotic, and it's always very chaotic.

I found a recipe online to turn cake mix into cookies by modifying the wet ingredients, and I have been having so much fun getting creative with those on my days off work since I discovered it sometime last fall.

(My favourite ones so far would have to be the marbled cookies. They are to die for)

My favourite crochet projects, to date, are the baby blanket I made for my best friend's little boy, and the dice bags I recently made for my friend and I (she invited me to join my first ever dnd campaign with her)

My top three music artists right now would be Noah Kahan, Chappell Roan, and Hozier (with a shout out to Benson Boone)

But my all time faves? Marianas Trench, Fall Out Boy, and AC/DC

[thevagueambition]

4, 9, and 27 for the Historical Asks game?:D

4: Favourite historical era

Gah, man, this is difficult! Very broadly speaking, I guess the from the 1780s to 1920s is where a lot of my interest and knowledge lies, but that's not super specific, lol!

I also enjoy really ancient stuff, I just don't know that much about it. Like both classical antiquiety but also the iron age of MENA and the eastern mediterranean.

I feel like what attracts me is either very old stuff that harkens back to like... "how did some of these concepts work in such different circumstances, how were certain ideas formed by certain civilisations" or it's more recent stuff where it provides context for how we arrived at the current state of affairs.

If I had to choose something more concrete, maybe 1900-1920s? idk

9: Favourite historical film

So I already answered this, but in addition to 1917 and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, I also really like the movie Joyeux Noel about the Christmas truce of WW1.

I'd also like to use the opportunity to talk about an upcoming Danish movie about the Danish West Indies (the current US Virgin Islands) called Viften.

From IMDB:

"St. Croix, the Danish West Indies, 1848. Anna and Petrine are close friends. Both are women of color, but Anna is free and owns her housekeeper, the enslaved Petrine. Things are seemingly fine until rumors of a rebellion begin to swirl."

I wasn't able to find a trailer with English subs, but according to IMDB, the English title is "Empire".

(CW for racist imagery, both slavery related and eugenics related)

The original title means "The [hand] fan" and is a reference to the practice of using an enslaved child holding a hand fan as a ceiling fan.

The film is written by the same woman who plays the main character and based on an interview on the radio, the character she plays is a mixed race woman who attained as much power as a woman of colour was able to in that time and place and the movie does a lot with how that positions her both in relation to white people and in relation to the slaves she own.

The tone seems to be darkly satirical and very deliberately resistant to the sort of "one good white guy who's horrified by the evils of colonialism and puts things right" sort of narrative that a lot of Danish media tends to prefer to use when dicussing this period (when it does so at all).

(EDIT: apparently, it came out in spring and I just forgot to go see it, lol! I'll watch it as soon as I'm able).

27: Favourite historical “ What if… ” ?

I think what I find interesting in this regard is mixing and matching different types of societal structures, technological levels and religions. What if Christianity hadn't become dominant in Europe? What if absolute monarchies were still the norm with our current level of technological development? That sort of thing.

I usually don't like steampunk, but there are a few versions of steampunk that sort of get at that in a way I find interesting.

The specific example of a historical "what if" I like the best is the anime Ōoku (it's a manga originally, but I haven't read it) wherein a plague that kills something like 3/4ths of all men and boys results in well-considered societal changes to gender roles and gendered labour. It's not just a lazy "what if reverse genders" but an actually intelligent engagement with the situation it sets up.

The "what if" in Ōoku is similar to the other ones I posited in that it's essentially about "what if culture and society had taken a different turn at some point from what it did in reality? How would things be different -- and how would they be the same?"

___

Thanks for asking! Hope you enjoy the longwinded answers XD

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 10

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community. I’m Malice and I’ll be your host. 

Today we have @suspicious-pools-of-blood joining us to share his whump story!

Tell us a fact or two about yourself!

I'm a butch (he/him) and I enjoy rock climbing, leatherworking, and losing my entire goddamn mind over Xena: Warrior Princess. 

What does whump mean to you? 

To me it can range anywhere from a trope to a vibe involving some kind of hurt. I definitely consider angst to be whump.

How did you find the whump community? 

It was actually very straightforward; I was up one night and the word "whump" kept rattling around my brain, I'd probably seen it tagging a fanfic at some point, but I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up and found a definition followed by the Tumblr community. Specifically, it was albino-whumpee's writing that came up, so I was introduced to whump and box boys and WRU all at once. I stayed up all night reading their stuff and then made a sideblog and dove in, dragging my OCs down with me. 

Do you think your views on whump has changed? Maybe the way you consume whump media?

This community was basically my first foray into reading original fiction online instead of just fanfic, and now that's definitely what I read most.

Favourite whump trope?

One of my favorite tropes is carewhumpers--not of the bad caretaker variety, but more whumpers who don't let whumpee have any caretaker but whumper themself. Relatedly, I like captor bonding (not sure if that's an actual term, but that's what I call it because the term Stockholm syndrome has a super gross history), as well as intimate whumpers, nsfwhump/noncon/dubcon, slavery, power imbalances, etc. Also a big fan of a whumpee who internalizes their hurt hard enough to become a whumper against a new whumpee, continuing the cycle of violence and abuse rather than the typical whumped-turned-whumper trope where the two characters just switch roles. I really like the mental/emotional side of whump, seeing how both whumper and whumpee feel about what's happening, why whumper does what they do, and how the whump changes both of them as people.

And your favourite piece you've written? 

Really hard to pick, but currently I'll have to go with Not You Too and its companion piece Wish . It's more angst than any physical whump, but it's an important piece for developing and understanding the psyche of my main character.

What's your writing style like? 

Oh man, calling myself out here on this one. Don't be like me, kids. Often times I find that not being sober helps me get over mental blocks that prevent me from getting the words onto the page. It depends on what I'm writing, but usually a couple bourbon old fashioneds or an edible get me into the mood to write, night time, lights off, candle lit on my desk, relevant OC or WIP playlist playing. I'm trying to get better about that though because needing to be intoxicated to write is not good. I try to write regularly but usually I just end up sitting in front of my Notion board for hours on end while procrastinating on work I should be doing.

Is there anything you struggle with writing?

Cisheterosexuality is fuckin impossible for me to write.  I have no experience with it so I'm profoundly confused when I have to write about it for plot reasons

Is there anything you're working on at the moment?

The current piece I'm working on is my main character's first time sleeping with another woman. I am, if nothing else, committed to realism in writing, so I did spend more time than I wanted to today remembering my own first time and cringing but hey, at least I got the vibe!

Do you have any writing advice?

Make some lil guys and rotate them in your mind; literally no one can stop you

Shout out time!

@winedark-whumpk-whump has some truly fantastic stories and was really encouraging when I was struggling with engagement and feeling self-conscious about my original content.

Anything you'd like to add? 

Thank you so much for this interview, this was lots of fun!

Thank you for joining us, @suspicious-pools-of-bloodod ! It was great to have you here!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[utilitycaster]

I saw your post about Bor'Dor and people wondering if there's a Twist of some kind and you mentioned Veth being one of the least popular characters for CR in passing. I think you talked about it elsewhere as well, and I had recently realized *why* I never really gave her a lot of thought. Because on paper she should be one of my favourite characters that I relate to the most--I read her comic and had a moment of "oh, I should really go back and reevaluate this character because damn". I took some time to think about it and I realized that, for me at least, the reason I never really gave her a lot of thought was kind of because of Sam, or at least the way he plays at the table. I find his antics distracting at best and grating at worst. I still mute his section of the ads whenever I watch because something about his energy just doesn't vibe with me. And like, I do love the moments where he does get serious and has a really good dramatic scene, but then a few minutes later he does something that takes me out of it again. This is of course, something that's a me thing, not a him thing. I'm fully aware of the fact that it's his game and he gets to play however he wants. Hell, if the others had an issue with it, they wouldn't have played with him in the first place. So I fully understand that it's just my own personal preferences regarding the type of humour and energy I respond to. But it is something I noticed after giving it some thought. I have hope with the Mighty Nein animated series I'll get to enjoy Veth's story a little more, since that was what happened with Scanlan (I went back to watch campaign 1 after watching LOVM, and I am having a hard time getting past the stark differences). So yeah, that's kind of the reason I never connected with Veth as much as I probably should have. I don't know if other people have the same views, but I'd be interested to hear why you think other don't like Veth (or at least don't respond to her as much as they do the other characters/players).

Anon, I am...not sure why you sent this. It feels like it really misses my point, and it's not something I can address. I've brought this up before but like, I don't always connect with the themes Sam tends to engage with, but I feel that when I've criticized his characters on other bases someone always brings up how they don't vibe with his sense of humor and like, cannot relate, can never relate, I actively enjoy the ASMR ad, and I don't know why I get unrelated Sam criticism - especially about his sense of humor, which is like...not even particularly weird or unusual nor excessive for the table. This is something that really needs to be a post you make on your own blog rather than an anon ask to someone who is getting a little weirded out that this keeps happening.

But I think more importantly my point is not "everyone needs to love Veth". There are plenty of reasons why Veth might not be someone's favorite character, and also it is completely valid to dislike a character based on your pet peeves! If you don't vibe with Veth as a character or Sam as a player, you are not obligated to try to rewire your brain to make it happen. But I do find it incredibly telling that "this character is secretly another race" pops up constantly as a popular theory, and then when a player actually took care and built a character based on that premise with all the implications it entailed, it was a comparatively unpopular choice. My point is "a lot of theories that hinge on there being some Big Twist Reveal really boil down to 'waaaah i think humans are boring and I play a kalashtar so I want someone else to play a kalashtar' without actually engaging in what the narrative would necessarily need to be to support this," and I find that a very, very strong argument against many of those theories as a result.

[countlessrealities]

send 🌹 and i'll recommend a blog that makes me happy

Time For Some Positivity || Accepting !

@advnterccs | @thcpresidcnt | @mcltiples

Am I biased? I can't deny that perhaps I am, but whoever has interacted with Rin knows what a great writer, RP partner and person she is.

I'm not even sure of where to start from. She's one of my favourite writing partners, she's been since the start because I really admired her portrayals from the moment she followed me. I had actually seen her blog around already, but I was kinda intimidated because the way she writes Rick and Morty was spotless and I kinda had a bit of an inferiority complex. Turns out it was a mutual thing, but I'm really glad that she decided to follow me anyway. Now it's been over a year and I'm still looking forward to her reply as I've been back when we first started.

I've gotten to see all her muses or almost, even the ones she doesn't write on Tumblr and they are all so well written. She puts a lot of care in their characters, canons and OCs alike, and it really shows in her portrayals, answers, HCs, and even just in the small rants she goes on when we're discussing the shows or the ideas we have about characters, fandoms and whatnot.

She's also one of the best RP partners I have because she always shows interest, sends memes, shares plot ideas, comes to me to talk about our threads and so on. It's really HARD to find such a dedicate RP partner nowadays and I treasure her for this reason. More often than not I find myself put in the position of making most (if not all) the effort and that's frustrating. I've never had and I'll never have this problem with Rin (and with a couple of other people...you know who you are <3). I can always count on her to make me feel seen and appreciated as a RPer and I'm immensely grateful for that.

We have a lot of fun. Our muses click so well, whether platonically or sexually or romantically, and...yeah, we're the sort of writing partners who have too many threads and so many ships, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just love every single interactions I have with her, whether it's just the reply to an ask (IC or OOC), or a two-shots or an actual thread.

I could probably write go on and a novel about her and her blogs, but I think I've already written enough. So...I'll just end this by saying that yeah, every fucking post I see from them, on any of their blogs, cheers me up. Just as it does talking to her, no matter the subject of the conversation!

So, honestly? If you want the definition of a good and caring mutual, Rin is the one to follow. As long as you're ready to make an effort on your side too, 'cause if not? Well, piss off because she deserves better than lazy folks who never move a finger to engage their mutuals.

[semper-legens]

116. The Sandman: Endless Nights, by Neil Gaiman

Owned?: Yes Page count: 152 My summary: Seven stories from the world of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman - one for each of the Endless. Walk in Destiny’s garden, experience the love of Dream, watch Desire twist a young woman’s life, twirl and fly alongside Delirium, find a man trying to escape Death, dig for future artefacts alongside Destruction, and gaze at the portraits of Despair. My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might have seen my posts from a few years ago where I read through the entire Sandman series. Since then, the Netflix series has come out - I watched the first episode on a plane, wasn't very impressed, then had no inclination to continue. Sandman is…my reactions to it differ depending on how I feel when you ask me. The general throughline is that I do really like it, and it holds a dear place in my heart, but it's not perfect and certainly not without its flaws. So, we move on to this. Endless Nights contains seven short stories, one for each of the Endless, set at various places in the Sandman canon. Some before the main series, some after. I've actually talked about it before, but now I want to give it less overview, more actual thought. So I'll talk about the four that stood out to me the most this time round.

The first is Dream's story. In the previous post, I mentioned liking it - not so much, these days. I think my problem with it lies from the fact that the others are at least trying to engage with the concept invoked by that Endless. Dream, though? It kind of features wishes and wants, but the fact that it centres around a romantic relationship between Killalla, a star, and Dream himself, makes it feel like more of a Desire situation than a Dream. Desire does more in this story than Dream does! It's showing Dream-as-a-character, not Dream-as-an-idea, which is annoying because all the other stories try and do both. It's also the one that's most conventional in its storytelling, and feels more like a straight prequel to the main Sandman story than a self-contained little narrative.

Death's tale I ended up liking a little better - at least, the general conceit of it. Death is trying to get into a mansion stuck in time in the 1700s. The man who owns the mansion is some sort of alchemist or sorceror, and has stuck himself and his guests in a time loop to evade Death. But with the help of a mortal, Death gets in, and takes him and his guests regardless. This is such a cool idea, especially as we see the man using the fact that he can't be touched by death to its hedonistic limits. He pushes his body as far as it can go, dying again and again safe in the knowledge that he will just rise again the next morning. And Death is there to stop him. She's not cruel, she's not unkind, she's just a reality of life. A necessity. I'm very fond of how Gaiman personifies Death in this series, and this is a good outing for her character.

Then there's Desire. My least favourite of all the Endless, Desire is more disappointing to me than anything. The trouble is that while desire as a concept is a very broad category, Desire the character seems to preside exclusively over romantic/sexual desire. Which is just less interesting to me than other types. Where's desire for money, for power, for anything other than hot women? Because, yeah, that's sort of the thing here. While the main character is a woman, it's more about her as an object of desire as it is her own desires as a character. She teases and tantalises the men in her life, from the man she would make her husband by playing hard to get, to the men who killed her husband by tormenting them until they all murder each other. Her active wants are somewhat lesser to the effect she causes on others. And that's just not interesting, Neil! Get your shit together!

Despair's story is still my absolute favourite. It's not really a story at all - it's called Fifteen Portraits of Despair and shows a small glimpse into the lives of fifteen people at their absolute lowest, complete with creepy, surreal artwork and unsettling prose descriptions. I love it. Despair doesn't get much screentime in the original series, so it's good to delve into just who she is and what her domain contains. Despair is one of the less 'nice' Endless, she presides over sadness and pain, so it's interesting to see her as this somewhat impartial god. Also, it's creepy and macabre and I just love it.

Next, to the pumpkin patch, with two best friends.

[z-cerulean]

I analyse Marianne's supports (Three Houses)

I did this as a Twitter thread a while back but that was... a while back, and lacking twitter's character limit gives me a bit more freedom to do something like this.

Marianne is a character from Three Houses, and part of the Golden Deer class. Over time she's become my usual name for my favourite character in any piece of media and has become quite important to me for a number of reasons, as I'm sure is the case for most people's favourites.

So I'm going to go over each of Marianne's supports in Three Houses. I'll get around to one for Three Hopes when I do Azure Gleam.

Disclaimer, this is just what I think. Fair warning, while I'll keep to a minimum, there will be spoilers for Three Houses if you're yet to play it. Marianne's narrative is rather isolated from the rest of the game's story, so if you don't mind knowing that, there's no problem.

Who is Marianne?

Marianne is the adoptive daughter of Margrave Edmund, one of the Leicester Alliance's up and coming noble houses, and is sent to Garreg Mach's Officer's Academy as per his demands. Marianne herself is shy and reclusive, often only speaking when spoken to and generally evasive of conversation where possible, often freezing up for not knowing what to say. Claude, in his introduction of her to Byleth, says he knows not much about her himself and wouldn't be surprised if someone had never heard her speak. Marianne seemingly spends most of her spare time around animals or praying to the goddess. Her self-esteem is demonstrably low and is quick to disparage herself, she claims that individuals around her suffer misfortune, and keeps details of her Crest to herself, Margrave Edmund himself playing a considerable amount of money to Garreg Mach to keep Marianne's Crest a secret.

Marianne's paralogue isn't available until partway through the War arc of the game, where she's harassed by a scholar over her Crest. Her ancestry can be traced back to the forgotten 11th Elite from the Nemesis and the 10 Elites legend, Maurice. Maurice, through overextending his own limits with his Heroes' Relic, had been thought to be cursed into a Demonic Beast and to this day stalks a forest near Edmund territory, the basis of a legend that his descendants would likewise become beasts. The paralogue follows Marianne going to said forest, finding Demonic Beast Maurice still alive. Upon defeat, the only things left of him were his Relic, Blutgang, and human bones. The scholar that harassed her initially, seeing the sword, found himself proven wrong and apologises. Marianne, finally able to prove rumours she herself believed about her crest were wrong, is finally able to move on. In her solo ending, following the war's end, she becomes a celebrated hero and skilled orator, inheriting Edmund territory.

Of course, this is a broad simplification of her journey, that does get significantly fleshed out in her supports. Speaking of:

M/F Byleth Support

Doing both of these together since both Byleth supports are effectively identical, except for the M!Byleth S support existing.

I... admittedly don't really like this support that much. For reasons that become more apparent as the other supports are discussed, should say, but this support is definitely a victim of being... a Byleth support, since Byleth doesn't get proper lines like Kris, Robin and Corrin before them. As a result this support very much reads like an overview of Marianne's arc, rather than Byleth engaging as much with her. At points it very much feels like Marianne speaking to a brick wall, for lack of a better term. Though points for the A support having an added line if her paralogue is completed, stuff like that is fun. I'll be making more solid arguments for why I'd say this is my least favourite Marianne support once the others are brought up.

Though this is also where we get a window into her relationship with her adoptive father. Marianne seems to mostly perceive him as using her for political legitimacy, since she has a crest, and plans to marry her off for similar gains. Since Margrave Edmund never appears in person, even in Three Hopes, Marianne's perception is all we have of them.

Claude Support

Now here's a step up over the Byleth support. The Claude supports follows Claude making a guess about her crest issues, describing both her Crest and his dual heritage as 'burdens', saying they can be cast aside no matter how difficult, and offering his support to her.

This is a pretty sweet support all around. It's one of the few Claude opens up to someone in, purely for someone else's betterment at that.

While this isn't my favourite depiction of it, it's also an introduction to what is my favourite aspect of Marianne's conflict. Putting it as Claude does, "...people are born with burdens to carry. That much is undeniable. But whether they bind us or we cast them aside... that's up to us. " Nothing changes about Marianne's burdens if she does nothing towards casting them off. But, by putting in the effort and with help from others, she can move towards a better tomorrow.

This is something I feel the Byleth support doesn't portray that well, and is a big part of why I'd rank it fairly low. Though that could be an opinion influenced by some individuals perceiving the support as Byleth 'fixing' Marianne, which entirely defeats a big reason why I like Marianne.

There's also the first case of Marianne 'talking' to animals, as she puts it, specifically to Dorte, a horse at the monastery. That gets touched on a bit more later.

Hilda Support

This support is one of the few where it isn't about Marianne confronting her Crest. Instead, Marianne and Hilda tidying turns into the Hilda's help being repaid by tea parties provided for by Marianne.

I like this support. If anything, I wish Marianne had a few more that weren't as serious like this one. It's basically the only support where Marianne's clumsiness comes into play, which I'm glad isn't played up too much.

I don't really have as much else to say about this one, it's pretty good.

Leonie Support

In brief, Leonie loses her temper at Marianne for putting down her own abilities without attempt, with Leonie apologising and helping her with conversation in the B support.

This support is very... fine. It does the job for sure, but there's not as much to it. This is the first showing of Marianne expecting the worst of more simple gestures, to extent of refusing to help from those more catastrophic outcomes. I kind of wish the B support leaned a bit more explicitly into this, I guess, based on what's here.

Lysithea Support

The Lysithea support is also... fine, for being basically just another incarnation of the Leonie support, though about an accident this time rather than a supply run, followed by a second event with a battle strategy enquiry this time in the B support.

I think I'd probably put this one beneath the Leonie support, it didn't need to spend two supports mostly on effectively the same thing, though I like the ending of the B support.

Lorenz Support

The support is a bit more compelled by Lorenz than it is Marianne. I think it's a fine support, I like the B support, though I'd not call it a favourite, a lot of the big moments are mostly due to Lorenz. If anything though, their paired ending with them becoming 'the mother and father of horses and cattle' with Lorenz hating it is pretty funny.

Ignatz Support

The Ignatz support is another mostly compelled by Ignatz, in some ways it's effectively another version of the Lorenz support. I think I like this one a bit more than that overall, the angle of 'words aren't necessary for communication' is nice, and anything where Marianne is motivated towards an active effort is nice.

Raphael Support

The last of her in-house supports, the Raphael one... I have mixed opinions on.

One hand it has a couple nice moments and it is one of the few more relaxed supports, on the other I'm finding it's sort of hamstrung by Raphael's sheer idiocy at points. Not to say I dislike Raphael, he's fine, but I feel like I could have done without it.

Ferdinand Support

The Ferdinand support is pretty nice as well, it's basically the only time Marianne gets openly frustrated, and I like the resolutions where she ends up approaching others herself about her problems or resolutions. Plus Ferdinand is just kind of a cool dude to begin with, so yeah I'd put this one pretty highly.

Linhardt Support

It's nice, Linhardt putting in active effort (albeit related to his vested interests) is a fun change of pace and the closure on Marianne's part is nice. I'm not as crazy about this support as others are, but it's nice.

Sylvain Support

Sylvain's another character I like a lot from this game, so pretty great as is, and the Marianne support definitely helps with that. I kind of wish they got an A support to cap it off, but I guess Sylvain will have to deal with only being able to A support like three of the rest of the female cast.

Ashe Support

While I like this support for sure, it mostly just reads like a slightly lamer version of the Ferdinand support to me. Not an inherent negative, but one of my gripes with Marianne's support lineup is how homogenous a lot of her supports end up being, I'd have liked a few more like the Hilda support where she mostly just gets to relax, is how to put it.

Dimitri Support

This one's my single favourite support of Marianne's set. Whether that's bias on also liking Dimitri a lot, debatable, but this one just hits. The A support is phenomenal, in particular. The two of them basically just get each other and in short I do basically every Heroes' Journey with these two now.

Hanneman Support

Man, the Hanneman support is pretty great. It's the most directly confrontational towards her bloodline, which allows this one to hit the hardest on it for not having overused it too much in the other supports. Also the A support is great.

Conclusion/Ranking

If I had to rank Marianne's supports on a tier list it'd probably be something like this:

Depending on the day I'd probably order them differently, so mostly just take them as within tier. I'd have liked a few more 'Marianne just gets to relax and have fun' supports, as said before, but for what we have I'm fine with it. From what I've seen of Three Hopes so far, she gets a couple more along those lines, so I'll do another of these for when I get around to Azure Gleam in that game.

[trayoftrinkets]

I think it is about time I sell my soul to Brothers Without A Tomorrow because I really do not know how else to thank them for consistently putting out such amazing works— yes, I finally caught up with Dear Zero and am currently experiencing the worst existential crisis of the year so far.

Like I want to throw myself off a cliff so bad because how can something so perfect just exist? It should be kept in a temple and worshipped because oh. my. fucking. god.

The concept? Mindblowing.

The worldbuilding? Jawdropping.

The story so far? Impeccable.

The characters? My new obsession.

The art? Should be worshipped by all of humanity for all the years to come.

I'm happy that this precious piece of media is my introduction to guideverse, a genre that I've been meaning to explore for quite sometime now but did not know from where to begin. But now that I've gotten a taste of this hidden fruit, I think I will be digging through the darkest corners of the internet to find more. But before all that, let's go back to bwat because this is a bwat appreciation post and I need to yap about them.

To say that I'm obsessed with their writing and their art would be an understatement. I will forever be grateful to the stars that allowed me to be alive at the same time as this person and I'm not even being dramatic, I really do owe them my life.

I was first introduced to their works by my best friend, who had asked me to read Taming the Tiger. And when I tell you I felt my world shift.. l mean it in the way that I finally unlocked a door that would let me experience some of the strongest feelings I've ever felt while engaging with any form of media. Like, you know I absolutely love pretty art and amazing stories, right?

So when the two blended in such a seamless way that ticked every one of my boxes, how can you expect me to not vibrate at the frequency of light and erupt into flames? I MEAN LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT THEM.

Not to mention how some of the illustrations reminded me so much of ranwan. You know it's serious when my brain connects something to ranwan. I really was fighting for my life out here. And those side stories? Oh, I was sobbing into my pillow, alright.

A few months later, after I was finally able to take in all of Taming the Tiger, I decided it was time to read Miscreants and Mayhem. It was a spur of the moment kind of decision, but oh boy did it spur me to jump off the nearest cliff because Juicy. Fucking. Citrus.

Pleek do mind the tags on this one if you haven't read it yet and/or are planning on reading.

It was a total surprise. In all sense of the word. If you've known me long enough, you know I am always on the hunt for stories with subversive tropes, morally grey black characters and, well, downright the most problematic shit you could imagine. And this manhwa managed to tick some of those boxes. I did have an issue with some stuff but in the grand scheme of things, it was all fine.

I started Smyrna and Capri quite recently (well, almost three months ago but I've been busy so I'm still stuck in the 40s). I was not expecting to like it but to my surprise, it quickly became a favourite.

Absolutely love the chibis in this one, and the little spirits. Oh, they bring me so much joy. I also like the humour and the awkwardness. Got me giggling, kicking my feet in the air. And I kinda dig the whole concept here even if I'm not that into mpreg stuff (buzzer goes wee woo wee woo, lights turn red, a voice speaks into the mic: that is incorr—), so yeah, I hope I can pick it back up and get back to reading soon!

Another work of theirs I've been eyeing to read is Blood Link. It looks tempting, I'll be starting it once I'm done with Smyrna and Capri.

Now, all that being said, some of the main reasons why I love Brothers Without A Tomorrow is not just because of the writing and the art, not just because of the multilayered stories and complex characters, but also because of how they break the established norm in BL Manhwas. Dark skinned characters and masculine bottoms? I will be at the scene of crime!

(pc: pinterest)

[the-final-sif]

Why do you sympathise with Dream/ gen

I hope this doesn’t come across as rude, I’m just a little confused.

I mean he literally killed people to prove a point, basically tortured a kid and destroyed a lot of stuff. (As well as other things)

He is one of my favourite characters on the dsmp so I can guess why you like him, but specifically sympathising with him? I genuinely would like to know why!! If that’s ok!!

I'm honestly confused by this ask, but I'll address a few points just to ramble out my thoughts.

As a human being, I find it hard to see someone getting starved, tortured, abused, isolated, and put through some of the worst things a human being can endure, without feeling sympathy / compassion for them. As a hurt/comfort writer, I enjoy seeing these things in fiction, but I still see them as fundamentally wrong.

He did not "torture a kid", he was abusive/toxic towards c!Tommy who was 16-17 and ended up killing him after being locked in intensive isolation + starvation conditions with him for an extended period, and brought him back to life as proof he could.

Of people perma killed (maybe?) by c!Dream, it's really just Vik & Laser and frankly I think that's fair because they're fortnite players and it was very funny.

I'm literally not even going to engage with the idea that "destroyed a lot of stuff" is even remotely important. Talk to me when people stop burning down c!Ponk's poor lemon trees.

Again I would like to point to a nearly year long experience in which we saw c!Dream being ACTUALLY tortured daily, undergoing starvation, extreme isolation, being abused by c!Sam and c!Quackity, having no privacy or agency, etc. If you are unable to see how people would feel sympathy / compassion for someone in that situation, then I cannot help you.

Did c!Dream do some not great stuff? Oh yeah. He's a 20-22 year old whose got some fucked up world views, who didn't handle very stressful situations well, and who got fucked over in a lot of circumstances. He made very harmful choices. Lots of people on the SMP have done fucked up stuff, and literally none of them deserve to be locked up, abused and tortured for any length of time. No human being deserves that.

Besides that, I think the fact that c!Dream designed the prison for himself, speaks volumes about his character and worldview. He genuinely thought that he'd be okay in the circumstances he set up (even though he didn't even get that much). Knowing that he designed the prison for himself, retroactively sheds new light on stuff like Exile.

Like, even the default conditions of the prison as Dream intended them (small room surrounded by lava, isolation conditions with visits controlled by the Warden, minimal potato only diet, no exercise/bed, no comforts beyond books and visits to the courtyard) were objectively significantly worse then the conditions of Tommy's exile (not arguing that Exile wasn't bad, only that the conditions of the prison were worse). And Dream wholeheartedly believed that enduring those conditions was something he'd be fine with, and worth progress towards his goal. No wonder he had no moral issues with what he did during exile, look at what he considered acceptable to do to himself!

It speaks of an incredibly fucked up worldview, of just how much he believes the plan is worth. How much Dream is personally willing to sacrifice and drive himself to, in pursuit of something that is probably impossible. He's fundamentally an extremely tragic and human character, and I hope he gets worse. I hope his treatment reinforces his spiral and we see him lash out and hold tighter to his impossible, self-destructive ideals.