#the heart of the world meta

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

I've just finished Heart of The World and it was delightful! Frank the vampire minion and that mystery of his missing boss forever going unanswered is truly a tragedy.

I've not looked at any Lily and Sisyphus stuff but gathered Ilyn originated from Snape at some point in the development process. I truly enjoyed the "They put him in charge of children!?" realisation, but what had you decide he was going to be notorious as a warlord primarily for blowing things up with fire? Ilyn's hilarious retrieval mission blowing up cars, setting a house on fire, abducting a child and then not commenting on the most convenient portal you've ever seen form works brilliantly naturally, but when did you know that was the direction you were going?

Your remarkably nuanced handling of the very fraught political tensions among factions was very cool to see. It ends up making you feel bad for essentially everyone in some capacity (maybe not Questburger, he seemed like he was doing quite well for himself).

The Heart of the World (by me!) @janedoewrites

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Really, this is very high praise indeed and I'm not only flattered but very glad to hear that I did what I set out to do successfully. (And yes, Questburger's done great for himself, at least so far.)

And that's a very interesting question.

So, Ilyn obviously started as a Snape counterpoint, same as Elizabeth is clearly what Hermione was, Theyn is clearly some mix of Dead Last and Neville, so on and so forth but he deviated in a large way very early/had that personality when he got introduced as a character in the first draft.

I don't think there was ever a draft where he hadn't set Lily's house on fire for no reason and was always this very taciturn/stoic/least talkative person you can ever find. @therealvinelle who helped with a lot of the editing maybe remembers better than I do but I think his characterization was set very early and the big surprise for me writing when it worked out and for her on editing is that he and Lily end the novel on very good terms.

I actually don't think characters changed that much in general between drafts. They changed a lot from the fic and in the outline for obvious reasons, the primary one being that they had different backgrounds now, different roles in the story, and that would inform who they were as people and how they best served the story but once they were decided on early in, they didn't change much in terms of personality. They've been very stable. The one who changed the most in a nitpicky manner was Lily herself who was made more... noble I suppose is the word for it in part of things happening or not happening to her in her youth, and being with the Tylors who are just absent versus the Dursleys who are present and awful. A lot of things about her and her lines changed between drafts and it took a bit to settle on just what her personality would be like with these changed circumstances and events.

But yeah, Ilyn's pretty much always been Ilyn, which is great because I love him and other people better like him because he's not going away any time soon.

[janedoewrites]

It occurs to me I can submit an ask over what else I've been wondering and that if it's not spoilers it may even be answered. I loved the incorporation of trials, poor Nhoj and the night elf just stuck re-traumatising themselves with reminders of horrific violence, in their variety and was aggrieved by the loss of 2. So:

Before Rabbit ate the happiness and love elf tasks what would they have been? Did you always plan to have them eaten and never decide? Is there a particular reason they got the short straw?

The last question is possibly they had less narrative focus mostly, the happiness elf particularly, but it's because of authorial choices and deliberate writing why it's possibly fair game to inquire about.

The Heart of the World by me.

And sure, submit anything you like! Even spoilers, depending, I might answer if it's spoilers for the single book thus far, just not anything that will spoil things ahead.

With that said.

You nailed it, there weren't any. They were always slated to be eaten, I never had to come up with anything, for which there was much rejoicing on my end, and the why is... well, that actually is something of a spoiler. It's not so clear yet as of book 1 but there are things Rabbit does and doesn't eat and there is something of a pattern to them.

So, hold that thought basically.

[starflungwaddledee]

happy birthday. you are so, so loved

[thequeenofsastiel]

Thinking about this:

So what I love about this is how completely accurate it is to describe your kink orientation as a "need". Because it's not just something I would like out of a relationship. It's not a want. It's a need. I'm actively unhappy in vanilla relationships(or that one time I spent a year trying to be in a relationship with another sub *shudder*). I need to be able to submit to my partner. And honestly I just need to be able to submit in general. Not having that feels like I'm suffocating. So Louis saying that he and Armand had figured out what they NEEDED from each other, not wanted, but needed, is perfectly accurate.

Also look at the love in their eyes!!!! You'll NEVER convince me that they weren't in love in Dubai.

[blu-ish]

The character arc of the century

[symbologic]

Law thought he'd need to change the world to honor Cora's sacrifice

But he was already living Cora's legacy: Simply by being with the people he loves, the family he created for himself in the wake of Cora setting him free

You'd almost expect Law to wander alone for years after Cora's death. And in a different story? I think that's likely what would've happened so the MC could finally show him what love means

But Law met Bepo and the others within a few days of Cora's death

And so Law fulfilled Cora's dying wish — continued to fulfill that wish everyday after that, even — without ever realizing it. There is something so devastatingly beautiful about that

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

OKAY WAIT

I WAS THINKING OF MAKING A POST W/ THIS SCENE IRT PEOPLE SAYING SORIKU WONT HAPPEN BC DISNEY DOESNT DO MLM

BUT LIKE

MY FUCKIGN DUMBASS JUST REMEMBERED SAN FRANSOKYO IS AN ACTUAL WORLD IN KH???

A WORLD THATS CANON IN THE KH UNIVERSE HAS A MLM ROMANCE?????

HOLY SHIT??????????

[violetdisasterzone]

another unfriendly reminder: at Maigu Ridge, the sex is not what killed Shen Qingqiu. AFTER the sex, when Binghe was coherent again, Shen Qingqiu started drawing the excess demonic energy out of Xin Mo himself. and once Binghe realized what he was doing, they destroyed the sword together.

did we forget "'Dying together' also included a 'together.' It didn't seem that bad." ????

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Sorry I'm a bit late on this, but I just wanted to say congrats on finishing season 1 !! 🥳

LOSING MY MIND AT HOW PERFECT THIS IS!!!!!! THANK YOU PIO!!!!! B'*)

[moongothic]

...So Crocodile could beat Akainu

Good to know

Sidenote but that did make me realize how when we see the Impel Down prisoners in Level 4, Oda does semi-consistently draw everyone sweating their asses off, which makes sense, since they're in the Inferno Hell. It is focken hot in there.

But then there's Crocodile and dude never breaks a sweat

Like to be fair there are a few characters who don't seem to be bothered by the heat of Level 4 either (Iva-chan, Sadi-chan etc)

But when you considder the sheer amount of fucking layers this man is wearing, like. You know what. Crocodile being completely heat-resistant up to 1700 Celcius makes perfect sense to me, I'll add that to my worldview, it's canon to me now.

[holleighgram]

Friendly reminder that Riku is Soras Dream Eater.

Friendly reminder that Sora "died" is in the "afterlife.

Friendly reminder that "the edges of sleep and death touch and one can't help the occasional cross over"

Idk what this means but I'm pretty sure riku didn't die. I think he straight up told the grim reaper : "my boyfriend died and I'm his plus one"

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hi Muffin, when you were writing The heart of the world, did you do the world building first and then the characters? Or was the other way around? I would like to know how did you make the world of your story coherent and what was your inspiration. Greetings and good luck in your writing.

Ooh, thanks for the praise!

Characters or World First

Lord, very much the characters first.

I'm very much a character/story driven writer where to me the world, while neat, needs to fit the story/how the characters should progress as people and what they learn. Also helping that it was based on a fic I'd written that had to change for obvious reasons and also because there were a lot of things in the HP version that I had to smash with a hammer to make work or I just didn't like.

How Come Up with the World

The story being what it is, there needed to be a very well known genre and setting and tropes that the reader's presumably familiar with so that Lily can buck the rules without my having to go to into depth over what the rules are supposed to be.

We also needed a concept of a 'real' world, multiple identities, and various other things to get at a lot of the themes I wanted/still want to get at in the future books.

Way back in the day I'd come up with two options I was seriously contemplating: superhero style universe or high fantasy.

I ended up going the high fantasy route and very purposefully inspired by The Lord of the Rings as all high fantasy is. This gives a familiar enough setting that people generally know what to expect from it/have a general understanding of what it's supposed to look like.

Beyond that, coming up with the elves was pretty early on (everyone needs elves) though which elves and what they do and what the purpose is was fairly late. The idea of a quest, too, rather than a boarding school type situation was also fairly early as again it's something almost every high fantasy series does: you're supposed to go get the MacGuffin and not question it.

Basically, by knowing what I needed to about who the characters are, where they're going, and what they need to do, I was able to set up the universe such that it would best help tell that story.

And in terms of keeping it consistent, for me, it helps to think logically in terms of "here's what I know about the world, the people, etc." and thinking out what that means in terms of culture, technology, and how people will act.

(There's also the fact that, in this story at least, some things are purposefully whack/don't make much sense and there's always that thing called Rabbit loitering ominously in the wings.)

[janedoewrites]

Hello! I just wanted to ask is Lily autistic/nerodivergant coded? When I first read about Lily I saw myself in her and I'm autistic. :) Not sure if it was intentional or not, but you've captured the experience of what it's like growing up with autism lol

Caveat

I'm not going to tell people what they can and can't read into a character. That's the fun of reading/watching/interacting with any medium, making what you will of it and relating to it in the way you want to.

I am not here to tell people what to think or what to do. And I'm glad you related to the book positively!

The Answer

No, that wasn't my intention.

I did no research to write a neurodivergent/autistic character and as someone who isn't neurodivergent or autistic myself it's not really a story I feel I can adequately tell without either much more research or personal life experience.

So, if she's coming off that way, it's really more of a coincidence in that much of Lily's colored by her background and history and the very strange world she grew up in in comparison to who she is as a person.

But again, I'm glad you had a positive experience with the book and I'm not here to tell you what to do and what to read or not read into characters, just that it wasn't my intention.

[daenerysstormreborn]

I still think there’s a chance Dany doesn’t become a villain in the books because her characterization IS different in the show but I don’t think it’s really fair to claim the only reasons people think she’ll become a villain are misogyny and hatred of her and desire to see her get a bad ending. Yes there are Dany haters and misogynists who believe this but those are not the only reasons.

I love Dany. What I desire for her is not necessarily what I believe will happen in the story. I’m still split on what I think will happen and I’m keeping an open mind. What I want for Dany is a happy ending where she is loved and can live in peace. If I was in charge of the story, I’d have Dany participate in the battle against the Others and, in the process, really get to know and understand the people of Westeros and realize that claiming the throne could not happen peacefully. I want her to choose the path she wants deep down and not the path she was told is owed to her. She does not seem to particularly enjoy ruling. Based on my interpretation, what Dany wants is a home. She wants love and acceptance and belonging. But growing up with Viserys she’s come to believe that she is owed the throne and has a duty to rule and she doesn’t know what else to do. This isn’t because I think she’d be a bad ruler (it is hard to judge who would it wouldn’t be a good ruler when they’re young teenagers). I just don’t think it would lead to a happy ending for her. I don’t want the IT for ANY of my favs.

However. This is just what I WANT for her. There are many things in the show that are clearly made up completely by D&D, like replacing Jeyne Poole with Sansa. However, I don’t think something as major as Daenerys, one of the main characters who has been presented as a hero thus far, destroying King’s Landing is something D&D would just pull out of their asses. It’s just such a major event that effects literally every other surviving main character. It’s hard for me to buy the idea that villain Daenerys isn’t an idea that GRRM at least floated to them. It was super rushed and poorly executed, as was the rest of the show. But it’s just hard to buy the idea that these men whom GRRM trusted would do something that entirely betrays his ideas for the story. And GRRM REALLY had faith in them. He did NOT want there to be an adaption of his series but they won him over. I do NOT want this to be the trajectory of Daenerys’s character but I just can’t pretend it’s not a very real possibility.

And then there’s the original outline. Yes, many things have changed since then. But George refers to Dany as a “threat.” This demonstrates that at least at one point, he has toyed with the idea of her ultimately posing as an antagonistic force to Westeros. Is this enough evidence to say without a shadow of a doubt that this is what George will do? No I don’t think so. Not a single one of us can say what he’s going to do with this story. There’s also a very real chance that Winds is taking so long because he decided to make major changes after seeing how GoT was received by the public but I’d like to think he has more integrity than that. But again, I just don’t know.

I want Daenerys to be a hero. The ending she got in the show was so, so tragic and would be heart wrenching if it had been executed well. As a big ol Jon lover, I don’t want that ending for him either. There are characters who are obviously on different trajectories based on major changes the show made to events (Sansa), characterization (Arya), or statements GRRM made (Jaime). But I just can’t say for sure that that’s true of Daenerys. If any other Daenerys fans who are 100% convinced without a show of a doubt that she will remain strictly a hero, I would love it if you’d add onto this post and tell me why!

[hollowwhisperings]

Kingdom Key & Kingdom Hearts: A SoRiku Theory

The Kingdom Hearts series (& its creators) actively emphasizes the ways that its primary protagonist, Sora, is a "normal, ordinary boy". Yet Sora wields the iconic Kingdom Key, the Ultima Keyblade & even a x-blade (as forged by Xehanort): Sora's Story has been that of a Chosen One, even as he fits the archetype of one "Unchosen".

This theory explores the nature of Choice within the KH series, specifically in the context of "Destiny" and prophecies. It employs the "Riku is The Light" & "Necklace" theories, as well as elements of "Sleeping Realm". It also casts Riku as one of those Strange Women in Ponds who Distribute Swords as a Basis of [Galactic World Order].

Sora's story seemingly begins as a Classic Hero's Journey only for such a reading to fall flat when Expectations such as "Getting The Girl" and "Becoming a Keyblade Master" pointedly do not happen.

The driving force of the KH series has always been Riku: Riku wished to see worlds beyond his home, knowing the truth of the KH Multiverse well before proof literally crashlanded in the form of Kairi (a literal shooting star).

It is Riku's Heart that drew the attention of the Worlds at large to the Destiny Islands: the brightness of his light lead Terra, Aqua & Xehanort to meeting Sora in the first place.

Terra chooses Riku as a future Keyblade Master.

Aqua chooses Sora for the sake of preserving Riku's Light, the events of BBS teaching her that the strongest lights cast the longest shadows.

Xehanort chooses Riku as a Dark Vessel, whispering to him & encouraging him to doubt, to mistrust.

It is assumed, by Sora and by Riku, that Riku was also the person responsible for "opening the door" to the Darkness that felled the Destiny Islands. Yet throughout his childhood, each attempt by Riku to open the mysterious door on the play island failed and, when Darkness Falls, it is Kairi who is found at its source (Kairi, who had been expelled from her home by a version of Xehanort & whose heart harboured yet another fragment of the Seeker of Darkness).

Regardless of whether he truly opened the Destiny Islands to Darkness, Riku believed it & through Darkness did he find "freedom" to explore the Worlds Beyond, just as he had always dreamed... except for one, rather significant detail becoming derailed: Sora's presence by Riku's Side.

The two were separated and Sora was almost lost: even with Darkness swallowing Riku whole, the light within his Heart acted in time to save Sora by entrusting to him 'Kingdom Key'. Riku's Keyblade. A physical manifestation of Riku's Heart.

(notably, the "Kingdom Key-D" found by King Mickey was found not too far from the scene where Kingdom Key manifested: it is plausible that this keyblade was also manifested by Riku's Heart, perhaps alongside its 'Light' counterpart - I'd need to check the timeline to see how such a theory holds up)

Kingdom Key was entrusted to Sora, a subconscious act of Riku's Heart that mirrored an earlier act of protection Riku gave to Sora: on the night where Kairi fell to the Destiny Islands, a young Sora felt frightened and a young Riku swore to protect his dearest friend. This oath was sworn in turn sworn by Sora to Riku. They sealed these oaths with tokens they held close: while Sora's charm gifted to Riku remains unknown, Riku entrusted Sora with a crown charm he had had since infancy.

When Riku was 5, Riku entrusted Sora with his Crown. Both boys swore to protect the other.

When Riku was 15, Riku's Heart entrusted itself to Sora in the form of 'Kingdom Key'.

When Riku was ~16, he subconsciously protected Sora by becoming the latter's Dreamel Eater. Within the same timeframe, Riku sacrificed himself entirely to save Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard (an act of sacrifice, an act of True Love).

At every instance where Riku has been at a crossroads, knowingly or not, his Heart has Chosen Sora's: Riku, presumed descendant of Ephemera and a child of the Destiny Islands, has always & continues to choose Sora.

When the pair were reunited in KH2 and confronted the threat of Xemnas, the two fought as one & passed their keyblades between each other intuitively

When the pair existed in parallel realms of Sleep, separated but connected, their heartbeasts joined to form a Waltzing variation of the melody 'Dearly Belove'. They then fought in sync with a Combined Blade, formed from the keyblades "Mirage Split" and "Nightmare's End", acting again as two halves of a whole.

When Riku was to meet his end in the Realm of Darkness, far within the abyss, Sora appeared to him and they once again wielded their Combined Blade. Beast had once reaponded to a 15 year old Riku's questioning of his impossible arrival to Hollow Bastion, where Beast's Beloved Belle was held hostage, that he had "simply believed": belief brought Sora to Riku in the Realm of Darkness, belief brought Sora to the Final World in the wake of Riku's Ultimate Sacrifice.

The premise of Kingdom Key & its counterpart, Kingdom Key-D, being Manifestations of Riku's Heart & indicative of Riku's being the "Child of Destiny" does run into some Logistical Obstacles.

One, if Riku's Keyblade is being wielded by Sora (& Mickey, assuming the two keys were originally one) then whose keyblade is Riku wielding?

Two, how can Riku's Heart manifest multiple keyblades? Posession by Ansem Seeker of Darkness explains 1 of the "extra" keyblades (the key of "all hearts"). The bequeathing ceremony by Terra could explain another. Kingdom Key-D is definitely connected to Kingdom Key yet never specifically associated with Riku, evem being wielded by King Mickey (a stranger to Riku, at that point).

To the first: if Riku's keyblade is being wielded by Sora (& its counterpart by King Mickey), how can Riku wield another keyblade in KH1 even before getting possessed?

There are several immediate & varyingly plausible explanations: Riku's nature as a "Child of Destiny" allowing his Heart to churn out keyblades on demand like some Fey Lady of Avalon; or the other keyblades were not actually manifested by Riku at all.

While I greatly enjoy the imagery of Riku playing the "Lady of the Lake" to Sora's "Arthur" in KH1, given Sora's opening dream sequence already set Riku as being stuck in a Body Of Water (which is additionally representative of Darkness), it is Stretching Things to assume all other Plot Focused keyblades were ALSO fished out from Riku's Heart.

Perhaps Riku's Heart simply conjured new keyblades in response to Sora's Heart taking in new quests: Riku's Heart supplying keys to the metaphoric doors of Sora's Heart Hotel.

It is more likely, however, that the "new" keyblade wielded by Riku (the one currently known as "Braveheart") is a manifestation of SORA'S Heart: Riku entrusted his crown & his heart to Sora, first on the night of the Meteor Shower & then on the night the Islands Fell; Sora, in turn, entrusted his sword & heart to Riku. It explains how each boy readily wields the keyblade of the other & fits within the theme of their hearts beating in sych.

Riku choosing Sora, Riku's entrusting his Heart (literally & figuratively) with Sora, resulted in Destiny Itself 'choosing' Sora: if Riku represents Kingdom Hearts, the subject of his love would naturally become beloved by the Worlds in turn.

Sora acting as "[the] One Sky, One Destiny" due to Sora having the 'Heart' of Destiny through its child (Riku)'s love.

Sora is not only Riku's Dearly Beloved, Sora is THE "Dearly Beloved": beloved by the Worlds, entrusted with their Hearts & appointed their Savior. And all because, dull and ordinary boy that he may be, it is Sora's naturally normal self that Riku fell in love with. Sora may not be any more innately special than anyone else but Sora is special to RIKU, the love between them (knowingly or not) serving as the driving force of their stories & of Destiny itself.

[lunaticmeap]

Thinking about early on when Lan Wangji was trying to figure out if Wei Wuxian was back, and the idea that it took him a while to reconcile the Wei Wuxian that came back to life with the Wei Wuxian that died was because the one that died is nothing like the one that came back to life. And it is that overwhelming thought that almost brings him to his knees, because “Oh, it’s not just the man Iet die that came back, but it is also the boy that I first loved. He is not lost to me forever.”