#thoughts about fiction

[ikam177]

Some lovely people have tried to inform me that real hedgies can have clicky purrs and I am very much aware of that. I just think Shadow is built different.

Like, louder.

[vivitalks]

can't stop thinking about brennan saying "i'm going to describe something very heartbreaking now." how often does he break the kayfabe just to warn one of the players about the next thing he's going to say?? so much tragedy in dimension 20 but it's here, this moment, that is devastating enough that brennan takes a moment to give a warning: i'm going to describe something very heartbreaking now.

adaine abernant grew up lonely and abused in the shadow of a cruel, perfect aelwyn who could do no wrong. adaine didn't even want to find aelwyn, and every step their adventure took in her direction was a step adaine asterisked with a loud proclamation that she hated her bitch sister and didn't care about finding her. and only after discovering that aelwyn had been a months-long prisoner, tortured at her parents' hands, only after hearing a destroyed aelwyn apologize, does adaine consider that maybe aelwyn was a victim, too. and she overcomes her childhood resentment. she sees the bigger picture. she rescues her sister. she protects her as they sleep, and aelwyn's magic protects them in return. it is, maybe, the first time adaine truly feels that she has an older sister. and there's hope now. aelwyn has been broken down, but also redeemed, and they're together now, and adaine can help her, and they can be a family, because people aren't perfect, but aelwyn said she's sorry. and adaine goes into her mind and sees all the self-loathing she never knew about, and even more than that the fear of their parents, and she understands aelwyn so perfectly in this moment, all bitterness and spite dissolved, just a young woman taking a leap of faith and being rewarded with family, finally, a sister she never got to have, who actually loves her and believes in her and wants to keep her safe.

and then aelwyn's memory resets.

and in an instant, adaine loses everything she never knew she could have.

pretty heartbreaking.

[marzipanandminutiae]

I hate "it's not trying to be accurate!" arguments for historical fiction or historically-inspired fantasy clothing choices that just. don't make sense logistically

why is that girl in Br*dgerton tightlacing her stays? what is she reducing- her upper ribcage? not only can you not tightlace in those (hand-bound eyelets can't usually take that strain, in my experience), but there's no reason to because your waistline is under your boobs. and unlike most of the series, they actually commit to the empire waistline for the court presentation gowns. small waists don't matter when NOBODY IS SEEING YOUR WAIST

why no chemise, in so many productions? fantasy/lack of concern for accuracy can't make things not chafe. chafing is not a matter of accuracy; it's a physical reality. did a wizard give everybody in the kingdom Anti-Chafing Spells?

just because you don't WANT a linen underlayer beneath a medieval tunic doesn't mean sweat won't get to outer garments and damage them- or make them need laundering, which weakens the fibers -at a time when all clothing is handmade, custom-fitted, and created from hand-woven fabrics and thus a HUGE investment

you're not just throwing accuracy to the winds as a design choice; you're ignoring How Textiles And Bodies And the Realities of Your Technology Level's Fabric and Laundering Capabilities Work

[taraxippos]

I think people tend to assume that any criticism of worldbuilding is ultimately a demand for a story to grind itself to a halt and give the reader 20 paragraphs of exposition, and like. Most of the time good-faith criticism of this nature is coming from a core aspect of the story not being grounded in the setting in a way that outright detracts from the story's quality. You fix it not by Explaining but by Showing it passively in the makeup of the world.

Like the last instance I saw this critique in was like 'you can't expect an author to stop and exposit the nuances of gender roles/Queerness in a fictional society' and it's like yeah I don't, and in fact this is actually one of the easiest things to show in the text without exposition. If a society has gender norms to begin with you'll see aspects of these norms baked into EVERYTHING. You'll see it in its stories, its religion, its taboos, its etiquette, its clothing, its family structures, its language, its insults, its labor, its leadership, etc. It will have massive impacts on how characters interact with one another and how they perceive themselves. It will help Shape your characters.

If you do this legwork to begin with for the core facets of your story, you will find very natural places for these concepts to be demonstrated without derailing the plot and with little to no exposition. THAT sort of thing is what's being asked of you.

[00book-berries00]

The worst thing about being a hero in any fiction has to be to not have any clue as to when your story "stopped". Not knowing when The Plot has ended and when you can rest.

Imagine being Odysseus... 10 years of Troy, you think you're done ? Nope, your story only just begun and now you're gonna have 10 more years of battle, treasons, plot twists, deaths of loved ones etc...

What I'm saying is... Yes he's back with Penelope *we* know that it's the "happily ever after" but him? He's got no idea

So now I'm picturing the aftermath and the anxiety, possible paranoia, nightmares, anxiousness when there's a storm near Ithaca

I'm not saying that Odysseus necessarily spiralled into stress and paranoia, although I wouldn't blame him.

I'm just saying that as long as one lives, there will always be twists. And how can one react when the absolute worst is meant to be in the past, but life goes on?

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

What disabled readers want* from non-disabled sci-fi and fantasy** writers:

Imagine your world where we exist, without being a tragedy, a burden, or (functionally) erased.

Back in 2019, I came up with my own metric for Disability Representation in stories, inspired by the Bechdel-Wallace Test.

I named it the "1,001 Problems Template"

There's a disabled character,

Who wants something,

Beyond Revenge, Cure, or Death,

And personally takes action to achieve it.

I decided to call it a "Template," rather than "test," because I hope that it's a useful tool, and not something to Pass or Fail. 1,001 Problems, because, Yeah. Disability can be a bitch, but characters can have 1,000 other things they're dealing with, too. And you can write a story about any one of them.

The point being: If you can imagine us as part of your make-believe future, and fairy tale past, then it's easier to include us in your real world present.

*With the understanding, of course, that not all readers want the same thing [/standard "Your mileage may vary" disclaimer]

**In other genres, too, while we're at it.

[soulsforsales]

Two things I’ll never understand:

Jason Todd being a “womaniser”

Idk wtf dc is on with this one but Jason Todd is not and never will be a womaniser. Like that man might be a 6 foot wall of muscles, trauma, and repressed emotions but he has zero to no experience when it comes to sex. He died as a virgin and was resurrected as one, he was groomed by Talia (acc to some canon representations, I think) so he already didn’t think of sex as this amazing or perfect thing and even if he does have sex where he feels comfortable and safe — he will cry, like who are you kidding??? Jason has mentioned that he can’t distinguish between romantic and platonic love, he’s always been too focused on his missions/job/goal to care about romance— where in the fucking hell is this guy getting time to fuck around with women??? Dc??? wtf????

Jason Todd being a cheater.

I get why people think this bcs other males in the Bat Family have not always been very… faithful, let’s say. But Jason Todd cheating on his woman??? NO FUCKING WAY. This man has had no glimpse of what a healthy and safe relationship is supposed to look like and if he finds someone who gives him that??? If he finds someone who loves him unconditionally, someone who sees behind the mask and loves the broken boy, someone who doesn’t flinch even when all of him is bare— I bet you my biscuits Jason would never even look at someone else let alone think about cheating. Jason Todd is not just any men — he’s the man. He’ll worship someone who gives him the love he’s always been deprived of. When he loves someone, he’s all in. He loves fiercely and loudly; that’s just who Jason Todd is. He’s never cheating. Period.

[nondelphic]

it’s not about falling in love. it’s about choosing to stay in it. again and again.

[egophiliac]

You can’t pick Lilia for this. But who is your other favorite short character in Twst?

I like the angry little king boy 🌹

[chimerafeathers]

you know what i think Mirabelle deserves to get a little fucked up freaky in how she processes learning about Siffrin’s loops post-canon. for fun. as a treat

thinking about this line in particular and stretching out the implications like taffy

this is a more romanticized, cutesy facet of her interests but she’s still framing Siffrin’s situation through storytelling. so like. What If.

i mean. this woman loves horror and gore and monsters and horrible things happening to innocent people. IN FICTION. in fiction!!! obviously!!!! and it’s beyond terrible that something even remotely close to any of that happened to her real friend in real life!!

BUT.

maybe. maybe sometimes, if the conditions are right, she gets a little too wrapped up in her imagination about the bloody, awful poetry of it all. maybe Siffrin tells a joke that's a little too dark and gory for anyone else, borderline or full-on Concerning, but she latches onto it without thinking about the Implications and plays along with increasing gruesomeness because FINALLYYYYY someone will play with her in the Horror Space (like Isabeau does in the romance space!!) and then. OOPS. the implications!!!! and she has to recalibrate out of Fun With Fiction mode into Oh No, My Friend Underwent A Horrifying Ordeal mode.

but being able to joke about things, even the awful things, is...kind of comforting, to Siffrin. makes them feel less like they're being babied and pitied and more like what happened was something...normal, almost? something that doesn't have to feel like the end of the world all over again every time it's mentioned, at least. so he tries to reassure her, and Odile and Isabeau have to go “actually can you PLEASE not joke about dying horribly it’s freaking us out and also might not be the Best for you? mentally???”

maybe Mirabelle will get a little Too Into trying to weave meaning and symbolism into the scant details that Siffrin gradually reveals, like she’s trying to finish the orange poem all over again, or eagerly meddling with the romantic reunion of the two actual people in the House with undelivered bonding earrings, writing their story for them without their input.

it’s easier to justify the tragedy of it all when it has a purpose, isn’t it? finding the beauty in the darkness, the love powerful enough to end the world. romanticizing the horrors until her friend can talk about them without shutting down.

and she feels guilty about hearing something and immediately thinking “ohhhhhhh this is JUST like Blorbo From My Novels,” because she should treat Siffrin’s situation with the gravity and care he deserves!! they’re a real person, not a character who exists for entertainment, to represent the ~themes~ of some story.

but if she admits as much…maybe Siffrin is safe to admit that he had started seeing the rest of them as actors, endlessly reciting their lines. maybe that’s just how people process things sometimes, grasping for metaphors when unfiltered reality gets to be too much. maybe it’s okay to talk about that part of it all, too.

[lazylittledragon]

ok someone please correct me if i'm wrong but am i weird for thinking those 'audiobooks don't count as reading' posts are ableist as fuck????

[c4tto626]

i'm not arguing with a man in full-body armor. whatever you say beautiful ♥

[chubbibunni]

"Most of us proshippers are children" uhm. Why?

Is it maybe because children are easy to manipulate? Or because they don't have enough life experience to realize how much damage proshipping/pro contact/pro para actually does to people/the people/animals around them? Is it to groom children into thinking this behavior is acceptable and appropriate or even gratifying so pedophiles/rapists can get away/normalize their abuse?

Huh.

[doverstar]

can't express accurately how happy it makes me that c.s. lewis did not leave room for many interpretations in narnia. it's christian and you can't get around it. susan chose to care more about worldly things than what matters and he said what he said. the lion is Jesus. evil is evil and good is good and people have to choose. and that makes some readers angry because it's nearly impossible to ignore and they want to ignore it. they want it to be something else and they can't make it something else without making it not narnia. love that. that is doing it right

[deliriousblue]

THE HEART KILLERS (2024) + tropes prior art by @hurlumerlu

+ bonus:

[arson-artist]

imagine you and your f/o are separated for a long time against your will

when you’re finally together again, your f/o will not let you out of their sight

they cling to you like their life depends on it, showering you with so much affection that you don’t know how to react

they refuse to go even a second without touching you, whether it’s holding your hand, hugging, cuddling, etc.

if you try to leave them for a moment, they will literally fall to their knees, begging you to stay with them

being separated from you was the worst experience of their life, and they will do anything to prevent that from happening again

they’re so happy to be with you again, hearing your voice, feeling your touch, seeing your face

you’re joined at the hip now, never leaving each other’s side, whether you like it or not <3