idrisofficial

[idrisofficial]

what do you mean I can't control everything, why not

[idrisofficial]

ok so i think that my favourite fantasy subgenre is The Inherent Tragedy Of Being Born Into Royalty. which mostly means that i like to read about gay princes but with some nuance

[idrisofficial]

thinking about natal maravei

[idrisofficial]

how it feels to have no social media presence as an artist

[idrisofficial]

i haven’t thought about this much as a 1:1 structural metaphor, and i don’t think i fully intend this anyways, but it’s interesting to think about the role of idris’s secondborn nobles as an allegory for historical women’s gender roles.

because it’s true that so much of zuri and nesrin’s significance comes from their relationships to the men they’re betrothed to, and they essentially represent diametrical reactions to that power dynamic. obviously nesrin’s reaction is also fueled by her lesbianism, and lennox being gay subverts the tradition of the situation—but the fact remains that lennox’s superior political power has always influenced their relationship, and even nesrin’s self-perception. on the flip side, zuri’s obsession with adrian as her betrothed defines so much of who she is, and the unrequitedness of her love smashes her self-worth, causing her to fawn harder. she actually has more direct political power and freedom than adrian, but it means so little to her because of the social institution of noble marriages.

also interestingly, natal put a ton of stock in his relationship with grace for political power. he held the least powerful position in high nobility, and grace held the second most powerful. especially in terms of their plans to reform idris’s government from the inside out, he was stationed in such a way that grace’s power eclipsed his own almost entirely. when it came to his future political abilities, most of it revolved around how he could support grace and her efforts. even though natal isn’t a female character, i think it absolutely adds something to the metaphor so long as there is anything to say at all.

lastlyyy i also think mikhail’s reputation is completely in line with this. he has the least powerful position of the most powerful house, and he’s basically known for being a total slut. with the consideration that nobles are supposed to renounce sexual hedonism, this is pretty hard-hitting. the biggest reason people still respect and look up to him—other than that he’s a social butterfly—is because he carries out a lot of lennox’s political work as his secondborn sibling. his supporting role to lennox is essential, and he deliberately defies the traditional expectations between him and his betrothed.

i’m just saying.

[idrisofficial]

nodding my head and going "yes!" while reading problematic media so everyone knows i endorse everything happening and i think its awesome

[idrisofficial]

how do your characters unwind (any selection of 'em)

brinne: drinking (alone), sex (adrian)

rowen: drinking (social), cool knife tricks, card games, hanging out with friends

grace: reading, writing, something like chess, hanging out with friends

lennox: drinking (alone), reading, collecting expensive shit (knives, jewelry) because he’s rich he’s gay and he can

evander: drawing, reading, poetry, cooking, talking to people

adrian: bible

[idrisofficial]

which characters would be the theoretical fan favorites (and, alternatively, who would be neglected)

looove this question. it’s hard to say bc i think it would depend on how insane fans got about the politics of the universe. would people appreciate the nuances and impossibility of brinne’s position and her morals? or would they reduce her to a black-and-white tyrannical figure or judge the narrative as “mental illness made her do it”? hard to say. i think a lot would also depend how i ended up writing her— but no matter what, i think she would be a pretty polarizing character across fandom.

lennox would be pretty universally loved i think, and i also obviously fall into this trap. everyone just loves to see a sad gay blond machiavellian (sorry to use your word) get taken down about a million notches and live with the survivor’s guilt. he’s just too fun, and i have a good idea of the kind of arc i’d give him.

adrian is controversial because of his relationship with brinne, and i think his brand of pathetic would be beloved by some and hated by others. easy to meow meow him and easy to find him annoying, just depends who you are.

rowen is another character whose reception is very dependent on the politics of the individual. but i think i would make her actions condemnable enough that it’d be difficult to perceive her as anything other than completely morally gray. she’d have some haters for sure though because god forbid women do anything.

evander’s definitely neglected. sorry bud. it’s kind of a natural response, because he’s also intentionally shoved to the side in the story, despite having what should be a massive political role. other people outshine him in the narrative, which is supposed to be frustrating, but i think it’d result in fandom neglect. also people hate characters you can’t really ship. at the most he’d get the “mom-friend” trope because we also know that fandoms hate nuance.

similarly, zuri gets “cinnamon roll” and nesrin gets “girlboss.” nobody ever talks about how important their supporting roles are except for the few who rightfully but annoyingly criticize everyone else for mistreating women in fandom.

grace would have a pretty interesting fandom reception i think. mostly my guess is there would be a lot of debate and conversation about how reliable her perspective is, which i love. her moral character would get dissected to hell and back, which i also love, although i’m sure some of the conclusions people would make would annoy me.

brinndrian is a do or die ship, you obsess over it or you call it problematic and say “brinndrian shippers dni.” rograce is not talked about like it should be. fandom would hate that i don’t have any central m/m ships, and my guess is that lennox/adrian would be huge. not sure what to think of that one.

[idrisofficial]

who exactly is seren

well, seren keldei is Some Guy From My Brain. one sentence summary of him is that he’s a young but jaded pretty boy with weapons who comes from an old cult in the mountains which has preserved idris’s traditions from before the alistair regime. he left the cult when he was 17, and now he’s 23, super involved with the revolution against idris’s government, and partners with killia (who i’ve also spoken very little about). because the cult has been so thoroughly isolated from modern idrisian society, they speak a different and older version of idris’s main language, which makes communication generally difficult for seren. again, think about a coworker who speaks a similar english to that of the 1600s.

i wrote a whole post about seren and killia’s lore here! hopefully it’s all still accurate— i haven’t changed too much about them, but they’ve gone through some updates.

[idrisofficial]

chat i’m in a lot of pain rn who wanna send me asks

[idrisofficial]

i need to get back to blogging about lennox warryn i want that twink obliterated

[idrisofficial]

How does your OC hope their email finds you?

[idrisofficial]

i really want people to stop writing scientists as awkward, stilted conversationalists who don't understand idioms or emotions and start writing them as depressed alcoholics who swear like sailors unless they're in a specifically academic situation

[idrisofficial]

if i had a gay little son i would put him in itty bitty tailored suits and raise him to be evil

[idrisofficial]

Which OC has done something that you, personally, find morally abhorrent?

[idrisofficial]

guyssss i have to develop seren (and killia)

[idrisofficial]

developing your ocs is 50% waiting for bursts of divine inspiration like an oracle sleeping next the vapours seeping from fissures in the temple floor and 50% stalking them in your mind relentlessly like a persistence predator until they tire out enough for you to get close and scamper away with the bloody scraps of "eye colour: brown" and "dislikes: people who think they're funny" clutched in your mouth like a hunting trophy