#I do tend towards preferring the focus to be on the story rather than the romance so most of these recs are story-forward
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Adding a few more recentish SFF recs!
Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - an epic fantasy doorstopper with matrilineal royalty, dragon riders and courtly intrigue, I absolutely loved this one!
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri - a tale of vengeance and royal intrigue with some very cool magic. It tends a little darker in the second book, but I have faith it will all work out
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martin - a scifi murder mystery with some really cool cultural linguistic stuff and a subtle wlw relationship that's more of a backdrop, very fun
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood - a story of gods and priestesses, sacrifice and magic, really fun and the wlw relationship is super cute
The Councillor by E.J. Beaton - political fantasy full of courtly intrigue and a real fun protagonist embroiled within it. I'm looking forward to book 2 coming out!
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson - this one is on the darker side (check the content warnings at the storygraph link), but it's so fucking good!! About an accountant trying to win back freedom for her people from the empire who conquered them, by playing the empire's game
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler - this one isn't so recent, but it's a flintlock fantasy with a main character who crossdresses as a man to join the army. Very cool magic and setting, and although the wlw relationship doesn't turn up til the second book, it's still worth reading!
why are wlw books so angsty and deep all the time like where is my casual wlw romcom or my fantasy lesbians, space bis and trans princesses like not every wlw has some lost love in some town in the middle of nowhere
#ascension is really good!!#the disability rep is fantastic too I really loved it#quail reads#there are more but my taste tends towards darker so#also I forgot the gist of most of these sorry for the shit blurbs fkvkvk#there are SO many excellent queer books out there and these days also a lot of resources to find them!#check KA Doore's regular lists of upcoming queer SFF books!#there are threads on r/fantasy for people who fill their bingo cards with entire queer books!#also sorry for the Baru Rec I fucking love those books so I can't not rec them fkckkkc#I do tend towards preferring the focus to be on the story rather than the romance so most of these recs are story-forward#fantasy/scifi first rather than romance first
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the boy is mine | 𝐥𝐡𝐬
୨୧ pairing: lee heeseung x fem!reader ୨୧ word count: 2.3k ୨୧ genre: smut ୨୧ tags: secret relationship au, semi-fwb, idol!reader, idol!heeseung, semi-public sex, oral (f receiving), pet names (baby, love, etc.), unprotected sex. ୨୧ synopsis: A company costume party is not the perfect place for your relationship with Heeseung to be exposed. So, like rational people, you both decide to have a rendezvous in a closet when jealousy rears its ugly head, if only to prove to each other who you belong to. ➸ banner created by @hobeemin ♡
A costume party for hundreds of celebrities was as ideal as expected. The lingering, dramatic stare-offs between exes with bad blood created a thin layer of tension for some partygoers. The whispers of rumored hookups in the bathrooms at parties prior to this one caused an onslaught of prying eyes. With every motion of an idol, there was a microscope ready to catch every moment worthy of gossip.
Heeseung kept to himself since the beginning of the night, only conversing with his fellow members rather than other idols and leadership teams. It wasn’t that the guy was rude, not at all; he just didn’t focus on paying attention to the engagements of his colleagues. His job was to make music, perform, and then live his life. Once he was off the clock, nobody but Heeseung knew about what went on in his bed. He preferred it that way.
“Come on, Seung. We gotta try and find some action tonight.” Jay tips his cowboy hat in his friend’s direction. The Toy Story costume did not suit him, and Heeseung made sure to tell him so when he bought it as the guys kept to the superhero theme they picked out. But, against the better judgment of his seniors, Jay tends to do what he wants. And tonight, it’s clear where his intentions lay.
“I’m not feeling it,” Heeseung responds, shrugging and drinking the beer in his glass, some of the liquid dripping onto his cowl. The plastic Batman mask itches Heeseung’s face, but it keeps him from being picked out immediately by randoms in the room.
“Seriously? Don’t be such a wet blanket, dude.”
”If you want pussy, go talk to Jake or Hoon, man.” The two aforementioned boys were chatting up some girls from a group under Pledis. With their respective Spiderman and Iron Man masks off, it’s easy to discern their place in the crowd of people. At the bar in the corner with their conversation partners, they’re on a mission to end All Hallow’s Eve with a bang.
Before Jay can respond, his eyes go wide in recognition and a smile spreads across his face. “Ah, I get it now. You’ve been waiting on her.”
Heeseung’s head turns, and he feels all the blood in his body go straight to his core. In a Catwoman costume, completely clad in a latex-coated suit and red lipstick, he may go insane and take you on the floor in front of everyone. Even in the mask that hides half of your face, he can see how your eyes darken when you capture his attention, the borders of his mouth watering at your figure.
He downs what’s left of his alcohol and readdresses his friend. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
”Sure.” When Jay sees you continue your path towards Heeseung, he makes his exit in the direction of the bar. “Have fun and use condoms!”
Heeseung wants to slap Jay silly for saying his parting words so loudly, but the feeling dissipates seeing you so close.
When you first met, it was a strictly platonic environment between friendly coworkers. It wasn’t in his mind then to progress to whatever your relationship was now, a partnership that dances the lines between a sexual agreement and a full-blown relationship. But now, the feelings in his chest are ready to explode in the tiny banquet hall the company rented for the party. He wants to kiss you senseless, smear your lipstick on his face, and press his face to other parts of you, but he knows that would expose both of you to extreme scrutiny.
It was not out of the bounds of your contract to date or sleep with coworkers under the same label. Still, it was extremely frowned upon by your peers. Keeping your relationship a secret was not difficult though, burner accounts and private meetups both yours and Heeseung’s best friends.
Heeseung tries to keep his sexual appetite at bay when you finally make it to him. You pose with one hip jutting out, causing your whip to jiggle at your side.
“Selina Kyle, right?” He asks rhetorically, a smirk on his lips.
“Thanks for noticing, Master Wayne.” Your British accent causes Heeseung to emit a chest-rumbling laugh. “You look handsome.”
“And you look…” Although you’re nestled in your corner of the expansive room, he knows he can’t outright describe all the ways he wants to tear the costume off of you. Hands, teeth, the list is endless. But he settles with a simple answer that hopefully says just enough. “Incredible.”
“You’re just saying that ‘cause of the spandex.”
His eyebrow quirks, unsurprised you could tell exactly what was on his mind. Six months of fucking made it easy to discern a person’s words from their tells. “I’m saying it because you always look incredible. The spandex is just a bonus.”
The tension between you is electric. Even prior to the first time you slept with him, the signs were there. You felt the buzz under your skin at his presence even if he said nothing and it was ever too brief. His gaze and body would linger during practices or studio sessions, his being too close but not close enough if you were honest with yourself.
Heeseung tries to be discreet as he attempts to grab your hand under the cover of shadows. You shuck him off in the presence of so many eyes. “Not here, Hee.” You frown, wanting nothing more than to feel his fingers in between yours, his warmth bringing an unexplainable comfort. “You know they’ll talk.”
“They already are.” Heeseung practically hears the bullshit discussions between the surrounding people. Can you believe that? They probably picked out their outfits together. How can they be so obvious?
Your initial confidence is dampened by the thoughts that Heeseung knows you both share, but he shrugs off the chitchat about you both that could be occurring nearby. “Matching costumes can just be a coincidence.”
“Is that what they’re calling it?” You laugh sadly, knowing you have to leave his side to avoid suspicions. The night may not be over, but you can’t stay too close unless you want to bring everything out in the open. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Heeseung can’t keep his focus on anything but you, conversing and laughing with gentlemen from other groups under the same label. The idiots came up with some Cowboys and Aliens-inspired costumes, and the flirting taking place between you and these men makes Heeseung scoff. How could you be impressed by a guy with a cowboy hat on?
The interactions occurring in front of Heeseung make his skin crawl, the image of you smiling for guys who aren’t him hitting like a stone in his gut. He knows he’s not your boyfriend, and no labels were ever discussed at the start of your relationship, but that doesn’t take the sting out of it. And his feelings aren’t curbed by the alcohol in his cup.
Unable to avoid his distaste anymore, he excuses himself from his conversation with the random executives who bothered him ten minutes ago to saunter over to your spot in the banquet hall. “Excuse me, gentleman. I need to speak to Catwoman for a second.”
You barely say goodbye to Jeongin and Yeongbo before Heeseung takes you by the arm and into the hallway of the building. He looks around in rapid motion, and finds an open door to shove the two of you into. The makeshift closet provides enough space for the two of you, but not much.
Heeseung takes the cowl off of his head and throws it to his side, his eyes dark due to more than just the black paint around the upper portion of his face. “Heeseung, what’re you—“
He suddenly knocks you back into the wall of the closet and slams his mouth into yours, his tongue and teeth colliding with yours frantically. Your desire spikes when he palms on of your breasts over your costume, the latex wrinkling under his touch, “Fuck, seeing you with other guys drives me insane.”
You scoff, a smirk on your lips. “Like I was happy to see you talking to Yunjin earlier.”
“Don’t be like that.” His eyes glint with mischief at your response, but it melts into pure sincerity that makes your heart kickflip. “You know I only have eyes for you.”
“Likewise.” You nip his lips and knock him down to his knees. Before he can catch his breath, you lower the front zipper at the center of your costume and shrug it off of your arms, revealing the black-lace set covering the places Heeseung knows by heart. “Now touch me.”
“Jesus.” He hooks his thumbs into the sides of your underwear to yank down, careful to not rip the fabric. “Did you plan this or something?”
“You’re the one that pulled me into this room, baby.”
Heeseung smirks and presses a kiss to the center of your midriff, testing and teasing before going in for the kill. He nuzzles his face against your clit, kissing the bundle with adoration.
In the end, when he first saw you walking over to him at the start of the night, you both had to have known it would end like this, lost in each other and away from the rest of the world’s opinions and influence. Fuck them, Heeseung thinks. If their scrutiny meant he still found himself here, in between your legs and showing you how much you meant to him, he would take every comment with a smile.
“You taste incredible,” Heeseung whispers before passing his tongue against your slick folds, lapping up the wetness like he has never eaten anything better than you. “Just like always.”
“More,” you whisper, putting your hand under his chin to look at you. Even in the low light surrounding the small space, you can see the glint of his lips from your arousal. “I want more of you.”
“As you wish.” He stands up and kisses you deeply. “Wrap your legs around me, love.”
He lifts you with ease, his muscles expanding to reveal their form even in his bulky costume. You can’t wait to feel the heat of his skin against yours later when you’re truly alone. It’s never been a one-and-done with him, going many rounds without stopping, whether you had expected it to go that long or not. His sex drive was unstoppable when he was in the mood, and it seemed whenever he was with you, he didn’t have any intentions of slowing down.
By the time he enters you, your body is already welcoming him from the previous foreplay. It makes him hiss with pleasure, the tone low to avoid any strangers in the hallway from hearing and speculating. You capture his lips with yours, letting the extent of his moan be swallowed by your lips.
“Does it feel good, baby?” He asks, the whisper as loud as any groan he could emit. He releases one of your breasts from your bra, kneading the skin tenderly. “It’s fucking incredible for me, the way you stretch around me like this.”
“Fuck, you know you’re amazing, Hee.” You scratch your hands down his arms as he thrusts inside of you, the only available skin to take hold of.
“You’re all mine, you know that right?” He captures your eyes with his stare, going slower to punish you until you give him the answer he’s looking for. Fortunately for him, you don’t mind giving him what he wants if he does the same.
“Yes, all yours.” He resumes his original speed, sucking on the skin of your neck to create hickeys only he will know about. He loves to mark you and see your excruciating attempts to cover them up, makeup only going so far before friends and coworkers asked about what had occurred the night before.
If there’s anything as strong as Heeseung’s lust, it’s his pride. And he was as proud as he could be knowing he could claim you so well, even if only the two of you knew about it.
“Hee, I’m gonna come,” you whimper, holding on tighter to reach your end faster.
“Do it baby, let go for me.” He kisses you again to swallow the deep moan that leaves your lips as you come. If only you could shout from the rooftops how good he made you feel. How he was as impeccable as a lover as he was a person, just to make every adoring fan and foe of his envious of your spot in his life.
Your body feels like lead by the time you come down from the high, Heeseung has to hold onto you harder so you don’t crumble onto the floor.
“Hold on tight.” He braces his body with one hand against the wall behind you as his pace speeds up to an exhausting degree. His muscles twitch as he releases inside of you, burying his face in your neck to not let the groan escape his throat. His breath is hot on your skin, but you love the feeling of him so vulnerable as he lets go.
You kiss him quickly when he raises his head, his eyes half-lidded. “For a cat, you didn’t scratch that hard,” he says, lips upturned.
“Fuck off.” Heeseung helps you get dressed again, zipping up the front of your costume for you while you try to wipe away the remnants of your red lipstick from his face to no avail. He’ll have to wipe it off in the bathroom before going back to the party, but you doubt he cares much. “Come to mine after?”
He feels foolish for thinking tonight may be the night to discuss your relationship status, but stranger things have happened. Like the bat and the cat joining forces, per say. He kisses you again before leaving you with, “Of course.”
@seokgyuu @mini-mews @jayparked @heesuncore @yoursjaeyun @sungbeams @jenoslutie @loserlvrss
𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 ౨ৎ˚₊
@kvanity-main @sweetvenomnet @onedoornet @sayxonet @violetanet @svthub @whipped-kpop-creators
#kvanity#svnet#enhypen smut#heeseung smut#lee heeseung smut#heeseung x reader#enhypen x reader#enha x reader#enhypen fic#lee heeseung fic#heeseung fic#enhypen hard hours#enhypen hard thoughts#enhypen hard headcanons#enha hard hours#enha hard thoughts#heeseung fics#lee heeseung fics#enhypen fics#enha fics#lee heeseung x reader#kpop x reader#kpop smut#kpop fics#kpop fic#[ lexi's works ]#[ .5k ꣑ৎ ]
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[ LONG AHH POST ]
Proud to announce that the first revision of the half-serious full-insane Kaalaa Baunaa Wall is done… I haven’t seen an intensive Kaalaa Baunaa character analysis so I decided that I will do it myself. But feel free to correct me on stuff since, again, it’s half-serious and full-insane.
PDF:
Text version of the important stuff I wrote in case you don’t wanna zoom in or open the PDF under the cut. I won’t be pasting the event story takeaways because they are very long and full of unhinged Mocha jumpscares.
Personality
The following points are derived from here:
Methodical and steady in her approach to tasks.
Known for her soothing presence and being reliable in accomplishing tasks. Very punctual.
Has a contemplative nature, often preferring solitude and observation.
Friendly but rarely intimate.
Maintains a practical outlook, prioritizing efficiency over aesthetics.
Demonstrates a sense of conservationism, as seen in her choice to mend her glasses rather than replacing them.
Character Story Takeaways
Grew up with an astrological background but chose not to believe in its prophetic accuracy. “To hell with it!”
Kaalaa Baunaa was an abandoned child. She was found by Vaquini. her foster parent.
She often engages in misbehavior and fights as a kid. Vaquini would defend her.
She refused her destiny prescribed by her astrolabe, and doodled over it.
She emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying causes behind events rather than accepting them at face value (or just seeing it as fate).
Voiceline Takeaways
She thinks that people focus too much on linear time and notes its subjective(?) nature. But she has a good perception of time herself.
Prefers Indian food.
Enjoys observing the night sky. She feels connected to it. Human society is complex, ever-changing, and influences her identity in ways she isn’t content about. But the constant nature of the night sky comforts her.
Is humble about her martial arts capabilities. This girl can hit……..
Delulu Corner
Interpretations + Summary of Takeaways
Keeps a steady and level-headed front despite often being anxious and full of doubt towards herself. It pours out when things get truly rough, with dismay and desperation.
Tends to overwork herself and struggles with self-care. She has the incentive to wind down but the guilt would take over her and lock her back into her lab. It is even implied to manifest as an illusory monster that stalks her down.
She held considerably little value towards aesthetics or cleanliness, prioritizing practicality above all. She easily brushed off rat feces in her lab this woman won the idgaf war. She cares more about research routines than things like that, or even more, rules imposed to her.
She may be enabling Kumar... She knows when Kumar is wrong or when Kumar is trying to mess with her but she doesn't necessarily call her out on it. Yes she is very observant towards stuff related to research and the arcane, but can be fooled/lead on otherwise. She may know it but she won't voice it.
She talks and contemplates to herself a lot. Probably a pace-around-the-room-lost-in-thought enjoyer.
Based on her past, she has a tendency to be rebellious and turn her back on certain systems despite being dependent on one herself
For some time, she is quite dependent on Kumar's presence and guidance. She puts a lot of trust in Kumar despite the many questionable things she did to her and the people around her.
(My Insanity) Her tendency to conserve, paired by her predisposition to methodical routines makes it difficult for her to move on from Kumar. And she struggles to properly open up about it or confront it. Kumar left her mark in her way of doing things. The constant nature of her approaches in work/life makes the echoes of Kumar also constant. She would love to break free from the cycle of remembering Kumar by doing things differently, or taking a long deserved break from work... But at the same time, she feels like throwing herself off this 'orbit' is unreasonable, unproductive, and unbecoming of her. So it Rots.
She probably keeps Kumar's glasses, Kumar's bullet, what else? :))
#mochagaming#reverse 1999#Kaalaa Baunaa#i feel like 1.3 is underwhelming because i want to see what happens to her AFTER Kumar#how does she cope…#I have the power of delulu and may write about it but i am a little unhinged so i may not be the best person to write about her#but like i do love her ogh 😭 she deserves better#also this is kind of a love letter to the character since she made me play the game#i may make one for Medicine Pocket - Baby Blue- and Eternity later#im normal#today i will wear my white button down
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8. To what degree do you use your OC as a means to explore your own romantic proclivities (or shortcomings)? Is your OC a self-insert and the relationship a form of wish-fulfilment and/or an means to explore certain fantasies? Or do you enjoy exploring something completely different to your own experiences and preferences?
25. Other than your own characters' relationships, can you give an example of someone who is particularly good at writing or otherwise portraying romantic and/or sexual relationships? What is it about their work that really stands out for you?
32. If you ship your OC with a particular canon character, then what was it about that character that drew you to them? Is it that you have a certain "type" when it comes to shipping? Or did you surprise yourself with who you felt drawn towards? If your OC is in a relationship with another OC then did you change any aspects of either of their backstories or personalities to make this work?
Another old ask, but better late than never, right? This got long, so it's under a cut.
8. To what degree do you use your OC as a means to explore your own romantic proclivities (or shortcomings)?... A...lot. Lmao. Like a ton. Most of what I know about myself and my relationship to romance and sex comes from the stories I have read (and how I react to them) and the stories I write. But, to be honest, usually I don't know what a given story is going to teach me until I write it. For example, I never considered that I might have a dominant aspect of my personality until I started to explore the sexual tension between Yrrce and Ayumo. I never considered how my own difficulty rejecting people could lead to more pain down the line until I explored that as an aspect of Elex (TWC). I didn't really understand the degree and flavor of my ace-ness until I started thinking about Inky (FF14) and her relationship to attraction vs. fantasy. So, often, I find that even when I start out with a character who has a romantic inclination that I initially think is just an interesting personality trait to explore, the desire to explore that tends to come from something inside me that's asking to be interrogated. OCs are a low-stakes way for me to do that.
25. ...Can you give an example of someone who is particularly good at writing or otherwise portraying romantic and/or sexual relationships?... Basically every author I follow on tumblr? My mutuals are exceptionally talented.
That said, I have a particular fondness for @floreswrites's works. He has a way of inextricably linking identity to romance so that the characters feel quite three-dimensional. And, there's always this aspect of tension in his works. Usually it's pining and angst at its core, but the tension never feels contrived or like a pure plot device, so its resolution is an immense catharsis both for the relationship and personally for the characters involved. That's not to say that being in a relationship is the end-all-be-all of personal development in his work; he does an excellent job of showing that relationships are stories unto themselves rather than a hand-wave happy ending, but still.
I can't really answer the sexual part of this question well since I tend to focus more on the romantic fulfillment that comes out of sex due to my own biases. But any author who can write a sex scene that feels pleasant for me personally to read has my admiration because I don't even know how to do that yet. It's a work in progress.
32. [nested questions, difficult to summarize, shhh, the text is in the ask <3] My personal type, when it comes to OCs, comes down to characters who tick one of two boxes: (a) characters who use flirting/charm to deflect from their own insecurities, and/or (b) characters who struggle with unconditional acceptance and love because that was withheld from them in their backstory. These two archetypes often overlap. I don't think this "type" extends to my actual preferences, because the partner to those types of characters often takes on a sort of savior role, and that's not really a recipe for a healthy relationship IRL 9 times out of 10, but in fiction? Delicious.
I can't answer every part of this question for every OC, but I do have three notable examples of romantic development that kind of address this question.
First up is Inky, who I initially thought was not going to have a love interest, and if she did, that it would never in a million years be the two people she ended up with. I didn't create her with the goal of "romancing" anyone in FF14, and so when Heavensward finished up with no signs of her being attracted to anyone, I thought she would just be the ultimate platonic Scion soulmate.
And then in came Thancred with a steel chair, fulfilling her childhood dashing-hero dreams in a very real, tangible way, now with the form of someone she had time to get to know as a good friend and who accepted her for everything she was, and I had a very real oh no moment. Then, the two of them broke up during/after Shadowbringers, and I was very content with the idea of that relationship just having been a small part of their story--until Urianger came in with a whole adamantite throne and not only saved Inky's relationship with Thancred, but managed to--despite being the only Scion she didn't fully click with for four expansions--develop in a direction that made them just as endearing and attractive to her. And now she has two boyfriends. So that was a fun surprise.
Second in the interesting ships list is Ytelarien and @undyingembers's Lenarius/Lenosa. We had an RP with the two of them where they met in an alternate reality that was ongoing for some time (but unfortunately hasn't been for a few years now--mostly my fault). Despite both of them having other "canon" love interests, there was a level of tension between them in the RP that developed quite naturally, even if we never got to pursuing it properly. It surprised me how compatible the two of them were despite also having a good deal of friction. Maybe someday that will be fun to explore again and see what happens.
Third is an example where I did noticeably change the OC involved. One of my longer-running D&D characters, Montgomery, underwent a massive personality shift about two sessions into playing him because I realized that, since I was the only player in the group with experience playing D&D, the other players were looking to my character for leadership, despite me not having designed him that way initially. For the sake of the group dynamic and making sure that the sessions weren't emotionally distressing to the other players, I talked to the DM and altered Montgomery's personality behind the scenes to take him (away from the fantasy-Silicon Valley rich kid who needed to learn how to be a real person) and shift him to a young man whose queerness--in all senses of the word--had left him contorting in all the wrong ways to try and earn love and approval.
As a direct result of that change, a romance became possible with one of his party members, Lorelei, that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. I didn't make the shift with the end goal of romance in mind, but considering that Montgomery and Lorelei's relationship is one of my favorites that I've ever been a part of writing, it hits me a lot just how close I came to never experiencing it if I hadn't altered his backstory and personality.
This got long, so here's Lorelei and Montgomery kissing as a reward for reading the whole thing.
#risuresponds#oc: ffxiv rihnkiki#oc: dnd ytelarien#oc: dnd montgomery#oc: dnd lorelei#oc: tps yrrce#oc: tps ayumo#oc: twc elex
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Answering an Ask
In an unusual way, because my darn tumblr be broken and didn't show the ask in my inbox! Fortunatly, @edutainer2022 PMed me to make sure I got it! ^^
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Hi! Just in case the asks act out, some ask game points for you:
🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)
🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.
🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?
🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…
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🍒 What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)
Platonic and/or familial! While I can and will write romance, there's always a heavy focus on the friendship of the characters, more than the romantic ^^
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🥭 Rank from most enjoyable/fun to write to least: Fluff, Smut, Angst, Crack.
Well, I don't actually write Smut at all (closest I'll come is Lime, and usually I'll only write Orange. I've never actually written even a Lemon, let alone anything more hard core than that), and the closest I get to Crack is 'here is a silly thing that canonically could happen' rather than true crack.
Sooooo....
Drama (angst, fluff, serious, comedy, and bunch of other stuff rather than a heavy focus in just one type.) FAR and away my favorite.
Angst & Whump (as old fanwoman is old and I go by the definition that ANGST is mental/emotional 'harm' that may have a physical element or trigger, but is all about the emotions and mind. Meanwhile Whump is physical 'harm' that may have an emotional/mental element or trigger, but is all about the physical). I generally prefer it to be an ELEMENT of a story, and I strongly prefer hurt/comfort, but I do have some instances fics / ficbits that are (mostly) solid angst and I'm more likely to have Angst scenes / elements in my works than Fluff
Fluff: tends to be only sparingly and mixed in admist other things, and even my 'pure' fluff pieces like A Cure for Boredom were cahracter and fan-lore explorations alongside the fluff. Mostly because pure fluff BORES ME ^^;;
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🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?
Ellipses, probably XD I actually try to alter my writing style to a degree depending on who the viewpoint character is, but I am ANYTHING but brief (even though I know brief / less is more is the 'in' thing now). So I tend to have lots of details and asides and descriptions and trend much more towards being VERY wordy
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🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…
Oh yeah, many things XD There's always at least ONE 'fix it' in every fic I write. Sometimes small, sometimes BIG... I try to give my reasoning for any / all changes, I do my best to respect that other people may have totally different takes than me. But yeah, there's always fix-its in my fics for things that bug me or that I flat out hate
Heck, in an example that I'm currently writing (well, re-writing as back in the Naughts this darn thing was COMPLETE and now I'm re-writing it from memory XD ). In As the Wyrm Turns and my fanfic Universe in general....
I moved Marineville. I've always HATED that it's canon location for a REALLY LONG LIST OF REASONS THAT ARE VERY VALID DARN IT, so I moved it to Maine (Isle Au Haut specifically). On top of solving most of my list o' issues, it also meant that I could have the Aquaphibians living in or near 'Atlantis' ^^
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Exploring The Elements (Via Comparison)
This post is about how I came up with my version of the Four Elements. My variations are not exactly unique, but there are some key departures from traditional depictions that I think make my system stand out. If it’s not obvious, this is entirely my UPG.
Context: While the elements are the backbone of my witchcraft practice and are absolutely part of my spells, I view each element as more than just a tool or an energy, but as a category. For me, each element has its own lessons, its own mysteries, its own aspects and its own path for a practitioner to walk down. That being said, I think they're absolutely categories you can play with. I took the elements and made them more sacred than sorcerous; you may want to make them more secular than spiritual. That's totally your call!
For starters, I mentioned in this post that I prefer to work with the elements as they appear in my life. When I began my practice, I meditated on each element and followed the threads that it reminded me of.
To take Wind as an example, I thought of letters, weather vanes and feathers. From that I could extrapolate correspondences of communication, ideas, omens, change, exchange, favors, levity and freedom.
That's a LOT from three objects.
From there, I applied the correspondences to my life- where did I see omens, experience exchange and communication, feel free? Pretty quickly, Wind's domain became the internet, as well as academic study, games, and travel.
Once I had done this- and mind you, I didn't sit down and write out every element one by one, it was a more organic process- I wanted to find the intricacies of the system. Some of the elements seemed to overlap- Earth and Water, for instance. I wanted to know what separated them, made each its own path.
That's where comparative groupings showed up. Dividing my four elements into two sets of two as many ways as I could was a pretty useful way to figure out what they were and what they weren't. These categories are fairly arbitrary, but they help me understand the connections between the elements and solidify their meanings. You can see how this is done with the traditional four Elements, with "passive" and "active," "feminine" and "masculine," and all of that. There are three axis that I measure them through; Hearth vs. Flux, Aspirational vs. Foundational, and Energetic vs. Organic.
The Hearth elements (Fire and Earth) are physical. Their domain is the solid and mundane. They’re called “Hearth” because their properties are more familiar to us, being steady and predictable. The Flux elements, by comparison (Water and Wind) are shifting and metaphysical. They have influence over things that only exist in our minds- our thoughts, ideas, magic. They also fluctuate, hence the name.
The Aspirational elements (Wind and Earth) have goals that are either endless- they can never be truly achieved- or which I gravitate towards in good times. When I’m doing well, I focus on these things, which encourage growth, progress and self-expression. They concern the external world, beyond an individual person. The Foundational elements (Water and Fire) meanwhile, are more about maintenance and healing. In bad times, I come to these elements for renewal and comfort. They focus on the internal, the self, the- well, foundational. These are paths that set habits and routines.
The Energetic elements (Wind and Fire) are more energy than spirit. They tend to be simpler, more linear, more man-made and more morally neutral. They’re more sorcery than spirituality, if that makes sense. Organic elements (Earth and Water), by contrast, are more spirit than energy. They’re complex. They like cycles and feelings and spiritual development. They like dealing with people rather than products. (I have a whole UPG around energy and spirit- long story short, I see spirit as condensed energy and energy as unfocused spirit- but that's another story.)
So, reading through that, you can probably already glean a lot of my elemental associations. That's how it's supposed to work- through these three comparative lenses, you can triangulate my correspondences in a really satisfying way.
For instance, you now know that Water is a Flux element- changing, metaphysical, mind-focused- a Foundational element- self-focused, healing and internal- and Organic- specializing in spirituality, cycles and feelings. The sentence writes itself- Water is about a person’s relationship to themselves and their internal feelings, the cycles of healing and development, and spiritual wisdom.
Additionally, that tells you how I might use Water in a spell! Personally, I almost never use only one element- it's much more potent to blend them. In my practice, Water will be present in both a cleansing and an emotional healing spell- but in the former, I'd combine it with Wind (the Flux Elements like movement and shifting things around), while in the latter I would add more Fire (because the Foundational Elements are eternal sources of renewal and self-love).
This has been a long post, so if you made it all the way through, thanks! I may make more posts outlining my specific, in-depth profiles for each of the elements, for my own record as much as anything else. Keep in mind these will be entirely based on my UPG and highly personal to my craft.
PLEASE, please please please add your own UPG around the elements to this post- or tag me in your own- I would really love to see what other people make of these four!
#cheshi muses#witchcraft#witchblr#the elements#elemental witch#elemental witchcraft#the four elements#four elements#UPG#unverified personal gnosis
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20 questions for fic writers
tagged by @carry-the-sky, thank you!
How many works do you have on ao3?
7 (8 by the weekend!)
What's your total ao3 word count?
276,499
What fandoms do you write for?
Exclusively Good Omens at this point, not that I don't enjoy others. But the more I give myself permission to write for fandoms, the less likely I am to ever get around to finishing off my own OCs' story.
Top five fics by kudos:
Morningstar Abbey (Regency AU, T rated, 116K)
Mission: Ineffable (spy action AU, M rated, 25K)
Vaster than Empires (non-angsty S3, E rated, 5K)
The Serpent of the Loch (historical crack, T rated, 8K)
Antoinette (1920s wives AU, T rated, 118K)
Do you respond to comments?
As much as possible, although it does sometimes take me a while. I prefer to do them at my laptop than on my phone (typing is quicker) so sometimes I catch them up in a batch.
What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
That would be The Truth I cannot Speak, a post-1827 Edinburgh diary entry from Aziraphale where he reflects on all the things he cannot tell Crowley, and might not ever get the chance to now. That one has poetry!
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
I do tend towards the happy ending for preference, but I guess Morningstar Abbey would be happiest, since it ends drinking wine in the garden the day after the wedding 💕
Do you get hate on fics?
Not yet, I haven't.
Do you write smut?
I do now! Vaster than Empires was the first E rated fic I've shared, and I have a new one coming out this weekend for the High Pollen Count sex pollen event.
Craziest crossover:
Mission: Impossible, probably! Although that's not a crossover, it's a human AU. I haven't written a classic crossover yet, and I don't know that I will, it's not quite my style.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I'm aware of, and I've only been doing this just over a year, so seems unlikely.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not yet, but one lives in hope!
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
I would love to! I do like beta reading and providing some collaborative suggestions when people are looking for them, so I suspect I'd enjoy formally co-writing something with an author I clicked with.
All time favorite ship?
It's got to be the Ineffable Husbands/Wives/Partners. The ship that keeps on giving!
What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I try to focus as much as possible when writing, to avoid having too many half-done works at once, so I don't have any WIPs which are languishing at the moment. Except for my original work, but that will get finished, just quite slowly!
What are your writing strengths?
Plots and dialogue. I like to tell a story, a whole thing, with lots of developed characters and psychology and subplots, which leads me to the weakness...
What are your writing weaknesses?
Stopping! All my fics end up longer than I was hoping because I can't stop writing them! And on the smaller scale, simple things like working out where to stop a scene, I just can't do it! Rather, I can because I've worked at it, but it has been effort to get better at this.
Thoughts on dialogue in another language?
Love it. I'm fluently bilingual, and have basic functional language skills in two or three more (or I do with a bit of warm-up!), but verbal is not the same as written, so I do try to get a native speaker to beta anything more than a word or two.
First fandom you wrote in?
In the beginning... the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
Yep, first fandom I remember writing things for was H2G2, back in the 90s when everything was on paper. Although I have been in fanclubs since Discworld as a teenager and further back I think Redwall as a kid?
Favorite fic you've written?
No, don't make me pick! They're all lovely! Although probably Mission: Ineffable, because I'm currently enjoying revisiting that AU to work on a sequel.
tagging! (no pressure!): @afrenchwriter @sabotage-on-mercury @suavissimapenna @hotcrosspigeon @homemadeapplecider @voluptatiscausa and anyone else who sees this and wants to play :)
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can I (21+) interest anyone in a medieval fantasy plot, perhaps?? I have some characters with elemental magic I've been itching to use! definitely open to expanding elements beyond the initial four, too. especially hoping to find a plot for my M air elemental character, but I've also got options like an earth user, ice, fire, or metal! I tend towards playing M characters, but I do have a couple of F characters too. I just love playing around with characters of opposing elements, the ways that these abilities can be reflected in their personalities, and more. I'd love to find someone to build up a more specific plot with from there!
open to writing against M or F characters, but would prefer humans/humanoid characters! I use descriptions rather than FCs. I'm open to eventual smut, but I'd really prefer to focus on plot first. I am open to adding in some dead dove elements, but I don't write whump (for either side), so be prepared for that. I'd love to develop a world and a STORY first and foremost, and if things get steamy, so be it. 90/10 in favor of plot is pushing it, even. 95/5 is probably more like it.
I write only on discord, with a preference for advanced literate to novella plots. if this interests you and you'd like to write a long-term plot, leave a like and I'll come bother you! just note that if you aren't actively contributing to plotting, I'll lose interest fast.
thanks! ♥️
-
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can I (21+) interest anyone in a medieval fantasy plot, perhaps?? I have some characters with elemental magic I've been itching to use! definitely open to expanding elements beyond the initial four, too. especially hoping to find a plot for my M air elemental character, but I've also got options like an earth user, ice, fire, or metal! I tend towards playing M characters, but I do have a couple of F characters too. I just love playing around with characters of opposing elements, the ways that these abilities can be reflected in their personalities, and more. I'd love to find someone to build up a more specific plot with from there!
open to writing against M or F characters, but would prefer humans/humanoid characters! I use descriptions rather than FCs. I'm open to eventual smut, but I'd really prefer to focus on plot first. I am open to adding in some dead dove elements, but I don't write whump (for either side), so be prepared for that. I'd love to develop a world and a STORY first and foremost, and if things get steamy, so be it. 90/10 in favor of plot is pushing it, even. 95/5 is probably more like it.
I write only on discord, with a preference for advanced literate to novella plots. if this interests you and you'd like to write a long-term plot, leave a like and I'll come bother you! just note that if you aren't actively contributing to plotting, I'll lose interest fast.
thanks! ♥️
Like if interested!
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I'm so sorry if I sound like a cunt right now but I have so much trouble empathising with rich people when they're "sad". And I get it, idol life sounds like it can be a nightmare half the time, but they know what they're signing up to. Most of us will never have this kind of opportunity in life, or even escape poverty with the way the world is. And sure, money can't buy true happiness but it sure as hell eliminates the vast majority of stressors that drive people into deep depression and gives access to all the treatments and meds that improve your condition. Maybe this makes me a horrible person but I'd much rather go through trauma and depression in a mansion being able to feed myself and my loved ones, all my bills paid on time, than struggle with depression as is plus the depression of having to choose between eating or paying rent. He could retire tomorrow and have his life set.
You know what? Your feelings are valid AND justified. I feel the same most of the time. Buuut... There's also a halo effect at work, surrounding celebrities - just because they are attractive and competent in one area, we tend to assume they are ethical people and in our minds, they can do no wrong. Their PR machine definitely works hard to confirm this biased view we hold of them.
My tags on the story video have just as much chance to be projection as they do to be a reflection of his emotions and intentions while posting that video. There was just something so endlessly sad to it - the fact that he is bare-faced and not smiling at all, and how he shifted the focus towards that one lonely insect in that tiny, mostly dry patch of flowers. It made me feel horrible because I forgot all about festival season and favourite bands and it reminded me that the bugs are fewer and fewer, we have no more seasons in Europe and the heat in the cities is making the elderly die in their homes. I have definitely said it before: I too would prefer to weep in a Ferrari than on a fucking bus. And I am a bigger, saltier cunt for thinking how easy it would be for celebrities to be vegan, to not wear fur and leather, to not work with corrupt brands, to tell people to really think it through before having kids they cannot afford to raise - and seeing that none of my faves are engaging in that. Because being famous and rich is more rewarding than being compassionate and using your platform to ACTUALLY change the world for the better by changing the people you touch with your art. But that stance can definitely coexist with compassion towards him. He could be my child, age-wise, and he seems to have a harder and harder time with the demands of celebrity. And even if he's feeling despair at the state of the world while dripped in Louis Vitty from head to toe, he would still get a hug from me. We're all trapped in this hell together and HE is definitely not the one who's keeping you and me poor and making the oceans boil. Oh and by the way: money doesn't buy happiness, but it definitely buys you the freedom you need to search for happiness. I'm definitely struggling right now, and feeling shame about it too. So we're not looking at things from that different of a perspective. By the end of this summer, all my friends will have seen SKZ live somewhere near them and I will feel really poor and left out. I can't even say, "fuck it! I won't have a future anyway, better live it up now" because I am too salty and it costs nothing to have my friends think I'm a fake fan for not traveling to another country and paying one month's paycheck to see men shaking their butts on a tiny-ass stage far away. So not engaging in that kind of sacrifice just to see my current obsession band is all I can afford right now.
#ask#answered#thank you for sending this bit#these are feelings we all have but no one teaches us how to address them#because it's not socially acceptable to hold the rich accountable#and the rich are always presumed innocent because of the Protestant belief that wealth is awarded by God to the most righteous humans#but that's just old insidious church propaganda and must be questioned every step of the way
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20 questions for fic writers
tagged by @curufiin <3 thank you!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
36! that sounds like a lot, but they're almost all oneshots and twoshots lol
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
145,180
3. What fandoms do you write for?
my three main fandoms are turn: washington's spies/amrev/18th century history, tolkien (silm, lotr, and the hobbit), and pirates of the caribbean, but i've written for a handful of other fandoms too. i've pretty much retired from marvel fic, but i've written a bit of that, and i've also written one (1) bridgerton and one (1) avatar: the last airbender fic lol.
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
grieving for the living (273)
life is beautiful, but you don't have a clue (210)
lightning strikes (maybe once, maybe twice) (119)
never seen a love as pure (95)
be earnest and repent (88)
but these numbers don't reflect that the majority of my fics only have around 10-20 kudos! that's just the nature of writing for small fandoms like turn lol :3
5. Do you respond to comments?
i try to respond to every single comment, including on fics from years ago! i haven't been perfect at it this year since i've been so busy, but know that i read and deeply appreciate every single comment.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
oh gosh, this is a hard question because i'm an angst writer at heart. i do tend to prefer writing angst with a happy ending, but i've definitely written a few fics with purposefully devastating endings lol. i think i'd probably say the crown hangs heavy on either side - a turn AU that explores the idea of john andre and ben tallmadge switching places in the narrative - has the angstiest ending, since it actually has two alternative endings, and they're BOTH sad af lol.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
either the second chapter of sweet nothing (where i attempted to write a happy ending for jpeg) or never seen a love as pure, which is a very silly celegorm/aredhel fic where i imagined them both surviving the first age and ending up becoming tom bombadil and goldberry (i know it's a crazy concept but trust me, it kinda works lol).
8. Do you get hate on fics?
i've never gotten any legitimate hate comments, luckily! the closest thing i've gotten to hate is that i have gotten a handful of comments nitpicking canon/historical accuracy, which used to annoy me (because when i deviate from canon/history, whether in a big or a small way, it's almost always intentional and for the sake of the story rather than me just being a dumbass who didn't realize haha) but now i just ignore them. but i will say, the funniest/most memorable one of these i've ever gotten has to be the time someone commented on my a:tla fic (bury it and rise above) to inform me that "jeggings don't exist in the avatar universe" HAHA.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
i do sometimes write smut, but i almost never publish it because i generally prefer my published work to be PG-13 lol. (i think only maybe 2-3 of my published fics have some hints of fairly tame smut in them?) when i do write smut, it's usually M/F with a focus on reversing/subverting traditional gender roles.
10. Do you write crossovers?
i'm not the biggest fan of crossovers (i find that they're generally a bit unwieldy since merging two universes and two casts of characters into one is A Lot, and they're also pretty hard to do in a realistic and serious way - they tend to read as/verge toward crackfic territory for me) so i've never written one personally.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
*knocks on wood* no lol
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
no!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
not really, but i have co-brainstormed fics before - particularly the two silm AUs in this series, where @areyoutrueorfalse was instrumental in shaping the plots lol. (and of course the legendary harpson & caroline turn verse, which has yet to see the light of day but is one of my favorite things i've ever written!) @curufiin has also helped me craft some great fic ideas, especially with figuring out simcoe and andre's dynamic in power and control.
14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?
either jpeg (john andre/peggy shippen) or celegorm/aredhel for canon ships, but for oc/canon, anne/beckett, aka anntler (iykyk @ chaos clan lol)
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
ugh... the john andre turns au ;-; idk if that thing is ever resurrecting at this point but i wish i could magically complete it lol
16. What are your writing strengths?
characterization!! i really take pride in getting my characterization just right, and i think it's definitely the aspect of my writing that i've gotten the most positive comments about. i also famously write a LOT of character studies (i'm pretty sure it's my most-used tag on ao3 lol).
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
i'm not very good at coming up with creative original plots, which is why i tend to write canon-compliant or slightly canon-divergent stories rather than full-on, innovative AUs (unless i have someone to brainstorm with <3).
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
i'm generally not a fan because i feel like it makes fics less accessible and more clunky to read. however, i also don't personally speak any other languages (except for some really rusty french) so i don't think it's something i'd ever do anyway lol. when i write a character who speaks another language (or tolkien elves, since they all technically speak various forms of elvish lmfao) i prefer to use dialogue tags, like
"'[english sentence],' he said in spanish."
"he said something in spanish that [MC who doesn't speak spanish] couldn't understand."
19. First fandom you wrote for?
in terms of published fic, it was lotr, but in terms of (thankfully) unpublished fic, i believe it was hamilton HAHA
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
it's like 3 years old at this point, but i will always be so proud of grieving for the living :)
i'm tagging @deathicus-sling @tallmadgeandtea @musicboxmemories and anyone else who wants to do this! sorry if you've already been tagged haha
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If We Were Villains. By M. L. Rio. Flatiron Books, 2017.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Genre: thriller
Series: N/A
Summary: Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.
***Full review below.***
Content Warnings: violence, misogyny, suicide, blood
Overview: I followed the author of this book on tumblr way back in the day while she was blogging about her writing journey. To be honest, I didn't have a strong opinion about her one way or the other, but I found the premise of her book intriguing. As a lover of premodern and early modern English literature, I figured I should give the finished product a whirl. Well, I finally was in the mood. Overall, my opinions on this book are a little mixed, but leaning towards positive. While I do think Rio does a good job creating a Dark Academia atmosphere and the emotional devastation of the last half of the book was well-executed, I think her characters and prose leave a little something to be desired. Still, for a debut novel, this was fairly memorable, so it gets 3.5 stars from me.
Writing: Rio's prose has its ups and downs, with some parts flowing quite well and others not so much. When the scenes were full of action (for example, the Macbeth performance and the Julius Caesar rehearsal afterwards), I was fairly engrossed in the story, so I think Rio does best when there are moments of tension inserted into performances or just after (like at various parties).
However, I also think Rio could have done more to show rather than tell. Because this book is told in first person, our narrator, Oliver, tends to be very straightforward about what he is feeling as well as side comments about background or context info. Personally, I felt like Rio could have held back a little more or been more abstract about how characters were feeling and acting.
Furthermore, I had some mixed feelings about using Shakespeare quotes as dialogue. Looking at the author's note in the back, it seems like Rio took this quirk from real-life grad students she knew at King's College. So while I don't doubt that some people do this, in a novel, it comes across less as realistic and more as pretentious. Maybe that's the point; after all, most of these characters aren't "good guys" and Oliver does say at one point that the school felt like a cult. But for me, I couldn't quite determine if Rio was deliberately creating a pretentious atmosphere to heighten the Dark Academic mood or if she was simply showing off her knowledge of Shakespeare's works. Either way, I felt the quotes a bit over-used and would have preferred if they were sprinkled in less liberally.
Overall, though, I did like the pace and the ease at which I could move through the novel. I was able to read this book fairly quickly, and things were straightforward enough that I never felt confused or lost.
Characters: There are a number of characters in this book, but I'm going to focus on the 7 protagonists, just to keep things brief (ish).
Plot: The plot of this book follows fourth-year theater student Oliver Marks as he and his classmates defend themselves from a bully while putting on Julius Caesar at their exclusive, elite arts school. (Obviously, it's a little more complicated than that, but I'm trying to avoid major spoilers).
This book is strongest in the second half when all the students grow more and more tormented by their actions and begin fracturing. Rio does a fairly good job of showing how characters began acting irrationally, and in a lot of ways, their descent mirrors some of Shakespeare's works.
I also thing the devastation of the end worked out well, and it was heightened by the emotional tension between Oliver and James. I do want to caution readers that if you're sensitive to the depiction of deaths of queer characters, you should skip this book. But personally, I found it somewhat fitting given the subject matter and the thematic connections to Shakespeare's works.
The main part of the plot that I didn't think flowed well was the beginning. The beginning was a little awkward in that Rio spoon feeds us a lot of information: characters narrate their family situations one after another, like Rio just wanted to get it out of the way. On top of that, there is a scene where one of the instructors interrogates a student until they disclose their greatest strength and greatest insecurity. To me, this seemed a lazy way to communicate characterization, and it almost soured me on the rest of the novel.
As a unit, I really did like the idea of these 7 characters essentially standing in for archetypes. I think it meshed with the themes of the book fairly well, and I liked the easy companionship that a lot of them had. I also liked that their relationships were often messy, especially during the second half of the book; it made them more interesting and when they began to break down, it felt all the more chaotic.
As individuals, however, I think things get a little murky.
Oliver, our narrator, is somewhat of a blank slate in that he doesn't seem to have a very defined personality, but maybe that's the point. He's stereotyped as the "support" or even the "nice guy," and there were times when I could see that shine through. He does seem to care about his friends and does admit to being naive, so I don't want to give the impression that he's entirely without merit. The main thing I didn't like about him was his attitude towards his sister, who has an eating disorder. He's not very considerate of her, and while I can understand being upset that his future at school is financially threatened by her, he snaps at her and says some pretty awful things. He also seems to characterize his family as awful, and while I understand the negativity there, compared to other characters, he has somewhat of a normal suburban middle class family. His whining about them, then, felt entitled.
James, Oliver's roommate and best friend, is stereotyped as a heroic figure, and I could see some of that come out in his actions. What I liked most about James, however, was his relationship with Oliver; the two are best friends, but there are times when their closeness tipped over into homoerotic and romantic intimacy. I enjoyed the tension there, and it did make for a more devastating ending.
Meredith, who is figured as the temptress, could have been written with a little more grace. While I think it's ok that Meredith exists as a sexual woman who is anxious about people overlooking her as a person, it also seems like the narrative does just that, at least until the midpoint of the novel. I very much did not appreciate the misogynistic comments thrown her way, even if they were partially in jest. Her character grew on me more in the second half, though, so she wasn't all bad.
Wren and Philippa are a little harder to define. Wren, I think, is supposed to be the ingenue, but it was hard to see that in the way she was written. Philippa is described as someone who is always overlooked, and I think parts of the narrative do a good job of showing moments when she has a great impact. As individual characters, however, I felt like there wasn't much to distinguish them.
Alexander is a character who is always typecast as (I think) a fool, and off stage, he seems to be mainly defined by his excessive smoking, drinking, and gay sexuality. I didn't quite know how to react to him, in part because his hedonism felt repetitive, but his drug use in the second half made some sense, given all that was going on.
Richard, the "bully," was interesting in that he was simultaneously loved and hated. I liked that the other characters had a complex relationship with him; they agreed he was a phenomenal actor but also loathed his ego. They see him as part of their group and as a friend, but also frequently argue with him. Having this complexity meant that I couldn't quite see him purely as an antagonist, and I like living in that delicious grey area.
TL;DR: If We Were Villains suffers from a few missteps (mainly prose and some characterization), but is rescued by the deft handling of a friend group's ultimate descent into madness. While I think Rio could have done some things to reduce the appearance of pretense and more solidly set up the exposition of the novel, this was a fairly solid debut that delivered an emotional punch towards the end.
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areiton
See areiton’s existing works here.
Preferred contact methods: Email: [email protected] Twitter: areiton_ Tumblr: areiton Discord: areiton
Preferred organizations: - National Network of Abortion Funds - Rainbow Railroad - Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) (See the list of approved organizations here)
Will create works that contain: Arranged marriage, No Powers AU, found family, soulmates, magical realism, canon divergent, almost any AUs, future fic, dark!characters, fluff WITH angst (I can’t do one without the other.), creature fic, fake dating, mutual pining, time travel, genderbent, role reversal. I have a fondness for team dynamics and kidfic, for retellings (you want a Hercules AU?? I’m your girl). I like twisting tropes and poking plot to see what falls out.
Will not create works that contain: Underage, rape/non-con, torture, whump, PWP (I don’t mind writing explicit, but there will need to be more than just folks having sex), LGBTQ issue driven stories, strictly fluff. I will not write explicit character bashing. I will not write crossovers with other fandoms. I will not write reconciliation post divorce. Hydra Cap. Pre-serum SICKLY Steve–I will write pre-serum Steve, but won’t focus on his ailments.
-- Fic or Other Writing --
Auction ID: 1122
Will create works for the following relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - Any Universe
Work Description: Fic may increase in length based on bidding, but final length will be dependent on the needs of the story, though no shorter than 20k or longer than 35k. My writing styles tends toward very concise stories, so I won’t guarantee a long epic—but if I don’t consider the length of the final story to be adequate for the winning bid, I will be happy to write a second prompt of no more than 10k from my prompt list. This will be determined between the winning bidder and me. I would strongly PREFER to write from the list of prompts pinned on my Twitter account. If there is an agreed upon prompt by January, this will be the first big project of 2024. I am open on a very select basis to sequels or continuations of my existing stories—please check with me if you’re interested in that. A retelling of popular movies, myths, or fairy tales are my jam so please feel free. I work best when given a loose prompt, a prompt that comes with a musical inspo, or a visual prompt. I love dark fic, silver fox/twink dynamics, and pining for unreasonable amounts of time. I love soulmates, arranged marriage, and worldbuilding. I prefer to skim canon events and fill in the holes left by canon rather than recreate the wheel. While most of my stories are slash, I do enjoy including writing Tony and Peter as a father and son dynamic. Please expect that Rhodey will be a major supporting character in anything I write.
Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature, Explicit
Can pods bid on this auction? Yes - Podbids welcome!
CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK
The auction runs from October 22 (12 AM ET) to October 28 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!
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Fandom Trumps Hate 2023
I'm participating in Fandom Trumps Hate (@fandomtrumpshate) this year, and like I should probably promote it so y'all are getting a too wordy post on the topic and I apologise for that.
What is FTH?
FTH is a cross-fandom charity auction that has been running since 2016, focused on supporting small-scale non-profits on a series of progressive issues in the US. Why the US? Because the auction began as a direct response to the results of the 2016 elections there. This year's supported organisations cover a variety of issues.
How does it work?
This is not a commission. The FTH tumblr goes into this more in-depth, but in essence: creators such as myself decide which organisations they would like to support, and bidders bid the amount they are willing to donate. The highest bidder at closing donates to one of the chosen causes, then receives a thank you gift for their donation, tailored to their preferences.
Important dates and details?
Auctions are currently open for browsing! This will give you an opportunity to see what fanworks are on offer before bidding opens. The easiest way to do this is by browsing the tagsets for fandoms that interest you.
Bidding opens March 1st (08:00 EST) and closes March 5th (20:00 EST). Proof of donations are due March 12th.
Why are you doing this?
Because I can.
Nah, participating in a fandom auction is one of those things I've said I'd like to do once and never actually managed, and I got sweet talked into it this year.
What are you offering?
Ohhh, this is the fun question, isn't it? I've officially offered a story of up to 5K words in one of three fandoms, but if you are interested in a fandom I've not offered but previously written for that may be negotiable. As for length, I have found that fics will be precisely as long as they want to be--I'd much rather say up to 5K and write 10K than say 5-10K and write 3K.
Examples of my work Game of Thrones and Wheel of Time fic can be found here and my Miss Fisher fic here, but in general my work leans towards character-driven and bittersweet fics, competence kink, and the mortifying ordeal of being known. (Are the cool kids still saying that? Probably not.) My smut leans into soft horny even when kinky, which tends to be either very much someone's tastes or very much not. I love writing so many classic fic tropes and kinks, so if there's something you're interested in but are uncertain, feel free to ask!
Unwilling to address: Scat/watersports, ageplay including usage of daddy/mommy/girl, underage/high school AUs or college AUs where focus is on the college element, casual misogyny or sexual violence (narratively relevant is fine), dubious/non-consensual sex that is not treated as such, revenge porn (literal revenge porn or the "Punish character X" type), power dynamics where there’s a potential abuse of power, humiliation.
Now, onto the fandom specific details:
Game of Thrones: Jaime/Brienne, other pairings with discussion. Prefer to avoid Brienne with major body image issues, ESPECIALLY when phrased about feeling like a “real woman”--insecurities, yes, but not as the driving narrative force. Not interested in Cersei-bashing fics--she's awful, I'm happy to make her awful, but I don't want to make her one dimensional. While happy to incorporate elements of the book canon, this story would be primarily driven by show canon dynamics/characterisation. Happy to write in a canon or AU setting. Into this fandom, but what I offer isn't quite to your taste? Check out other asoiaf/GoT creators here.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: TV/film canon. Any pairing, canon or fanon. I primarily write Phrack, but as my ao3 will tell you there's very little I've not dipped my toe into. If you are interested in Dot/Hugh fluff, I'll do it but it's not a strength. I strongly prefer canon set stories for this fandom. Into this fandom, but what I offer isn't quite to your taste? Check out other MFMM creators here.
Wheel of Time: I am offering anything centred around Lan, Nynaeve, and/or Moiraine, whether it's platonic or romantic or pre-romantic. I have read the books many times, but this offer is for TV canon only due to other commitments. If, however, you want something like a missing scene from the first few books, that can be discussed during the bidding process. I strongly prefer canon set stories for this fandom. Into this fandom, but what I offer isn't quite to your taste? Check out other WoT creators here.
Anything else?
Not really! My offerings page can be found here. When auctions go live on March 1st you will be able to access the bidding page from there. If you have any questions, whether that's about how this works or what I am/am not willing to write or something else entirely, my Tumblr inbox is always open and I'm happy to answer publicly or privately. If you prefer the answer be private, please ensure you have not selected to make it anonymous and mention it in the message!
#Fandom trumps hate 2023#miss fisher's murder mysteries#wheel of time#game of thrones#phryne x jack#jaime x brienne#lan x nynaeve#man this needs like five billion more tags but they'd also be pointless so...
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For the Astro Game
10H ⇢ how do you want people to remember you?
9H ⇢ what languages would you like to learn?
virgo ⇢ do you consider yourself a perfectionist?
pisces ⇢ what kind of art are you good at? (painting, dancing, singing, etc.)
pluto ⇢ tell something supernatural that happened to you
Hi siren!
Thanks a lot for asking 💙🌊
10H - How would you like to be remembered? Well, I would prefer not to be remembered, not for any particular reason. However, if we consider the lives of great historical figures and even myths personalities, they are often remembered when they reach the pinnacle of their success, only to lose everything and pass away in misery. Now, I understand you're not talking about this type of being remembered..., but I genuinely lack the ambition to be remembered posthumously. My focus is more on being recognized while I'm still alive. 😅
9H - Which languages would you like to learn? I have a keen interest in learning Japanese, and I'm especially intrigued by any language that my comics are published in 🤣. But definitely Japanese, because besides mangas, I would finally play all my otomes games and understand them.
Virgo - Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? I wouldn't exactly label myself as a perfectionist, but I tend to lean towards being rather anxious (laughs). My motivation doesn't stem from a desire for perfection, but rather from a fear of overlooking flaws in my work. I am driven by a constant determination to always put forth my best effort so no one will be able to see flaws (but yeah,haters gonna hate).
Pisces - What kind of art are you skilled at? (painting, dancing, singing, etc.) When it comes to art that I can proficiently sell or offer to others for their enjoyment, I must admit there isn't any specific category. However, I do indulge in casual drawing on occasion, take dance classes, and find myself singing along to "Bury the Lights" whenever it comes on my playlist. My artistic pursuits are more for personal enjoyment rather than anything that can classify as useful.
Pluto - Share a supernatural experience you've had Growing up in a family with a strong connection to the supernatural, there have been many fascinating stories, though I personally haven't encountered anything significant. If I were to recount something, I could mention a curious instance where I miraculously gained an extra three days to complete a college final project that I had been struggling to finish on time. While I might not possess any overtly supernatural qualities, it seems that luck has a curious way of favoring me when the subject its time (laughs).
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Recently, I noticed that I tend to gravitate towards ships that aren’t the main focus but is one part of the story which enhances it rather than define the whole thing. It’s hard to explain but having ships that are the subplot of a story makes it more attractive to me because of all the unexplored potential in addition to the interesting character dynamics and character developments.
While I do enjoy romance-focused stories, it just doesn’t grip me in the same way. It’s easy for me to move on quickly from those stories. I used to feel out of place in the fandom because of the prevalence of shipping. But once I realized that my lack of interest in romance reflects my preferences in fiction, I made peace with enjoying things in my own way. I like focusing on the narratives and the character developments that the story is presenting and if romance is a part of that then I’m invested!
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