#Non-conventional success stories

[ourjobagency]

In a world that often emphasizes traditional career paths, it's easy to feel pressured to follow a predetermined route to success. However, not everyone fits into the conventional mold, and there are countless examples of individuals who have achieved greatness through unconventional career paths. These alternative routes to success are inspiring and demonstrate that success

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[the-crooked-library]

Blurred Lines: Agency and Victimhood in Gothic Horror

Seeing as Robert Eggers' Nosferatu has just breached a cool $135M at the worldwide box office, it might be as good a time to talk about this as any. I believe I echo the sentiments of most diehard fans of gothic horror when I say this: while we are glad to see this masterpiece meet with well-deserved success, these numbers also mean that a significant proportion of its audience has been previously unfamiliar with the hallmarks of our beloved genre; and the resulting disconnect between the viewers and the source material has been the driving force behind the great majority of the online discourse that surrounds it.

The tools and conventions of the gothic, as a genre, are essential to Nosferatu's primary narrative arc. Its central character, Ellen Hutter, cannot be discussed outside of her literary context. Textually, she balances between heroine and damsel in distress - blurred, in many ways, from mainstream understanding.

That is done entirely on purpose. There are numerous reasons for it; I could go into heavy detail about it; and I will - under the cut, of course.

The main thing I must make absolutely clear (before delving any deeper) is that the gothic genre is fundamentally non-literal. It deals heavily in metaphor, allegory, allusion, obfuscation - and, indeed, the blurred lines that have recently caused so much controversy online. This is by design. It is not a flaw of storytelling or interpretation. The gothic affronts the rigid, black-and-white, mainstream forms of morality because that is what it has always been designed to do; and the newer installments like Nosferatu do the same, being built upon those traditional foundations.

The historical background is therefore essential to the understanding of a gothic narrative. In this, the film does provide the viewer with a relatively easy starting point; its period setting amplifies its connection to its predecessors, as well as the societal pressures and systemic violence that it aims to challenge. It allows the audience to perceive the story through a historical lens that comes pre-installed, as a sort of short-cut to the genre's original social context.

The context, in this case, consists of misogyny, queerphobia, xenophobia, and ableism - which, while rampant even in the modern day, were that much more blatant in 1830s German Confederation, where/when the story largely takes place. Every human character, regardless of who they are, is influenced by these oppressive aspects of their society; and Ellen Hutter is hopelessly entrapped within all four.

Her social situation, as we are given to understand, is precarious. Though she was originally born into wealth, she married down to escape her abusive father. She is an eccentric - her "wild" inclinations (such as having a sense of dignity or loving the outdoors as a child) are enough to cause almost vitriolic disapproval; but on top of that, she was born with a psychic gift, which manifests in a way that is not dissimilar from a mental (and sometimes physical) disability. She and her husband are also English immigrants, and thus perpetual outsiders in Wisborg (this is also one of the reasons Thomas is so anxious to prove himself at Knock's firm, and so keen to emulate Harding in all things); and, finally, she implied to experience queer attraction - which, though non-explicit, repressed, and never truly indulged, still affects her and the way she is continuously treated throughout the film.

Overall, Ellen's existence is perceived, at best, as an inconvenience - and at worst, a scandal. With that, she fits seamlessly into her story's genre.

The "immoral," the forbidden, the taboo is a cornerstone of all gothic fiction. It exists in the doubt between light and dark, harm and desire, love and abuse. It is the domain of sympathetic villains (e.g. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights), of imperfect victims (Bertha Mason, Jane Eyre), of heroes who are deeply flawed, who cause their own tragedies, and often fail to save anyone at all (Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein). Within the gothic genre, there are no absolutes; and its contradicting balance of dichotomies provides a reference point - or, more accurately, a cultural triangulation - for exploring the same complexities that a binary puritanical mindset strives to eradicate. These include sexual desire, female autonomy, physical and mental disabilities, classism; in short, anything that gets people wincing.

The popular discussion of these topics is frequently cruel, often avoidant, and rarely straightforward or productive. As stated above, it makes people uncomfortable. It's not pleasant. However, for Ellen (and many people in the real world), it is, quite literally, impossible to avoid. It defines every aspect of her daily life.

What this means for her and for the story is that within a narrative that refuses to gloss over the imperfections of her surrounding society, her victimhood is not thrust upon her by a shadowy figure, emerging from the night. Instead, she is a victim - of an ongoing and systemic, rather than individual, abuse.

This aspect of Ellen's characterization lies at the core of her behaviour throughout the film. She is an unstable chimera of Brontë's Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason - in the sense that her actions are informed, in great part, by her acute awareness of her own disenfranchisement. She alternates between anguished raving and phlegmatic practicality, used to her pain but unable to entirely ignore it; and, the same way that Jane sees all the rage she feels (but cannot afford to express) manifested in Bertha, Ellen finds her counterpart in Orlok.

This is where the ambiguity begins.

Even though Orlok is most certainly a gothic villain, his relationship with Ellen cannot be interpreted as strictly adversarial. Naturally, it would be easy to ascribe their dynamic to grooming and PTSD; however, as previously mentioned, a gothic narrative is never surface-level - and the film itself never furnishes any information that would definitively limit it to that.

Firstly, to get the primary discourse point out of the way - yes, when Ellen and Orlok first meet within the ether, she is indeed young; and later, she is said to have been a child. However, at the time, the term "teenager"did not yet exist; Ellen's younger self is not portrayed by a child actress; and later, in 1838, she is referred to as a child multiple times - despite being an adult, married woman. Overall, within the film, the term is more often used to describe innocence and inexperience, rather than age; and her initial age is never specified. Granted, a multi-century age gap is not exactly "healthy" anyway - but this is a vampire story. It is per the course; and it complicates their relationship beyond a simple victim vs abuser narrative.

Secondly - and perhaps, most importantly - the overall impact of Orlok's coercion tactics falls flat in comparison to Ellen's human-world alternatives. Yes, he argues and threatens; but her social circumstances have never allowed her agency in the first place. Her father abuses, isolates, and threatens to institutionalize her; Thomas dismisses her concerns as "childish fantasies"; Harding and Sievers tie her down and drug her; Harding again kicks her out of the house. Her marriage, her friendships, are therefore all transactional; they grant her an escape from her father's house, relative financial stability, social support - on the condition that she represses her true self, pretends to be normal, doesn't threaten anyone's masculinity or heterosexuality, and acts like she's happy to be a deferring, obedient, settled wife. Being a daughter of a landed gentleman, she would never have been given a working woman's education, and evidently has no income of her own; and so, she has no options except to upkeep her end of the bargain - which means that her continued survival within mainstream society relies on constant background coercion.

Compared to this mundane, socially acceptable horror of her existence, the vampire actually offers her more autonomy than she is ever otherwise accorded. The terms of his covenant never threaten Ellen's own well-being; so on one hand, she has benevolence - and on the other, the dignity of choice.

This contrast lies at the heart of her dilemma. Ellen is torn between what she believes she should be and what she knows - and Orlok knows - she is.

One is "correct," moral, Good; the other is "wrong," sinful, Evil. However, at the same time, the first is manufactured; it is artificially designed, and must be continuously enforced. The second is primal. Natural. In accordance with gothic tradition, the appeal of Orlok is that he is forbidden, yet instinctive. By design, he is a reflection of everything that Ellen is forced to repress on a daily basis. That includes her rage, her ostracism, her abnormalities; but also, her desperate need to be respected, understood, and desired. He is both grotesque and alluring, both a lord and a beast, both cruel and reverent.

"He is my melancholy!.." cries Ellen.

"I am Heathcliff!" whispers Cathy.

Still, while Cathy and Heathcliff are primarily divided by class and racism, Orlok and Ellen are separated by moral considerations. In the explicit sense, Ellen cannot choose the Evil that Orlok represents. Within the surface narrative, she is obligated by her society, her morals, and the story to choose Good - in this case, by nobly sacrificing her individual expendable life to save her husband and a city full of people. Her primary storyline, like everything else, has already been decided for her.

For the Trekkies among us, this is Ellen's own Kobayashi Maru. A no-win scenario. As such, within the context of character analysis, her destination does not matter as much as the little things she does along the way; and it is no accident that, as the film progresses, the subtler, seemingly insignificant choices she makes within that framework just happen to bring her closer - and closer - to Orlok.

All of them are just innocuous enough to almost pass. She places a lock of perfumed hair in a locket that she gives to Thomas - and upon his arrival to the Carpathians, the same locket is immediately claimed by Orlok, who recognizes the scent of lilacs. Before making her sacrifice, she puts on her wedding dress and finds a bouquet of the same flowers - which is the sort of effort she didn't have to perform, especially given that he cannot resist her blood regardless. When Orlok arrives, she chooses to undress them both, and leads him to the bed, even though her previous sex scene with Thomas was entirely clothed; and in the morning, she pulls him close and holds him through the sunrise - even though he was already dying, and would not be able to escape. There was no need for her to touch his rotting flesh at that point, much less caress it.

There can be a "moral" explanation for all these actions; but the lack of direct obligation involved in them becomes increasingly blatant over the course of the story, and the doubt festers.

This sort of lingering ambiguity is precisely where gothic horror thrives - and intersects, scandalously, with romance. Gothic horror, much like bodice-ripper novels, noir thrillers, or "dark romance," builds much of its romantic intensity on the dichotomy of shame and desire. Imagine it, if you will, as a loom; warp and weft. It may even be described as literary BDSM - a continuous, mutually-agreed-upon act of roleplay between the author and their audience, and sometimes the characters themselves (though that depends). The point is to create an outlet for female, queer, or disabled sexualities, all of which are still heavily medicalized and restricted, derided, or denied entirely; and within these often intersecting genres, the violent or coercive intensity of the dominant lead (be it a vampire, a mafia don, or simply a more experienced lesbian) provides their repressed, seemingly passive counterpart an excuse to act upon their demonized erotic urges.

Between the page and the mind, everything that normally complicates a romantic or sexual encounter in the real world (subliminal hints, aggression, repressed and involuntary responses) becomes set dressing - serving to place a particular scene or dynamic within its fictional universe. The resulting Watsonian uncertainty is, naturally, part of the appeal. It is what allows the viewer/reader/listener a sincere emotional and sensual immersion; and for Ellen and Orlok, it provides an appropriately dramatic pretext for a night of tender vampire sex.

The discourse around their joining is painfully similar to the same that drifts around online every winter - in regards to the classic holiday hit, Baby it's Cold Outside. The song, written during an era in which extramarital sexuality was heavily restricted, follows a couple brainstorming excuses for the lady to stay the night; this intention was explicitly stated by both members of the original duet; but that hasn't stopped thousands of people from interpreting it as a "rape anthem." It is unsurprising, then, that an element of horror (guilt, shame, repression, coercion) muddles the water even further.

It's oddly apt, considering that the film premiered on Christmas Day.

Granted, I am not denying that there is an abusive aspect to Ellen and Orlok's connection, romantic or otherwise. However, to reduce Ellen to merely his "victim" is extremely inaccurate to her actual portrayal - because, within the framework of the film, her interactions with Orlok are the few in which she is actually able to exercise some form of agency. She never defers to him, their wedding-death hinges on her free will, as coerced as it may appear; and, in a fascinating subversion of a popular vampire trope, she is the one who summons him.

In gothic media, "Come to me!.." is invariably spoken by a vampire (or a vampire derivative like Erik, Leroux's titular Phantom of the Opera); their counterpart follows helplessly, without question; and giving these lines to Ellen is a dramatic deviation from tradition that fundamentally alters the underlying context of their power balance. By maintaining this call-and-response dynamic throughout the story, Eggers asserts that Ellen isn't helpless; and neither is she "in over her head." She is intelligent, powerful, and she has a tangible influence over Orlok, who is her only equal - which is why, ultimately, she is the one deciding where that relationship is headed.

That is not to say that any alternative readings of the film are entirely incorrect. As I have stated above, the abusive/toxic narrative is definitely present, and even essential, in gothic media. On the Doylist level, it is the equivalent of a whip, or a solid pair of cuffs - essentially, a divestment of responsibility; though, to continue the metaphor, not everyone shares the same kink - and those who do might not all enjoy it the same way, so there's definitely significant variation. What I am trying to say, however, is that each story does come with a central conflict; and Ellen Hutter's victimization - much like Jane Eyre's, like Thomasin's (The Witch, 2015) - is systemic.

She is ostracized, disrespected - infantilized if her oppressors are feeling benevolent, demonized when they are inconvenienced - and still expected to always prioritize her husband/friends/community by default, regardless of how she is treated by them. Her surrounding society, morality, religion, culture all insist upon the same; and this is why, despite knowing that she has done nothing wrong by following her nature, she carries an enormous amount of guilt in regards to those "unacceptable" aspects of herself. It is also the same reason why Orlok - the sensual, cruel, utterly devoted monster - is the answer to her lonely call; and the reason why everyone around her is so eager to see her as his victim, rather than a victim of anything they may have perpetrated themselves. Ellen's is a rich complexity, fed upon centuries' worth of gothic tradition, and she cannot be forced into a flat, genre-inappropriate simplification.

Like The Witch, like NBC Hannibal, like Interview With the Vampire before it - Nosferatu (2024) is a story of self-indulgence being so unfamiliar that it feels like a sin; or, like dying.

I, for one, would not deny her that.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

What is the difference between urban fantasy and low fantasy?

Using the Fantasy Fiction Continuum, urban fantasy is closer to "reality" in comparison with low fantasy. But also consider other elements that further distinguish both of these fantasy subgenres.

Urban Fantasy - fantastical characters and concepts are placed in a real-world urban setting, often in the present day; also sometimes called "Modern Fantasy"

Low Fantasy - set in the real world, and includes unexpected magical elements that surprise ordinary characters

Urban Fantasy can also be split into 2 distinct subgenres of its own:

The fantasy elements are out in the open

Or they exist in a kind of a shadow society, with the rest of the world operating normally, generally unaware of its existence.

Elements of Urban Fantasy

If you’re asking yourself “what is urban fantasy?” think of it this way: Imagine a book that combines the dense worldbuilding of fantasy and science fiction with the gritty grounded reality of contemporary novels set in New York City, Chicago, or other iconic urban locales. That’s the urban fantasy genre. Here are some key elements of urban fantasy novels, short stories, and films:

Fantasy tropes: Urban fantasy storylines combine the real-life grit with of modern world with fantastical worldbuilding.

An urban setting: Although small town urban fantasies do exist, most take place in present-day major cities.

Magic: Supernatural elements, sci-fi technologies, fairy tales, and folk mythologies are all found throughout urban fantasy novels.

A noir aesthetic: Urban fantasies lift genre conventions from noir and gritty police procedurals.

Mythical creatures: Urban fantasies are populated with supernatural creatures including (but not limited to) undead zombies, vampires, werewolves, druids, demons, shapeshifters, and perhaps a mage or wizard.

A protagonist with a foot in both worlds: The main character of an urban fantasy is typically savvy to the real-life ways of their urban environment yet can also wield or exploit magical powers.

A young protagonist: Relatively young characters who practice wizardry or witchcraft are common in urban fantasy series.

Elements of Low Fantasy

Low Fantasy is a catchall, and inexact, term for secondary world (i.e., a constructed world; a completely fictional setting, rather than our world) fantasy.

The designation is not a description of the quality of the work, but rather the prevalence of fantastic elements.

Tends towards less “traditional” (simplistic) morality.

Sometimes comedies are also excluded from the genre, but either way the works that remain don't have a natural unity.

However, while there is no complete list of defining features, there are features and tropes common to many Low Fantasy works that can help distinguish them from other fantasy works; each tends to be the opposite of one of the defining features of High Fantasy. Examples:

Magic: While Magic is prominent in High Fantasy, it's generally rare if not non-existent in Low Fantasy. What magic does exist is complicated, ambiguous, reserved for a very select few and/or has specific scientific rules. It's also likely to be dangerous, corruptive, or difficult to control, and magic-users are likely to be distrusted and often genuinely untrustworthy sorts.

Heroes: Usually normal people that have taken up a cause rather than The Chosen Ones of High Fantasy. It's not uncommon for them to be an Anti-Hero of some kind and/or have non-heroic motives (e.g. they take up a cause for personal ambition, for vengeance or just to survive as opposed to doing it for the 'greater good').

Shades of Grey: While High Fantasy usually features Black-and-White Morality with clear-cut heroes and villains, many Low Fantasy works have Grey and Gray or Black and Gray. More importantly, the success of the victor often has no bearing on their motives or honor.

Methods: Victories are usually achieved through physical combat and cunning, not magical battles and certainly not by moral superiority.

Scope: Down to Earth. Tends to focus more on the survival and tribulations of one or a few individuals rather than the whole world.

Examples of Urban Fantasy Works

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (2000)

The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch (2011)

The Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews (2007)

The Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton (2000)

The Hollows series by Kim Harrison (2004)

The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs (2006)

The Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter (2009)

The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris (2001)

Moonheart by Charles de Lint (1984)

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull (1987)

Examples of Low Fantasy Works

When the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard (1980).

A Song of Ice and Fire is a generally low-magic setting, with a cynically pragmatic worldview and a focus on political maneuvering between rival factions who are all at least morally gray; however, the politics spans two continents and reaches epic levels on its own even without more traditional, stirring High adventure elements. However, because The Magic Comes Back slowly over the course of the story, the fantasy does get progressively Higher as the series goes on, even though the general tone remains Low in nature. The magic and other mysteries are treated as ambiguous, yet highly dangerous, potentially world-changing and complicating factors in an already combustible political and social situation.

Tangled has very little magic — with the only source of it being Rapunzel's hair. Besides the animals being somewhat more intelligent than normal, there's little else. The protagonists are all human, and the story is mainly Rapunzel's journey to the kingdom. The antagonist is said to be a witch, but she has no powers other than knowing how to activate Rapunzel's magic. As far as Grey-and-Gray Morality goes, one of the lead characters is an unrepentant thief and various side characters are implied criminals with Hidden Depths.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Do go through the sources for more details and examples. Hope this helps with your writing!

[biancasaidstfu]

Putting the parasocial and projections aside, part of season 3 success is how Luke and Nicola were able to show intimacy between a couple that wasn't on just angst love and fucking. People underestimated how the story could be told through them as the on screen "non conventional couple" out of all the siblings. The wallflower and the golden retriever love story was really handled well by both actors and I'm glad it blew everyone away.

I was Polin before I ever started this and their story and acting truly sucked me into an oblivion.

You can tell how dedicated they were to playing out their story and developing their characters individually and as a couple on screen.

Love it. It’s so deserving of the hype.

[muzaktomyears]

Lennon and McCartney — pop’s greatest bromance

Ian Leslie in his tremendous new book, John & Paul, explores their ‘romantic relationship’, the secret of the success of the Beatles

Paul McCartney and John Lennon in 1964

‘Does the world need yet another book on the Beatles?” a review in the now-defunct Q magazine asked in 1991. All these years and hundreds of volumes later, the question is still more pertinent. Every detail has surely been documented. “There is a vast amount of information available,” Ian Leslie acknowledges in his book John and Paul. He believes, though, that there’s room for further work.

“The gaps in the literature are perhaps now less about what happened than why,” he says. Remarkably, he’s right, and this is a wonderful contribution to the ever-growing Beatles library.

The story starts in 1957 with 16-year-old John Lennon inviting Paul McCartney, a year and a half his junior, to join his skiffle group after a performance at a suburban fête. The journey from there — via Hamburg, the Cavern Club, London and America — to global domination, and symbolising the cultural and social revolution of the 1960s, is overly familiar, but there’s a freshness to this telling, a wonder at the sheer implausibility and novelty of it all.

Leslie is good too on some of the key songs and records, analysing them with insight and gratifyingly non-technical language. He acknowledges the profound influence of doo-wop on the vocal arrangements, notes Lennon’s unusual use of iambic pentameter in a pop song (Tomorrow Never Knows) and celebrates the old-fashioned importance of the piano to McCartney: “For him, it’s the sound of family and friends, or a crowded pub.”

But the appeal of the book is not the musicology so much as the psychology, even the mythology. At its heart is the intense bond between Lennon and McCartney, somewhere between friends, brothers and lovers, “a relationship that isn’t sexual but is romantic”. To the love of music that brought them together was added a shared experience of bereavement: McCartney’s mother died in 1956, Lennon’s was killed in a car crash two years later.

They were “two damaged romantics with jagged edges that happened to fit”, discovering the joy of creation with “the arrogance of the damaged”. Despite the tragedies, the early sections of the book are soaked in exuberant fun, encapsulated by the sighting of the two young men in jeans, leather jackets and bowler hats on their way to a fortnight’s holiday in Paris.

Musically, the group they put together was a strange arrangement. The convention was for a singer and a backing group, not for two frontmen, but Leslie presents them almost as a single entity. We see them early on — banished from the house by Lennon’s Aunt Mimi — huddled face-to-face in the front porch, “close enough to feel the other’s breath”, as they play guitars and try to work out vocal harmonies and how to write songs. It’s an image that recurs throughout.

On stage they often faced each other across a microphone, the mirroring reinforced by McCartney being left-handed, so their guitars pointed in the same direction. “We had this fantastic thing,” McCartney said in 1967 of their first shared experience of taking LSD. “Incredible really, just looked into each other’s eyes, just staring.” A couple of years later, as they worked up a new song, Two of Us, again standing face-to-face, Lennon commented: “It’s like you and me are lovers.”

Observers talk of how the two seemed to be almost telepathic, and McCartney spoke of their “heightened awareness” of what the other was thinking. And all the while, they were breaking new ground, musically and commercially. As a story of male friendship, it verges on the epic.

McCartney and Lennon play the Cavern Club

So too the group’s ending. The passion of the partnership cooled a little when they stopped touring and were no longer in such close physical proximity. Lennon’s use of LSD made him increasingly passive, while McCartney’s energy and cultural curiosity were unabated. As men will, they sought refuge in nostalgia, striving to recapture what they knew was being lost, and in the last years of the 1960s their work together began looking backwards, to their childhood, to Britain’s history, to the uncomplicated enthusiasm of early rock’n’roll.

It wasn’t enough. Lennon was haunted by the elusive brilliance of Yesterday, a solo McCartney track that demonstrated that there was one Beatle who could stand alone. Traumatised by parental abandonment in childhood, Lennon feared a further rejection. In a pre-emptive strike, he decided that he’d dance with another and attached himself to the conceptual artist Yoko Ono, who introduced him to heroin, which made him still more passive.

In April 1970 McCartney announced that he had left the group, although he was only confirming what had been known for months. “Maybe it was a marriage that had to end,” Lennon reflected later. If so, it was largely because of his insecurity when the power balance tilted in favour of the younger man — one of humanity’s great storylines, as old as Cain and Abel (and as modern as Gordon Brown and Tony Blair).

Much of the energy of the book dissipates in the wake of the split, as it did with the music. But then comes the still shocking murder of Lennon in 1980, at the age of 40. The account here, which focuses on McCartney’s reaction to the loss, is powerful and moving, so thoroughly invested have we become in their relationship.

This is a tremendous book, shedding new light on the story. Leslie’s structure is to centre each of his 43 chapters on a song, in the manner of a blog or a podcast series. It works, capturing the breathless pace of the Beatles’ career while marvelling at the invention and creativity of the art. There is some lovely writing — Penny Lane ends with “a little moan of feedback” — and some equally lovely overwriting. As their future manager Brian Epstein goes to see them at the Cavern for the first time, we’re told: “It must have been like descending into his own id.”

That review in Q answered its own question of whether we needed another Beatles book: “Almost certainly not, and yet you can’t help being fascinated …” This one really is fascinating.

(source)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Neal Stephenson’s “Polostan”

NEXT WEEKEND (Novem<p>placeholder </p>ber 8-10), I'll be in TUCSON, AZ: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

Science fiction isn't collection of tropes, nor is it a literary style, nor is it a marketing category. It can encompass all of these, but what sf really is, is an outlook.

At the core of sf is an approach to technology (and, sometimes, science): sf treats technology as a kind of crux that the rest of the tale revolves around. The Bechdel test invites us to notice that in most fiction, stories revolve around men – that it's rare for two or more non-male characters to interact with one another, and if they do, that interaction is triggered by a man.

The sftnal version of this would go something like this: "a story gets increasingly stfnal to the extent that interactions among characters either directly relate to a technology, or are triggered by the consequences of such a relation, or fears, plans or aspirations for same."

(Note that this implies that science fiction is a spectrum: things can be more or less science fictional, and that gradient reflects the centrality of a technology to the narrative.)

No one's work demonstrates this better than Neal Stephenson. Stephenson's work covers a lot of settings and storytelling modes. His debut, The Big U, was a contemporary novel lampooning academic life. Then came Zodiac, another contemporary novel, but one where science – in this case, extremely toxic polychlorinated biphenyls – take center stage. Then came his cyberpunk classic, Snow Crash, which was unambiguously (and gloriously) science fiction.

A couple of books later, we got Cryptonomicon, a finance novel that treated money as a technology, and, notably, did so across both a near-future setting and the historic setting of WWII. In addition to being a cracking novel, Cryptonomicon is exciting in that it treats the technological endeavors of the past in exactly the same way as it does the imaginary technological endeavors of the future. Here's Stephenson fusing his contemporary sensibilities with his deep interests in history, and approaching historical fiction as an sf writer, doing the sftnal thing to gadgets and ideas that have been around for more than two generations.

Stephenson's next novel was Quicksilver, the first book of the massive "System of the World" trilogy, in which the extremely historical events of Newton and Leibniz's quest to discover "the calculus" are given a sweeping, world-spanning sftnal treatment. As "system of the world" suggests, Stephenson uses this sftnal trick to situate a scientific advancement in the context of a global, contingent, complex system that it both grows out of an defines. This is the pure water of science fiction, applied entirely to real seventeenth century events, and it's definitive proof that sf isn't a trope, a style or a category – but rather, it is a way of framing and understanding the world.

You can think of Stephenson's career up to this point as a series of experiments in applying the stfnal lens to events that are progressively less historical (and, with The Diamond Age, events that are atemporal inasmuch as the book is set in a futuristic revival of the Victorian Age). Experiments that range over contemporary settings, and then contemporary settings blended with historical settings, then a deep historical sf trilogy.

(It's rather exciting that these books came out right as William Gibson was entering his own "predicting the present" decade, where he exclusively published sf about the recent past, a prelude to a series of sf novels set in a future so far from our present that the characters literally have no record of which events led up to their own circumstances):

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/10/28/the-peripheral-william-gibson-vs-william-gibson/

Having proved how successful an historical sf novel could be, Stephenson then bopped around with a lot of stfnal historical ideas, from the "transmedia" 12th century setting of the Mongoliad to a madcap time-travel book (The Rise and Fall of DODO). Stephenson's work since then have been pretty straightforwardly sftnal, which means that he's a little overdue for a return to historical sf.

That's where Polostan comes in, the just-published inaugural volume of a new interwar series about the birth of atomic science:

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/polostan-neal-stephenson

Critics and even the publisher have called this a "spy novel" or a "historical novel" but it is neither of those. What Polostan is, is a science fiction novel, about spies in an historical setting. This isn't to say that Stephenson tramples on, or ignores spy tropes: this is absolutely a first-rate spy novel. Nor does Stephenson skimp on the lush, gorgeously realized and painstakingly researched detail you'd want from an historical novel (Stephenson has long enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the brilliant researcher Lisa Gold, whom we can thank for much of the historical detail across his body of work).

But the overarching sensibility of this work is a world full of people who revolve around technology. You'd be hard-pressed to list more than a handful of actions taken by the characters that aren't driven by technology, and most of the dialog either concerns technology, or the actions that characters have taken in relation to technology. It's unmistakably and indelibly a science fiction novel.

It's great.

Polostan raises the curtain on the story of Dawn Rae Bjornberg, AKA Aurora Maximovna Artemyeva, whose upbringing is split between the American West in the early 20th century and the Leningrad of revolutionary Russia (her parents are an American anarchist and a Ukrainian Communist who meet when her father travels to America as a Communist agitator). Aurora's parents' marriage does not survive their sojourn to the USSR, and eventually Aurora and her father end up back in the States, after her father is tasked with radicalizing the veterans of the Bonus Army that occupied DC, demanding the military benefits they'd been promised:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army

After the efforts of Communist organizers in the Bonus Army were mercilessly crushed by George S Patton, Aurora ends up living in a Communist commune in Chicago, where she falls into a job selling comfortable shoes to the footsore women who visit the Century of Progress, as the 1933 World's Fair was known:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress

At the Century of Progress, Aurora sits at the junction where many global currents are mixing: she is there when Mussolini's air armada lands on Lake Michigan to the cheers of thronged fascist sympathizers; and also when Neils Bohr lectures on the newly discovered – and still controversial – neutron. She is also exposed to her first boyfriend, a young physicist from New York, who greatly expands her interest in nuclear physics and also impregnates her.

This latter turn in her life sends Aurora back into the American west, where, after a complex series of misadventures and derring-do, she embarks on a career as a tommy gun-toting bank robber, part of an armed gang of her cowboy shirttail cousins.

All of this culminates in her return sojourn to the Soviet Union, where she first falls under suspicion of being an American spy, and then her recruitment as a Soviet spy.

Also: she plays a lot of polo. Like, on a horse.

This isn't just an unmistakably sftnal novel, it's also an unmistakably Stephensonian novel: embroidered, discursive, and brilliantly expositional:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

It is funny, it is interesting, it is even daffy in places. It's sometimes absolutely horrifying. It skips around in time like a subatomic particle bouncing around in a theoretical physics model. It creates and resolves all manner of little subplots in most satisfying ways, but also ultimately exists just to tee up the main action, which will come in future volumes. It's a curtain raiser, and like any good opening number, it hooks you for what is to come.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/04/bomb-light/#nukular

[aziraphales-library]

Hi!!! Do you have any fics where aziraphale is famous and crowley's just a "nobody"? preferably without explicit scenes, please :)) thank you so so much <3<3

Hello! We have a #famous aziraphale tag. Here are some fics in which Aziraphale is famous and Crowley is not. I could only find a couple of non-explicit fics, I'm afraid, but I'm pretty sure the smut is minimal/skippable in most of these...

First Thing In The Morning by FeralTuxedo (E)

Aziraphale Fell, erstwhile nerd, now successful fantasy author, is signing books at this year’s Heaven and Earth convention when he spots a red-headed man in the crowd. Someone he hasn’t quite been able to forget since his school days. And as luck would have it, Anthony Crowley, former troublemaker, now responsible adult, seems keen to reconnect.

Pride Month and Prejudice by TawnyOwl95 (E)

They say that you should never meet your celebrity crush. Especially when you know what an absolute bastard he is. So, of course, Anthony J. Crowley's participation in a queer adaptation of Pride and Prejudice for Pride Month has nothing to do with the involvement of A-lister A.Z. Fell. Crowley is only doing it so he has some gossip for his column. He didn't mean to get cast as Lizzy Bennet, he certainly didn't mean to be acting opposite Fell's Mr Darcy. And to make matters worse, Fell keeps staring at him...

Veni Vino Vegas (I Came, I Got Drunk, I Got Married) by A_N_D (T)

After a whirlwind drunken evening, author Az Fell came home from Rom-Con without his heirloom pinkie ring – but with a wedding license from a 24-hour Las Vegas chapel. Elsewhere, book fan Tony Crowley woke up with a hangover, vague memories, and a brand new ring he’s only seen in author photos. Mutually attracted, mutually terrified the other one thinks it was all a regrettable mistake, they turn to their dear but anonymous online friend to vent and ask for advice. …Maybe they should tell each other their screennames someday.

and now all of my garden is grown in lavender by ilikeblue (E)

Popular queer romance author, A.Z. Fell, has been lying about having a husband and a happy marriage for years. Longing to escape a string of failed relationships and looking for a fresh start, Aziraphale moves into the cottage left to him by his Great Aunt Agnes. When a TV adaptation of one of his books leads to sudden popularity and throws him into the limelight, his fans (and the press) are eager to catch a glimpse of Aziraphale's own mysterious leading man. Unfortunately, he still has to cast someone for that role. Enter the handsome gardener… Under Crowley's meticulous care the cottage's neglected garden slowly comes back to life, and Aziraphale finds himself writing the most important love story he'll ever write: his own

Once upon a time by elf_on_the_shelf (E)

‘Hello, my dear.’ Crowley bit his lip for a couple of seconds before he took a deep breath and just went with it. ‘Would you like to go for a coffee sometime?’ There was silence at the other end. Oh shit. ‘That was my friend messing around with my phone…?’ ‘You do realise that only works over text.’ ‘Myeah.’ Why was he like this? He had wanted to kill Bea for doing the same thing and yet here he was, doing the thing. At Bea’s behest, mind you. ‘I would love to go for coffee. Oh, and cake!’ Aziraphale is a very rich and successful writer. Crowley is at the worst possible moment of his life - living off Bee's couch and posting his mum's fairy tales on some random sites only to be ignored by everyone except one random person simply called A. This is a story about how both of our main protagonists get over the ghosts of their pasts, learn to work together and maybe - just maybe - fall in love in the process. Not to mention that all of the characters that we love (hate - looking at you, Gabe) make an appearance.

The Infernal Bodyguard by Santillatron (M)

Alistair Zira Fell is a popular author. Loved by everyone he meets. Well, almost everyone. Someone is trying to hurt him, and right now, he needs a bodyguard. Anthony J. Crowley is the best, although he doesn't work with celebrities. He has three rules. He never gets too close, never stays once the job is done, and Never Gets Involved. But this isn't a thriller. This, is a love story.

- Mod D

[theresattrpgforthat]

How about any TTRPGs set underwater that aren't horror themed?

THEME: Underwater Games.

Hello friend! I am so sorry that your asks got eaten - I'm glad to have them back! (It looks like Tabletop Trick or Treat unearthed a few gems.)

Now, let's see what kind of underwater games I can fish up for you!

Deepwater Enclaves, by kiryas.

Just plain old air pollution? A failed weather control experiment? Or more sinister forces? Nobody will know for sure why earth cooled below a dark mantle of clouds in the 1980s. Agriculture could not adapt fast enough and when conventional battles for the few remaining natural resources close to the equatorial line erupted into full-scale nuclear war, humanity was on the brink of extinction. Less than five hundred thousand mostly malnourished, freezing humans were left, when the year 2000 began.

This game is about venturing from a safe Community into the unknown. At the core are taking risks for your loved ones; sometimes this is at odds with your individual motives.

Deepwater Enclaves is a Rooted in Trophy game that contains a number of roll tables with evocative choices, and a community creation that involves the entire table. As players, you play both your character and a member of the community who is important to someone else. You play through a series of scenes, structured in a similar way to the way you might set up a scene in a tv show.

To participate in a scene, if you are not one of the original characters set to play a role, other players must spend a token. These tokens are also used to affect outcomes from when you roll, as well as reduce risks that may pop up as you play. You need two different colours or shades of d6’s for this: one colour will represent regular dice, while the other will represent “dark” dice, which raise the stakes whenever you roll with them.

Overall, I think this game is about exploration and survival. I think it has the potential to be a horror game if you want it to be, but you can also alter the tone to redirect the story towards something more dramatic, perhaps centring the game more on your community, and awarding the players with enough tokens to give them the ability to pull themselves out of danger.

Carcinauts!, by Hessan Yongdi.

Carcinauts! is inspired by a famous British children's animated TV show that takes place in and around the sea. You play animal explorers, scientists, and rescuers. Joined by your many friends and helpers, you seek to learn more about our fascinating oceans. Make the world a better place for the animals who live in and around the Great Blue Sea!

Based on the prolific Dominus system created by members of the Brazilian RPG community, Carcinauts! is designed to allow for quick play without a game master. This makes it idea for a solo session in the Sea or a team adventure, using the tables to build out your story. Its simple rules based around d6s and largely non-violent topic materials also make this game child-friendly.

Carcinauts is a two-page game that feels a little bit like a kid’s show; you are all underwater animal explorers, going on missions and solving problems. The resolution of the game is called the Dilemma oracle, and is fairly simple. You must determine two possible outcomes or answers, and then roll 1d6. On a 1-3 the first option is true, on a 4-6 a second option is true. These outcomes need not necessarily be “success” and “failure” either. They could be “left” and :right”, “up” and “down”, or “true” and “false”. This resolution system also makes the game friendly to solo gamers or GM-less tables.

If you want a light-hearted game about underwater explorers, which generates a lot of story ideas for you, maybe check out Carcinauts.

Deep Love, by Bully Pulpit Games.

You’ve come to this paradise to drop a two-and-a-half ton iron ball off the side of a ship and lower it almost a kilometer into the abyss. 

You’ve come to crawl inside that iron ball and go down with it, to see what there is to see down there. 

You’ve come with three other brilliant adventurers, friends, and lovers, and you’ll all get a chance to descend and risk your lives in exchange for seeing things no human being has ever seen.  And maybe, in the inky darkness and cold silence, you’ll find a measure of happiness and fulfillment.

Deep Love has a fond appreciation for old naturalist drawings of various fish, and uses those drawings as the art for the game. You play four characters, possibly pre-generated, on an expedition to the deep waters of an island for a geographic expedition. You all have feelings for each-other, and you’ll have to spend some extended time in a bathysphere to sort this out.

This game looks like it’s equal parts emotional conversation & role play, and, on the other hand, discovering the wonder of the ocean. According to the designer, it looks like you can modify how much you want to experience the former, and how much you want to experience the latter. If you want a game that gives you the tools to explore both your character’s internal emotional landscape as well as the strange underwater world around them, you might like Deep Love.

Submerged, by Arcane Atlas Games.

SUBMERGED is a solo journalling game of undersea exploration.

In this game, you take on the role of a daring explorer aboard a submersible. You have been charged with venturing into the depths of the ocean, to find something wondrous and undiscovered, hidden deep below the waves.

This one is for the solo gamers! It’s based on Carta, which uses a deck of cards to explore a map or series of locations. The player draws a number of cards and lays them face-down in a grid. Each turn, you move to a new card, flip it over, and come up with a journal entry based on the prompt the card gives you. The four suits represent four elements of the game: the Lost City, The Creature, the Wreckage, and the Signal. All of these elements play into the themes of mystery and exploration that this game seems to be about, but I don’t think any of it is necessarily horror-focused.

24XX The Deep, by Chaosmeister.

ONE DAY THE OCEANS DROWNED THE WORLD. Humanity survived below the waves. The sea birthed leviathans. Your crew owns a dingy old sub. Odd jobs, salvage, leviathan hunting and a few merc gigs keep you afloat and breathing.

24XX The Deep is a game about underwater survival and it’s also a drama. As a 24XX game, it’s only a few pages, but those pages distill the necessary parts of the game into a few things: customization for your submarine (aesthetic and mechanic), character options, and roll tables for pieces of the world, such as the factions that your crew might have to work with or work against.

The designer for this game says that 24XX The Deep isn’t necessarily meant to be a horror game, but it can still be a little creepy in tone when you consider the ways the natural underwater environment can raise the stakes for your players.

Aqua Squad, by Em.

A Tunnel Goons hack of aquatic and aquatic-adjacent adventure, created for the Saturday Morning Cartoon Jam. 

I think this might be a fairly safe bet considering it was submitted to something called the Saturday Morning Cartoon Jam! As a Tunnel Goons hack, this game is fairly simple. You follow the Submarine crew of the Cuttlefish, as they go for adventures underwater. Players pick character types, which kind of act like characters on a tv show, and fill in a few pieces of information to make those characters fit their play style.

The resolution mechanic involves rolling 2d6 and adding a relevant ability, and adding +1 for any relevant item you might have with you. You must meet or beat the difficulty score to succeed. You start with 3 items, and 10 HP. There isn’t much in terms of GM tools for adventure generation however, other than what appears to be episode title names. These titles can be evocative: you roll two words and put them together, so the GM may have an interesting time designing a “ghostly volcano” for the squad to investigate, or trying to figure out what the title “Vacation Megalodon” might mean.

Signals From The Deep, by Aaron Goss.

SIGNALS FROM THE DEEP is a tense, ocean-floor setting and scenario made using a no dice, no masters roleplaying game system Tiny Tokens.

This scenario takes you and the rest of your old, sentient, deep sea research robot team SEA-4 on a shared voyage, exploring deep sea wonders as you seek out the source of a anomalous signal detected way down at the bottom of the ocean. What awaits you in the depths?

Signals in the Deep is a mystery game, but it’s not necessarily a horror one. The game is small, meant to fit on two double-sized poker-card-sized cards. It’s easy to pick up and carry, and doesn’t have too many rules. Your core goal is to figure out the source of the signal; but what exactly that source is will be up to the GM, at least from what I can see.

Also Check Out…

Octopus Shipwreck Explorer, by SassWrites.

Bones Deep, by Technical Grimoire Games.

Odyssey Aquatica, by Old Dog Games.

My Mermaids TTRPG Recommendations.

The Sea Calls Recommendation Post.

My Coral Recommendation Post from last week.

[mariacallous]

Democrats are charging out of their national convention with enthusiasm and determination ― and in far better shape than seemed possible just a few weeks ago, when then-presumptive nominee President Joe Biden was headed for likely defeat.

Vice President Kamala Harris has wiped out Biden’s deficit in the polls, and now holds small but discernible leads over Donald Trump in both national and swing state surveys. She’s also expanded the electoral map, putting in play states such as North Carolina that seemed lost to Democrats when Biden was leading the ticket. As of this writing, Nate Silver’s predictive model suggests Harris is a 52.8% favorite to win.

It will take a few days for pollsters to figure out whether Harris got the traditional convention bounce, pushing her support even higher, or whether she got a version of it beforehand via the burst of activity and favorable press coverage around her campaign launch.

Either way, it’s hard to look back on the week in Chicago and deem it anything but a smashing political success, from the (still reverberating) call to arms by former first lady Michelle Obama to the (still circulating) sight of Gus Walz, son of vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim, tearfully telling the crowd “that’s my dad!”

Harris, for her part, gave what my colleague Jen Bendery’s story called the “speech of her life.” Plenty of other analysts rendered similar judgments.

With a passionate, near-flawless delivery, Harris introduced herself as the daughter of immigrants who valued virtue and hard work, promising to fight for the middle class and vowing to protect democracy. She wrapped herself metaphorically in the flag and what she thinks it represents to the nation’s non-MAGA majority. The laser focus on trying to win over swing voters was impossible to miss, in part because it was such an overriding theme all week ― whether through cultural symbolism (like having the aging veterans of Walz’s championship high school football team appear on stage) or more overt outreach (like having former House Republican Adam Kinzinger give a prime-time address).

But the appeal to the political middle had some telling substantive elements too.

Insofar as Harris and Democrats talked about policy, they focused on causes such as bringing down prescription drug prices, providing paid leave or helping families to pay for child care ― ambitions considerably more modest than the loftier, more progressive “Medicare for All” calls that dominated the last Democratic presidential campaign and to which Harris herself once pledged fealty. Harris also went out of her way to back a bipartisan immigration bill that would tighten security without creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already here, which is a provision progressives have frequently called essential.

The platform evolved, with party leaders scrubbing a call to end the death penalty ― quietly, until my colleague Jessica Schulberg found out about it. They also refused requests to feature a Palestinian speaker on the conflict in Gaza. That part wasn’t so quiet, or unanticipated. In fact, the prospect of protests and disruptions over Biden’s support for Israel had fueled speculation that Chicago 2024 was going to end up as tumultuous as Chicago 1968. But as HuffPost’s Daniel Marans and Jonathan Nicholson observed, the fissures never blew up into 1968-style conflicts ― not over Gaza, or any other issues for that matter. On the contrary, the Democrats seemed improbably and almost impossibly unified, with would-be progressive dissidents like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sounding downright giddy about the Harris-Walz ticket.

What explains this unified enthusiasm? Three likely reasons come to mind. One in particular has a lot to do with how the party has changed in recent years ― and what it might be able to do if Harris manages to win.

Democrats In Array

One of these likely reasons is the threat Trump poses to individual liberties, the rule of law and democracy — threats progressives feel every bit as keenly as the more moderates in the party. These threats almost certainly seem even more menacing now after so many months watching Biden struggle.

Staring into the political abyss this way has been known to focus the mind.

Another possible factor is Harris’ identity. Electing the first woman president, not to mention the first Black woman and the first Asian woman, would have obvious symbolic value. But it would also have more practical effects — namely, bringing a new perspective to the presidency and making it easier for other women, and other nonwhite politicians, to make their own way to the Oval Office.

Progressives almost by definition care about these things, enough that it can help counterbalance appeal for politicians who see the ticket as less progressive than they might like. Barack Obama in 2008 benefited from just such a dynamic, as The New York Times’ David Leonhardt pointed out on Friday: “He was more moderate than some other Democratic candidates that year, yet he still excited many progressives.”

Harris notably hasn’t talked about herself as groundbreaker, and the campaign hasn’t made that possibility a focus in the way that, say, Hillary Clinton’s did in 2016. But that’s of a piece with Harris’ broader strategy since appeals tied to race or class can alienate some of the swing voters she’s trying to win. The voters who feel otherwise, meanwhile, don’t need reminders.

This brings us to the third, and potentially most important, theory for progressive enthusiasm: Democrats have gotten an awful lot done since Biden took office. An awful lot of it consisted of initiatives or reforms progressives have long championed. And most importantly, it all happened with progressives having a big seat at the table.

The most significant and visible of these accomplishments was the clean green energy investments of the Inflation Reduction Act, which add up (arguably) to the most important climate change legislation in history, plus the law’s health care provisions, which for the first time gave the federal government leverage over the prices of some high-priced drugs in Medicare.

But the list goes beyond that, to the appointment of aggressively pro-consumer and pro-labor officials at key federal agencies, and the burst of spending during the pandemic that (whatever its real or theorized effects on inflation) drove both unemployment and child poverty down to near-record levels.

All of these feel well short of the kinds of transformations progressives would prefer with, say, enactment of “Medicare for All.” But they had, are having or will have tangible, measurable effects on people’s lives — and are examples of the kind of achievements that might be possible if Harris wins and Democrats have control of both congressional houses again.

It so happens that these are also the kinds of achievements that animate up-and-coming party leaders, even if they are not members of the progressive wing — figures like Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, or Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Not coincidentally, all gave Harris rousing endorsements in prime- time speeches.

But that too is part of the story about unity: The party’s “moderate” wing today feels pretty strongly about using the federal government to make people’s lives better, just as it does about protecting the freedoms Trump threatens. They may emphasize it differently — focusing more exclusively on the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy manufacturing jobs, for example, and a bit less on its environmental impact. They still land in the same place on policy.

Whether these good feelings would carry through enough to enact a legislative agenda is obviously a separate question and one that is very secondary to the question of whether Democrats even get that opportunity.

The presidential race is still a toss-up, or maybe even a bit worse than that for Harris if the polling now is missing Trump votes the way it did in 2016 and again in 2020. Republicans remain by most accounts a slight favorite to hold at least one house of Congress.

But Harris is coming out of Chicago on a roll, with a party behind her as she reaches out to the swing voters she needs to win. That’s a pretty good place to be.

[katherinakaina]

@strange-aeons , you don’t have to like hpmor at all! It has a non conventional style of storytelling that some people really love and others can’t stand. It’s totally fine. But you are factually wrong about plot points and their meaning and omit a lot of context.

TLDR: Intelligence is a virtue, but it’s not even the main one. The villain is extremely evil and also the smartest person in the story. Most of Harry’s misanthropic thoughts are coming from his horcrux and aren’t meant to be taken as his genuine morals. One of the biggest themes of the fic is immortalism and the value of human life. It does not logically lead to the devaluing of human life in any way whatsoever.

In most stories, plot moving forward should be the product (in full or in part) of the main character’s motivations and choices. The objective is better be clear and the characters all should make progress in achieving it, overcoming difficulties. Such plots are universally engaging and easy to follow. They are good.

The plot in hpmor is not like that at all. Which is the main reason why it’s not enjoyable to many people, I believe. They find it confusing and hard to follow, boring. The most of the fic is a character and lore building filler. And if the characters don’t work for you, yeah, the plot's not going to carry you through it (I mean, you had been warned).

But this doesn’t mean that there’s no plot. It’s just that the plot only becomes clear in the very end or worse – on the second read. And you aren’t going to read it again so let me map it out.

• This summer! Voldemort gained a body and is back in business, baby. He knows, of course, that he accidentally created a horcrux in Harry and now there’s a boy somewhere who shares a part of his mind. Clear objective – create himself a perfect disciple and get back to taking over the world by first obtaining the philosopher's stone. Therefore:

• Voldemort gets himself a position in Hogwarts to kill both birds with as few stones as possible. He starts slowly grooming Harry using every manipulation tactic in the book. He is pretty successful for a while. But alas, Harry is way too good! Therefore:

• Voldemort needs to empower the part of Harry's mind that is his horcrux and weaken whatever it is that makes Harry good. Luckily, there’s a creature who can do just that. So Voldemort gets the permission to teach the patronus spell to the first years to have an excuse to expose Harry to a dementor. This even works for a short burst. But alas, through the power of friendship Harry was able to shake it off and also get an insight into dementor’s nature. With it, he finds a way to completely destroy them. Therefore:

• Change of plans. Voldemort can still use just how much Harry hates dementors against him. He can turn Harry’s burning goodness into blazing rage and corrupt him this way. For that he takes him to Azkaban to rescue Bellatrix (part of taking over the world long term planning) so Harry could see how evil the government that allows this torture prison is (also more trauma bonding). But alas, during the mission Voldemort went too far and tried to kill an auror, which Harry did not like one bit. Therefore:

• Voldemort tries to gaslight Harry and press further, suggesting a second mission, a really crazy one this time – to fabricate a duel with Voldemort (whomever that guy is) to convince Dumbledor and the rest of the world that they are safe so they’d stop watching over Harry and would let him do whatever he wants. But alas, Harry can’t shake the murder thing off and he starts to suspect that Hermione was right the entire time to think that Quirrell is evil. Therefore:

• Voldemort needs to brainwash and recruit Hermione too, make her into ‘Harry’s Bellatrix’. Alas, she has a superb moral intuition and is not fooled by clever ruses. Therefore:

• Voldemort needs to permanently alter Hermione. He frames her for attempting to kill Draco so she would be sent to Azkaban. Perfect, this would reinforce Harry’s hate for the government and every single adult around him, isolating him even further while breaking Hermione’s resolve and making her ripe for brainwashing after all. Alas, he underestimated just how much Harry is willing to do for his best friend. Oh well, therefore:

• Voldemort has to remove Hermione entirely. So she is crushed by the troll. ALAS, he underestimated again just how much Harry likes his best friend. This death shocks Harry to the core and cements him on the path to defeating death. This produces a vague and scary prophecy that could mean that Harry will destroy the world. Voldemort cannot accept this outcome (he lives in the world). Therefore:

• Abort the plan, Harry has to go. But Voldemort knows how close to impossible it is to do anything about a prophecy. So he takes several precautions as well, such as reversing his last move that caused the shift in the first place – he brings Hermione back (with special powers so she wouldn’t die easily again). He also finally gets to the philosopher’s stone, seales Dumbledore away, life's looking good. Alas, prophecy is prophesy. Harry defeated him using one secret weapon Voldemort had no knowledge of (all thanks to Dumbledorer’s foresight).

• Harry realizes what a giant doofus he’s been the entire year, that Hermione was right about everything and that Dumbledore was really the one scheming against Voldemort and leading him to this victory. Together with Hermione and the rest he opens free healthcare for wizards and swears to destroy the torture prison. The end!

As you can see, the plot is driven by Voldemort and his motivations. What Harry and the rest of the kids are doing – they are being kids, fantasizing about their future and messing around. The closest Harry is to moving towards his stated goals is having his research with Hermione and his redemption quest with Draco. He’s 11. No matter how smart he is, the villain is smarter.

The original JKR’s Harry, Ron and Hermione are able to foil Voldemort's plans on their own, hpmor Harry doesn’t even realize there are some sort of Voldemort’s plans happening*. He suspects that Voldemort doesn’t even exist from how absent he is being. And Harry is the one to warn others about not being pessimistic enough while underestimating the danger he is in and what’s being done to him the entire time. Pessimism is one of the main lessons of the fic. (remember feeling it can’t get any worse after 2020?)

The second major thing you missed is that intelligence is NOT the only virtue worth celebrating. The smartest person and the moving force of the plot is literally Voldemort, the most evil bastard out there.

Imagine someone who criticises Fight Club for glorifying Tayler Derden and male violence not understanding that the author is on their side. That’s what you are doing. You assumed that the author glorifies the villain because you assumed that intelligence is all that matters to him. But why would you do that?

You explained yourself in the beginning that Yudkowsky’s biggest fear is misaligned and homicidal super intelligent being. Clearly, he doesn’t believe that being intelligent is all that matters. Intelligence is just a universal problem-solving tool. It’s very impressive and is not given proper credit to. But it’s not a motivation on its own. It obviously needs to be guided by humanism. This distinction is all over hpmor. It’s the only difference between the hero and the villain who are both smart.

And Voldemort is written evil from the very beginning, it's not just a gotcha rugpull in the very end. His grooming is meant to be wrong and creepy. But also believable because everyone is totally fooled by it. Everyone except the reader who’s paying close attention (which is difficult to do if you are bored and skip chapters, I get it) and also knows Quirrell’s real identity from the start.

There are multiple moments where even Harry realizes something Professor Quirell did was wrong and those keep piling up. For example, the games weren’t just cool, they were 1) about Harry getting humbled, making friends, learning to work with others and respect others and feeling like a part of something for the first time in his life (something you said isn’t in the fic at all, while it’s most of the fic actually) and also 2) organized by the villain!

Did you skip Quirrell making his fascist speech on Christmas about how he deliberately was trying to build an army and teach children how to fight at war that leaves Harry horrified? Again, it is literally all spilled in the villain’s monologue and then extra clarified in the main character’s inner thoughts. This fic is very blatant in its messaging.

Grooming is a bit less obvious if you’ve never been groomed by a charming teacher like that. But you should be at least able to notice when he's lying.

When Quirrell sells Harry on the idea of being publicly humiliated for personal growth purposes he tells him a story about him doing the same ritual in his travels. Quirrell also tells that after he completed the ritual and left the school – Voldemort went there and was asked to do the same thing. But Voldemort refused and murdered everybody. If you keep in mind that Quirrell and Voldemort are the same person you can piece together that he didn’t sincerely value humility and being able to lose or whatever. Because the real story is that he killed all those people and never took an L in his entire life. He was trauma bonding Harry so he could manipulate him. It was not a good chapter teaching a lesson about rationality. Because being humble toward the truth (actual rationality) has nothing to do with taking crap from bullies. Half the fic is about fighting bullies actually.

A fight Harry doesn’t win! As well as many other fights he took upon himself, like figuring out the entire magic in his first year. I don’t know who promised you he would and I’m sorry you felt cheated by that not happening. But you said the main character is proven right about everything and succeeds at everything and is never wrong (he is proven wrong about something every other chapter, not to mention the final reveal). And then you complain that he didn’t succeed at something?** Pick one.

But the main appeal of Harry as a character is not how he wins or loses. It’s his moral core. It’s how despite having a part of Voldemort’s mind intertwined with his he still remains driven by his dedication to people around him and humanity in general. He and Voldemort really make perfect twisted reflections of each other.

The fic drills in just how evil Voldemort is by mostly highlighting his disregard for human life. We see it when Quirrell shares his insight into Voldemort’s actions and history as if he was the one fighting him and that’s why he knows all that. But the reader knows that Quirrell is just telling on himself. Like how he can use Avada Kedavra so fast because he just doesn’t care, for example.

We also see it through Harry himself. His misanthropic tendencies you actually took care to notice quite a lot are coming from that part of his soul that is Voldemort’s horcrux. Harry does not endorse it and literally calls it ‘my dark side’***. This behaviour comes out when Harry is annoyed or inconvenienced or threatened by other people (regular human emotion, super relatable if you had to unlearn some toxic trait in your life). Emotions of anger, irritation and vindictiveness are crucial to the dark side (see the endnote again). But when Harry thinks about human life seriously and calmly he is able to suppress it every time. Moreso, he is sure the killing curse is a spell he won’t ever be able to use.

I could go on and on (like how hpmor isn’t about science facts and contains very few of them) but I’ll stop here. I think you should have noticed not paying attention while reading. And yet you wrote and filmed a review anyway, despite obviously zoning out while experiencing the work in question.

Also, I haven’t read the books you recommended and I will. But I’ve read many books that are widely considered Great Art and they sucked. People like hpmor and ratfic in general not because we haven’t read good books. It fulfills a need few other books do, that’s it.

Obviously, I have my own criticism of hpmor that mostly has to do with how Yudkowsky writes women. Which is leagues ahead of what JKR wrote but still leaves a lot to be desired. And yes, it is not polished. It’s serialized fiction, it’s usually like that.

More about rationality. More about zizians.

* A huge hint here is those irritating chapters where Harry and Draco are playing at manipulating each other. They are close to being equals and therefore they can see through each other’s schemes. When Harry has to deal with Dumbledore and especially Voldemort he is completely lost, he does not understand that he is being manipulated at all.

** He actually makes major progress and has a good guess by the end (that magic is like a programming language of the world created by some ancient civilization). I mean, the author had to work with the material he inherited, he couldn’t build a more interesting magical system from the ground up. But he expanded a lot on the lore of dementors, some spells and in general brought a lot of sense to the thing.

*** The entire thing is one huge reference to Star Wars prequels. You have the evil dark lord mastermind who plays both sides of the conflict, trying to brainwash the chosen one hero to his cause and make a disciple out of him. They are to become two sith rulers of the world, ‘bringing order to it’. Dark and Light Sides are common metaphors in the rationalist community. Light Side being all the altruistic uses of intelligence and Dark Side is the opposite of that.

[zzthekaiju]

Best of the Reptiles in Media - 6 - Tyrantis

And here I am again at this! And this time, we're going to the wonderful world of independent literature!

Let me set the scene: Imagine a T-rex, except he's the size of a large building, fights like Heart from a few entries ago, has the personality and love for fighting of Son Goku, and the mannerisms of Showa Godzilla and Gamera?

You get the star of The Atomic Time Of Monsters (A.T.O.M) by William Cope (better known as @tyrantisterror), Tyrantis!

(all art here is by Cope)

For context, the world A.T.O.M takes place in is an alternate history in which most dinosaurs are the ancestors of not birds, but crocodiles. Thus, they all look like the large, lumbering scaly beasts that went out of date around the 70s. And as if that wasn't enough, they're referred to as Retrosaurs. Already, we have an exceptionally tongue-in-cheek bit of worldbuilding to get us excited. Even as someone who loathes seeing outdated depictions of dinosaurs in modern media, I'm always a-okay to see it as an actual intentional choice instead of a lazy one (*cough* *cough* Jurassic World *cough*).

Anyhow, Tyrantis is one of those Retrosaurs. Specifically, a Manospondylus Gigas (based on the outdated look of T-Rex). However, like Godzilla, he's a mutated version. You see, A.T.O.M is a throwback/affectionate parody of monster movies from the 50s, albeit one that turns several of the tropes on their heads. One that it plays a bit straighter is how nuclear testing unleashes monstrous creatures from their slumber. Here, that happens, and it unleashes a huge earthquake that opens up caves leading to an unforeseen hollow earth, where Tyrantis lives.

And this is where the story officially begins, with an underdog female paleontologist named Mina Lerna finding Tyrantis within Hollow Mountain, Montana (there are a LOT of shout-outs in this duology).

Tyrantis had me sold as a character right from the start. You see, several scenes are written from his point of view, and instead of some mindless killer of man like so many giant movie monsters were back in the day, he is instead an inquisitive, naive, and downright kindhearted fellow who's first instinct upon seeing a screaming human in his presence is to try and cheer her up by taking her back to her "herd" (with limited success).

This kaiju is, overall, adorably awesome. Despite his size and power, he approaches almost every creature with one or both of two questions on his mind: "Can I fight it?" and "Can we be friends?" Both books are 90% Tyrantis running into one kaiju after another, and either befriending them, getting into fights, or even both. And it's a joy to see most of the other kaiju (such as Gorgolisk and Tricerak) come around and see him as their friend too. My favorite interactions are between him and the massive spider Bobo, who's this world's stand-in for Mothra.

But Cope doesn't just stop at making Tyrantis a big friendly kaiju, though that would already be enough for him to warrant an entry in my top ten favorite characters ever. Sprinkled into Big Green's mannerisms are tics that you would expect from a reptile. The most prominent of these are him moving his limbs in a circular motion as a sign of hospitality. It's so cute to imagine such a big and intimidating creature doing that. It also helps Tyrantis avert the "all animals are dogs" trope that seems to follow every non-conventional friendly animal in fiction. I mean, I don't mind that too much, but it's a nice change of pace.

Of course, Tyrantis wouldn't be a perfect kaiju if he couldn't fight as well. Every battle he gets into paints him as more than just a bite-happy bruiser (though that's certainly a go-to strategy for him). He's surprisingly capable of strategy at times, albeit while in the middle of a fight instead of before. And yes, he has a breath weapon (fire, specifically). Also, as one might guess from his personality, he's a great team player.

But ultimately, it's his relationship with main character Lerna that brings it all together. For our constantly underestimated heroine, Tyrantis represents everything the people of yesterday couldn't ever seem to see: that making brash judgements based on a first glance is wrong. He gives her the ability to prove her mettle as an amazing scientist and the bridge between our understanding of the amazing kaiju. And on top of that, he's just a really good friend to those tiny little things that seem to like him more and more with each year. Even the military commander character warms up to him almost instantly (I'm talking about General Sherman, one of my favorite humans in the duology).

A.T.O.M takes the overblown machismo and chauvinistic attitude of the 50s apart piece by piece. Aside from having human protagonists who rebel against the status quo, Tyrantis demonstrates how being tough is sometimes necessary, but being empathetic and kind as well is what really makes a strong creature. By being his charmingly and adorably good-natured self, he makes more friends than enemies, and they all have his back throughout all the increasingly crazy adventures they have.

Plus, he's got his own theme song in the second story. Someone outta make a cover of that already!

(And maybe an animated adaptation? Please? Maybe we could make it the next big indie animation thing? Just putting that out there.)

(art by me)

[ourjobagency]

In a world that often emphasizes traditional career paths, it's easy to feel pressured to follow a predetermined route to success. However, not everyone fits into the conventional mold, and there are countless examples of individuals who have achieved greatness through unconventional career paths. These alternative routes to success are inspiring and demonstrate that success

To Know More Visit Us:

[allyriadayne]

Would love to hear about this degendering theory for the maidenvault sisters?

the term might not be right but it's a little like this: daena, rhaena and elaena escaped their gender, the thing they were guilty of after leaving the maidenvault.

the sisters in the maidenvault were explicitly locked up for being girls and for their potential temptation of baelor the blessed. this a very gendered punishment (look how elaena cuts her long hair, a sign of her potential womanhood) that ties both into their status as unattached maidens and as sisters of the king. note that 1) naerys was not locked up because she was married, she was a matron with a son and thus unavailable to baelor for being claimed by another man; and 2) non targaryen girls weren't locked up either, they just served as temporary companion to the sisters.

so ten years passes and they are freed after baelor's death.i'm not going to get into the psychological implications of spending formative years locked up for being a woman with only your sisters as company but i am interested in how each one dealt with this, how they escaped their """crime""".

daena. most obvious of all. she's the oldest and boldest of the three. in the books this part of the story revolves around her exploits and her ultimate purpose within the story: birthing daemon blackfyre. she's said to escape the maidenvault alongside her cousin aegon to meet men and drink in taverns, she probably did races as well and caused mayhem as a way to free herself from the oppression she lives at home. during this time she eventually falls pregnant and has a bastard, a direct parallel to what aegon was doing around this time too.

we all know how it goes yadda yadda baelor fasts and kills himself (or not...) and after this it's very probably daena continues with even more excess now that she's free and was never chosen as the next queen. daena acts just like any second son noble born without responsibilities (like aegon!!!), mothering bastards (grrm saying she was a "stepmother of sorts" to bittersteel...), drinking, going to town and generally being very debauched. compare how naerys spends her time in the story! daena has put herself outside of the woman, princess, lady role. none of the usual rules apply to her at all, she can't ever be locked up again by her gender.

this is why my speculation that she died in some mishap riding or hunting fits very well with what her life was like after the vault. just like viserra trying to escape a marriage, daena could've died doing a typical male-dominated hobby or activity (i unfortunately don't discard dying in childbirth due to how common it is in targ women).

rhaena, though we don't know much of her, we know that she was the most pious one of the sisters and "never chafed" at the captivity due to her being more meek, ladylike and kind. it isn't said if she had aspirations of becoming a septa before their imprisonment but that she followed through it's incredible interesting for me. she fully escaped court and any role as a lady, mother and wife she could've had if she had stayed available. it's like she removed herself completely, like daena, from another maidenvault situation.

of course, a motherhouse is just as restrictive if we liken it to a real world convent but we can't ignore that as a septa she's just another servant to the seven gods and has much more freedom than any other lady of the court (think naerys and her constant motif of escaping her role of wife, sister and mother by becoming a septa), which is ultimately, what they are all looking for.

elaena, at last, embodies perhaps the most successful of these attempts. she was the youngest one of the three but the cutting of her hair shows a real clarity in the situation they were going to put in, this same clarity is what separated her from her peers in later years. she begins as the little sister following into daena's footsteps by having children outside of marriage, again, a typical male-dominated occupation, and then she's married off to lord plumm.

i think elaena was the most practical one out of her sisters (she was like aunt rhaena in this way #ToMe). she understood it was better to follow along with what was being presented to her after the maidenvault and specially after having two children with someone who wasn't going to marry her. better this than what i had before, better this than being adrift. nonetheless with her subsequent marriages she takes a decidedly masculine position by being in all but name, the master of coin. another thing i find particularly interesting about elaena's story is that she has a third marriage (practically unheard of in asoiaf female characters), that she personally chooses in a younger man without obvious ambition and with what we could say mere ornamental (and sexual) purpose for the well established and older elaena, AND the narrative allows her to very probably die of old age (something very very few targ woman are allowed to do).

ultimately, this is no more a theory than a different way to view the sister's story post maidenvault post baelor in a way i think sheds some light in the gendered punishment they suffered and the fascinating way they escaped it. thanks for the question!

[im-perialism]

American Imperialism in Star Trek: Frontier Mythology and the "Space Western" Genre

The United States’ expansion into the western parts of North America was, undeniably, an act of imperial expansion. What’s unusual about it is the way it has been justified within American culture as natural growth, human curiosity and exploration, and a right of the U.S. born from proximity to the frontier – all of which are non-imperialistic motivations (Wrobel 23).

[American Progress, chromolithograph print, c. 1873, after an 1872 painting of the same title by John Gast. Image from Britannica.]

‘Manifest Destiny’ is the most well-known idea that justified American imperial expansion. It’s the idea that the United States had a God-given right to expand its territory, and it has put down deep roots within American culture, to the point where media romanticizing “frontier” life grew into the vastly popular “Western” genre.

[Back CD cover of “The World’s Most Famous Western Themes.” Image from Amazon.]

In Westerns, the idea that it was both heroic and romantic to “tame” the land and take it from indigenous peoples was a key one. Often, these stories were built on tropes of exploration and bold discovery, survival skills through peril, and contact and conflict with indigenous Americans. In the mid-20th century, science fiction started to capitalize on the Western’s popularity by leaning heavily on those same conventions – with ‘primitive’ aliens often taking the place of indigenous Americans – because these themes and tropes mapped onto sci-fi so neatly (Newell and Lamont). In fact, American sci-fi’s habit of presenting an Earth unified under a ‘western-style government’ represents an escalation of manifest destiny, where the U.S. has now exerted cultural control over the whole world (Newell and Lamont 50).

[A mug decorated with the opening narration of Star Trek. Image from popfunk.com.]

Star Trek is certainly a part of this ‘Space Western’ genre that developed in the 1950s and 60s, with its famous opening narration beginning with “Space… the final frontier.” Viewing space as a frontier risks viewing it as a territory to explore and conquer, especially because as a space western, Star Trek is just as embedded in frontier myth as any other American creation of this era (Newell and Lamont 50).

[Gene Roddenberry. Image from startrek.com.]

Further connecting Star Trek to the Western genre (and thus to frontier mythology) is Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. Roddenberry famously pitched the show as “the Wagon Train to the stars,” referencing the popular, long-running Western show Wagon Train as a promise of Star Trek’s potential success and story conventions (“How Gene Roddenberry Drew From a Nearly Forgotten Western”).

Unfortunately for Star Trek, though, having such strong ties to the Western genre means it has equally strong ties to American imperialism and colonialism – and that is what my next few posts will focus on analyzing.

Project Bibliography

[novlr]

I don't know what genre my book is going to be. Is it really that important to know?

In simple terms, genre is the label that tells readers what to expect from a particular book, helps you target the right audience for your work, and also allows for relevant marketing to make sure you set your work up for success.

But genre is more than just a label. Understanding genre helps you structure your stories, connect with your target readers, and increase your chances of publication.

What is genre?

In short, genre is the categorisation of literary works based on their shared characteristics, such as style, form, content, and theme. It can, unfortunately, also be somewhat intangible, as there is a lot of overlap between them. For instance, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Drama are all genres, but they include stylistic subgenres within them, like novels, short stories, essays, sonnets, and plays. On top of that, they will also cover themed genres like romance, science fiction, fantasy, memoir, and horror.

Some age categories have also become nebulously entwined with genre. Young Adult fiction (YA), for instance, is traditionally an age range and not a genre. However, many readers will refer to it as they would a genre, as for them, the age range evokes a certain style of writing that speaks to them.

There is also no strict genre line that writes can’t cross. Books can implement a variety of genres in their narratives. Popular pairings might include romance and fantasy, science fiction and horror, fantasy and memoir, and science fiction and thriller/mystery.

There may also be genre elements included in works that don’t share that genre. For instance, a romance subplot does not automatically place a book in the romance genre. It’s really all about the main theme and style of what you’re writing, and understanding what you’re trying to say within the context of other works within that genre.

Why is genre important?

To guide your writing process

Understanding the conventions and expectations of your chosen genre can help guide your writing process. Each genre has its own set of rules, tropes, and reader expectations. For instance, a romance novel typically focuses on the development of a romantic relationship between the main characters, while a mystery novel centers around solving a crime or unraveling a puzzle.

Familiarising yourself with the key elements of your genre can help you structure your story and develop your characters in a way that your readers can connect with. They’ll understand how to approach your book when picking it up, ensuring that they view your writing through the correct lens.

Connecting with your audience

Genre helps you identify and connect with your target audience. Readers often gravitate towards specific genres based on their interests and preferences. By writing within a particular genre, you can attract readers who are already interested in the type of story you’re telling.

Moreover, understanding your readers’ expectations allows you to write in a way that will resonate with them emotionally. You can tap into the themes, tropes, and emotional beats that your readers crave, creating a stronger connection between them and your work.

Readers have their own tastes, so it’s important to write in a way that caters to the tastes of the audience you want to cultivate. Even if your audience is niche, they will still have things they will expect from that niche. Every book has an audience, so it’s all about finding them and speaking to them directly.

Marketability and publishing

In the publishing world, genre plays a significant role in how books are marketed and sold. Publishers, agents, and booksellers often categorise books by genre to help readers find the stories they’re looking for.

When you have a clear understanding of your genre and can effectively communicate it to others, you increase your chances of getting your work noticed by industry professionals. It also helps you identify the right markets, publishers, and literary agents who specialize in your genre, increasing your opportunities for publication.

But most of all, it helps you market your book to the right people. There’s a lot that goes into marketing, and it’s not just advertising. Blurbs, book covers, and the way you talk about your work all feed into how readers will receive it. If you’ve written a grimdark horror novel but talk about the romance elements when describing it, you’ll attract the wrong sort of reader who might not connect with your book. You want to reach the right readers who are already primed to enjoy what you’re putting out into the world. It’s all about marketing to your audience.

Subvert and blend genres

While understanding genre conventions is important, it doesn’t mean you have to be confined by them. Many successful writers have made their mark by subverting genre expectations or blending multiple genres to create something unique and fresh.

By having a strong grasp of genre, you can identify opportunities to break the rules, challenge conventions, and put your own creative spin on familiar tropes. This can help your work stand out in a crowded market and attract readers who are looking for something different or leave your readers with a book they’ll continue thinking about for years to come.

How to embrace genre

Read widely within your chosen genre to familiarise yourself with its conventions, tropes, and reader expectations.

Analyse successful books in your genre to identify what works well and why.

Experiment with different genres to find the one that resonates with your writing style and interests.

Consider your target audience and what they’re looking for in a story.

Don’t be afraid to subvert genre expectations or blend genres in unique ways.

Remember, genre is not a limitation but a tool to help you write and connect with your readers.

[her3tical]

read more about ... varya zvereva, варыа зверева, "the disputer."

PART ONE , the basics.

full   name.   varya alesya zvereva   nickname(s).   v, var   age.   twenty5   birthdate.   october 28, 1959   hometown.   atlanta, georgia, usa   gender.   demi woman  pronouns.   she/her/hers & they/them/theirs   orientation.   lesbian   ethnicity.   ashkenazi jewish, russian   nationality.   american   language(s) spoken.   fluent in english & russian, with basic american sign language / asl

PART TWO , the specs.

faceclaim.   mikey madison   height.   5ft 4in   hair   color.   dyed black and eternally sleek, reaching her lower back   eye   color.   brown   scar(s).   none   piercing(s).   triple lobes, always adorned with the same silver huggie hoops   tattoo(s).   none yet   other   distinct   feature(s).   ever bitten lips sometimes to the point of drawing blood, polished black nails that match her sleek-straight hair, pale face makeup - the more vampiric the better   style.   their own blend of trad and romantic goth styles, eternally living in a slip dress and some big boots, always adorned with silver jewelry that clinks together

PART THREE , the story.

CONTENT WARNING(S) brief mentions of car accidents, death, and hospitalization

a high-achieving, high-output childhood, one filled with expectations of greatness — from her parents, the friends she had chosen, and virtually every figure around her. it was as if varya was running on autopilot for years

it ultimately paid off, ending senior year with a shiny acceptance letter to yale university for their history program ( also second in class to our very own alyssa hartigan ). the gift came with a partial scholarship, but she was hell-bent on making do, yearning to do whatever it takes to secure that dream of a future she had been fed their whole life

for years, it felt like she had been in a dream, over-idealism mixed with a special strain of imposter syndrome, balancing a number of internships, a part-time waitressing job, and a full course load. she made it, she fucking made it, the moment she received an offer to the metropolitan museum of art's curatorial fellowship program, a full time assisting position to one of the most renowned fashion historians in the world - it was hard not to feel in a daze

the sobering call, after twenty+ years of riding the high of her own successes, ultimately notified varya of her parents' cruel condition. a car crash on the main interstate, driving back from a work convention in indianapolis, leaving her succumbing to his injuries and her mother forever paralyzed from the waist down and non-verbal

they weren't the closest, but varya felt a familial obligation to set her life aside after what their mother had done for her, flying back to radcliff and reinhabiting her childhood room as a part-time caretaker, tasked with the night shift when her mother's nurse was off the clock. it was like that for two years, from ages twenty two to twenty four, only recently moving into her own place after her mother was ordered to move into a full-time care facility

varya started working at scratch that as a favor from silvio, her godfather, an old friend of her parents. it came at a time where she was struggling to find an opening for a part-time position, getting beat out by college kids and others willing to work day and night for a summer gig

it's not that she doesn't care, it's that she's much to exhausted to, with years of performance output and sleepless nights finally catching up to her. they're not completely slacking, performing all necessary tasks but tend to have a cold approach to others, not exactly keen on letting anyone in for the time being

character parallels. carmy berzatto from the bear, spencer reid from criminal minds, kat stratford from 10 things i hate about you, jane lane from daria, raven from the animated teen titans, joan of arc from clone high

PART FOUR , the connections.

coming soon.