#am i capable of answering an ask without writing a novel the world may never know

[thosewildcharms]

The dreaded echelon briefing 😔 What was your interpretation of Michonne keeping her gaze steady on Rick when Jadis was spouting her propaganda and trying to make him feel selfish? It seemed like after the emotional work she and Rick did last episode she wanted to makes sure he stayed strong. Not gonna lie I’m so worried about Rick in the last episode (I’m fairly certain Michonne’s safe); “this world is broken, YOU build it back up” “things usually go to shit when people try to save the world in their own way” “til my last breath I’m yours” and the correlation of Rick’s childhood story about the burning crops and possibly burning the CRM to the ground. I know if it were up to Andy and Danai, Rick and Michonne would make it home to their babies. So much death and tragedy in the apocalypse can they please just let us have this 🥲

the dreaded echelon briefing. i don't know what it could possibly be but i know it's gotta be BAD bad.

rewatching that scene with rick, michonne and jadis, i like your interpretation because i think michonne is quite frankly always steadying rick lol but i also think something else was going on there. to me, the hard work in 1x04, as you aptly put it, was forcing rick to admit that he knows that going back to the CRM to keep their family safe is bullshit and just a self defense mechanism for his own trauma. so i don't think michonne is particularly worried about rick wavering at this point - she knows he's fine with killing jadis and going home, they just need the file first. rather, i think hearing jadis mention the "true size and scope of what the CRM is going to do to bring this world back" made michonne in particular realize right then and there that escaping the CRM wasn't enough, that they would have to stop them from doing whatever it is the echelon briefing is outlining. when jadis is talking, they both seem to realize she's hoping they'll leave not just to protect their childrean and alexandria from the CRM, but to protect the CRM from them. michonne held rick's gaze because a) they were coming to the same conclusion at the same time and b) she was silently communicating with him that what she was about to say ("this can't end with us going home") had a different meaning so he needed to follow her lead and play along.

as for being worried about rick. well.

i'll be the first to say that i'm terrible at making plot predictions lol i'm literally just here to watch my favorite people make out. but! i think you are right, that the show is clearly setting up some sort of big sacrifice for the greater good. it's been a constant theme since episode one, and i think the obvious conclusion to that would to be for rick (or michonne) to make the difficult decision to sacrifice themselves or each other for the greater good - if we are to take this foreshadowing at face value. BUT. the show is also very insistently trying to get us to draw comparisons between okafor/thorne/jadis and rick and michonne and giving us the constant refrain that while separately rick and michonne are vulnerable, together they can do anything. i think we are supposed to connect that while okafor, thorne, and jadis gave up not only their loved ones but their own sense of self to commit to the mission (whatever that mission may be for each of them), rick and michonne by contrast are not going to do that. rick, as i've said previously, already metaphorically killed himself for okafor's mission only for michonne to bring him back to life. why retread that? so, when i'm in a hopeful mood, i like to think that all of these red flags we're seeing are going to lead so some sort of fake out only for rick and michonne to figure out how to survive this and get home, while also protecting the world from the CRM. it's just that they may have to make a morally questionable choice, or some other sort of sacrifice, to do so. my best guess is that they might need to mass-kill all of those soldiers at the summit that's happening.

but, i do get it. i'm worried in general, not necessarily because of what's actually happening onscreen but because i've been burned so many times before that The Anxiety will not let my brain do anything other than assume the worst as a self-defense mechanism lol. that's just me personally trying to temper my own expectations though. my fear is actually the complete opposite of yours - i think AMC would keep rick and michonne alive indefinitely as they are clearly some of the biggest cash cows they have. my worry is that i think if andy (or danai) felt very strongly that their character should die or just wanted to be done with the franchise once and for all, that choice would be respected and honored. on the other hand, they have clearly demonstrated with these first five episodes that they are dedicated to giving their fans exactly what they want. and while i suppose episodes 4 and 5 in particular could be seen as a swan song before a tragic end, i don't think either one of them is stupid enough to think fans would be satisfied with losing either of these characters at this point. if rick dying was always the endgame, why not just kill him on the bridge in the first place? what would be the point of all of this? it wouldn't make any sense and it would be incredibly awful writing. michonne dying is simply so inconceivable to me i can't even contemplate it. still, anything can happen and i try to be prepared for that so i'll just say that should either rick or michonne die i'm sure danai and andy would do it justice and make it meaningful and respectful. i'm saying this through gritted teeth btw.

[linkspooky]

Hi! You’re truly an interesting and fascinating person. Your meta and insights are very useful. And as others said, extremely well put and though out. You’ve mentioned before that you read extensively… Is it okay to ask for your reading recommendations? Whether it may be essays or books or manga, I’ll happily take it! Of course, it’s okay if you cannot answer that (—w—)/✨But please accept my earlier compliments and heartfelt appreciation of your time in putting your analysis together! It’s always so fun reading them. That’s all, thank you!

(ﾉ∇≦*) ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

Thank you so much. I am very bad at accepting compliments but I will try my best for your sake. I made a long list of my favorite books over here, but if you want more reccomendations here’s a few off the top of my head. 

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. 

If you like the female characters written by George RR Martin, but George’s writing makes you a little ehhhh, than I highly recommend these books. They are a deconstruction of the standard fantasy tropes, but written by a woman TM with a lot more sensitivity. FItz is one of the most toxically masculine protagonists I’ve ever head, but also he’s my baby girl and I love him. There’s just a lot of emotional intelligence written with these books, and also it’s less triggering than Game of Thrones so if you want to read a deeply thoughtful fantasy series this is it.

Prince of Thorns, the Broken Emptire Trilogy. by Mark Lawrence

I just reccomended a series as a less triggering version of Game of Thrones, but do you want to read a fantasy that’s much more explicit??? Than read this one. The strength of this series is the main character as one of the most vile, but also uniquely sympathetic main characters in fiction and I like his journey leading to redemption at theend of the last book. The world of this book is also incredibly interesting, because the twist is instead of the standard fantasy setting TM it’s post apocalyptic with society having been reset to the middle ages due to a nuclear war. 

Boogie Pop Series

My favorite light novel series of all time is Zaregoto, but if someone were to ask me to reccomend them a light novel that shows to a person who’s never read light novels before the storytelling potential of them I’d say Boogiepop. Boogiepop is a cyberpunik / fantasy series where every single installment is an episodic adventure loosely connected to this world where these normal high school kids and people brush against these supernatural phenomena and they all have strong characters and themes that make you ask questions about real life. Good light novels, use the medium of short stories and light prose to try telling really experimental stories outside of mainstream with cult appeal that ask you really hard question. 

THe first six novels are translated, and if you read those six it will give you a complete enough picture to understand the appeal of the series. 

The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whielan Turner

I read this recently. If you want a series that is about the difficulty of rulers ruling without like a million subplots like there is in game of thrones, this is a much more concise series with a well written ending. Also, one thing I do like about the series is from book 4 onwards it’s told from the perspective of characters who usually don’t get a narrative voice in these kinds of series, book 4 is narrated by a slave, book 5 has a long subplot about the horrors of slavery as endured by a major character, book 6 is narrated by a character who is born both defroemd and autistic and they’re a fully fleshed out human being. They are capable of mistakes and learning, they have difficutlies with things but they work hard to make up for them, they are not secretly a genius even if they have a special interest in numbers, they also start improving and recovering when everyone around them starts treating them like a human being. 

The Count of Monte Criso by Alexandre Dumas...

s one of my favorite books ever, and I totally forgot to mention it on my favorite books list. It’s not only the greatest revenge story ever written, it makes a case for why straightforward revenge stories are not only bad, but kind of boring. 

Basically even Edmond Dantes, a character falselsy imprisoned, betrayed by both his closest friend and the woman he loved who has every right to his revenge chooses to abandon revenge in the end, because not only does it spiral out of control and almost hurt a complete innocent, but also his revenge while maybe desered wasn’t helping him heal as a human being the same way the love of the woman closest to him was.

Journey under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Hashino

I’m a fan of this authors other works, especially his detective novel, but if you want to read an emotional story that will cahnge your whole life, you should read the story of the two children in this book just trying to grow up and live their lives in a world’s that horribly unfair to both of them. 

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami

I actually reccomend a lot of Ryu Murakami’s works if you’re trying to get into japanese surrealism and horror. Fair waning though, they are all, like, incredibly graphic. I’m reccomnding them to you as a horror fan. Piercing, by Ryu Murakami is also a good one.

The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

This is another one that almost made my top ten list. It’s in the same vein of horror as Frankenstein and Dracula, but it is also deeply existentialist and philosophical/ The horror element of this kind of takes a backseat, to the character discussing philosophy like the benefits and drawbacks of hedonism, and the human condition. Oscar Wilde is also, a gay man, who was tried for sodomism after writing this book, so there’s a strong historical homosexual subtext to consider when reading this book too if you’re considering reading with that sort of thing in mind. 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

This is my favorite mystery novel of all time. It basically invented the unreliable narrator trope, though, saying that is kind of a spoiler to the novel so I won’t say anything further. Edgar Allan Poe may have invented the mystery genre, and Sherlock Holmes may have popularized it, but Agatha Christie made it swaggy. 

The Decagon House Murders Ayatsuji Yukito

I have to bring up this author if I bring up Agatha Christie, because their debut work was written as a response to AND THEN THERE WRE NONE (please google the original title I don’t want to talk about it) and if you’re not comfortable with Agatha Christie’s works for reasons, they are a very smart and modern take on tropes that were popularized by Christie. They’re a part of the Shinhonkaku school of detective fiction, or Neo Orthodox which is basically a throwback to the classics. 

Goth by Otsuichi

Another one of my favorite japanese Horror authors, I reccomend Goth along with Black Fairy Tale, they are both horror pieces that focus on the characters and their struggles instead of gore which really creates an effective horror as you sympathize and despirately wish for the survival of the main cast. Also, this is a dumb observation, but Goth’s ideas are very.... gothic in nature. 

Literally anything by Shirley Jackson

All of her novel length works are worth reading, I’ve read them multiple times. The haunting of Hill House is famous, but I’d amost reccomend less well known ones like Hangsman or We Have Always Lived in the Castle, because they use Shirley Jackson’s trademark surrealism to illustrate their points so clearly despite not being straightforward horror like haunting of Hill House is. 

Okay, I can’t remember any more books I like, I hope that’s a long enough list to satiate your tastes. 

[dangermousie]

Hello !

I was wondering whether you could rate and tell us of your top 5 favourite webnovels/cnovels of all time ?! (Sorry if this has already been answered lol😅)

Thank you, stay safe and have a nice day🖤

Awww, thank you and that is such a lovely ask!!!

From n1 to n5, here they are (they happen to be all danmei.)

1. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha) - my n1 forever and ever.

Taxian Jun, the horrific cultivation emperor of the world who razed cities and destroyed sects, is surrounded on his mountain. The righteous sects are terrified to confront him but tired of living, Taxian Jun consumes poison and dies by suicide at the age of 32. And opens his eyes as 16 year old Mo Ran, Mo Ran long before he became Taxian Jun, Mo Ran who is excited at a chance to save the one person he loved and lost. Oh, and to deal with his loathed shizun, the unapproachable and strict Chu Wanning, his past life’s biggest enemy.

I have no idea if it’s objectively the best on this list but it hits every trope I love, its bleak worldview (the world will change only incrementally but that’s enough, average person will not appreciate the sacrifice but it’s still worthwhile, and love is worth everything) mirrors mine, and the sheer complexity of the plot and cascade of plot twists each of which is insane and yet completely logical, is amazing (this is a rare novel where it’s even more fun to reread than read for the first time because you keep seeing all the hints and trail crumbs laid out that you did not see the first time.)

And the characters!!! I mean, this novel has multiple universes/timelines, a side trip to the Underworld AND the demon realm, a plot more twisted than a store’s worth of pretzels and yet the thing that hits me the most are the characters. Mo Ran is my favorite web novel character of all time and I love Chu Wanning so. All the secondary characters are wonderfully written (and some of them made me bawl) and they are all complex. My opinion of all of them changed many times over; the novel doesn’t make it easy to love some of them but then you do and it’s so worthwhile! That slow change is one of the delights of the novel - I started out disliking the unpleasant, superior Chu Wanning and cruel, callow Mo Ran and then I loved them so so hard and cried for them so so hard and was in awe of their heroism and sacrifice and selflessness and capacity to love.

Oh, and the fact that this novel does something almost impossible - it has its protagonist start out as so clearly irredeemable and then slowly and painfully and thoroughly redeems him (without ever letting the reader forget what it is he needs redemption for.)

Also, for a novel that made me cry so hard I felt ill, this book is just so damn funny with the most sarcastic sense of humor imaginable (the serious angst doesn’t even kick in until 90+ chapters!)

Anyway I should stop or I will write a dissertation. But this is the one web novel that I would put in my top 5 not just web novels but any novels in any shape or form. The plentiful trigger warnings are there for a reason so stay away if they are an issue, but if not, if anyone hasn’t read it yet, what are you doing with your life?!

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - another novel by the author of 2ha. Clearly she just pushes all my buttons every time. This one is much shorter and has a plot that is twisty but less twisty than 2ha. Still, all that means is that intensity and the pain are more concentrated.

Aristocratic Mo Xi and former slave Gu Mang were both legendary generals of the empire and lovers. But Gu Mang betrayed the country and switched to the enemy. Now he is back as a peace offering by that country and Mo Xi has to deal with the fact that his feelings are as strong as ever.

This novel!!! So much pain and intensity!!! So many amazing plot twists and supporting characters. The same bleak world view, the same unjust society, the same protagonists doing right things despite the cost. Mo Xi’s intensity and inability to let go (he’s imprinted on Gu Mang and that’s it) is romantic, bone-shakingly intense, and tragic all at once. And oh Gu Mang! So many times I just wanted to reach into the book physically to protect him. The novel deals with unjust societies, memory versus personality, what it’s like to be good in a bad universe etc. And it both made me sob and giggle, repeatedly, and sold me on literally death-defying (but not honor-defying!) love.

Oh, and special shout out to the fact that like 2ha, you may start out hating some characters and end up a rabid fangirl (cough Murong Lian!)

3. Qiang Jin Jiu - a dense political tome that takes a while to get going but then it’s a runaway train.

In a fictional dynasty, Shen Zechuan, the only remaining son of a disgraced aristocratic family and Xiao Chiye, the younger son of a family of generals guarding the border join forces (and then something else) to get power and pull down the dysfunctional system.

This is so elegant and smart (a rare web novel I’d recommend to anyone who just loves solid period fiction) and you probably need a notebook to keep track of the politics and military strategy. These characters are very very smart not just because the author says so.

As to the characters, there is a large cast and I love many of them, but for me the novel is made by Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye. SZC is gorgeous and delicate and icy and can kill you before you have time to blink. Saddled with the sins of the family he had no pleasant interaction with, he claws his way out of hell (seeing the sinkhole he was trapped in, literally as well) to take down those who wronged him but also to amass power so all the tragedy and corruption won’t happen again and the whole rotten system comes crashing down. XCY is a military genius who is trapped as a hostage in the capital because the court doesn’t trust his family. He longs to return to the plains of home and to take his rightful place. The two men start out as bitter enemies, then reluctant and sniping allies, then as friends and eventually as one of the most gorgeous, tender, swoony OTPs.

Anyway this is one is a bona fide masterpiece, equal parts smart and emotionally intense.

4. Wu Chang Jie - are you an emotional vampire? I am and this novel is a banquet.

In a highly fantastical setting, we meet our protagonists - the sunny Xie Bian and the intense and surly Fan Wushe. Xie Bian is a human who assists his master in conveying souls to the underworld and making sure no mishaps happen. Bian is concentrated sunshine in human form and to meet him is to love him. When the novel opens, his drunk master brings back another human to be his shidi and assist with duties - said human is uncommunicative, intense and surly Wushe. Bian is excited to have a shidi but little does he know that a story dealing with the horrors of past lifetime is about to start.

Anyway, why WCJ? So many reasons. It has such a dark bleak worldview - this world is a horrifying system where powerful cannibalize each other’s cores for an impossible chance to ascend, where gods have sealed off their realm and all that’s left is neverending human misery and hell (the only way you’d see a deity is if they’d been sent down to suffer over and over and over), where even reincarnation doesn’t fix things and bad acts are often unpunished. And the novel then asks - is it worth being a good person in such a world? More, is it worth being a good person in such a world when nothing good has ever happened to you and you have been repeatedly betrayed due to your goodness? And the answer, on Bian’s part, is an uncompromising yes.

Ah yes, the other reason to love this novel - the protagonists and their fucked up fucked up relationship. Bian (who was Prince Ziheng in the past life) is so genuinely good. But he is that rare thing - good but not saintly, noble but not cloying. So much of the novel is his getting taken apart over and over and barely able to put himself back together every time but his soul is still as amazing as ever.

And then there is Wushe (who was Prince Zixiao in past life, Ziheng’s not-bio-related brother.) Wushe is not a good person. He is a monster. And he loves Bian/Ziheng more than his life and his soul and the entire world but he’s also the one who hurt him more than anyone else ever could and did it over and over. His love survived a literal century of torture in the worst kind of hell and refused the usual memory loss of new life. But it also humiliated and broke Ziheng down to his constituent parts.

One of the things that is so fascinating to me about this novel is the question of what can be forgiven/what should be forgiven/what kind of expiation is enough/can you ever love someone who you loved so much and then he hurt you so badly and is now repentant? And it never sweeps trauma under the rug or hand waves it away but deals with it head on.

If you want healthy relationships, you should stay far away from this novel but if intense insane ones with a feral barely human one capable of destroying the world leashed by love and guilt to the sane deeply good one is your bag, come right in.

There is also the world building and the fact that yes, the big fall out between Ziheng x Zixiao is based on not knowing all the facts but it’s not “why can’t you talk?! This is dumb!” But is totally in keeping with both events and their characters. It’s reasonable for Ziheng to do what he does and for Zixiao to misunderstand and decide Ziheng is now his biggest enemy (but still one he’s fixated on) and for Ziheng to never be able to clarify.

Anyway, once again this is trigger warning central so please heed those, but if they are no issue, this one is wonderful.

5. OK, this is hard and switches between Sha Po Lang, Heaven Official’s Blessing and The Golden Stage depending on my mood. So what the hell, I am gonna write about all of them.

Sha Po Lang - so smart and so much clever world building. There is enough politicking to satisfy a Qiang Jin Jiu fan, it’s steampunk, and our two protagonists - Gu Yun, the empire’s most powerful general, who’s loyal to the empire despite being badly wronged by it, and Chang Geng, a cursed prince with barbarian blood and horrifying childhood - are wonderful separately and together. This is a huge slow burn but it’s totally worth it! They fall in love with each other’s hearts and brains and ability as much as anything. (Yes, this is the one with the yifu thing. Gu Yun is made Chang Geng’s foster father when he rescues him and brings him back to the capital as a way to keep CG safe in imperial strife. They are 12 and 19 at the time so clearly it’s never a parental relationship.)

Heaven Official’s Blessing (TCGF) - I love it’s sprawling narrative and cast, I love its inventive setting and picaresque story. It’s hilarious and can make me cry. But the novel’s place on this list is due to Xie Lian who is part Kenshin part drama WWX part pure goodness wrapped in heartbreak and trauma wrapped in sunshine.

The Golden Stage - two smart and principled (yes, they both have principles different though they may be) men navigate their arranged marriage, their past friendship and their past break up, become a super couple (one of the healthiest danmei couples I’ve ever read and proves healthy doesn’t have to be boring), save the country and bring down the emperor or two and just generally this is my rainy day book.

I guess I didn’t write as much for the three n5 candidates as I did for 1-4 but my brain is beginning to curdle so...

[olivieblake]

hi alexene! coming in as anon because you’re probably tired of me clogging your mentions every elsewhere <3

just wanted to nonchalantly (narrator: ha! she says, lying.) express how much i love and appreciate all that you’ve written (that i’ve read) (i’m working on it; you’ve written a lot) (i’m glad i’m not running out anytime soon too) and each mean so, so much to me in very, very different ways.

the atlas six is one of my all-time favorites for reasons this lifetime simply won’t be enough for me to count them all (reina and tristan are my faves but i love every single character that they keep switching ranks)

alone with you in the ether is the kind of book i never thought i’d adore and relate to this deeply with all that it was and it means the absolute world to me (charlotte regan and rinaldo damiani are my best friends they’re everything to me i want to give them hugs and third-wheel them at the art museum)

masters of death has one of the most chaotic and lovable ensemble of characters that will stay with me for a very long time (mayra and callix may be my faves but don’t tell the others i said that… no but really, i love them all it’s actually insane but i shouldn’t expect less because i love all characters crafted by you)

and these three have one (not really but let’s say that for the sake of dramatics) thing in common: they’re all written by you.

you have absolutely quickly become my #1 favorite author and. not to be that person but. that means a lot to me. i mean this in the humblest way possible, i’ve read a lot of books and admire a lot of authors but i realize none come close to you. your writing and craft just collects some elements that are closest to my poor fragile heart and i couldn’t ask more of in novels. the 3 single books i’ve read are all unique, have nothing to do with each other, each different from the other—and they all singlehandedly stole my heart.

i’m so glad (and incredibly lucky) to have stumbled upon your books when i needed them. they (weirdly, but very conveniently) came to me in appropriate times when i needed them most. does that make any sense? especially regan and aldo; i needed them a lot and, again, and forever, i admire what you did in that book and that story and these characters. they really have, like all of your characters in ta6 and mod too, squeezed themselves into the crevices of my heart and i am so, so grateful for their existence. thank you for that.

(narrator: if this is nonchalance, no one wants to see the chalance.)

this has been too long indeed but. i realize this “ask” has no ask for you to answer so i’ll add this: which book of yours do you recommend i read next? i already have my eyes on one for my enemy because that really looks like my cuppa tea, but i’d love to get your rec! also, what’s a book that is not by you but similar to your books in any aspect (or not, necessarily, just your favorite or a book you loved maybe) that you’d recommend me?

sending love to you always and to mr & baby blake !!! <3

fyi, I ALWAYS, without exception, prefer usernames to anon asks. I would always rather have a conversation with a person than the faceless abyss, so please don't feel the need to conceal yourself! you're never bothering me as yourself, I promise. anyway

this is so kind and I'm really so happy to hear it, especially considering how different these three books are! it's kind of crazy to think they could all be satisfying given their differences but I really do appreciate this. I would say One For My Enemy is the next choice, especially if you're already eyeing it, and for books that feel like me but are not by me? I think the top of the list would be White Teeth by zadie smith (mostly in terms of tone/humor) or any of cat sebastian's historical romances (again, her humor) and Gideon the Ninth is funnier than I am capable of being probably but I think if you enjoy my work, you probably enjoy that as well. I mostly like weird books? and think of myself as a purveyor of somewhat weird books (Masters of Death is certainly quite odd) and some of the things I enjoy in that category are Her Fearful Symmetry by audrey niffenegger (a weird ghost story) or Anxious People by fredrik backman (a weird not-crime novel) or My Sister, the Serial Killer (a weird, satirical thriller). oh, and Catherine House, which is kind of weird dark academia, though again, bear in mind that I enjoy difficult protagonists

anyway I have to go because my baby needs to eat (again) but thank you so much for reading my stories!! I love being in ur brain, thank u for letting me live there I appreciate it greatly

[anime-lover-forever-1127]

A Woman With Vision {Arthur Leywin} - 20. Beast Glades

Beast Glades

*****

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Beginning After The End", it belongs to its original creator TurtleMe. This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited. I get much of the text, especially the fight scenes and thought, aside from my oc's, from the original novel, which can be found on Library Novel. Please support the official release.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

If you're gonna use my idea, please ask me (If you ask nicely, I for sure, will agree). If I don't contact you within a week, then just assume I'm giving you the all clear and go for it. Just remember to credit me.

I will be writing out scenes even if my Oc isn't in them. As long as she's mentioned, or influencing the characters in some way. This may seem a bit annoying. But that's just how I write. I like to embed my characters into the story line. Because of this, most of the dialogue/scenes will come from the original work.

Playlist

For the playlist you can go to my YouTube channel, which is under "Anime-lover-forever-1127" and click on the playlist titled "A Woman With Vision {Arthur Laywin}". Or you can use this link watch?v=GYlAaNM7WS8&list=PLVKYkztH1Zd8bdl2_a1C8F6u8gPPwfa6D&ab_channel=7clouds 

Warnings: Spoilers for Chapter 30 and chapter 54 of the comic

*****

Today's Special

No one tells you that the hardest part of MOTHERHOOD is when your kids grow up

~ sitiraihana

*****

{Morgana P.O.V.}

Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolted from the scenery. The City of Xyrus had the most teleportation gates among the cities since they were the only way one could enter it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.

The chirps of birds, occasional cries and roars of beasts, and the constant sound of water flowing filling the background all created an enticing symphony of nature. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills covered in various plants and shrubs made it hard to believe that this beautiful landscape was filled with magical beasts capable of killing even the strongest mages. However, because of abundances of natural resources on the outskirts, it was mostly only the lower rank beasts that inhabited this deeper an adventurer traversed, the more mysterious and treacherous the landscape turned, filled with the lairs of powerful beasts that have amassed their treasures and power in the solitude's of unexplored regions in the Beast Glades.

I took a sip of the crisp air as Jasmine and Arthur arrived behind me through the teleportation gate when, suddenly, I heard a wish, and from the corner of my eyes I saw Sylvie scurry off.

"Wait, Sylv! Where are you going?" Arthur called after her, dumbfounded.

Sylvie transmitted a vague response; I could feel her emotions of excitement as she sent out thoughts about her plans to train as well.

"Did she just?" I asked, pointing at the direction my baby just ran off to.

"Yep, she just ran away from home." He answered weekly, his tone going a little high.

"Oh, Arthur." I sighed, pulling him close and giving him a shoulder hug. I had only known Sylvie for a couple of months, and I felt as if something was missing without her here.

But she was Arthur's bond, and had never left him since the day she had hatched. I could only imagine how big the hole in his heart must feel.

"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked. "We could take a break."

Arthur shook his head, "We just got here. Plus, I'm only a little…" He struggled, unsure of what world to use, "...uneasy. But… I can sense her whereabouts. So it should be fine."

"You can sense her whereabouts?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, "Wait! You can't?"

I shook my head.

"Close your eyes, and try searching for her aura."

I did what he had said. I could see the mana floating around me, but no Sylvie. I opened my eyes, "Nothing. No trace of her. Maybe we're not just there yet."

Sylvie had explained to me that the longer me and Arthur were with each other, the stronger our mate bond would become. And the stronger it becomes, the easier it would be for me to create an adopted bond with Sylvie. Of course that would only be possible after spending time with her. And if I ever got a bond, it would be the same with Arthur. He would form a bond, through me, until he had a second, slightly weaker bond, with my own, on his own.

So because of that, until my bond with Sylvie was complete, I would be using Arthur's bond, to support my own developing one with her.

Now it was Arthur's turn to give me a sympathetic and reassuring hug. "It's fine mama bear."

"You're right." I nodded, "Knowing you can still

"She'll be okay. Mana beasts have a natural instinct to grow stronger. She must've felt very suffocated being in a sheltered environment all of her life," Jasmine pips up , walking next to Arthur.

"I know." I nod, "But that honestly doesn't make it hurt any less."

Jasmine lets out a chuckle, "It's like your her mother."

"She is" - "I am"

Arthur and I answer at the same time.

Jasmine stops a bit, staring at us long and hard, before smiling, "I think I get what your parents meant now. Well, to each their own."

Both me and Arthur smile at that. She really is a great woman.

Putting her hand on our shoulder, she signalled for us to start moving. "There's a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night."

Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolted off into the distance, her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.

I followed after her, forming two gales of wind below my feet as I dashed after her, Arthur doing the same, followed.

Everyone in a while, Arthur would give me an update on Sylvie.

"I just hope that she doesn't go after bigger beasts until she's ready." I sigh.

"Don't worry. She knows she has us if she ever gets in over her head. She knows she can always ask us for help." Arthur says, petting my head.

*****

The journey lasted a few hours and it began to grow dark. The only reason Arthur and I had been able to keep up with Jasmine, even when she was at a dark yellow stage, was Arthur had been using mana rotation throughout the way, and I had controlled mine to only use the bare minimum amount mana needed to create a controlled, constant amount of wind. This skill had become almost second nature to me now as I utilised it unconsciously whenever I exerted mana.

By late evening, we had cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with a stream of clear water flowing through it.

"We'll camp out here for a few days," Jasmine announced as she set down her bag and took out a couple of items.

"Weren't we going to a dungeon right away?" Arthur asked, setting down his bag as well.

She simply shook her head, picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.

Well Arthur and I went into the forest, finding some decent-sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we had a fire crackling and popping in the middle of our camp. Making myself comfortable, I leaned against Arthur who had removed his mask and sat silently by Jasmine, next to the fire.

Trying to break the silence, Arthur asked Jasmine, "What made you want to become an adventurer?"

"…"

Her gaze never left the fire and after a few minutes of more awkward silence, I just stared back at the flame, assuming she didn't want to answer.

"I wanted to get away from my family." I almost missed what she said from how quietly she spoke amidst the wood of the fire snapping fiercely.

"I see… were you on bad terms with your family?" Arthur responded, his eyes focused on the fire.

I choose to just listen to their conversation.

"…"

"The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against the elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both conjurers and augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element was second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements," she stated monotonously.

Despite her short sentences, this had been the most Jasmine had talked in one sitting.

"But Jasmine, aren't you a…" Arthur asked, looking up at her as she nodded in response.

"Since early on, when I had first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they could see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels." She took a pause and poked at the fire before continuing on. "When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for the fire attribute, my family regarded me as lesser."

"…"

Arthur didn't know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed…vulnerable.

"I'm sorry for what happened…" was the only response Arthur managed to utter.

But so much for staying silent, I stood up to my knees and crawled over to Jasmine until I was face to face with her. Looking her directly in the eyes, I told her firmly. "Your family is wrong… and crazy." Her eyes went wide at my statement. "Wind magic is probably stronger than fire when you get down to it! All your family is, is a walking matchstick. All they can do is shoot out flames, a pillar if they're really getting creative. But with wind magic… we can create tornadoes, fly, move objects across a room. I mean it was because of wind magic we covered a distance that would have taken us days, in mere hours. Do I really have to say more?"

Jasmine's eyes widened and she shook her head, she gave me a faint smile. "The Twin Horns have treated me well and I don't dislike what I am."

I smiled, "I know that. I can tell it on your face whenever you're with your party, that you're clearly happy. But I'm just letting you know that your family is wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but theirs… is just plain stupid."

I glanced at her palm as Jasmine formed a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she peered at her hand.

This world was a place of discrimination and classification. The hierarchical roots embedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages, augmenters were discriminated against by conjurers. It went further than that where, unless one was a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered "higher class" than others.

Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a dark yellow augmenter skilled in fighting and mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself lesser.

We placed more wood to last through the coldest parts of the night and laid out our sleeping bags a few feet away so we could still feel the heat.

As we got ready to go to sleep, Arthur leaned into my ear and whispered, "I know subtlety isn't really your strong suit. It never has been."

I sent him a glare, "This better be building into a compliment."

He sent me a smile, "Well, more of a request. But I'm not shy to add one in there. Anyway, if we ever meet with nobility… and royalty again - assuming you haven't scared them enough yet. Could you at least try to hold it in. Until we least have a chance at beating them."

I huffed, "Speak for yourself. I already have my network ready. Of course it really isn't anything that great yet, but it has potential. The seeds are planted, and ready to sprout like a butterfly bush at a moment's notice." I winked at him.

He stared at me confused, "Who would-"

I cut him off, "Finishing school is quite boring when you've actually played the high society game. But, when it comes to making connections with little girls eager for your approval, there's nothing like it. As for informats, they're easy to buy. Mom and dad's allowance has always been generous, and I know exactly how to put it to good use." I smirked as I thought of the various amounts of blackmail I had collected for various families.

Arthur stared at me, wide eyed. "Damn, why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, "I thought you knew me?"

"I do!" He defended himself. "But I may have accidentally underestimated you. I thought your network may take you another two to three years. Sorry. Never again."

I smiled into the fire, "Well… If I'm being honest. It's nowhere near as good as my old one. But it's better than nothing. Information is the name of the game. And plus, every now and then, I do find a few pieces of gold." I said, remembering the little golden nugget of information I'd collected on a certain elf princess. I don't wanna be mean, but if she pushes my hand...

My eyebrows furrowed as I remembered, "Where's my compliment?" I pouted.

Arthur chuckled, "What you said to Jasmine, was truly amazing."

"Of course it was." I said, smiling and accepting the compliment. I ran my fingers through his hair, and added, "Though, we really do need to work on your elements. You need to do so much more than just creating pillars of fire." I felt a sweat drop roll down the side of his neck as I began making plans. "I've made a lot of progress with my wind, though I definitely need to work on my water. Before we start school, I would like to start working with ice a little bit. Though I'm not sure how much I could exactly get done between practising wind, and working on water, and relearning the sword." I pouted, eyeing the blue blade Arthur wouldn't let me touch unless he knew for a fact I wouldn't drop it on myself.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't really blame him for it. Considering he never lets me forget it, I know for a fact he remembers how bad my first sword training lesson went. And to be honest, as fun as it would be to swing it around again, I don't wanna know how well it would work out with my current build. It was too big for my current body. So until I grew a bit, I'd have to use a practice sword.

Eyes closed, I waited to drift off when I heard Jasmine mumble something.

"…It's weird. When I talk to you two, it doesn't feel like I'm talking to children."

I didn't respond. Pretending to be asleep, I hoped she wouldn't push further for a reply.

*****

"Good morning." Jasmine was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag.

My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes being grilled on the fire.

"Good morning! You should've woken me up, Jasmine. There's no need for you to do all of the chores on your own."

I turned my head to see Arthur rubbing his eyes.

"…I tried waking both of you up… But you wouldn't budge." Her half-closed eyes that give off an apathetic stare regarded us with concern. "If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for corpses."

"Haha…" Arthur let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I really need to fix that."

"You and me both." I nodded. I usually woke up early on my own. But if I didn't, then nobody could wake me up.

After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash myself and my clothes.

Arthur put on his mask and swords, well I wrapped my cloak around my shoulder, and placed my contents lenses in, assuming we'd go hunting for some mana beasts around the area, when Jasmine stopped me.

"Your opponent for these few days will be me."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but be surprised at the turn of events. We came all the way here to spar?

"This area is close to the dungeon we will be exploring, but for these days, I want you to focus on fighting me. I noticed that your fighting style seems… awkward at times. Like, you know it in your head, but your body doesn't listen to you… or something like that." She told Arthur and then turned to me, "You have your control down. But you need to focus on increasing your mana amount. We can stay in a dungeon for days at a time. So you're going to need to work on that."

Unsheathing her two daggers, she pointed one at me, continuing, "We won't use any kind of mana for these next few days while sparring."

I hadn't expected Jasmine to catch on to what I had been worried about, but it was a good opportunity.

"Good idea," Arthur replied, unsheathing his short sword.

I sat down on the grass, getting ready to meditate.

{Arthur's P.O.V.}

"Use your other sword…" Jasmine's eyes flickered toward Dawn's Ballad.

"How did you know this was a sword?" I wasn't planning on hiding my weapon from her but I was still caught off guard.

"Knowing you, that black stick should be something more than just a cane or a practice stick," she shrugged, walking a few steps closer to me.

Giving her a confirming nod, I tossed the short sword to Morgana, who caught it with her eyes closed. From my position, I could see the mana around us, begin to gather towards her.

As the sword soundlessly glided out from its scabbard, the translucent blade glowed a light teal as it reflected the sun's strong rays.

Holding it out in front me, I positioned myself. "Ready when you are."

"Y-Yeah," Jasmine stuttered as her eyes remained glued to Dawn's Ballad.

We dulled the edges of our weapons using mana before beginning. Without mana strengthening my body, I realised just how much I had been neglecting myself. After a few swings, my arms felt heavy and my legs trembled as they pushed feebly off the ground.

This was my mistake. I knew of the limits that my juvenile body had, but instead of trying to fix my shortcomings, I chose only to mask it using mana.

While magic in this world was capable of many things, it should be only used as a supplement to your abilities, not a replacement to cover them.

I lunged out with a sharp thrust aimed at Jasmine's sternum. Even though our swords were coated to prevent fatal injuries, it would still leave bruises and even broken bones if taken lightly; this made the sparring experience much more intense and real.

Jasmine swung her two daggers down in an outward arc, parrying my lunge and knocking the blade of my sword into the ground.

I brought my rear foot forward to maintain balance as my teal blade sunk into the ground below her. However, by that time, Jasmine had already brought her daggers back into position to follow up with a quick, downward slash.

Prying out my sword, I immediately pivoted my body to the side to avoid the overhead slash. As her daggers grazed harmlessly past my loose shirt, I kicked her arm away and stepped away into a more comfortable distance.

My arms were burning from the quick, consecutive movements as I positioned my sword in a defensive stance.

"It's my win," Jasmine said, sheathing her two daggers deftly into their scabbards attached to her thighs.

"You're right," I laughed as I dropped Dawn's Ballad on the ground. We had sparred for a little less than five minutes but my arms and legs screamed in protest from overuse. Massaging my forearms, I picked my blade back up and slid it back into its black sheath.

The duel had ended with me with the upper hand, but I didn't have the strength to proceed. It was my loss.

"Hey Jasmine, I think I'm going to need more than a couple of days to work this out," I confessed with a chuckle.

Her lips curled up slightly as she nodded in agreement.

I had three years before I'd attend Xyrus Academy. During my time at school, I would have plenty of chances to focus on studying mana.

I knew what my priorities were at this time.

Making a rough calculation in my head, I held up two fingers. "Two years, Jasmine. I'll dedicate two years to getting my body truly adjusted to sword-fighting without relying on mana."

"That's it?" she said, surprised.

"Just watch," I smirked.

*****

A Butterfly bush is a really fast growing plant. I could have used weeds, but referring to an information network as weeds, doesn't sound nearly as nice.

Also, finishing school only takes about 6 weeks. So I didn't have to worry about that.

I get the whole bond system is a little confusing, especially with me throwing in mate bonds and secondary bonds. So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Because I do have plans to keep using and referencing the bonds - so it would be easier for you guys and less confusing, if you know what's actually happening. (Or if your just here for the romance - I guess you can sort of skip it - though again - their is the mate bond)

I feel like I should give you guys a heads up, that the next chapter is going to likely be on the shorter side (and the two after that as well). But man will it leave a huge impact on you guys. I'm actually willing to bet the title of the next chapter alone would be worth the hype (and the happiness and excitement you would get from four pages - why four you asks, one page for each word in the title.)

In fact, here's a little teaser (Feel free to try and guess what may be happening, and the contents of the paper):

Next Time~

Morgana untied the bright red ribbon and uncurled the scroll.

Her eyes widened as they flew over the contents of the paper, before tears began streaming down her cheeks.

[trilies]

an argument for AO3

So I’m in a conversation with someone who is kind of in the “against AO3″ camp, and they asked me a couple of questions. Namely, who wouldn’t be uncomfortable with pedophilia? Isn’t it sketchy that a beta website is asking for so much money despite reaching its goals?

And my answer became so long... I figured it might as well become its own post. Please bear in mind that this is cut from a whole conversation.

But here it is.

------

No. It doesn't seem sketchy to me at all. Why would it? I know we make jokes about how much money tumblr has cost the various sites which purchase it like Yahoo, but there's some truth there: it's really expensive to host a website to thousands and thousands of people. It's why we see so many tumblr owners trying to shoehorn in ads or make people buy services, or why Photobucket tried to pull that truly atrocious bullshit a year or two back. Without image hosting capabilities (tumblr and photobucket's big thing), the strain isn't as huge.... but AO3 is MASSIVE. It is hosting literally thousands of accounts, millions of stories. That's massive on a server scale alone, ignoring all the other work they do. Yeah, it's in beta... but that's because it's trying to reach a goal of being as good a fanfic archive as they can be, and they don't believe they've reached that goal yet. Being in beta means they can better listen to their uses on shit like tagging systems and make those changes. Not to mention, again, they are INCREDIBLY transparent. If you are worried about where the money is going, you can go on the site and they have all their stuff up there.

As for the pedophilia subject matter.... Please give me a moment. because there's honestly a lot to say on that particular issue, if nothing else. This will take a while, so if you see this and there hasn't been a reply yet.... I'm still typing lmao.

To start with, of course people are uncomfortable about pedophilia. However, there are a lot of problems with how pedophilia is viewed or *used* as an accusation in the current fandom climate.

For example, in honestly EXTREMELY recent times, I was told I was "defending" pedophilia because I disagreed that a character (an immortal food gijinka) was "minor-coded" or "designed as an underage teenager". (As a note, an argument for this view was that the character's breasts were too small.) When I pointed out, hey, that's kind of a fucked up accusation to throw at a complete stranger, especially as I am a CSA survivor, I was told "You have to be lying about that, then, because a real CSA survivor would understand."

c o o l

That's just my personal experience that happened within a couple of months. Other people have talked about running into people who think that a character turning 18 means they're a pedophile for still dating a 17 year old. Or running into people who think a 40 year old dating someone in their 30s is pedophilic. Or believe that even SHIPPING characters who were not yet 18 was pedophilic if you yourself were over 18.

(Of course, you also have the kinds of people who try to use Moral Purity as a way to bash ships they don't like. I once saw someone try to claim that a popular mlm ship, A/B, was pedophilic because one half of the equation looked young.... when some other artists drew him... Of course, on the side, this person liked to also get angry that *their* favorite ship, a dude/chick ship composing of A/C, wasn't more popular. So. You know.)

So that's one half of the problem: the word "pedophile" being so warped that a lot of people now have no idea if the person using it has a genuine concern or if the accuser is trying to smear someone who doesn't ship the same thing. FFnet and Tumblr have gone with the "burn it all down" approach, which hasn't actually helped anyone and is, to boot, sloppily moderated. So we know from history, from experience in cases like mine, that it doesn't help in that area.

The other half of the problem is... How far is too far?

This is where "anti" culture begins to find similarities with the whole Warriors for Innocence thing. If you completely and blindly block an entire tag, or anyone associated with it, you have to ask: who are you hurting? Warriors for Innocence hurt actual rape victim, and queer folk, and a whole lot of others. Far as I can tell, anti culture is on the route to the same thing, because I have yet to see appropriate answers to a lot of issues.

If one says "anything with underage sex in it is bad and should be banned", what about fics that tackle it in a serious manner? The young adult novel "Speak" deals with rape of an underage girl and how she works through that mental trauma; are fics with stories equivalent to that allowed? Do fics with underage sex have to focus purely on how it is Horrible And Bad to be allowed? Does only a chapter have to be allowed? A paragraph? An author's note? A tag? Or are we allowed to never explore dark subject matter?

Is fic with underage content in it only horrible if it's someone over the age of eighteen who writes it? Can a teenager write smut (terribly written as it may likely be) between teenage characters? Can a teenager write smut between a teenage character and an adult character? For the record, i did in fact, over the summer, run into someone who said that teens/minors "shouldn't even know about NSFW", which is asinine to me, because Abstinence Only is a terrible thing to put in schools, and somehow worse in a way when you try to put that into effect in fandom. If the answer is 'yes', what are you going to do, demand to see people's birth certificates in fandom?

(As a note, I think this is a terrible message to put into fandom for teenagers because I believe it will inevitably lead to self hatred and a warped view of sex. If you make the extremely simplified black-and-white statement of "teens and sex should never go together ever in any way", that's going to mess up teens who are starting to experience arousal in their bodies. The message, whether intended or not, ends up as "NSFW things are bad, which means my brain which thought NSFW thoughts is bad, and my brain thought those thoughts because my body had these feelings". )

(This is bad for any average teenager. This will be especially worse to CSA and rape victims, along with queer youth who, in a lot of places, are still struggling with their bodies and/or feelings because the world is still pretty damn queerphobic.)

Speaking of CSA and rape victims, what about those of them who write/read underage ships or dark content as a way to cope with what happened or Just Because? That's a thing lots of us do, especially those of us who don't look like the Perfect Victims people can use as an excuse for whatever crusade they're waging. I've heard anti types go "Well, it's an unhealthy way to cope" or claims that CSA/rape victims who write such dark content are "just as bad as their abusers"... But are they psychiatrists/therapists? Are they the psychiatrists/therapists of *those specific people*? Will you moderate this kind of content by forcefully interrogating CSA/rape victims to out their trauma to a complete stranger? Will you demand to speak to their therapists? Over fanfic?

When I was a teenager, I wrote all sorts of stuff. I wrote dark dub-con fic, because I liked to explore those dark feelings in the process and the aftermath separate from myself. I wrote a fic with a fairly young teenage girl (what age was kh2 kairi? who even knows, I sure didn't) falling for a MUCH older man built like a brick shit house so that there was never any doubt to him being an adult, even giving him her first kiss, because they were my favorite characters, I wanted both of them to have a moment of happiness (that i promptly ruined but hey), and, *in this fic*, I knew it would be alright. I knew the girl would always be in control, she'd be the one making moves, that the guy was nonthreatening and kind and protect her and work alongside her.

(and then I began the process of killing him off in the next paragraph through him saving her life, but, like. Drama (tm), baby)

This was all good for me. At an age where I was young, vulnerable, and figuring out weird shit like arousal and romantic feelings, it was *invaluable* to have a space where I could explore all of that while relatively safe from actual danger, even if the stuff I wanted to explore was a little messed up. This whole thing against AO3 wouldn't have helped me, and I'm pretty sure it's not helping a lot of other people too.

There is an issue with underage people and sex stuff- not just in fandom but in culture at large. We have Hollywood dressing up young girl actresses in super slinky or revealing clothes. We have schools saying girls basically should never wear shorts, and capitalism fucking this up further by only selling SUPER SHORT shorters. We have media of all sorts giving us adults, whether in real actors or character design, in the roles of young people. (See: "how do you do, fellow kids") We should probably take more care about fandom spaces, so that people of all ages don't feel pressured to engage in sexual shit they're not 100% game for or into, or just have it shoved into their faces without consent. It's a complex issue... and it's not stuff that can just be 'banned' and have that fix it.

AO3 has on its plate a very complex problem that will, if we're all honest, never have a perfect answer. It has given us the best that can possibly be asked for. It obeys the law by not having actual child pornography on it (aka visual proof of actual real children, defined by us law as such), which is closest to "objective" we can get at the current stage in humanity and state of fandom. It has a very comprehensive and moderated tag system, so that people can post warnings along their fic so that people don't stumble onto shit they don't need to, and so that people can moderate their own reading experience to some degree.

If some people aren't comfortable with AO3, that's fine. However, most of us are getting annoyed not with those people, but with the people who just blindly say "AO3 supports child porn and is probably stealing money" (statement simplified for the purpose of this post). It shows an ignorance of the fandom history that lead us here, no understanding in either AO3's practices or how expensive it is to run a site, and no consideration for how complex this problem can really be. It would be great if this was a black and white issue, if there was an easy answer as just "banning" certain kinds of content... but there isn't. And that's where I am.

[storyunrelated]

Candidate for completion - George & The Dragon

George & The Dragon

Most dragons spend their lives, comfortably, happily alone.

Jessica is not like that, because Jessica has George, and Jessica has George because they met when they were both young and they have had years of each other to grow together and George was patient enough and dense enough to just wade through Jessica’s bluntness, until it stopped being blunt and started being warm. 

Had she ever just told him to go away he likely would have, being a nice chap in that way, but she never did, and so he kept coming back. Like a lost dog. And eventually Jessica realised that she liked him coming back and didn’t like those times when he wasn’t there, and that was that.

WHAT

Jessica's name, it should also be pointed out, isn't actually Jessica. Being a dragon she had a suitably grandiose and impressive draconic name, the sort of thing to be bellowed out while stood on a rocky promontory during a thunderstorm.

To properly pronounce it, however, required the kind of vocal architecture that George simply did not possess, and since he'd pointed out that the last part of the name kind of sort of maybe sounded like 'Jessica' - full of sibilance and magnificent hissing sounds - that is what he elected to call her.

And since she had something of a soft spot for the human she allowed him to get away with this.

To put it bluntly, a young man and his friend who is a dragon bum around a vaguely defined setting, hanging out, wasting time, meeting people and talking while the narration waffles on at length about absolute bollocks.

There’s hugging.

And not a whole lot of what you might typically call ‘plot’.

WHO

“Hey, Blossom, how about I ask you a question?” George asked, asking to ask a question by asking a question. Blossom was delighted - trees loved questions, both giving and receiving them.

“Fire away,” they said.

“Where are you right now?” George asked. It had been tugging at his brain, this question.

“Technically speaking I am wherever I am - you’re talking about where most of me is right now, aren’t you?” Blossom asked. They had seen this question coming. It was fairly common.

“Yes?” George said, unsure.

“The tree part, you’re talking about the tree part,” Blossom clarified.

“Yes!” George said, now sure.

There are two main characters. There is George, who is human, and Jessica, who is a dragon. They are friends and have been since they were little. Because of this Jessica is not like most other dragons, who are grumpy loners. She is grumpy and possessive of George and other than him is a loner.

George is cheerful and outgoing and just loves meeting new people, and there are all sorts of people to meet! And he also thinks Jessica could benefit from having even more friends - after all, he’s her friend and look how well that turned out!

Thus. 

Related to these two and following close behind are the other two friends, Capability (aka Billy) who is an elf (specifically a princess, because I like princesses) and Blossom who is a tree. They’re kind of tangential but are still important.

What I am attempting to do with these schlocky fantasy stock characters (and some others, later) is deliver them in a sufficiently idiosyncratic way to make their interactions, well, if not interesting then at least not just standard. A point of this hackneyed setting is that despite everyone operating on a different level everyone just gets along, because.

I don’t just want different-shaped humans. Even if they’re vaguely human shaped, I want the way their lives run to be different enough that their values might not necessarily line up, but everyone gets on anyway, yeah?

So - and this is where it starts getting dicey, at least in my mind - you have characters like Blossom, who is big grove of thinking trees somewhere but who interacts with everyone else by growing a wooden body with flowing hair of flowers that goes off and does all the talking. And, being a tree, is amused and unaffected by such flesh-and-blood concepts of gender because, well, they’re a tree. They also wear nice big fluffy jumpers.

The dicey part in there for me is the gender part. I’ve mentioned before that I’m probably the straightest, whitest, malest person you could ever hope to meet and if I haven’t I’m mentioning it now. I’m likely brimming with prejudices I’m not even aware of and spilling careless words like a drunk spills their drink. But I just want a story where everyone, no matter who they are and how they interact with the world, gets along. And none of it is ever called into question. It just is. People might be curious and ask questions, but only so they know the answer and not continue being wrong, not because they want to start poking holes.

Elves reproduce by spores, fine. Trees love to meet people and don’t really get fucking, fine. Dragons are incredibly myopic about the things they like and if something isn’t a thing they like then they don’t give two shits, fine. Humans are everywhere for a very specific reason but no-one makes a deal out of it, fine. Everyone gets along anyway, and all is well in the world. What’s for dinner?

I’m doing a bad job of explaining this...

WHERE

The past is - not was, is - full of monsters, it’s true, and the intention is to try and ensure that the future isn’t. You can’t ever be rid of monsters, of course. That’s not how it works. But you can certainly do your best to keep them to a minimum and ensure that those times they do pop up (and they will pop up) the damage they inflict is limited.

To actually bash George & The Dragon into something with a beginning, a middle and an end I’d need a plot to lash the whole thing around, some structure. Right? Right.

The story as it is right now - such as it is - is just chunks strung together, vaguely detailing George and Jessica going on a small holiday together to some town, eating steak, meeting Blossom, meeting Billy and generally just...

...hanging out.

And she manhandles him because she’s a whacking great dragon and dragons have difficult dealing with others and certainly have no real concept of friendship and yet she does and it’s all confusing and oh aren’t they just lovely together blah blah blah. Self-indulgent. I like this kind of shit.

Which is the whole point of the thing, for me, but lacks any actual drive or goal or anything. It’s just fluff. Which was the point, for me. But to have a hook on which to hang the fluff - something people sometimes desire - I’d need something else.

There’s vague ideas later in the story for George’s uncle Bob (who vanished in a magic-related accident years ago) to pop back. He’ll be fine, of course, as this story is about people being fine, and he’ll then start up a business of going around the world looking at weird crap, for this world I cooked up is meant to be full of weird crap (the ground was mentioned to be missing in some places).

Likewise, the world is also heavily implied (and in some cases outright stated) to have once been much, much worse. As in, everyone used to kill everyone else all the time until one day they all realised it was a huge waste of time and so they stopped. So the world has seen some shit, and is still full of weird stuff from ages past if you go out looking for it.

This leads to things like digging up a magically slumbering human from the old times who is appalled at how peaceful things are now. 

And later they find a door into our world and someone falls through it, and he’s appalled at how peaceful things are. It’s quite explicit.

There’s dragons under the ground, too. Eventually they get super-big and just sink under the ground and turn to stone and sleep forever. That’s what’s going to happen to Jessica, eventually. 

What was I saying?

Oh yeah. And so Jessica and George would then basically have an excuse to go off and see more stuff and meet more people and, uh...

What was I saying?

WHY

“Back in the real world - my world - cream is not what rises to the top, typically. In fact, let’s run with this imagery. Forget cream at all. There is no cream. Never was, never will be. No milk either. It’s just shit. And you might think that, well, it’s just shit on top, if we reach down through that we might find something of value, something hidden. But no. It’s just shit all the way down. Runnier, maybe, less rancid perhaps. But still shit. That’s life. Top to bottom, shit. That’s the people in life, too. People are, without fail, varying level of stupid, ugly and slow. The ratios differ, the ingredients do not. That’s the real world. That’s how things are meant to work. This place is all wrong.”

The point is fluff. The explicit point is fluff. I wrote this initially for my own edification and because I have a huge soft spot ‘Guy and something that is not human have a very close friendship that maybe could be a bit more but doesn’t necessarily have to be’.

Bite me. We all have our vices.

So that’s the point. It’s mainly about these two people who like each other hanging around and doing stuff. Eating steak, swimming in a lido, random crap like that. One of them is a dragon and can turn into a duck because dragons can change shape, why not. Just two people, having a good time.

The other point is, uh, trying to just navel-gaze about a more pleasant place. Wish-fulfillment? Escapism? Something like that.

A lot of what I write here (and you may have noticed this) tends to be a bit miserable, a bit maudlin, a bit nihilistic, maybe. Run For It!, for example, is just misery after misery after misery, that’s just how it is. 

But sometimes I just want to write about getting hugged by a dragon, alright! In a world where that’s seen as cutely novel! And your other friend is a tree! And they pull their finger off and give it to you and you plant it and grow another one of them! And your other other friend is an elf princess who has wings and who looks out for all the non-princess elves in town because that’s just what she does! And you all go out and eat ice cream!

What was I saying?

WELL

Normal is not a stick to beat people with. Because if you do start doing that you end up having to beat everyone with it because no-one fits perfectly and they might start threatening to take the stick away from you because you can’t be trusted with it and then no-one would listen to you and someone else might get the stick and hit you so you just keep hitting and hitting. 

What’s the point?

There’s a line that runs through this whole thing. A dividing line.

On the one side there’s the simple, straightforward and self-indulgent stuff.

On the other, there’s my cack-handed efforts at, uh, trying to be diverse, I guess would be the word? I don’t know. I just want - calling it variety makes it sound like a novelty act - uh...

...broadness. 

The main guy might just be another hacked-up version of me but I want others coming from all angles. But I don’t know those angles! And I’m ever-fearful that I’ll get them horribly, horribly wrong.

Suppose this is why, uh, sensitivity readers are a thing?

Not that anyone ever really reads anything I do anyway, not really.

Probably for the best...

[alyssa-orowane]

Fantasy tropes to avoid (and ideas to reinvent them)

Hello aspiring writers of Tumblr! How is it going?

This is my first post on here and I decided to dedicate it not only to the genre I am writing in, fantasy, but also to a crucial topic, which relates and affects every genre in different ways.

TROPES.

It's lazy to build stories on something that has already been written a million times before. I don't like tropes at all as a reader. If I wanted to read the same stereotyped story all over again I would just stick to the previous book I have read with that same plot, so I would also spare myself the trouble of learning the unpronounceable names of these new stereotyped characters.

On the other hand, as a writer it might be tempting to give in and use tropes. "Why not? After all everybody uses them and I am already SO busy writing the actual chapters of my story."

I tell you what: every time a trope threatens to slide into your story, crush the page and throw it across the room, yelling:

Seriously, though: tropes are just general, undeveloped ideas. That's what you need to do, develop them. In this way only will you ever be able to unleash their hidden potential.

Without further ado, may I present you three of the most common fantasy tropes and hints to reimagine them.

*Keep in mind that this is only my personal view on the subject and you can either agree or disagree with it.

1. The chosen one

This one is the most obvious one and I am also quite sure that you expected to find it on the list. Interesting, Watson: I guess that it makes this article stereotyped too…

Well we all know those characters. Those characters that were meant to be the one. The prophecies had spoken about them long before they were even born. They might as well be the only one capable of using magic or wielding a certain weapon. This character is either the only one who pushes forward the storyline or that one protagonist who does everything except choosing anything actively in the plot. There is no in between. Either way, they only possess notable qualities. Of course there is no trace of flaws. I mean, they are the hero.

Have a side-kick (or co-protagonist) be the chosen one instead

A great idea, if you really want to insert this trope in your story, is to use it to your advantage and surprise the reader with it. Who could ever expect that the protagonist was actually never the chosen one? Or that another character is the chosen one from the start?

To see this trope well recreated I recommend watching the BBC TV series "Merlin" in which a young sorcerer, Merlin himself, must help the future heir to the throne, the prince Arthur Pendragon, to fulfill his destiny and become the greatest king who has ever lived. Arthur has no clue of what has been foretold, nor that he even is at the centre of a prophecy. All of Merlin and Arthur's choices will determine either the glorious success or the tragic failure of the quest; all of this while Merlin hides his powers from Arthur and everyone else as magic is condemned in Camelot.

2. Overused fantasy Races

...which translates mostly into putting Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, dragons and any of the Tolkenian elements and creatures in your own story. Now, don't get me wrong. Tolkien is one of my favourite authors, hence I am always captivated by those fantasy novels that display these Races in their stories. But I don't want to read a copy, I want to read your own masterpiece.

That's exactly why you should:

Redesign the well-known fantasy Races and adapt them to your world and to your theme or just create brand new ones

Personally, I absolutely LOVE to craft new fantasy Races. I believe that it adds depth and realism to the world-building (which does not consist only of geography). Each civilisation brings their culture, their traditions to your story and that's what makes a world truly breathe. In my opinion, the purpose of fantasy is not to focus just on the epic deeds narrated or on endless battles enriched with magic and legends, though those are very important part of this genre and they must be just as equally developed. The reason why I write fantasy is to spread awareness around the vast variety of themes that coexist in our society nowadays, in the first place global warming, the racism that still today people experience, LGBTQ characters which are often unrepresented both in literary fiction and TV. What better genre than fantasy is there to represent diversity and multiculturalism? On these latter points I will never not be thanking and loving the works of Steven Erikson which are part of the high-fantasy series "Malazan Book of the Fallen". Diversity and the brand new variety of intriguing Races are a huge part of what makes Malazan such an awesome fantasy series. I refer to Steven Erikson as the main inspiration of my writing and I recommend you to give a try to his books, if you have the chance. I warn you though, that it is not any light or easy reading.

The other option might be to reinvent the well-known Races. Tolkien himself did not "invent" the Elves of Middle Earth, rather he made a legend of his own after having studied the myths and ballads of ancient civilities. Then he developed their language, their history and their culture as if they were a real existing population. Every single aspect of Tolkien's worldbuilding can be read in his Silmarillion. I think it is a must-read for anyone who is looking forward to reinvent the traditional fantasy Races or just to know more about them.

3. Unfailing magic systems

Magic can be anything you want. That doesn't mean, however, that it should be your escape point: stuff in your story should happen because of your characters, not only because of magic as it is simpler to put it that way. A magic system should be rational and engaging. The reader needs to be able to understand exactly how, when and why does magic work in your world. No, the answer should not be "because it's fantasy."

Set rules, limits and costs to the magic in your world

How do character gain magic abilities? Is magic accessible to everyone or is it elitist? Is it taught in specialised schools or is it something that resonates from within? Are wizards free to practice magic or is it banned? Or maybe are there only specific areas of magic that are prohibited? What is its source? Does magic come from higher beings or are spells more powerful the stronger the mage's will? Does magic need a catalyst (such as a talisman, a weapon etc.) to be casted? If not, do wizard recite spells? Do they need to trace specific symbols? Otherwise is it necessary to make specific hand gestures in order to release their powers? Does it exist only one system for all mages to use or are there multiple kinds? Last but not least, what are magic users in your world called? It's all up to you to decide. Ask questions and let each question lead you to another one. You need to know exactly how your magic system works and so does the reader.

What I love about crafting magic systems is the freedom to establish the boundaries and the natural laws that apply to your world, as magic is a huge part of the story if you're writing fantasy. Well, this could also lead to another question: is your world actually ruled by magic forces or do magic abilities have just a marginal role in the world building?

Remember that magic should not be used as an excuse to fill eventual plot holes in your story. Your magic system should function correctly and it should always stay true to itself. In other words, it must be believable.

And I can hear you thinking "but it‘s magic!"

Then guess what? You need to make the readers believe that magic is real!

First of all, set the rules, the limits and the costs that apply to your system. Having done that, you'll have finished most of the work that concerns the use of magic in your world. Most, not all. If you are a bit of a perfectionist like I am, consider the importance of developing your system furthermore by asking yourself questions, such as the one I have written above.

Rules: decide what makes your system work and what magic can be casted for.

Limits: decide what kind of tasks your magic system cannot perform.

Costs: decide from what kind of source is magic obtained from and, literally, what does it cost to mages to obtain their magic from this source (as Rumpelstiltskin of OUAT wisely says: "all magic comes with a price.")

The most excellent and well-rounded magic systems I have ever come across are the ones created by Brandon Sanderson in this "Mistborn" trilogy: allomancy, feruchemy and hemalurgy. All three magic system permit the magicians to use a wide range of abilities based on the metals they can "burn". Magic originates in the Shards and from Preservation and Ruin, two god-like beings. If you're already interested, I definitely recommend you to check Sanderson's novels out: they are a useful resource of inspiration.

I hope this post has somehow given you the inspiration to go and write right now. 
If you have questions about some of the points or requests for the next articles, don't be shy and send me a message! I will try to cover your topic as soon as possible and as best as I can (and I will also tag your profile, if you agree). 
Thank you all for your attention. Bisous^^

[thesmollestsnek]

On the meaning of beauty

What follows is 5-ish paragraphs of me rambling about how the word “beauty” is commonly used vs. what it (in my opinion) truly means, flavored with neurodivergent gifted child-typical inability to connect with people! Read at your own risk

There are people who spend their entire lives in search of “true beauty”. Flirting about the world, from place to place, activity to activity, never once stopping long enough to see the beauty all around them. Inside them. And then there’s me. 

I am different from most people, I find. This is true for a lot of things, but especially this. Most people see beauty as this unattainable “thing” that exists in a select few places, and I’ve never quite understood why. For me, beauty has always been all around me, pulsing, living, with a mind of its own. It is there, in that one type of moss that you’ve seen so often you no longer stop to look. It is there, in foggy mornings that are cold and crisp and leave you feeling refreshed, that are hard to see in and difficult to drive through. It is there, in a single leaf among thousands on the ground, covering up people’s “perfect” lawns. It is there, in a person’s eyes as they talk about something they love, a bit too loud for their forgotten surroundings. It is there, in a million little things that are always overlooked because they are mundane, as though beauty belongs to the novel and nothing more. “These things are ordinary, everyday occurrences. How could they possibly be beautiful?” But what I cannot understand, is how can people be so blind as to ignore the beauty all around them, and claim it is not there?

In a way, I get it. People are busy, there isn’t often time to stop and admire the world. But, I have never understood how someone can say they are looking for beauty, and start with far off places they may never be able to visit. Or with finely honed skills, that they could attain with time and effort, but would rather say, “Now this, this is beauty.” What they are truly saying, is “this is unattainable.” And meanwhile, I am busy looking at the grass, at children playing, at the berries that grow in my yard that we never planted but somehow got. At every little thing that is never seen but always there. There is beauty in that, if you stop to look. But no one ever does. And sometimes I wonder, are others simply not capable of stopping? Is there something that makes my eyes capable of seeing a different picture than others? The answer, of course, is no. My eyes are not special, in fact they are incapable of focusing properly without a special lens to bend the light before it reaches them. It is that while others see, I look, truly look. And perhaps that makes me strange. I’ve never minded being a bit strange, though, wouldn’t give it up for the world. Not if it meant seeing the world around me dull to what others seem to perceive it as. Not if it meant losing some part of myself so intrinsic I cannot name.

I’ve been told that I write “beautifully.” I’ve never quite been sure how to respond to that. When “beautiful” is so often taken to mean “unattainable,” and you have obtained it without realizing you have, what do you say? “Thanks, I wrote the world exactly as I saw it, and can’t understand how you don’t see it the same way.” I know that, in part, the beauty in my writing is due to the excessive amount of reading I did as a child, that I still do today. I know that, in majority, the “beauty” in my writing is due to that same strangeness that made me look at the smallest of things as beautiful, while those around me chased that which they could not attain. That which they did not even try to attain. How can they not see the beauty that is everywhere, when I am so often overwhelmed by it? When I have to choice but to draw or write or dance or do something, anything, to get it out of my head and back into the world? People ask how I write what I do, I don’t know, I’m not even the one in control, really. The spirits of beauty that you cannot see channel themselves through me and I am helpless to stop it. Do not want to stop it. Why would I, when I am left with such wonderful things, afterwards?

Is there something special about me in particular that makes me capable of expressing what so few even see? I don’t think so. Everyone has that spark inside them, if they would only draw it out. Perhaps they may not be able to express that spark in writing, or art, but there are a million ways to cultivate that intangible something that we all possess. It is in playing a sport, that moment of connection between teammates as they achieve something great. It is in learning a new hobby, not to be good but to simply enjoy it. It is in solving puzzles, putting time and effort into something without looking for any reward but the satisfaction of seeing it done. Perhaps mine is in words, and art, and other things that are tangible in a way that others can understand, even without putting any effort into it. That does not make mine any better than theirs, only different, and perhaps a bit more practiced. And yet, I’m the only one to see it that way. Perhaps that is what makes me strange. Where others see beauty as something ethereal that can be admired but never truly reached, I see it as something common, something everyday. Something worth striving for, because it is easily within reach, if one only spends a bit of time and effort reaching for it. Something that exists within the mere effort of trying, regardless of if the end result matches what the original goal was. Perhaps I am strange not because I came into this world already able to create something beautiful, (I didn’t), but because where others saw an insurmountable obstacle, I saw in inspiration to try. Where others merely admired, I attempted to imitate. And those shoddy imitations took on a life of their own, slowly growing and developing into this “beautiful” skill I have today. 

I have accepted that I do not see the world as others see it. I have accepted that this causes me to act in ways that others cannot understand. What I cannot understand, and thus cannot accept, is how people will endlessly chase after the mirage of “beauty” when it is staring them in the face. How they can simultaneously call what is so beautiful to me “mundane” while simultaneously calling that which is mundane to me “beautiful”. However, I don’t think that means people should stop calling my work beautiful (I’ve been told that’s a sign of low self esteem, and been rigorously trained in the art of accepting compliments :p), I think that others should stop discrediting that which around and within them as ordinary. As far as I am concerned, nothing about any individual is ever ordinary. And the world is so much more beautiful for it.

[cowardsanctuary]

Into the Object Hole:

Why is Nearly Every Object Show Flash-Animated?

(warning: a big, gigantic ramble generated by the mind of a comic artist)

I’m asking this question because I was bitten by the “Object Show” bug myself! It’s become a niche but easily replicated genre of its own within the animation community. Starting with the eponymous Battle For Dream Island (a show I think we’re all familiar with), we’ve seen many creators follow suit in the seemingly simple formula of having a bunch of inanimate objects participate in a game show-esque competition.

This is not to claim that Object Shows are unoriginal or overdone at this point: on the contrary. With the advent of resources for learning writing, animation, et cetera, I feel there’s a massive amount of potential that this community has, until now, mostly neglected. Battle for BFDI is, from what I can tell, reveling in its own, unique premise in the way it wants to. Inanimate Insanity’s second season has, as of late, recognized its potential to communicate a story about change and growth within individuals and the world around it. Unfortunately, I haven’t watched many shows, but I feel I’ve gotten my point across.

In another post, I asked about shows that didn’t use Flash, so i’m going to be responding to those before I embark on my tangent.

@apcwoc said:                                                                                                                            djshjksjhhdj most of the shows are probably done on flash because a lot of them were started when the og creators where much younger and flash is the easiest and most reliable to use when people start out animating            

that’s a common thread i’ve been finding!! one of the earliest object shows, Animation Island by legotd61, was created a year after BFDI—and at the time, legotd61 was 7 years old. granted the animation & visuals aren’t the most jaw-dropping thing in the world, but they were a kid so it’s automatically charming. in like, a kid sense.

@demi-gray suggested Modern Objects as a non-asset-using show!

Unfortunately, it still relies on assets for arguably the most important visuals: the characters! They do use the capabilities of Flash more extensively than other shows (that I know of), which makes watching the characters do their thing a lot more fun and engaging. The unique style compared to other shows definitely helps out a lot as well!

@payjayisgod said:                                                                                                                            i mean, i do frame-by-frame all the time, but for the sake of saving time i’ll be using assets for the bodies (gonna try doing everything else with frame-by-frame) in my own series i’ll be making with some friends ^^“ if you wanna see my animations my youtube is Icedog McMuffin :0c                            

PLEASE show me your show when you do it, because your animations are!!! really cute!!! also i’d LOVE to see stuff that takes the path of Modern Objects: with asset bodies, yes, but everything else is done according to the needs of the visuals. Use your medium to the best of its ability!

@dottival said:                                                                                                                            I once saw someone who Wanted to do frame-by-frame, but they never got their show off the ground. Mostly because they never really started??

you can’t just. tell me this. and not say who this person is (unless they want their identity under wraps, which i’ll respect)!!!! I’d love to ask them about their thought process towards their show, unless they didn’t actually plan much. I want to do some... ReSearch....

Speaking of planning, the thing that enchants and haunts me most about object shows is how much is going on behind the scenes. This is for any animated show, really, because as a bitty comic artist, I had no clue where to begin. I’ve started to draft and worldbuild for my own show, but I can’t help but wonder how much of it is done for other object shows.

(this is a thumbnail for a setting on my show!)

The medium, by default, demands attention on the characters at the forefront. The premise generates interest, the aesthetics (aren’t necessary but) lead viewers in, and the subject(s) of the show is what keeps audiences engaged. No matter what the creator(s) choose as the subject, they must make sure it’s polished to their best abilities, while ensuring other elements of their medium is properly balanced.

If you’re creating a character-driven narrative, for example, you’ll want to focus on the development of your characters. And, since it’s easiest to relate to concrete characters, that’s what novice content creators focus on developing as their content’s primary subject (and what professional content creators master).

However, the development of, say, a character is more often than not put into the hands of the viewers. How? Viewer participation: having the audience vote off who leaves a competition.

An interesting concept as, typically, animated shows require oodles of planning in order to convey the story it wants to the best of its ability. This makes the typical object show a challenge (forgive the word-play) to pull off properly, despite being deceptively simple enough of a feat on the surface. Character development can be volatile, as any character can be booted off (depending on how well you can predict a character getting eliminated).

Following this, the difficulty of creating a cohesive and well-written story through the Object Show format is very, very high. After all, you need to place time in your resources as wisely as possible, in order to avoid taking too much time on an end product you may not even like a little while later. The elimination of one character may upset a part or the entirety of the show’s plotline, if a creator is not careful.

Inanimate Insanity’s writing was able to excel at its greatest the moment viewer voting was dropped. One of the best shows in this genre (in my opinion), Modern Objects, isn’t even an object show: it’s formatted like a sitcom, and focuses primarily on characters and comedy. The one object show I was able to find that was primarily frame-by-frame animation (thank you, @bfb-basard!), Race to the Mansion of Tomorrow, is 100% script-driven; meaning, no viewer participation. This is the same for a few other shows as well, though I am not aware of them at this point of time.

(a snapshot of my animation process: this is for an animation of my OCs Milt and Malt, put to the audio of Big Bill Hell’s Cars.)

So why Flash? The answer is because it’s just easier. Not in the sense that the animators of these shows are lazier, but because animating in Flash saves time. Unless you’re putting all your stops into your show, or the contestants will always be present / aren’t quite as important to the narrative, you absolutely cannot afford to waste time and energy on things that can get thrown away later. Either that, or you don’t know where a character or a plotline or what have you will build up to, so you want to make sure whatever you do make isn’t wasted.

(Granted, I always feel there’s always time for weird plots to be resolved until it’s the very end, but retcons are also an option?)

You see this video? It’s a pretty simple animation of just a little softball walking around.

It took me 2 or 3 hours, give or take, to finish. Nearly every frame is unique, and I drew them all with my hands and my tablet, nothing else. All moving parts are either animated in 2′s or 1′s—the latter of which being 1/24th of a second. There are 35 drawn frames overall, stretched out onto 127 individual frames that constitute the entirety of the animation.

In other words, this clip is 5 seconds long.

If you want to finish an object show within your lifetime, let alone within 5 years, then Flash will be your best friend. It’s good, revolutionary technology that will make your life easier. With Flash, you don’t have to draw things over and over and focus instead on the motion, not the artwork.

Not only that, but being able to finish in a timely manner will help smaller content creators as, since we’re small and have small audiences, not everyone has a long enough attention span to hang onto you for decades. Certain shows like BFB and Inanimate Insanity have the advantage of popularity, so they can take their time with both the show and life (but they’re still rushed by their audience anyways so it’s a double-edged sword).

If you want to tell a story, consider what medium you tell it through wisely. Animation isn’t the only way, but I know for a fact that, if I get there, my show will be frame-by-frame. Why? Because I consider the artwork and the motion in my story just as important as my characters, if not moreso. You might not.

You can make it 3-d animated, claymation, traditionally animated, digitally animated, Flash, frame-by-frame, what have you. You can write your show as a novel, a script, a screenplay, a radio play, what have you. You can illustrate it as a children’s book, a comic, a graphic novel, or even an illustrated novel.

One of my favorite shows, up there with Modern Objects, is a comic by @swabsbloo​ called Escape From Abject Reality (which you can read on it’s own blog at @efarwebcomic​! Please read it! PLEASE READ IT! PLEASE!!! PL). Swabsbloo takes the premise of object shows and simultaneously puts it on its head while playing it straight: a bunch of objects wake up in an oddly absent field, only to figure out they’ve been trapped in a game show-themed death trap controlled (...?) by a(n apparent) sociopath named Snake Oil. You should read it. You should read their comic.

Hell, does your object show even need to be an object show? You can create stories that are beyond inanimate objects, or stories beyond competitions. Again, Modern Objects isn’t a competition show. You can base your characters off of objects as well, without needing to make them explicitly an object. The show I mentioned earlier, Race to the Mansion of Tomorrow, takes this latter approach for the most part!

As a storyteller, what I obsess about the most is storytelling. I love seeing all forms of it, and the potential that this community’s genre has astounds and fascinates me. The way in which we view the story doesn’t have to be important, but I find the ones I enjoy the most are the ones that utilize its medium to the best of its ability. It doesn’t have to be the best, it just needs to try.

So what do you want to try?

[project-nightshade]

11/11/11 - Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @ofinkblotsandscript !! :)

Rules: answer 11 questions, ask 11 questions of 11 people

——

1. What is your favourite genre to write?

Fantasy probably, especially high fantasy! It’s just so fun to build a fantasy world from scratch!

2. Who is your favourite OC and why?

I change favourites all the time but currently it’s Corinth because I’m so satisfied with his (planned) character arc!

3. Who is your least favourite OC and why?

I don’t really have a least favourite OC, but I do have several neglected ones haha

4. Do you ever find yourself self-inserting in your writing?

No, not really. But I do have something to say about self-inserts that is not actually related to the question.

This is going to sound controversial but I think the writing community is overly-critical of self-insert characters.

The main issue many may have with self-insert characters, is not so much the fact that it’s a self-insert, but that the writer can be too biased towards their self-insert character to a point where the writing becomes illogical. But if self-insert characters are given the same treatment and same amount of complexities as any other character, they can actually work really well!

For example, in Dazai Osamu’s iconic literary work ‘No Longer Human’, Dazai wrote himself into the protangonist of the story, and the character worked so well that I find myself crying at climatic parts of the story!

There are many other of such classic literary work, where the story is essentially a fictional autobiography of the authors themselves, like W. Somerset Maugham’s ‘Of Human Bondage’. And sometimes the author may write themselves into side characters of their story, like when Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote himself as the father in ‘The Brothers Karamazov’.

Heck, ‘Diary of a Young Girl’ was literally Anne Frank’s personal diary, and it resonated with so many readers worwide!

My point is made, it’s time to debunk the myth that self-insert characters are inherently bad, when they can in fact be written well when given the same amount of complexity as any other character.

5. Are you hoping to publish your work? If so will you submit your work or self-publish?

I actually don’t know. For Project Nightshade, I have the world, the character and the plot planned out, but I haven’t given much thought to publishing yet. Right now I’m inclining towards making it a visual novel, so I’m thinking maybe tapas? Idk I really don’t know yet, I might write instead if my art skills are not good enough :”

6. What is your favourite book and why?

Oh no it’s so hard to pick a favourite because I have so many! But if I have to, it’s got to be one is Jimmy Liao’s (幾米） book ‘Wo De Shi Jie Dou Shi Ni’ （我的世界都是你), which roughly translates to ‘My World is You’.

Jimmy writes short illustrated books, but he has such a unique storytelling style that it had struck a chord with me since I was very young (maybe 7 or so). His sentence structure and choice of words are very simple, such that even a child can understand it, yet the simplicity and authenticity of his words made them beautifully poetic. His accompanying illustrations are whimsical and beautifully composed, and lends his book such an iconic look, that it becomes immediately recognisable to his readers! I have so much admiration for him as both an author and an artist!

I adore all of his works, but his book ‘My World is You’ takes the cake for me. The book is about a little girl dealing with the loss of her mother (as represented by her puppy ragdoll), where each night she visits a different entity in a room and learns a different lesson about loss. The story is told from the little girl’s perspective and dealt with such a heavy topic in such a profound and astoundingly poetic way, that I find myself clinging tightly to every single word. The story is such a simple story, yet is so emotional that I still find myself crying my eyes out every time even though I’ve probably read it over twenty times already. The book is cleverly written, because while it appeals to children through its beautiful illustrations, it also grapples with mature themes like loss in a sophisticated manner, such that it can help children learn about loss in a healthy way. At the same time, his book also appeals to adults, who can relate with the little girl’s struggle with loss, and is also more capable of interpreting complex meanings hidden in the narrative.

Jimmy Liao is seriously underrated and I hope that someday his works can be translated so that they can reach a wider international audience. I had fallen in love with his writing (and drawing) at age 7 and even now I still absolutely adore his work, and if anything I learnt to appreciate them more! In other words, his writing is really one that ages well along with his readers, and his books will always have a special place in my heart.

7. Do you set yourself goals in your writing? If so what is your current goal?

Not really, I just work on my wip whenever I have free time. Right now I’m just focusing on polishing the worldbuilding as well as the outline :”

8. Do you like to handwrite your drafts or type them up?

Definitely type. It’s just so much easier to edit :”

9. What do you think is the hardest thing about being a writer?

Personally it’s writing in general, like finding the right turn of phrases, or appropriate metaphors. I only picked up English when I was like 10, and I wasn’t fluent in it until like 12 or something. Even now I’m still quite insecure about my English (especially pronounciation but I guess that falls outside of writing), but I am slowly gaining more confidence in my linguistic skills, and I hope one day I can reach a level that I can be proud of!

10. Do you plan out your projects or just start writing?

Plan, plan, and plan! I personally can’t dive into something without excessive planning, but I really respect those who can! I tried writing something spontaneously before but it was a trainwreck so I told myself never again haha :”

11. Do you like to stick to one project or have multiple ones at once?

One project. I can’t imagine juggling multiple projects at once, I’d be too overwhelmed! Heck, this entire blog is dedicated to just one wip! Mad respect to all of you out there with two or more wips. Wow!

——

Here are my 11 questions:

1. Tell us about yourself!

2. Tell us about your current wip(s)!

3. Tell us about the protangonist in your wip(s)! (Who are they? What are they like? What are their goals/motivations?)

4. What got you into writing? What was the first time you ever wrote?

5. What are some of your inspirations? (It can be a book, movie, tv show, anything!)

6. Is there a particular author you look up to? Who is it and why?

7. Have you ever experienced a writing block? How did you deal with it?

8. Do you outline your wip(s) or just go with the flow?

9. Is there a particular character archetype or trope that you are fond of writing? What is it and why?

10. Tell us how you name your OCs!

11. Tell us a random fact about either your OCs or your wip(s)!

——

Tagging: @hyba @sheabutterskyes @ofimber @amiable-cherry @royalbounties @nerdvanauniverse @the-real-rg @winonapeaks @coffeeandpurplepens @awritinglen @thelostandforgottenageha

Anyone else is welcome to answer the 11 questions too! Thanks for reading :)

[kaette-kita-slayers]

Slayers Special 3-5 - Currently In Training

I thought I'd go back and cover this one, since it's related to the SFC game. Most of the novel-only characters who join your party in that game have fan or official translations of material related to them, but Claire, as far as I know, is the one exception. So here's her story from Slayers Special!

Currently In Training

"Ooh <3 Hey, you two are traveling sorceresses, right?"

The excessively chirpy greeting had come from a girl with long, black hair. Probably just a little older than I am, she was beautiful, with wide, expressive eyes. Judging by the clothes she wore, she was most likely a sorceress in training.

Lina and Naga are seated at a restaurant, Lina finishing off some cheesecake while Naga downs an enormous stein of vodka. When Lina answers in the affirmative, the girl introduces herself as Claire and asks for their help, ramblingly telling them that she has a difficult paper to write and was looking for a capable sorcerer to help.

Naga warns her that it will be expensive to hire the two of them, as famous, top-class sorceresses. (Annoying Lina, who doesn't want to accept the request, regardless of the pay.) On hearing that they are famous, Claire thinks for a moment, then realizes...

"Wait, could you be... Lina Inverse?!"

"You got it. I'm impressed." My eyes went wide.

"Well, of course. I've heard all about you, and you look exactly like I imagined. I'm a big fan! Can I get your signature later? <3" she said, grasping Naga's hand tightly.

You're a little off there.

"Um, hello...?"

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for ignoring you! Lina, is this your assistant?"

"Heh, she certainly is my assistant."

"Yeah, right! Listen, Claire, I'M Lina. That's a bunch of goldfish poop called Naga."

Claire is disappointed that Lina isn't actually the way she imagined her.

"You know, according to the rumors, you can tell just by looking at Lina that she has an awful personality, and she wears pointlessly skimpy clothing, and she has that evil sorceress look, right?"

"Do you seriously expect me to agree with that?!"

"In what way do I look like an evil sorceress?!" Naga spit out the words without the slightest bit of self-awareness.

"Don't get so mad! ... I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm just so honest, I say whatever pops into my head."

Claire goes on to say that she really is a big fan of Lina's, and she especially liked how Lina burned Cruasal City to ash with lighting. Lina angrily protests that no such thing ever happened, and Claire is disappointed.

Not wanting to help a trainee with her schoolwork, Lina lectures Claire, telling her that the real value of a paper is in the work you put into it.

Which really is true. All members of the Sorcerer's Guild are given ranks, and in order to go from "trainee" to "sorcerer", a student has to submit a number of papers and have them approved by their master. After that, depending on accomplishments, they can further raise their rank, which comes with privileges such as being allowed to access more of the guild's library. In Claire's case, she may still be able to get preferential treatment within the guild, but access to esoteric works on magic will be meaningless if she hasn't learned enough to understand them.

Claire tells Lina that she doesn't need help with writing the paper itself; the problem is that her assigned topic is a nearby castle that's rumored to be occupied by a vampire. Lina is surprised, since vampires are the strongest and most intelligent variety of undead, physically and magically far stronger than humans.

Then again, they have plenty of weaknesses, particularly the fact that sunlight reduces them to ash---Lina personally thinks they're kind of wimpy. Naga echoes that sentiment, saying that Claire is a pretty poor sorceress if she's afraid of a vampire. While it's true that Lina or Naga would have nothing to fear, Lina thinks, a vampire would be a tough opponent for a trainee.

Lina disapproves of Claire's master assigning her something so difficult and wonders why. Naga suggests that it must be some kind of harassment, or an attempt to manipulate Claire into something. Claire looks away and tells them that Master Graham has been sexually harassing her, trying to get her to spend the night.

Lina reflects that there are a lot of utter disgraces to the profession who use their teaching positions to take advantage of students, then, if publicly accused, claim it was all just a "trial" for the student to overcome. Angered, she tells Claire she should just start lobbing Flare Arrows whenever that kind of thing happens, and even offers to go give her master a beatdown right away.

Claire turns her offer down, at least until her paper is finished, since she'll be only be accused of resorting to violence to cover up her inability to complete her work. She seems to be expecting (hoping?) that Lina will burn the whole city down.

She says that she'll guide Lina and Naga to the castle tomorrow morning, and Lina reminds her that they never agreed to her request in the first place or discussed a fee. Claire tries to insist that Lina had agreed to help for free, but Lina shoots her down. Claire then gives them an initial payment of all of two copper coins.

"Come on! Who in the world would march into a vampire's lair for that kind of money?!"

"Whaaaaat?! But they say that Lina Inverse would destroy a city for a single copper coin..."

"Who says?"

"Oh, well, I think so... Am I wrong?"

"Completely wrong!"

On hearing what I said, Claire's face fell, and she said, "Aww... that's no fun..."

Protesting that she's only a trainee with no sponsors, Claire next tries to offer six silver coins. Lina and Naga are ready to leave, but Claire stops them by telling them that she's heard the vampire has some kind of treasure. Lina is doubtful, thinking that she'd be better off going after some bandits, since vampires are typically weirdos who hoard useless junk. Claire assures her that this one was originally the human lord of the castle, who became a vampire after developing an obsession with magic.

Lina finally agrees, but Naga reminds her that they've never once managed to profit from these kinds of jobs, because something ridiculous and stupid always happens. Lina realizes she's right, but...

"You said you'd take the job! You can't say 'no' now! If you do... I'll write mean things about you inside some book and leave it in the reference room at the Sorcerer's Guild!"

What are you, a little kid?

"Claire... just curious, do you happen to have a relative named Mina?"

"Yes, one of my cousins... How did you know?"

"Oh... no reason."

The next day, Naga is nowhere to be seen, and Claire, upbeat as ever, leads Lina to a musty, overgrown old castle. Lina is less enthusiastic about the idea of having to explore the entire place from top to bottom.

If we were here on a simple vampire-exterminating expedition, I could just douse him with some oil or something and set it on fire, then have some lunch and enjoy the view, but today, I'm only here to loot the---I mean, help with the paper.

She asks Claire if she's afraid, and Claire replies that as long as she's dealing with some type of undead with a physical presence rather than a ghost, she's fine. (Irrational as it might be, Lina feels the same.) Besides, Lina is there to deal with anything that might attack them.

As they pass through the gate, they are greeted with the sight of countless skulls covering the ground, all the way up to the castle entrance. Claire is somewhat less than frightened.

"THIS IS SO AMAZING! What an incredible view! Looking at this kind of thing makes me feel like my soul's being cleansed, or like I've just come home! <3"

Lina picks up one of the skulls and bashes it into the ground, breaking it. Claire protests, but Lina picks up one of the fragments and shoves it in front of her face, showing her that it's brown on the inside---a fake made from painted pottery. Lina points out that if the vampire had really killed this many people, there would have been a serious effort to eliminate him.

As they continue toward the door, they keep hearing a strange clattering sound, and a dozen or so skeletons assemble themselves from the bones on the ground, all in an instant. Lina easily destroys all of them, and she and Claire enter the main hall of the castle.

Unsurprisingly for a vampire's lair, the windows are all carefully covered up, so Lina casts Lighting. They encounter some Living Mails, but they're no tougher than the skeletons.

"Wow, you really are awesome. They don't call you 'the enemy of all who live' for nothing."

"Who, exactly, uses that nickname for me...?"

"Me me me! <3 I came up with 'the world destroyer' too, and I made sure everybody knows about it. <3"

"Please just stop... or at least don't say anything to other people..."

I wonder... Could my bad reputation all be the result of her spreading rumors...?

They are interrupted by a male voice coming from directly above them, but before Lina can even look up, the air fills with countless small explosions. As the smoke clears, a familiar laugh rings out, and Naga appears, surprised to see that the intruder she's after is Lina.

Behind Lina, Claire mutters to herself, calling Naga a "traitor" and an "old lady", which Naga naturally takes exception to. Naga protests that she'd only accepted a request to protect the castle from intruders, when the man showed up at her room the night before. (Said "man" is hanging upside down from the chandelier like a bat, very clearly a vampire---to anyone who isn't Naga.)

"Look, Naga, I don't know how much he paid you, but..."

"Fifty gold coins up front."

"Fif---?!" I cried out unintentionally, then without any hesitation, I turned around to face Claire and said, "Heh, heh, heh... You fell for our trap, Claire."

"Don't betray me!"

... Oh well, so much for that...

Lina demands to know how the vampire found out about their plans, and he reveals that he had a spy at the inn they stayed at. Lina and Naga start firing spells at one another, but when Lina refers to the man a "vampire", Naga appears shocked.

"It can't be---you're a vampire?!"

Oh, come on.

"What...? Yes, of course I am..." the man replied, with a confused expression.

"Oh, no... So you tricked me, then?!"

"'Tricked'...? I wasn't trying to..."

"Don't even try to give me some shameful excuse! Did you ever once say to me that you were a vampire?!"

"That doesn't matter! Normally, if you saw a bat turn into a person right in front of you, you'd at least figure out, 'Oh hey, that's a vampire'!"

"I wouldn't! I just thought you were a little strange!"

Lina forcibly ends the conversation with a Hell Blast, annihilating the vampire, thinking to herself that Naga might make you miserable as a friend, but there's nobody more fun to have as an enemy.

As the group prepares to look around the castle, a group of about a dozen vampires appear from the shadows. Lina is shocked, but Claire is unfazed.

"Huh? Didn't I tell you there's not just one vampire in the castle?"

The vampires attack, and Lina yells to the others to retreat. They're at a severe disadvantage against so many opponents, and Lina can't use any big spells like Dragon Slave unless she wants to bring down the castle and crush everyone.

Hearing Lina, one of the vampires blocks the door and fires off a number of Flare Arrows, which Naga blocks with a wind barrier. The rest of the vampires begin chanting spells, and Lina quickly begins casting Vu Vraimer. Naga yells at her, since a golem isn't going to be much use for fighting vampires, but that isn't Lina's plan.

In order to form the golem, the spell draws stone from the walls, splitting them open and letting sunlight stream in, killing the vampires and creating an escape route all at once.

"Just what I'd expect from you, Lina!" Claire cried out in admiration.

"Hmph. I'm not like Naga."

"But I was kiiinda hoping you'd do something a little more showy to slaughter them all."

"Request granted! One Dragon Slave, coming up!"

"Ooooh!" Claire said, applauding.

Lina demolishes the castle with Claire egging her on, the paper entirely forgotten until it's too late. Not having any other options, Claire accepts Lina's earlier offer to beat up her master.

Lina ends up hiding behind a tree outside Graham's house, waiting for Claire's signal to rush in, accuse him of everything he's done, and beat him to a pulp. (Naga had wanted to help, but Lina felt the fewer people involved, the better.) She can hear the two arguing inside, beyond the terrace window, and then Claire yells at the top of her lungs, the signal Lina was waiting for.

Lina casts Diem Wind, forcing the window open, and makes a dramatic entrance, leaping with a flourish to land in front of the window. She stops short once she sees who's inside---Claire, of course, but also a silver-haired, twenty-something woman.

Claire introduces Lina as the one who destroyed the castle, and confirms to a bewildered Lina that the husky-voiced woman really is "Master Graham". Graham wastes no time trying to seduce Lina, who turns and literally runs, leaving Claire behind.

Notes

Mina is from the story "Villain Fight" in volume 1. She's a self-centered and rebellious priestess who keeps a literal diary of all her grievances, complete with (terrible) illustrations. She also appears in the SFC Slayers game, where her diary functions as your save system.

[cece2046]

Close the Curtain - Chap 5

@reynardinepttr​ this angel completed the beta only a few hours after receiving my email, yet I took three days to post it. Work. You know.

@sissannis​ is a menace and the alpha reader.

@honeyweeds​ just because I feel like it. *shrug*

AO3 / FFN

Luke Nott obviously overestimates his influence on her. It might be her fault for indulging him, but Hermione is not ready to admit it. Age gives her experience, self assurance, and patience, but she still detests admitting being wrong.

So, Luke Nott has a larger ego than she expected. Big deal. All her life she’s been working with men with egos the size of the Pacific Ocean. It’s depressing how many of them are out there.

Currently, the young and handsome egomaniac is going through her notes on their research. Behind her back, no less.

“Mr. Nott.” She finally made a sound after watching him for five minutes.

He jumped ten feet from the floor. To his credit, he’s not flustered at all. “Ms. Granger! I didn’t hear you.”

“Obviously.” She nodded to her desk with her notebook open.

His demeanor changed. It’s amazing how some people can do that. He went from this innocent and curious apprentice to a predator in the blink of an eye. Hermione blinked again just to be sure.

“Now, now. Hermione.” He stepped closer to her slowly, elegantly. She stood her ground. “You know it’s no way to treat an academic partner by shutting him out.”

She smiled. “You should know your status is considerably lower than that of a partner.”

He’s still moving closer, eyes flashing dangerously. “Oh really? But Malfoy is?”

“Neither of you has the capability.”

It’s terribly arrogant of her to say that. Doesn’t mean it’s not true. Hermione would have been mortified if this came out of her mouth twenty years ago, but now it’s a different story. She knows what she’s capable of and she’s not afraid to set the rules and draw the boundaries anymore.

Apparently arrogance turns Nott on, or whatever twisted mechanism he’s operating by. He flashed a bright smile to her, canines white and perfect, making the smile a little wolfish. His breath is by her ear since Hermione refused to back off during the whole power play. “I so like a woman with confidence.”

She put a hand on his chest to prevent him from moving any closer. “They are the most difficult kind to manipulate.”

He laughed a little. She can feel the low vibration under her palm. “But the best kind to win over.”

She’s almost excited at that moment. It’s been a while since someone seriously flirted with her. The fact that there’s no real feelings attached to this makes it even better. She thought of another man in a back alley, almost a silhouette, devouring another woman with so much concentration and sadness. She didn’t need to ask. He didn’t need to say anything. She understood him almost immediately without any verbal exchange. She knows what he needs, but she can’t help him.

Not now.

Her palm is still pressed against his hard chest. She pushed him away slowly, looking him in the eye. “Get out of my office.”

He let her push him, smile still on his lips. “Why are you so eager to make me leave, Hermione? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid the amount of audacity in this room is over the Ministry suggested standard.”

He laughed, dodging the accusation, and closed his hand around her wrist. “Let me in.”

“Back off, then.”

“I can help you with this. I have the expert resources. I have my family library. We can make groundbreaking discoveries! Together. Hermione,” he said eagerly, eyes shining, “We can do this together.”

She sighed. “This is exactly what I’m trying to avoid.”

A little confusion and amusement. “You’re avoiding success?”

“No, I’m avoiding you getting overzealous and fucking it up.”

“Passion is what makes things come true!”

She touched her finger to his temple. “Intelligence is what makes things come true. Hands off and butt out, Mr. Nott.”

He pouted and made puppy dog eyes.

“Not working,” she said.

“I can’t believe you.” He shook his head. “You know this is big! I need this more than that Malfoy prick!”

“I thought he’s your father’s friend?” She asked.

“Doesn’t make him my friend,” he said sullenly.

“That’s neither here or there.” She moved around her desk and started to reorganize her files. “He has his role, and you have yours. Stay in it.”

“Oh yeah? What’s his role then? Your fuck buddy?” He said acidly.

She paused. “I beg your pardon?”

He turned to her, eyes burning. “How long have you two been sleeping together? Do you seriously think you could get away with it? We have the same titles but you’re playing favoritism!”

“You’re out of line, Nott,” she said calmly. “You’re dismissed for the day.”

He stood there in utter disbelief, and abruptly, he left the room in a few strides.

She stretched her back and sighed. Brilliant.

She’s lying in Draco Malfoy's bed, smoking.

“I must repeat that I resent being used like this and you smoking in my bedroom without taking your clothes off.” His eyes are as hard as can be.

She just toed her boots off without replying.

“I hope that’s just a start.”

“Who knows.” She inhales deeply, frowning.

“Hey.” He turns to her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Surprise, surprise.”

She didn’t say anything until the cigarette’s gone. Draco was almost asleep when she said, “What if we really manage it?”

“Manage what?”

“You know what.”

“I know this, and I know that, and I think I know something not wholly relevant but still interesting, but I have no idea which one you’re referring to.”

“Well I said ‘what if’ and I said ‘we’, didn’t I?”

“Huh.”

“So. Your thoughts?”

“I must say I’ve never believed that we could really do it.”

“I might be close.”

He propped himself up with his elbow. “Seriously?”

She hummed.

“Wow.” He plumped back down. “Do you realize what that means?”

“Chaos,” she said. “Death. Distrust. Mental disorders. Ethical dilemmas.”

“Good. I see you haven’t lost your logical mind.”

“I’m not going to do anything. I’m just thinking about it.”

“Thinking about doing something?”

“Twenty years ago? Definitely. Now?” She tapped another cigarette out. “I have too much to lose now.”

“Really? I thought you have less to lose now.”

She slapped his chest without looking at him. “That’s low.”

Her hand stayed there. Warmth sinks into her skin slowly. Her cigarette stays unlit.

“Granger?”

“What?”

“Wanna fuck?”

“Not really.”

“Okay.”

It feels good to be here. In Draco’s bed. She never expected herself to feel this way, but life works in mysterious ways, or God, or whatever or whoever up there. She stared at the ceiling, brain turning and turning. This is ending soon, but it has a high chance of ending ugly. She’s the only one who knows the chilling truth and possible consequences. She can take it. She’s not so sure about Harry. It’s comforting to know that she has an ally who’s just as cold and heartless as she,, then, whose bed she’s currently lying in.

Except that he’s not cold or heartless. At all.

She’s still the only one who can do unthinkably cruel things with her bare hands.

And it’s exceptionally lonely.

She climbed out of the bed. “Do you think they’ve left?”

He didn’t move. “I bet they’re still there. You might have to use the floo.”

She looked out through the crack between curtains. Yes, they’re still there. Lurking in the shadows with alarming patience and professional skepticism. For a moment she feels like she’s the prey instead of the hunter. Strange feeling, that. Hasn’t popped up for decades.

“Or you could stay.” His voice is sombre.

She thought she’s already past the age of apologizing for her actions, but apparently not. Apparently people just can’t stop hurting people no matter how much experience they’ve had. Even if you know better, you can’t prevent it from happening. Every decision has its repercussions. If you’re afraid of hurting people, you may as well do nothing.

But she’s never good at standing idly by while letting others get their hands dirty.

“Draco. We talked about - ”

“Yeah.” He turned aloof in one second. “I don’t know why I bothered.”

She walked towards him. “You bothered because you care.”

He remained silent, watching her move around the bed and sit down besides him.

Her fingers held his hands tightly, as if trying to force him to admit something terrible. Something horrifying. Something that can tear him apart or make him complete, all depending on one answer.

It’s not happening today.

“You ready to go?” He asked her.

She sighed, her eyes boring into him with traces of sadness and understanding. “You stay. I’ll be using your library.”

He saluted carelessly behind her back.

She stood in front of the fireplace in Harry’s house. It has been Harry’s house for years now. She rarely thought of Sirius during the war. A war has the power to suck you into it, leaving you little energy to dwell on the past. And then she left, relocated, started all over again. She kept writing letters to her friends, asking for forgiveness. She got a job and then a better one and then another. She fell in love and fell out of love and went through all five stages of grief. She discovered so much about herself and the world that the war is not the biggest part in her life anymore. It lost the power to control her perspective. She moved on from it, gaining the strength to look back whenever she wants. She thought of Sirius when she was reading a novel and a woman in it said, “The tragedy of life, Howard, is not that the beautiful die young, but that they grow old and mean.”

It was a beautiful afternoon. Sunlight cut through her window and drew everything in her apartment in shadows on her floor. She suddenly let go of a piece of herself that’s been stuck in that night at the end of her Fifth Year. A piece of that girl (barely a woman, really) who’s so afraid and confused, mostly confused. Life bowed to her, smiled maliciously, and pulled open the veil to reality.

Why did he die?

What sense does that make?

What’s the meaning of it?

If not everything is logical, how am I supposed to protect others? Or myself?

How am I supposed to win if this world doesn’t play by rules?

She forgot her doubt in the run, in the adrenaline, in the torture and fight and killing. And years later, oceans away, she held a book that answered her through the dust of time and space. Unintentionally, of course. And she thought of Sirius Black. That’s the day Hermione Granger lost her fear of death.

“I’m sorry.” She touched the photo sitting on the mantle piece, in which the old Order is laughing and waving and living. “Now I’m back.”

“Do you regret it?”

She turned around. Harry is leaning on the opposite wall, a glass of water in his hand, ankles crossed.

“No.” She didn’t hesitate.

Harry gave her a very, very slow smile. “That’s the Hermione I’ve been missing.”

She snorted. “Admit it. You hate me.”

He nodded. “I hate you. I love you. I miss you. Who says I can’t do them at the same time?”

She would really love to know what those feelings would be afterwards. It would be so convenient if she could play human minds like Arithmancy formulas, working out what would happen if she made different choices at the next crossroad. If she could do that, if she did, would the “I hate you and I love you and I miss you and I hate you most of all” today become “I love you and don’t leave me and don’t ever leave me again”?

She just leaned on the wall next to him and handed him a Galleon coin. “I love you, too.”

He eyed the coin curiously, and then recognition settled in. “Is that…?”

“Yep,” she said in false cheerfulness. “Everything’s gonna work out."

[jawnkeets]

hello sorry to disturb you lovely person but i was wondering if you had some advices to have a better literary analysis, or a better culture well, i mean how can i improve my literary intelligence basically ? ( it may not be really clear but i hope you'll understand because i feel like i'm lost... )

hello anon! no need to be sorry, ur not disturbing me at all :+) feel free 2 send an ask at any time ✨✨✨

i’ll attempt to answer this by splitting ur ask into 2 parts. first i’ll try to give some tips on literary analysis, and then i’ll try to talk about the sort of wider awareness of lit (or the culture as you call it).

a little disclaimer: pls bear in mind that i am by no means qualified to speak about this in any way (i still very much consider myself a learner). i’ve generally been left alone throughout my education to do my own thing, which is a good thing in some respects and a bad thing in others; i don’t have the solid foundations that most ppl do, never following things like paragraph structures throughout lower school, and i didn’t know a thing about metre until the start of this month. however, because of my education i think i’ve managed to avoid a few conventional pitfalls. so, in short, you can take as much or as little of this advice as you like!

PART 1: literary analysis

• an excellent way to boost your analysis straight away, dull as it is, is to learn some literary devices beyond, say, alliteration and personification. being able to spot things like chiasmus and epiphora not only wows an examiner, but also enables you to talk about more things within a poem/ book/ play and thus broadens your literary scope in close reading.• remember that for each literary device you mention you should say what it REVEALS (DO NOT just list!!!). the best essays move from a literary device to an explanation of why this device is used - what does it reveal about a character, the speaker, or even the society that the poet or author was writing in?• rhythm and meter in a poem tick boxes in an exam, but can also lead to insightful analysis. how do the rhythm and meter add to the overall message of the poem? does, for example, the metre give a regularity to the poem? why might this be? is it broken at any point? how is this significant?• the above can be applied to rhyme scheme, too. look out for rhyming couplets at the end of a poem, which may give a sense of finality to the poem (or may seem to give a sense of finality when in actuality the speaker of the poem is far from decisive…).• it is important to remember that a particular rhyme scheme (or metre) doesn’t ALWAYS mean anything; it can mean different things in different poems, so instead of applying a ready-made formula, try to go into the exam knowing how to identify these aspects of a poem and then try to work out why you think the poet has used them in that particular poem. flexibility is key, which can be daunting but also somewhat liberating.• i personally find a ‘scribble method’ quite useful. this is where, when first approaching a piece of writing, you write down everything that comes into your head, regardless of how messy, or how basic. you then sort through your ideas, expanding upon what you think is worthwhile and discarding what you think is not. this method is generally more handy when not under time pressure, though, as it can get you into a muddle in the exam.• start simple and build up. it can be tempting to jump straight in but sometimes when you start simply new things can reveal themselves as you work your way up into more complex ideas! • perspective is extremely useful to consider. who is speaking and why? are they biased or objective? who are they speaking to and why?

unseen exam tips

• in an exam, i would approach a poetry or prose extract first by simply reading it, and trying to find out what it is about. then i would go through and highlight words/ phrases of interest, and label literary devices. finally, i would go through it again and build the main analysis. a brief paragraph plan can be useful before writing the essay.• acronyms can help sometimes as a go-to in an exam when you don’t have much time. for example, i use CFTTSOL - content (basic story, characters, who is speaking and why etc) form (poetry, prose, drama etc), tense (past/ present etc), tone (happy, sad, why? is the tone at odds with the subject matter? in emily dickinson’s ‘because i could not stop for death’, for example, the poem is about something dark but it is very jolly), structure/ syntax (rhyme, caesura, enjambment, any disrupted syntax, etc) other (anything not mentioned in the rest of the categories) and language (similes, metaphors, assonance, etc). i would recommend finding one that works for YOU and makes sense for YOU, because creating your own can really help to ease you into analysis.

PART 2: literary awareness

• read, read, read! i cannot stress the importance of wider reading enough, and also the importance of thinking whilst you read (making notes/ annotating books whilst you read is advisable). i am speaking from experience here - i didn’t read outside of the curriculum at all until the end of last year, and since i have started my literary analysis has increased tenfold. this is partly because practice is vital, but also because wider reading gave me an awareness that i could never have expected to gain. it enabled me to start making links between texts, genres, periods, etc – i began to see patterns and conventions in literature. for instance, a poem that breaks convention is easier to spot and talk about – to use a very basic example, a sonnet (usually a form of love poetry) about brutality/ violence toys with genre. if you had read some of shakespeare’s sonnets, you could then compare the violent poem with sonnet 18, to elucidate your point. this isn’t to say that you didn’t already know that sonnets were love poems, or that you wouldn’t have picked up on this without wider reading. but having read sonnets outside of class means that you can talk about this with greater clarity, authority and confidence.• i would also advise you to push yourself with the literary material you explore. it is difficult, but try to find nothing intimidating - read thick victorian novels, read modernist authors, read kant if you want, and even if the prospect of reading ‘harder’ texts doesn’t thrill you then try them anyway - you may be pleasantly surprised! part of the difficulty of studying this subject is that preconceived ideas can erect barriers and put you off. it is important to totally bulldoze these barriers and remind yourself that nothing is above you, and that you are capable. that’s not at all to say that you can’t read ‘simpler’ texts, and of course it is probably wise to admit to yourself when you perhaps need a greater literary background before you tackle a text (for example, i tried joyce’s ulysses, a modernist text full of allusion, when i have a barely working knowledge of greek mythology, and i admitted to myself that though it would not be impossible for me to read it, i would like to read more widely and then return to it in the future).• w i k i p e d i a. it’s often sniffed at but honestly don’t be afraid of using it! it’s an excellent way to absorb info fast. also don’t be ashamed of using websites like sparknotes if you don’t understand a poem to begin with! u shouldn’t rely on them for the crux of your analysis but they can be helpful to get started!• it’s perhaps obvious, but it helps to remind yourself that literature isn’t just fiction - try to read some critical essays if you can, and look at philosophy, history, psychology etc and how they relate to literature as studied in school. this is actually wayyyy more fun than it sounds (!) and will improve your general literary knowledge.• tumblr, whilst being a killer procrastination station, can also really help to broaden your knowledge. reblogged quotes from famous writers often stick around in your memory, and period moodboards can help you get a sense of different ages and help you to visualise what you’re studying. it’s also great to be in a community of passionate people - the passion of others on this site has definitely rubbed off on me!• make it relevant!! all of these texts and literary movements have shaped our society profoundly. as overdramatic as it sounds, look for the romanticism in a house party, or existentialism in internet memes, or hamlet in yourself. legacies are all around us, and seeing the world in this way can really bring literature to life.

literature is a subject where you get out what you put in. it’s relatively straightforward, if you work hard, to get very good grades in lit; if this is what you want, then having a solid knowledge of metre and literary terms, being able to spot them in texts, and then being able to describe what this reveals can get you top marks. but, in my opinion, to develop true literary intelligence you really have to let the subject permeate every aspect of your life. this is a subject where you really can take risks, be original and unique, and explore a huge amount of periods and ideas. if you see it reflected in the world around you, and think deeply and thoughtfully about everything you are reading, then the classwork honestly sorts itself out.

i hope this has been useful in some way and that it answers ur ask adequately!! if u have any further questions or require clarification please do not hesitate to let me know. i hope u have a wonderful day 💘

[avoresmith]

interesting dazai quotes

So I read The Setting Sun and No Longer Human recently, and each has characters that probably inspire Asagiri’s version of Dazai a lot. In the Setting Sun Naoji (the MC’s brother) is the Dazai-like, and in No Longer Human, it’s the protagonist himself. 

I read about both books on Wiki and honestly wasn’t interested in them at all. the bullet points of the stories just sound kind of boring. But Dazai’s writing is honestly lovely, and his character work is great. But I only realized that once I saw some of the author’s own work. I won’t give context for many of these, but if you get curious, I highly encourage you to check them out!

Oh and CW for some very pro-suicide stuff. Uh. Dazai writes it better than Asagiri does. And additional CW for some reference to CSA.

Also, spoilers, obvs.

First, Naoji in The Setting Sun:

I want to spend my time with people who don't look to be respected. But such good people won't want to spend their time with me.

When I pretended to be precocious, people started the rumor that i was precocious. When I acted like an idler, rumor had it I was an idler. When I pretended I couldn't write a novel, people said I couldn't write. When I acted like a liar, they called me a liar. When I acted like a rich man, they started the rumor I was rich. When I feigned indifference, they classed me as the indifferent type. But when I inadvertently groaned because I was really in pain, they started the rumor that I was faking suffering.

The world is out of joint.

Doesn't that mean in effect that I have no choice but suicide?

In spite of my suffering, at the thought that I was sure to end up by killing myself, I cried aloud and burst into tears. 

Solemnity = feeling of idiocy 

It is painful for the plant which is myself to live in the atmosphere and light of this world. Somewhere an element is lacking which would permit me to continue. I am wanting. It has been all I could do to stay alive up to now.

When I entered high school and first came in contact with friends of an aggressively sturdy stock, boys who had grown up in a class entirely different from my own, their energy put me on the defensive, and in the effort not to give in to them, I had recourse to drugs. 

I became coarse. I learned to use coarse language. But it was half—no, sixty per cent—a wretched imposture, an odd form of petty trickery. As far as the “people” were concerned, I was a stuck-up prig who put them all on edge with my affected airs. They would never really unbend and relax with me. On the other hand, it is now impossible for me to return to those salons I gave up. Even supposing that my coarseness is sixty per cent artifice, the remaining forty per cent is genuine now. 

It may be true that in any society defective types with low vitality like myself are doomed to perish, not because of what they think or anything else, but because of themselves. I have, however, some slight excuse to offer. I feel the overwhelming pressure of circumstances which make it extremely difficult for me to live.

“What’s all this rationalizing for? Anyone can see that he’s a playboy from way back, a lazy, lecherous, selfish child of pleasure.” Up to now when people have spoken of me that way I have always nodded vaguely in embarrassment, but now that I am on the point of death, I would like to say a word by way of protest. I have never derived the least joy out of amusements. Perhaps that is a sign of the impotence of pleasure. I ran riot and threw myself into wild diversions out of the simple desire to escape from my own shadow — being an aristocrat.

Undoubtedly you will weep when you learn the news—apart, of course, from such ornamental sentimentality as you may indulge in—but if you will please try to think of my joy at being liberated completely from the suffering of living and this hateful life itself, I believe that your sorrow will gradually dissolve.

Any man who criticizes my suicide and passes judgment on me with an expression of superiority, declaring (without offering the least help) that I should have gone on living my full complement of days, is assuredly a prodigy among men quite capable of tranquilly urging the Emperor to open a fruit shop.

This is actually a character speaking about Yozo in the prologue of No Longer Human:

He is a student in this picture, although it is not clear whether it dates from high school or college days. At any rate, he is now extraordinarily handsome. But here again the face fails inexplicably to give the impression of belonging to a living human being. [. . . ] And yet somehow it is not the smile of a human being: it utterly lacks substance, all of what we might call the “heaviness of blood” or perhaps the “solidity of human life”—it has not even a bird’s weight. It is merely a blank sheet of paper, light as a feather, and it is smiling.

The rest of these will be from Yozo:

I have been sickly ever since I was a child and have frequently been confined to bed. How often as I lay there I used to think what uninspired decorations sheets and pillow cases make. It wasn’t until I was about twenty that I realized that they actually served a practical purpose, and this revelation of human dullness stirred dark depression in me.

It drove me indeed to the brink of lunacy. I wonder if I have actually been happy. People have told me, really more times than I can remember, ever since I was a small boy, how lucky I was, but I have always felt as if I were suffering in hell. It has seemed to me in fact that those who called me lucky were incomparably more fortunate than I.

I simply don’t understand. I have not the remotest clue what the nature or extent of my neighbor’s woes can be. Practical troubles, griefs that can be assuaged if only there is enough to eat—these may be the most intense of all burning hells, horrible enough to blast to smithereens my ten misfortunes, but that is precisely what I don’t understand: if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?

If that is the case, their sufferings should be easy to bear: they are the common lot of human beings and perhaps the best one can hope for. I don’t know ... If you’ve slept soundly at night the morning is exhilarating, I suppose. What kind of dreams do they have? What do they think about when they walk along the street?

[. . .]

The more I think of it, the less I understand. All I feel are the assaults of apprehension and terror at the thought that I am the only one who is entirely unlike the rest. It is almost impossible for me to converse with other people. What should I talk about, how should I say it?—I don’t know.

This was how I happened to invent my clowning. It was the last quest for love I was to direct at human beings. Although I had a mortal dread of human beings I seemed quite unable to renounce their society.

I managed to maintain on the surface a smile which never deserted my lips; this was the accommodation I offered to others, a most precarious achievement performed by me only at the cost of excruciating efforts within.

Again, I never once answered back anything said to me by my family. The least word of reproof struck me with the force of a thunderbolt and drove me almost out of my head. Answer back! Far from it, I felt convinced that their reprimands were without doubt voices of human truth speaking to me from eternities past; I was obsessed with the idea that since I lacked the strength to act in accordance with this truth, I might already have been disqualified from living among human beings.

I thought, “As long as I can make them laugh, it doesn’t matter how, I’ll be all right. If I succeed in that, the human beings probably won’t mind it too much if I remain outside their lives. The one thing I must avoid is becoming offensive in their eyes: I shall be nothing, the wind, the sky.”

Whenever I was asked what I wanted my first impulse was to answer “Nothing.” The thought went through my mind that it didn’t make any difference, that nothing was going to make me happy.

At the same time I was congenitally unable to refuse anything offered to me by another person, no matter how little it might suit my tastes. When I hated something, I could not pronounce the words, “I don’t like it.” When I liked something I tasted it hesitantly, furtively, as though it were extremely bitter.

I acquired my reputation at school less because I was the son of a rich family than because, in the vulgar parlance, I had “brains.”

I had succeeded in escaping from being respected. My report card was all A’s except for deportment, where it was never better than a C or a D. This too was a source of great amusement to my family.

Already by that time I had been taught a lamentable thing by the maids and menservants; I was being corrupted. I now think that to perpetrate such a thing on a small child is the ugliest, vilest, cruelest crime a human being can commit. But I endured it. I even felt as if it enabled me to see one more particular aspect of human beings.

I smiled in my weakness. If I had formed the habit of telling the truth I might perhaps have been able to confide unabashedly to my father or mother about the crime, but I could not fully understand even my own parents. To appeal for help to any human being—I could expect nothing from that expedient. Supposing I complained to my father or my mother, or to the police, the government—I wondered if in the end I would not be argued into silence by someone in good graces with the world, by the excuses of which the world approved.

It is only too obvious that favoritism inevitably exists: it would have been useless to complain to human beings. So I said nothing of the truth. I felt I had no choice but to endure whatever came my way and go on playing the clown.

I also have the impression that many women have been able, instinctively, to sniff out this loneliness of mine, which I confided to no one, and this in later years was to become one of the causes of my being taken advantage of in so many ways. Women found in me a man who could keep a love secret.

The ensuing days were imprinted with my anxiety and dread. I continued on the surface making everybody laugh with my miserable clowning, but now and then painful sighs escaped my lips. Whatever I did Takeichi would see through it, and I was sure he would soon start spreading the word to everyone he saw.

If it were possible, I felt, I would like to keep a twenty-four hours a day surveillance over Takeichi, never stirring from him, morning, noon or night, to make sure that he did not divulge the secret. I brooded over what I should do: I would devote the hours spent with him to persuading him that my antics were not “on purpose” but the genuine article; if things went well I would like to become his inseparable friend; but if this proved utterly impossible, I had no choice but to pray for his death. Typically enough, the one thing that never occurred to me was to kill him.

During the course of my life I have wished innumerable times that I might meet with a violent death, but I have never once desired to kill anybody. I thought that in killing a dreaded adversary I might actually be bringing him happiness.

Even Takeichi seemed not to be aware of the hypocrisy, the scheming, behind my actions. Far from it—his comment as he lay there with his head pillowed in my lap was, “I’ll bet lots of women will fall for you!”—It was his illiterate approximation of a compliment.

I have always found the female of the human species many times more difficult to understand than the male. In my immediate family women outnumbered the men, and many of my cousins were girls. There was also the maidservant of the “crime.” I think it would be no exaggeration to say that my only playmates while I was growing up were girls.

Nevertheless, it was with very much the sensation of treading on thin ice that I associated with these girls. I could almost never guess their motives. I was in the dark; at times I made indiscreet mistakes which brought me painful wounds.

Women led me on only to throw me aside; they mocked and tortured me when others were around, only to embrace me with passion as soon as everyone had left. Women sleep so soundly they seem to be dead. Who knows? Women may live in order to sleep.

[. . .]

These and various other generalizations were products of an observation of women since boyhood days, but my conclusion was that though women appear to belong to the same species as man, they are actually quite different creatures, and these incomprehensible, insidious beings have, fantastic as it seems, always looked after me.

The pictures I drew were so heart-rending as to stupefy even myself. Here was the true self I had so desperately hidden. I had smiled cheerfully; I had made others laugh; but this was the harrowing reality. I secretly affirmed this self, was sure that there was no escape from it, but naturally I did not show my pictures to anyone except Takeichi.

[. . .]

On the other hand, I was equally afraid that they might not recognize my true self when they saw it, but imagine that it was just some new twist to my clowning—occasion for additional snickers. This would have been most painful of all. I therefore hid the pictures in the back of my cupboard.

I soon came to understand that drink, tobacco and prostitutes were all excellent means of dissipating (even for a few moments) my dread of human beings. I came even to feel that if I had to sell every last possession to obtain these means of escape, it would be well worth it.

(At this point Kindle got mad at me for copying and pasting too many excerpts to a friend (I wonder why!!) and so I stopped doing it, there was only one other thing I wanted to share enough to type it out myself:)

[. . .] I knew that the facts were certain to be discovered, but I was afraid to state them as they were. One of my tragic flaws is the compulsion to add some sort of embellishment to every situation - a quality which has made people call me at times a liar - but I have almost never embellished in order to bring myself any advantage; it was rather that I had a strangulating fear of that cataclysmic change in the atmosphere the instant the flow of a conversation flagged, and even when I knew that it would later turn to my disadvantage, I frequently felt obliged to add, almost inadvertently, my word of embellishment, out of a desire to please born of my usual desperate mania for service. This may have been a twisted form of my weakness, an idiocy, but the habit it engendered was taken full advantage of by the so-called honest citizens of the world.

Some final notes:

Dazai (the author) writes with a lot of character, and he tends to have characters who echo a specific miserable perspective on life which is widely believed to be informed by Dazai’s own thoughts. However, they are different characters. Naoji speaks of playing the clown out of genuine love and Yozo persistently is completely dispassionate about just about everyone in his life, even the people he behaves in loving ways towards. 

Dazai (the character) is certainly going to be his own as well, since he does and acts in many ways unlike either character. For one, while Dazai acts the buffoon he deliberately does it to antagonize, which is a complete 180 from Yozo’s motivations and how he is perceived by just about everyone. Making people constantly irritated at him would have sent Yozo into a regular state of panic. 

But there is certainly A Perspective here, which I think is hugely influential in how Asagiri portrays Dazai and also probably very #relatable to a great many people. 

I know it seems like I quoted a lot but there is also plenty more where that came from, so if you found it interesting, please read the novels!

[blacknovelist]

Sorry if this question comes way the hell out of freaking nowhere, but I am a self taught author, and I am going to start writing the first book (properly and officially this time) in my series next year, and seeing as you and I share something in common, writing novel length things, over analyzing things and thinking our own ideas through to a frightening amount, could you give me some advise? Right now about your opinion and tricks of writing enigmatic, creepy and over powered villains?

Oh wow, I’m honored you’re asking me for advice, anon. I’d be happy to try and help you out! Don’t you worry about being outta nowhere, that’s never much a problem unless the context is important like for ask memes and stuff, haha. I’m answering this first outta the asks I’ve gotten because I think this is a question that I ought to get back to you about quick (though I’m almost done some of the other answers, so I’ll edit and queue ‘em when I’ve got some time later).

As far as writing an enigmatic, creepy, super-powerful villain goes, it depends a little bit on what kind of person you want that villain to be, and how you want people to perceive them. Are they supposed to be the villain from the start, do they have an early cameo, are they human or some other race, and so on.

For example, there’s Father from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. He’s certainly a mystery, seeing how he lives under Central and doesn’t oft show his full capabilities. When he first meets Ed, he wasn't antagonistic towards him, which sends mixed signals. It’s been some time since I’ve seen FMA, but in general, he keeps his cards close to his chest and sends others out to do his dirty work, which prevents us from knowing much about him. He’s also really creepy - face always blank, thirst for power, he’s not human and it shows. In general, his mannerisms are very blank and he acts aloof and superior as a default state of being, which is just strange from our perspectives. And, well, we all know Father is ridiculously powerful, and wanting to become moreso by opening the gate and becoming God. In different ways, he’s a fairly enigmatic, creepy, overpowered villain.

Another example is Shigaraki from BNHA (AfO also fits the bill for this kind of villain, but I wanted to use someone different). In his case, what makes him so creepy and enigmatic is his unpredictability - his seemingly arbitrary/childlike mannerisms and reasons combined with his personality, motivations, and tutelage under All for One mean he’s got the smarts, the resources and, in the context of BNHA, an advantageous quirk (disintegration is good for the raw power of it, though as we’ve seen he can’t really disintegrate things that are already in particles like sand). It’s difficult to understand who he is, why he’s doing what he’s doing, and what he might do later on, the way he acts is not “socially acceptable or normal” (which varies depending on your given world), and he’s powerful through the League and his disintegration quirk.

The kind of vibes your antagonist is supposed to give off and the type of person they’re supposed to be within your series impact how you should portray them to your protag and your readers. Mostly, it’s kind of an exercise in red herrings and concealment.

For example, by hiding specific motivations or revealing some motivations at certain times while keeping others vague and secret, it becomes harder to predict, understand and follow the thoughts of your antagonist, which gives them that enigmatic air. One of my OC’s (who is an anti-hero) often “forgets” to mention her reasons for doing things or deliberately uses misleading language and phrasing whenever she appears in the story, which leads to others making assumptions about her and obscures her actual personality and motivations, for example. As a result, very few characters are even aware that their interpretation of her may be flawed, and others are left not knowing what to think. But readers, with an outside perspective, might be able to tell she’s being evasive, and as such would see her in a mysterious or suspicious light.

Maybe your villain is obvious about some things, and very secretive about others - making a character enigmatic depends on how much you’re hiding and how you’re hiding it. If readers follow along with the knowledge of your protagonist, maybe your protag doesn’t notice the phrasing of the villain’s words, but the readers do; then the suspicion and air of mystery is there. Or, maybe their reasoning is hypocritical or conflicts with previously established elements - claiming to be doing something lawful despite their actions being unlawful, or acting on a reason that seems to go against their actions, and so on.

A creepy vibe can be added based on their mannerisms or portrayed personality, like the way they move, talk, and react to things, though it can also tie into the enigma factor. Maybe they’ve got a particular way of standing, or there’s an off-putting tone of their voice, or they have unusual reactions to different events? Or, it could be shown in the things a character can do or that a character knows. If, somehow, a character always arrives before everyone else, or always knows the answer or refuses to disclose those answers by being evasive or just denying it - when someone has skills or powers that put them ahead without any due or logical explanation, or they act in a manner that isn’t considered socially acceptable in the world (or they twist the definition of socially acceptable in “justifying” or “explaining” their acts), they start becoming unsettling in the eyes of those observing.

If your villain acts bright and bubbly on a regular basis, spin it so there’s almost too much cheer; if they’re often calm and even-tempered, make it clear that it’s difficult to read their expressions or body language. Strategic exaggeration of different traits and pushing characters to notice (or even not notice) specific traits or actions can clear up some things and obscure others, which can leave readers wrong-footed about your villain and help make them creepier. Pairing that with enigma again, by being specific about what you are and aren’t saying you can leave readers with the distinct impression that something is off without them knowing why that is (unless you want them to, of course).

Power has the most ways of being portrayed, I’d say, and all of them tie in well with both the creepy factor and the enigma factor. Like I mentioned earlier, shadow-leaders like AfO are a good example of mixing enigma with power, since you have one character controlling everything without revealing their true nature or self. Alternatively, there’s the option of the Father-like overlord character - someone who is obviously in charge, but who has many details about them obscured, hidden, or otherwise not understood to make it seem like they’re a mystery. Again, it depends on how you play out the other elements, and the kind of character you want your villain to be. Shigaraki, in this case, would be something in between, I think. Perhaps their power is what makes them unsettling, rather than their mannerisms, even. Figure out how powerful you want your villain to be, and what kind of power that manifests as - if your world has powers, is your villain adept in it? If not (or if your world doesn’t have powers), what else are they good at? Is their strength physical, mental, spiritual, magical, some combination of them, or all of the above? 

In general, these elements are easiest to put into a story through little things, I think - a character mentioning an incident that on the surface is normal but deep down seems odd, someone spotting the same stranger they saw in the previous city, a reference to some big event or disaster of some kind. By picking and choosing what traits you reveal about your villain, you influence how creepy, enigmatic and overpowered your villain comes across as, too. They could actually be the weakest character in the universe and we’d never know, as long as you sell it well. Mix and match traits you would put in your character, and experiment on how to show these traits and the impression you create with them.

Things like TV tropes can help, slogging through unrelated tropes aside, since it also gives traits that often apply to characters that are creepy/enigmatic/overpowered/all of the above and gives examples of when this happens. Take a look at other characters who embody one, two, or all three traits and understand what goes on in the story or in their design that makes you feel that way. How do they walk or talk, how does the author/creator reveal them or things about them, what are/what do their motivations seem to be, etc. 

I asked my sister for her thoughts on the subject too, because she happened to be around at the time - she suggests keeping in mind specific actions and how they’re accomplished also portray how creepy or enigmatic a character may be. 

Chances are, if you think your character is unsettling and creepy and unfairly strong, your observation is probably right and you’re fine (and if second opinions are needed, that’s what beta readers are for). Don’t get so caught up in thinking about it you don’t go anywhere! Sometimes a villain can come across as enigmatic by never appearing at all - it leaves everyone wondering where and who they are, and why they haven’t made any big or obvious moves, for instance.

Is this enough? I hope it is, but if it isn’t, I’d be happy to help more if you need it, and there’s plenty of lovely writing blogs and resources everywhere. I wish you all the good luck on your novel, anon!! I’m cheering for you!! ง(◕▽◕)ノ