#but it does make engaging with any other kind of fiction hard for her

[heyclickadee]

All of this! And it’s also, I mean—I know we tend to compare and contrast The Bad Batch to The Clone Wars a lot, but the Star Wars show that’s closest to Bad Batch in terms of structure is probably Rebels.

It was a show with a lot of seemingly standalone episodes about the Ghost family jetting around the galaxy doing little Robin Hood type jobs either for themselves or the rebellion, trying to find a way to fuel up their tricked out mini-van, and getting dragged into odd force-stuff. But with very, very few exceptions, every single episode had a necessary contribution to the whole. It was just hard to see at the time because, without the ending, it was impossible to know what the whole was or even where it was really going until the last six or so episodes of the last season.

I defy pretty much anyone who watched the show as it was coming out to look me in the eye and tell me that that knew where Rebels was going based on where it was halfway through its second season. And I’m not just talking about the space whales, I mean all of it—the temple, the world-between-worlds, the focus on the destruction and theft of culture via imperialism, the liberation of Lothal, Ezra Bridger Jedi Knight, Sabine and the importance of art, the general force weirdness. It’s all there throughout the show in hindsight and fits so well, but the only thing that was obviously on the table from the beginning was Ezra becoming a Jedi, because that was baked into the premise, and Kanan’s death, but mostly because Freddie Prinze jr. was pretty open about thinking Kanan had to die at some point from the beginning.

I watched Rebels as it was coming out, starting around halfway through season one, and a lot of the frustration being leveled at The Bad Batch now is really similar to what was going on there. And it’s fine! People don’t have to like things, and they certainly don’t have to like the same things I like. I just get tired of hearing, “This hasn’t happened yet, therefore it will never happen,” all the time. And that’s maybe on me. But still.

I genuinely think that full season drops have done something to people's ability to just enjoy anything. Like if everything isn't 100% payoff immediately people can't conceive of how perhaps... the story is not finished.

[psychic-refugee]

I understand if people are disappointed in Jenna by her lack of vocal support for the past election in the States. There is always the hope that a celebrity we follow are “on our side.” Elections can have dire consequences, and we hope to get all the help we can get.

I don’t think these expectations are reasonable, per se, but I understand the natural inclination and the disappointment that follows when those hopes/expectations fail to materialize.

I’ll repeat that we must manage our expectations when it comes to celebrities and Jenna is not exempt from that.

I don’t know where she stands on a lot of issues. I also don’t know how she voted if she voted at all. At bottom, we don’t have a right to know. Voting should always be a private matter if they so choose.

Celebrities are still private citizens who have a right to privacy and don't owe us transparency.

I think disappointment in the lack of political support is valid in terms of personal feelings, and I don’t want to put words in Jenna’s mouth of why she may not have been more vocal.

I don’t know Jenna and my next thoughts are very generous towards her, I own and admit it.

I want to give grace to those I can. Perhaps time will prove she is unworthy of it, I’ll give it anyway. Kindness and grace are a choice, and I only hope that others will choose them as well.

While I don’t know her stance on issues, I equally do not know her mental state or what is going on with her personal/real/work life.

I’m not too hard on anyone who chooses to refrain from engaging with social media in any capacity and for any reason. I think people’s safety and mental health will always take precedence.

One can’t give from an empty cup.

One of the things I keep in mind when it comes to Jenna and her social media use specifically, is that she is a hyper-sexualized celebrity. We are in a time where AI is rampant, and it being used for porn is becoming endemic. Globally, we are nowhere near having laws to combat this, and I don’t see it as a priority for any nation to reign it in.

Jenna has already been run off from one social media platform because she was sent AI porn of herself. Other social media platforms are not any better. Certainly, on Tumblr I regularly block and report accounts that post AI porn/photoshop/links to porn when I see it, Jenna is a popular target.

Then there are others who do “handcrafted” porn across different medias (drawings, fiction, etc…), and they try to profit from it, and they do so in public forums such as Twitter/IG/social media. If it’s not being sent directly to the celebrity, it’s easy to find and possibly shoved in their face via the algo. OR their siblings/family are finding it as well.

There are others that nitpick at her looks and make sexually charged comments about her body freely and openly.

Social media is not a safe place for Jenna.

I certainly wouldn’t frequent anyplace I knew I was going to be sexually harassed or heavily criticized, even for benign things such as attending a concert or a farmer’s market. She is literally being stalked by her “fans” and they are happy to spread it and act as if they’re doing her a favor.

Yes, Jenna’s social media posts have become essentially completely professional. Even when we know she has been to social engagements with people she works with and we presume are on friendly terms, she does not post about it. I believe she only posted about Gaza twice, three times tops. She never endorsed any candidate.  

She’s not active on social media in general, not just inactive with politics.

I think she would totally forgo social media if not for her professional obligations. It is my understanding she’s only on IG, all others she has shutdown despite likely being able to monetize all of them.

I think it says something that she limits social media as a revenue stream.

Maybe the few posts she did upload regarding voting, even so late in the game, was all she had the mental bandwidth for.

I also would understand if she felt overwhelmed to the point of inaction. She has admitted to anxiety surrounding social media. (Independent, 07 June 2024) Perhaps seeing how Roan Chappell was torn apart for attempting to explain a nuanced opinion on a complex issue had scared her off even more.

Perhaps she is in a place where she could not make herself the target of social media nutjobs.

I’m confident enough to say that anything she said would have invited harassment, no matter what it was.

I’m not going to be too hard on anyone who chooses themselves first, and/or is dealing with mental health issues.

She shouldn’t have to set herself on fire to keep others warm.

Social media is just another type of theatre, and she does not need to perform her values for me.

I see her lack of social media presence as protecting herself by removing herself from what may be hurting her.

I will never criticize anyone dealing with anxiety on how they manage their anxiety.

Jenna has a lot of privileges compared to a lot of people, it doesn’t mean she should be forced to put herself in front of the metaphorical firing squad that is always locked and loaded on social media.

Again, this is a very gracious view of one of a million possibilities that could have been going on in a world I’m not a part of, and with people I’ve never met. I do not conflate social media with knowing someone.

Having a large platform is irrelevant, does not cure anxiety, and does not create obligations.

Expectations from randos on the internet are not obligations.

This is not to dissuade anyone from being angry. This is merely a possible different point of view one may consider.

As I’ve said, grace and kindness are a choice. I’m choosing to think the best of her intensions and situation.

[mariodreemurr]

Intro / Pinned Post!

“They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them because they’re all the same.” –Kurt Cobain

Greetings, fellow humans! …Er, hey, everyone! Welcome to my all-purpose blog! Here, you’ll find all my Tumblr posts, including various art pieces, reblogs, and selfshipping stuff! So, without further ado, allow me to introduce myself. (This post may change over time!!)

Mario / Marma / Marm

22 y/o (there’s no NSFW/suggestive stuff here, but please be mindful before interacting)

AMAB Paraboy (He/They)

Bi-xenosexual (meaning, I am a bisexual who is exclusively attracted to sapient nonhumans)

Furry / alienkin (The last 2 names I gave for myself are names for my aliensona! I might post him someday.)

Selfshipper / fictolover (I do NOT use my aliensona for selfshipping. I consider him a separate character.)

INFP 4w5 so/sx 469 (4w5-6w5-9w8)

Hobbies / Interests (including media)

NOTE: Me having an interest in or having F/Os from a certain media DOES NOT MEAN THAT I CONDONE THE CREATOR’S ACTIONS, IF APPLICABLE!! Also, I don’t consider myself to be in these fandoms, if applicable. I’m just a fan!

90s alternative / grunge music

The Amazing Digital Circus

Beastars

Chikn Nuggit

Drawing & writing

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss

Heavy metal, especially alternative metal (which includes funk metal, nu metal and rap metal)

Invader Zim

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (especially Part 3)

Kitty Is Not a Cat (please please PLEASE interact if you are also a fan of this!!! I want to meet more people who enjoy the show)

Nintendo, especially Super Mario, Kirby & Pokémon (up to and including Gen 7)

Personality types, most notably MBTI & Enneagrams

Pizza Tower

Statistics & data science

Trivia Crack / Triviatopia

Undertale / Deltarune / Undertale Yellow

BYF

I am autistic, which makes it very hard for me to interact with people sometimes. At times, I say things that I don’t truly mean, so please be patient with me. In addition, please say what you mean whenever you talk to me, as I often take things very literally.

I have very bad social anxiety, and I often delay responses simply because I’m shy and/or I don’t know what to say that won’t offend other people.

DNI (may change over time)

Anti-selfship, anti-furry

Proshippers/comshippers/darkshippers (including neutrals, anti-antis, and “proship safe” blogs)

MAPs & adjacent, adults who selfship with minors, incest shippers, zoos

Selfshippers who ship themselves with real people (fictional characters played by irl people/actors are fine)

Biphobes / those that engage in bisexual erasure

Homophobes, LGBTphobes, TERFs & other bigots

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss hatedom

If none of these apply to you, go under the cut for more!

Now that you’re still here, it’s time for the fun stuff!

(NOTE: As long as you truly respect them, I am 100% comfortable with sharing ANY AND ALL of my romantic & platonic F/Os!!!)

My F/O lists may change over time.

💖 (One and Only) Romantic F/O 💖

My one and only romantic F/O is Petal, one of the 16 (!) main characters of Kitty Is Not a Cat, an obscure Australian cartoon that aired from 2018 to 2020.

The show centers around the adventures and experiences of a human orphan girl named Kitty, who really wants to be a cat. One day, she encounters a mansion where 15 talking, musical cats live. Initially reluctant, the cats eventually agree to take care of her and accept her as one of their own. It is a very wholesome and underrated show, and I highly recommend thar you check it out!

But enough about the show, let’s talk about Petal!

Petal is a cat (of no specific breed) with purplish gray fur, including dark “chest fur.” She also wears a black collar.

Petal is considered the “mother” of the cats; she is protective of them and loves looking after everyone, especially Kitty. Petal is also very kind, caring, and enthusiastic to a fault…so much so that the other cats have gotten annoyed at her sometimes. Despite her kind and gentle nature, she knows when enough is enough, and is willing to put her foot down if it means justice.

Petal’s motherly nature makes her quite intelligent for a cat. But she still has done some pretty derpy things at times. For example, there was one episode in which she confused a play Kitty put on as fact instead of fiction, and she joined the other cats in searching for buried treasure outside the mansion. In another episode (and one of my personal favorite ones), Kitty built a big plastic playhouse outside the mansion, and Petal and the other cats got the idea that she was moving out. This made her and the other cats very sad, and they in turn “visited” her in an absolutely hilarious sequence of events.

And yet, despite not fully understanding things sometimes (in particular, human culture and behavior), she does her absolute best to be as kind and respectful about them as possible. This kind of support is exactly what I need in life.

And this is our ship!

(This commission was done by @/sheepie-self-ships!)

Our ship name is AltMetal! Every post about this ship, whether it is an art or writing piece, will be tagged with this.

There’s not really much more to say here, other than the fact that I love her so goddamn much. If you want more content of this selfship, follow this blog, which includes gushes and whatnot!

Queerplatonic F/Os

Petal is my only romantic F/O, but I also have a handful of queerplatonic F/Os. Even though they’re not romantic, I still very much care for them. They are:

Adam (Hazbin Hotel)

Jax (The Amazing Digital Circus)

Meow Skulls (Fortnite)

Sallie May (Helluva Boss)

Familial F/Os

I also have 6 familial F/Os. They are:

Kirby (Kirby series) - Son

Tito (Trivia Crack / Triviatopia, but esp. the latter) - Son

Haru (Beastars) - Daughter

Mandy (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) - Daughter

Toriel (Undertale) - Mother

Asriel Dreemurr (Undertale) - Brother

Platonic F/Os

Lastly, I have several platonic F/Os. They are:

Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)

Ankha (Animal Crossing)

Barbie Wire (Helluva Boss)

Cheeta (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Foghorn Leghorn (Looney Tunes)

Ginsburg (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Grim (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)

Happy (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

All of I.M.P. (Helluva Boss)

Jean Pierre Polnareff (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Johnny Cage (Mortal Kombat, esp. his MK1 incarnation)

Part 3 Joseph Joestar (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Legoshi (Beastars)

Miley (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Ming (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

The Nazz (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Noriaki Kakyoin (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Schnitzel (Chowder)

Sidon (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)

Spook (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Starlo (Undertale Yellow)

Thorn (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

And that’s pretty much it for this post! Hope to see y’all around in the future!

(NOTE: I will use this image below instead of DNI tags from now on as a way to not clutter the tags. Since this is my first DNI list, this probably won’t be a permanent image, as it may change over time. To keep myself safe from proshitters, I will put “proshippers DNI” at the end of my posts.)

Proship/comship DNI.

[gatoraid]

Shelley Parker-Chan for Locus Magazine

Locus Magazine's March 2024 issue had a long interview with Shelley Parker-Chan! They talk about their inspirations, the writing process of The Radiant Emperor duology, exploring gender in their books and how writing fanfic has shaped their writing (among a lot of other things). I was finally able to get my hands on the magazine and wanted to share some favorite quotes.

Check out more quotes and how to buy the magazine to read the full interview: Shelley Parker-Chan: All the Others

On their origins with scifi/fantasy

My mother was such a stereotypical Chinese tiger parent: 'You have to study really hard, get great grades. But then she also loved Star Trek. So we’d spend a lot of time watching that together at home. That was a formative part of my childhood, to the point where I wanted to be an astrophysicist when I grew up. I was obsessed with the stars.

A lot of the themes in science fiction/fantasy really spoke to me. Robots! I love an awkward robot - Murderbot by Martha Wells is one of my favorites. As a slightly awkward, possibly on-the-spectrum child, I really identified with robots, and the Spocks of the world.

On writing and fanfiction

Action/adventure plus relationships has always really interested me. Obviously, back in the day, nothing was really queer, so in my teens I gravitated towards Japanese manga and anime, which had more queer themes. Especially in the online spaces, people were writing fanfic, so I started writing it, too.

I never did any formal writing classes outside of fandom and fanfic - that was where I learned to write. I think the number one Most Important Thing was that fanfic was a place where you could write and find acceptance and enthusiasm. […] You could express very upsetting desires, and really explore aspects of sexuality, personality, and problematic relationships in a way that other people would read with an open mind and greet very enthusiastically without judging. No one said, 'Well, this is not the correct moral lesson that we want in fiction!’ Which is a response that has increasingly popped up in traditional publishing.

On exploring themes of gender in The Radiant Emperor Duology

There’s a lot of trans issues and gender exploration in the books, but I didn't want to make it too close to contemporary life because then it’s not fun for me. I like exploring those issues from a step removed, allowing for people with many different identities, for instance, to project themselves onto a certain character. Like, a eunuch - no one has a eunuch identity these days. But any kind of gender nonconforming, nonbinary, trans person - I've had many trans women write to me and say they enjoyed reading a character like that. If I had written an actual trans man character in the book, that would have narrowed it down a bit.

I always think that my main goal as a writer is to explore characters. But I don't start with the characters. I start with a theme, and the theme was gender and being oneself in a system where a rigid gender binary is enforced. It’s about the performance of femininity and masculinity. Not that I put it in so many words- ‘I want to write a book about gender!’ Its about people exploring, expanding that, confronting that, battling the binary in their own ways. What does it mean to be yourself when that self is in opposition to what people say you should be?

About the characters of TRE

All of the characters are either queer or they are really engaged with the concept of how to be themselves when the world is pressing afainst that. I do have a straight female character, Madam Zhang, based on a famous nineteenth-century female pirate in Southern China, who ran rhis mercantile empire. […] It was said that her background was a courtesan. So I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll take that character – a woman in a very male world who uses femininity as a weapon. But, knowing she can never rule herself, she has to work through men.’ That’s one character who bounces off of gender in an interesting way, and then I could have her in dialogue with other characters.

There’s a genderfluid character, my main protagonist Zhu, who used the performance of gender kind of like a superpower. She can move in and out of identities and doesn’t feel particularly wedded to any of them.

Then we have a nongender-conforming – but straight, I guess – man, Wang Baoxiang, who does not conform to society’s standards of what it is to be a man, and that impacts his identity in a certain way. His self-esteem is very damaged, and he often feels like, ‘I was born in the wrong time. If I had been born in a different time, my version of masculinity would be recognized.’ Through that character, I was thinking fo the way in which Chinese traditional performance of masculinity, for instance, is not recognized here in Australia as masculine - it's seen as feminine. In Australia. we have a certain white, sports-playing, particular idea of masculinity - It looks like Chris Hemsworth. If you do not look like Hemsworth, it you're a little Asian guy, your’e inherently seen as feminine, no matter now masculine you feel.

I have a eunuch character, someone whose gender has literally been ripped away from them, and that kind of reflects a trans experience – someone who feels they are intensely masculine on the inside, but the entire world sees them in a different way. Then you feel the need to perform, in order to seen to be the way that you feel you are. But this character, in trying to be the most manly he can possibly be , starts to adopt all these toxic masculine traits, and, in a sense, kills a lot of his own honest desires in pursuit of performing this ideal of masculinity.

About their next book and future aspirations as an author

I'm going to write a secondary-world fantasy. I've never built a world from scratch before […] It will feel pre-industrial, historical. It will be very kinky and - what are the comps? So far l've been saying, 'It's Foucault's Discipline and Punish meets Simone Weil's Gravity & Grace with a side of of Kushiel’s Dart. There's a lot of kinky BDSM in a world like that. One of the joys of fan fiction was people were not afraid to create these worlds where society is completely based around kink concepts, so I'm building a world around kink concepts here, and that’ll be fun.

I'm a frustrated romance author, so I really want to write some romances in the future - straight up. None of that politics stuff. none of the adventure, only the relationships! I'm not fast enough to write category romance, though, that's for sure. I'll have to stick with fantasy romance so I can do one every two years.

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

Sargassa by Sophie Burnham

Release date: 8 October 2024

Genre: adult speculative fiction

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis

In a world where Rome never fell, an unlikely group of protagonists are ready to burn down the empire in the first of this new speculative trilogy.

Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth--but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.

Content warnings

Death, murder, violence

Sexual assault, sexual harassment, mentions of rape

Slavery

Classism

Misogyny, patriarchy

Unintentional misgendering

Enbyphobia, slight homophobia

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Not gonna lie, the beginning is pretty rough. The first 20% introduces brand new PoV chapters one after the other, with each PoV character being in a different place doing different things, plus time jumps, which made it hard to understand who's who and what's going on. I seriously considered DNFing, but I am so glad I decided to push through.

Once all the main characters have been established, the book kicks into gear. The plot is fast-paced and engaging, the story beats are on point and the build-up leading to the reveal at the end was so well-executed, I couldn't put it down. Speaking of the big reveal, looking back, there are elements that make so much more sense in hindsight, which shows how the author really thought everything through.

One part that was kind of lackluster for me was the characters. There isn't anything wrong with them, and objectively, the character work is great! But I just couldn't connect with any of them. The romance sub-plots are also kind of meh. I didn't dislike them, but I also didn't root for them.

At its heart, though, this book is about classism and injustice. The author does an excellent job of tackling these themes with the portrayal how the caste system works, as well as how the system is built to discriminate against the lower class while protecting the upper class. I find this especially timely, with everything going on in the world right now. This book is brimming with visceral rage, from rage against the system of oppression, to rage against personal injustices.

Besides the rough beginning, this book is fantastic, with a brilliant plot and well-developed world-building and themes. I cannot wait to read the sequel!

[krisssssssy]

random astrology of ardyn ramble

This is probably not interesting to anyone, but my other hyperfixation is astrology, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about Ardyn's placements.

Okay, I realize Eos is fictional, and that these characters aren't existing in the same solar system as us, which would obviously change everything about their signs and planets. ANYWAY.

Ardyn's birthday is April 30th, which would make him a Taurus sun sign. I think this makes sense, Taureans' can be eccentric, every Taurus sun I know radiates very appealing weirdo vibes, idk why this is, and ALSO if we look at Ardyn's behavior prior to the scourge, he was fairly stubborn, determined to heal everyone (and Taureans, once they start on a path, it is very difficult for them to deviate), despite his relationship with Aera.

I don't THINK we have a canonical birthday for Somnus, but he strikes me more as an Aries (or at least Mars ruled) and a Taurus (as a Venus-ruled sign) is not some warmonger, or making rash decisions to set anyone on fire who even *possibly* has the scourge.

I also like the idea of Ardyn being a Taurus, which is an Earth sign, and trying very hard to cleanse the Earth (or Eos), as it were, of some disease/affliction.

ALSO. If you dive deeper into other astrology placements (for those unfamiliar, we have not only a Sun sign, but a moon sign, a Mercury sign, a Venus sign, etc).

When I first saw Ardyn I was like, bro is a Gemini. He's shady, he's snarky, he more often uses his words (I mean literally like 75% of his dialogue in the game is just him screwing with Noctis mentally while he's in Zegnautus Keep). He resists most physical battles at all opportunities, doesn't want to engage in fighting (though he is obviously the strongest person in all of Eos besides Noctis) and avoids doing so. This to me also speaks to him being a Taurus, stubbornly refusing any kind of fight unless it's the final one, with Noctis (of course, he does fight Ignis in Episode Ignis, but literally during that fight with him in Altissia, if you don't attack him, he WONT attack you. He just saunters around and hordes of Imperials soldiers come down from the Magitek engines to fight you).

ANYWAY. If you are a Taurus sun, Mercury can *only* be in the sign of Aries, Taurus, or Gemini, because Mercury is never more than one sign away from the sun. So I'm saying, Ardyn is a Taurus sun, with a Gemini Mercury (which explains the Gemini nature of his speech patterns). An Aries mercury would be more forceful, impulsive, impatient, but a Gemini is going to give you the snark that we see from Ardyn.

I've also been thinking of this from the standpoint of my fan fiction (Precarious Games) because I have a Reader character, and I decided on their placements before I started it, to determine their essential personality. Reader (in my mind) is a Libra sun, with a Libra mercury, and Scorpio Venus, which would then make her sun Venus-ruled, giving some compatibility with Ardyn's Taurus sun, and then I suspect Ardyn has a Taurus Venus, which would then oppose Reader's Scorpio venus (as Taurus and Scorpio are opposite signs), which explains a lot of their conflicts, but also their attraction (and a scorpio venus is more willing to let a relationship utterly destroy them emotionally, and are even potentially attracted to people who aren't good for them, which gives some explanation for her continuing her relationship with him despite well, everything. and just being a Libra sun/mercury makes them crave partnership and balance, and to ignore conflict)

So yeah. Ardyn, I think, is a Taurus sun, Gemini Mercury, with a Taurus Venus. I don't know what his rising or moon sign would be, I just feel like, with villains, everyone is so quick to be like SCORPIO! So I wanted to give my thoughts. Like I said I realize this is probably interesting to NO ONE lmao but I needed to articulate this somewhere.

I haven't even thought about the Mars sign. Mars (I believe) can be anywhere regardless of where the Sun is, based on it's movement and retrograde period. I think possibly because he is a bit flamboyant, and showy, his Mars makes sense if it was in Leo, which would then square his Sun and Venus (i.e. his motivations, his drive are at odds with his sense of self/identity, and ability to relate to others).

I could also see him being a Leo rising, to give more emphasis on this showmanship vibe he has, and that would place Mars in the 1st house, and Sun/Venus in the 10th in Taurus (which is the area of your life purpose, your public facing self). Also, a lot of planets on the angular houses (1st, 10th) give someone a lot of strength in their personality, they are able to succeed (and let's not discount his success in Gralea, which he achieved not from Bahamut's intervention, but from his will alone, really).

But yeah! Astrology is fun when you apply it to fictional characters, for me it helps me understand their personalities better, especially when writing fan fiction, and it's nice to at least have a canon birthday (day and month at least) to go on.

[sarahowritesostucky]

📖"Body Heat: a Snowpiercer-Marvel Mashup Story pt 2

Rated: Explicit

Pairing: Curtis Everett x ofc

Tags: food insecurity, post apocalypse, age difference (18/34), dark!fic, implied/referenced suicide, poverty, arranged marriage, implied/referenced past cannibalism, hurt/comfort, attempted sexual assault

Summary: She’s too young for him to be eyeing her up the way he has been, but this is the Tail section, and Curtis has caught other men looking more than once. Everything is a commodity in the Tail. Everything. It won't be too long before he has to step in and claim her.

Author's Note:

On Tumblr, forbidden ToS content categories are: "terrorism, hate speech, harm to minors, self harm, sexually explicit material, violence, threats, gore, and mutilation."

And while you ARE apparently allowed to write a fictional story about incestuous, torturing, anorexic racists who rape their siblings, murder babies, kidnap, hate minorities, cannibalize, terrorize, and self-injure in the plotline of said story,

you ARE NOT allowed to write a teenage character who engages is any sort of sexualized conduct in a story.

For this one category and this one category alone, Tumblr staff (or at least one particular individual 🧌 😏on staff) makes no distinction between fictional stories with teen sexuality and C.S.A.M (which is frankly gross and unintelligent). They can and will delete your blog without any notice.

So, in the face of this VERY SPECIFIC criteria for Tumblr's censorship choices, I have changed the age of a character in this story from 16 to 18. That's not how the story was originally written, and the story can still be read on Ao3, which does not arbitrarily censor their content. But my m/f stories seem to be most popular on Tumblr, so I wanted to include the altered version in my library here.

(To be spiteful, however, I have changed the ofc from 16 to 18 and Curtis from 28 to 34, thus WIDENING the original age gap from 12 yrs to 16 yrs😆) 🖕you, staff troll

🖤With that said, this is a dark story regardless, so if you're looking for fluff, I suggest you look elsewhere.🖤

(Wait! I haven't read Part 1 yet!)

Part 2 - "A Microcosm of Humanity, Boiled Down to its Base Elements"

Mealtimes in the Tail are more about social interaction than they are about food—Kind of hard to have a dinner party when the only things there are to feast on are protein blocks and a meat that you’re pretending is chicken, after all. But they make due.

They have dishes now, at least. A couple hundred plastic bowls and cafeteria cups, dimpled and chipped at the rims, but still serviceable. They’re some of the newer amenities, part of the package that the council negotiated for in last year’s talks. It’s never much but it’s something, brings them just a smidge closer to being able to live like human beings, rather than animals.

It’s been twelve years, and still they’re celebrating over bowls when they should be aiming for antibiotics. But conditions were so miserable after Boarding that even the smallest concession from uptrain feels like a luxury now. Curtis would prefer the progress be faster, but he’s not in charge. He’s Gillam’s second in command, and Gillam’s so old and frail now. After the turmoil of the Year Two (and Three, and Five) Revolts, Curtis made him a tacit promise to not resort to such violent measures again lightly. For now, negotiated castoffs and increased recyclables from uptrain will have to do.

He doesn’t see Rose again for the rest of the afternoon. Four hundred people living in a metal box tend to brew discontent and interpersonal problems over the tiniest of things, and as one of the Tail’s five elected, a big chunk of Curtis’ days are spent solving petty conflicts between the Tailies. He navigates his way through a list of waiting disputes in the market car and in the bunks, making his rulings on what’s fair, and trying not to worry obsessively over Rose and where she is and how she may be doing and who may be bothering her.

But he’s not entirely successful, because something still loosens in his chest when he catches sight of her—looking peaceful and sitting quietly alone at dinnertime. He walks over, grinning the closer he gets as she continues not to notice his approach. “... Hey Petal!” he whisper-yells right beside her as he taps her shoulder and sinks down to sit next to her on the floor.

She gasps and almost drops her bowl, but a relieved smile splits her face when she sees that it’s him. “Curtis! Hey. It’s you.”

“Course it’s me.” He frowns quizzically at just how relieved she looks. “Who’d you think it was?”

“Nobody,” she excuses quickly, shaking her head and inching over to make more room for him. “Just glad to see you, is all. Today’s been … long.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “Did you get the clothes to Gilliam?”

Her smile softens and she nods. “Yeah. And the arm to Coulson.” She gestures down the car to where Phil is sitting, using the rudimentary limb with clumsiness but steadfast determination. “He has to practice, but I think it’s gonna work pretty well for him.”

“I’ll bet.” Curtis smiles, happy for him. Phil’s also one of the elected, and along with Gilliam, Curtis, The Man, and Banner, he’s always done his best to help the people in the Tail survive. … That’s why he’s currently missing his arm from just above the elbow.

Curtis remembers the taste of human flesh. He wishes he didn’t, but he does. And what’s more, he wishes it’d tasted worse than it had, wishes he didn’t have the memory of how his mouth had watered when he’d finally gotten to eat for the first time in over a week. He averts his eyes from Coulson, ashamed, setting his bowl on the floor and sliding his right hand up under his left coat sleeve to trace the jagged evidence of his own failure.

It hadn’t tasted bad. That’s something he’s never said out loud. Because it’s too shameful. Talking about the early days isn’t forbidden, per say, but there’s an understanding amongst the Tailies that you don’t discuss the actual experience of eating human flesh. Unless it’s in private with someone very, very close to you, you don’t talk about the worst things that went down in those days.

Curtis glances back to Phil, wondering. He doesn’t actually know��who he’s eaten. Back in the Desperation, there had been a decision amongst the volunteers that their donations would be mingled and prepared anonymously, to avoid people knowing—even family members, even the donors themselves. Curtis gets lost in the horror of the memory for a minute or two as he stares across the car at Phil, wondering, remembering the taste …

He snaps out of it when Rose says something to him, and he realizes that he’s still got his right hand stuck up his left coat sleeve, touching the scar. Rose’s voice pulls him out of it, like a fog suddenly lifting, and Curtis hastily picks his bowl back up, asking Rose to repeat herself and then mustering a cheerful answer for her as he puts the memories of the past back in the box on the shelf in his mind.

He and Rose sit shoulder to shoulder and converse over their bowls of stew. It’s one of only a few things that Tailies ever get to eat, and consists of broth made from cooked down protein blocks, and chunks of meat from the only other animal that shares the tail section with them.

Yeah, they eat rats. Curtis has stopped caring at this point. In fact, he’s not sure he ever really cared in the first place. Once you start with cannibalism, the only way to go is up. And it doesn’t taste too bad—especially since they’ve graduated from catching the rats to actually breeding them in cages. Between that and the artificial salt substitute that Curtis negotiated as part of last year’s package, things have a nicer flavor to them than they used to.

“Didn’t you work in the kitchen car for a hot second?” he says between one sip and another, when he’s paused to try and use his fingernail to get a stringy bit of meat out from between his teeth. “What’d MJ have you doing in there?”

Rose makes a face. “There are only a couple steps to making this slop, Curtis. Use your imagination.”

He laughs at the comical shudder she gives, and she kicks him for laughing at her. “So dramatic,” he teases. “What do you have to compare it to, anyway, huh?” He rolls his eyes. “Train babies. Don’t realize how good you have it.”

She gasps and pokes him as though he’s heaved a grave insult at her. “I am not a train baby!”

“Barely.”

“I’m eighteen!” she says, as if that makes her a full fledged adult (Curtis swallows heavily as he thinks that in some ways, it does). “I remember food from Before,” she insists, and Curtis shakes his head in amusement at her.

“Fine. What do you remember?” He’s breaking one of his own rules for her, talking about Before. It should alarm him but it doesn’t. “What food?” he taunts.

She sticks her chin out haughtily and thinks about it, before declaring, “Goldfish. And noodles. I remember noodles.”

It takes all Curtis has inside him not to snicker at her expense. He does want this girl to like him, after all. He looks down at his own bowl of stew and smiles fondly. “Goldfish crackers and noodles. That’s very specific.” The kind of thing a young child would remember. “Is that all?”

She twists her lips and admits, “Yeah.”

You have blocked a lot of it out, Curtis thinks sadly. Just not the parts that happened after Boarding. “It’s better that way,” he tells her. “Makes all of this more bearable.” Rose has never really had a life that was anything other than “bearable,” and while that is something of a mercy for her, it also makes Curtis want to be the one to give her more; be the one to introduce her to finery and pleasure, show her what it can taste like, what it can feel like. “There’s things I want to get for us,” he tells her, speaking quietly because he doesn’t need the people nearby overhearing and getting themselves worked up. “Things for the Tail, food I want to negotiate for. I think this might be the year.”

Rose looks intrigued. “What?”

“Lean closer,” Curtis whispers. “This is top secret.”

She smirks and scootches even closer to him, until they’re pressed together from hip to shoulder. “What?” she whispers.

Curtis looks her in the eye and lets the tension build for a moment, trying his damnedest to keep his expression serious, and then he declares, “Goldfish and noodles.”

She gives an outraged squawk and moves to swat at him for making fun of her, though she’s laughing herself. “You suck!”

Curtis stays her hand, pulling her into a one-armed hug and apologizing through his own laughter. “Wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Shh. I’ll tell you.” He calms down from laughing. “I’ll tell you, I will.”

“Jerk,” she mutters, but he can hear the fondness in her voice.

“Chickens,” he whispers in her ear. “You remember those?”

She purses her lips thoughtfully, then shrugs in a way that tells him she really doesn’t. “That’s an animal,” she says, in what she doesn’t realize is a sad demonstration of her limited knowledge. “A bird.”

“Yeah,” Curtis says. “Yeah it is. You know the New Year’s eggs?” Every year since Year Five, a wheelbarrow from uptrain arrives on New Year’s Day bearing the coveted gift of hundreds of gleaming white, hard-boiled eggs—one for each blasted soul who lives trapped in the Tail section. Rose hums and Curtis nods. “Those come from chickens. They lay the eggs and you can eat them. It’s a good source of food. And you can kill the chickens and eat them, too. Eat their meat.”

“But … don’t baby chickens come from the eggs?” Rose asks naively.

Curtis smirks. “Yeah, but that’s when they’re fertilized. If a male chicken isn’t around fucking the hens, then the eggs just come out, and you can eat ‘em. They don’t have baby chicks in them.” He watches Rose’s face screw up at the stark visual, and is surprised when she bluntly declares,

“Oh. So … like a period, with us.”

Curtis almost swallows his tongue. First of all, he wouldn’t have expected Rose to be able to make the comparison. Because she may be old enough to bleed, but they don’t exactly have comprehensive sex ed in the Tail. As far as Curtis knows, the girls are taught young—very young—what sex is, what it leads to, and how to avoid it at all costs. Curtis doesn’t think he’s heard a person talk openly about these things since before Boarding. It just isn’t done. The women handle their stuff themselves, and the men have their heads bitten off if they interfere.

“Um,” he says, face heating. “Yeah, I guess. Except you don't lay eggs." Rose snorts and Curtis winces and scratches awkwardly behind his ear. “So anyway, I want to get us some chickens. If we had those, it’d help a lot.”

Rose stares pensively into the depths of her soup bowl, with its globulous broth and stringy bits of meat. “It’d taste better than this?”

Curtis scoffs. “Most things do, Petal.”

“Oh God, you’re really sticking with that, aren’t you?”

He wraps an arm around her shoulders and gives her a squeeze, laying out his vision for the future. “I want to negotiate for another car. With dirt and chickens.”

“Dirt?”

“Yeah. They grow things uptrain. Crops. We could too. We could raise chickens in half of it, grow potatoes in the other half.”

Rose looks at him like he’s just announced he’ll be negotiating for the moon. “They’ll never give it to you,” she whispers. “Why would they?”

“If I could threaten them with something big enough. We might have the bargaining power.”

“What would you threaten them with?”

He smiles sadly and squeezes her shoulder. “I dunno. That’s what I’ve gotta figure out.”

“But you’re not gonna … I mean there’s not going to be another war, is there? Not like before …”

There’s genuine fear in her voice when she asks, which makes Curtis feel like crap. Everyone had suffered back then. Many had died. He thinks about how Rose would’ve only been eleven or so, during the Year Five Rebellion. Just a kid, still playing with the crummy little doll Curtis made for her. “No, Hon,” he promises gently. “No. There are other ways. Other things we can do to gain leverage. It just takes time.”

“What ways?”

He shakes his head and smiles. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t help it,” she pouts. “I may not know many things. But I like to know them.”

He smiles fondly. “I know, Petal. You’re curious. Always have been. You like to know the scuttlebutt, as they say. You’re not afraid to ask questions. I like that about you.”

“You do?”

“... Among other things.” He sees her cheeks color prettily, and realizes he’d better stop talking. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’d tell you if I could, but these things are above your paygrade. Me and Gilliam’ll figure it out.” He shoots her a wink. “That’s why they pay us the big bucks.”

She titters at that, because they both know that there’s no such thing as money in the Tail. Oh there’s currency, for sure, just not the kind that’s handed over as stacks of bills. Curtis lets his eyes drag over the few parts of Rose’s body that he can see: her attractive face and the slope of her neck, the delicate suggestion of a collar bone where it peeks out before it’s swallowed up by her sweater. He looks away. “I want to improve things for us. Change is possible. There are things we can get. We just have to work for it.”

“What things?” she presses, leaning closer.

He thinks about brushing her off, but he can see that she’s genuinely curious, and the interested gleam in her eyes sways him. Because ideas can mean hope, and he wants her to have hope. They’ve both seen what can happen when there isn’t any.

He tells her about the basic medicines and medical supplies that could be useful, tells her about the items they could receive if people uptrain were more willing to bargain. “More castoffs would go to us, instead of into the recycling machines,” he tells her. While it is true that some old and unwanted items eventually make their way into the Tailies’ “market,” the sad fact is that many more materials are cleansed, disintegrated, and recycled for use through the train’s 3d printing machines. Curtis has never seen them, but due to his yearly talks with a woman named Melanie, he now knows that they exist, and they’re why not much gets sent back to the Tailies.

“We’d have more clothes, toys and books, all sorts of new things.” Of course when he says “new” he only means new in the sense of new to them. To people in the front, Tailies are second class citizens at best, subhumans at worst. The funny thing is, Curtis doesn’t take offense at it like he used to. He’s learned by now that it’s human nature to kill, cheat and steal, clamoring all over each other whenever resources are limited. They’ve literally eaten the weak in the Tail, after all. It’d be hypocritical to hold the first class passengers to a higher standard.

No, Snowpiercer is just a microcosm of humanity boiled down to its base elements. Nine-hundred people surviving on a miserable little train, barreling endlessly around the frozen corpse of the planet. Of course there’s going to be subjugation of the weak so that others can have more. Curtis doesn’t hold it against them anymore, but he sure as hell isn’t going to take it lying down. The Tailies were never ticketed passengers. They forced their way on, they scraped and scrounged and earned their survival. And if they ever get the chance, they’ll turn the tables on the passengers uptrain in a heartbeat. Curtis makes speeches about “leveling the playing field,” but he doesn’t have visions of utopia. Not really. He just wants to die in a feather bed.

“What would we have after chickens?” Rose asks, drawing Curtis out of his gloom. She knows as well as he does, what the definition of a “pipe dream” is, but it’s fun to pretend with someone you like, and Curtis likes her. Always has. He likes that she hasn’t turned grey and dull like everyone else in the Tail. So he indulges her “what ifs” and they continue to tease each other over various colorful and increasingly stupid imaginings: how they’ll have potatoes, and then beef, then televisions, bathtubs, a swimming pool.

At some point, Curtis realizes that he’s actually managed to make her smile, and giggle. Even sitting on a cold steel floor slurping at a bowl of rat and god-knows-what stew, he feels like a king knowing he was able to do that. “You’re really beautiful when you smile,” he blurts out, soaking up the way that her eyes get just a little bit wider and her lips part in surprise. He averts his attention back down to his bowl, pleased as punch. “‘Course, I always think you’re beautiful,” he murmurs, fully intending for her to hear.

She gets quiet after that, bashful and seemingly deep in thought. Curtis doesn’t worry though, because when everybody settles in to listen to that night’s story, she goes to fetch one of the blankets off her bunk and brings it back. She plops herself right back down next to Curtis and hands him a corner of the blanket to wrap it around both of their shoulders. He obliges. The assembly car fills up for that night’s entertainment, and just before the lights are dimmed down to their lowest level, Curtis locks eyes with Tanya from across the car, who’s shooting him a scrutinizing look. He’s grateful to escape her judgment for the moment, but he knows she’ll be on him before long.

They set out the tall stool at the head of the car, and Painter, the Tail’s historian, climbs up and settles on it.

A quiet man of short stature, Painter’s been performing the nightly stories since almost from the very beginning. He has a way of seeing things that others don’t, a way of weaving words and details together in graduating, elaborative cadence; like his drawings, like strings on a loom, always managing to convey the true heart of a matter in a way that resonates with people. It’s the closest thing to watching a movie any of them will probably ever get again, and in Curtis’ opinion it has just as much value as the food they feed their bodies with. People need more than just food to survive. They need community, they need love, they need hope.

Painter sits silently at first—a sign that he hasn’t decided on the topic and is taking suggestions that night. Someone calls out in the dimness to suggest The Man for tonight’s story, and a murmur of general agreement goes through the crowd. Up ahead on his stool, Painter nods. The Man was well known in the Tail, having long-served on Gillam’s council, among other things. Curtis hadn’t been lying to Rose, when he’d said that her father had been a good leader.

In the crook of his arm, he feels her shift subtly. Aware that this might be hard for her, he leans over and kisses the top of her head. “Hey, are you okay?” he whispers, giving her the option. “You want to go?” But she shakes her head and tucks herself further into him, so Curtis relaxes back, looking forward to getting to hold her in his arms for the next hour or two.

Painter does The Man justice. Children are always kept in another car during storytime, so that the plotlines don’t have to be watered down for their sensibilities, but even still, Curtis doesn’t doubt that Painter knows Rose is present, because he takes care to soften the corners of the story where she features, and to use gentle words when the most painful memories are fleshed out.

For over an hour, Curtis lets his eyes slip closed and the words wash over him. He tucks his nose into Rose’s hair and breathes the scent of her in, holding her small, soft body against him. He can feel every shift and sway that she gives as she hears the story, too, and they enjoy their time together, connecting over the shared intimacy of Painter’s words.

At some point, he brings her into his lap, and she comes so easily—like she was just waiting for the invitation, and is relieved that he wants her there. This isn’t something they’ve done before. Not like this. And he can tell by the slight tension in her body that she knows it, too. This is new. It could be the first time a man has ever showed her attention like this, and Curtis wants it to be good and easy for her. He gently rubs her back as the story stretches on, relieved when he can feel all the tension slowly leaving her. “Good girl,” he whispers against her hair.

She hums and rubs her cheek on his chest with complete trust, and Curtis suddenly remembers what it used to feel like to sink into a full, hot bath. Is this what it means to be touch starved? he wonders. Probably. It’s been so long since he’s been genuinely intimate with another person, that he’d almost forgotten the feeling.

Eventually he can hear the tone of Painter’s words changing, can hear it all coming to a close as he wraps up his retelling of that night’s story. Curtis has never hated anything more. Please, he thinks. Please let him keep going. Let him keep talking just a little bit longer so she’ll stay in my arms. He doesn’t want to let her go.

… Maybe if he plays his cards right, he won’t have to.

Tanya does confront him that night, cornering him by her spot before he can follow after Rose on her path to the wash car. “Pretty sure that girl knows how to bathe herself,” she says, hand planted firmly on Curtis’ chest. “She doesn’t need you, Curtis.”

Curtis loses sight of Rose going into the next bunk car, and he settles back onto his heels, glaring at Tanya. “I’m trying to look out for her.”

Tanya raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him. “You sure that’s all you’re trying to do?”

Curtis’s eyes narrow. “Have you been paying attention? Look around.” He nods at the crowded bunk car around them and speaks in a hushed tone. “You’re in charge of all the female stuff, you should know better than anyone what’ll happen now that her father’s gone. I’m only trying to protect her.”

Tanya purses her lips. “Uh huh. Protect her with your penis, is that how?”

“Jesus.” Curtis takes a step back, crossing his arms in frustration. He leans back against a metal rail. “I’m just being realistic,” he eventually says, after sulking over it for a moment. He respects Tanya—she’s a crucial part of the Tail, helping the women who get pregnant and give birth, helping the girls when they start developing (and, eventually, when they start attracting the attention of the men). “You’ve seen them looking?” he asks, not having to look at Tanya to know that she understands him. “So what am I supposed to do? Just wait until somebody else stakes their claim?”

Tanya makes an angry sound, though it isn’t directed at Curtis. “I stop them.”

“You stop the ones you can,” Curtis says lowly. “But eventually—”

“Eventually is eventually. Right now is right now,” she hisses.

Curtis turns back to her. “We play it your way and the first guy who stakes his claim gets her. That’s how it works. You know that. Is that what you want, huh?” Tanya’s face works in frustration, and Curtis softens. “Hey,” he says, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. “I don’t like it either. We do the best we can with what we have.” He feels her shoulders rise and fall in a beleaguered sigh.

“I boxed Batroc’s ears last week,” she tells him; her way of giving tacit approval. “Keep an eye on that dirtbag.”

Curtis nods. He’s aware of who the biggest threats are, currently. It’s the men in their twenties and thirties who prey on the up and coming girls. Marriage isn’t a thing in the tail so much as claiming is. The men have a sort of ‘first dibs’ honor system that Curtis despises, but that he can’t change on his own. Not when the majority is so set on it. “I’m not going to force her,” he promises Tanya. “Okay? I’ll give her the choice. You know I will.”

Tanya’s jaw works, but eventually she nods and turns to the side to let him pass. Curtis pats her shoulder in thanks and heads off in the direction that Rose went with her towel.

He gets there just a few seconds too late—or at least, that’s what he thinks when he hears her crying out from the women’s side of the wash car. Curtis barrels around the partition, heedless of whoever else may be in there when he can hear Rose in distress.

There’s a man standing at her back, pushing her face up against the wall of one of the stalls. She’s naked, the shower spraying aimlessly not even a foot away. She’s struggling, crying … and the man’s pants are halfway down his thighs.

Curtis sees red. “Get the fuck off her!”

Everything happens in a blur: him pulling the man back by his shirt and throwing him onto the floor at the opposite side of the car, the man’s head hitting the wall, Rose crying out in fear, Curtis going over to gather her naked body into his arms. “Are you okay?” he asks breathlessly, holding her as she sobs and presses her head of soaked hair against him. His hands slide over the water-slicked skin of her back, his heart in his throat. “Did he hurt you?”

She sobs and shakes her head, clinging to him. “Curtis!”

“Shh, you’re okay. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He looks across the car at the man, who’s now rubbing his head with a pained wince. Curtis feels rage consume him and he has no control over his actions as he abandons Rose by the stall and stalks across the car to punch the guy square in the face. He immediately grabs his shirt collar and hauls him back in. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!” he roars.

“Stop!” the man—a guy Curtis knows only as Hodge—coughs out, speaking through blood and what’s likely a broken nose. He holds up his hands to defend himself from further assault, and Curtis shakes him with a furious growl.

“Did you touch her?! What did you do? I’ll kill you!”

“I didn’t!” Hodge coughs, pushing against Curtis. “I didn’t do anything! I was just—”

Curtis slams him back into the wall of the car. “Then why’s your dick out?!” Hodge sinks down the wall to the floor and Curtis follows him down. “Answer me!”

“I just wanted to talk to her!”

He’s about to reach down and rip this guy’s nuts off, but Rose calling to him from the other side of the car draws his attention away: “Curtis, please. Curtis!” She’s standing there—naked, wet and shivering, futilely trying to cover herself. She looks at him pleadingly through her tears. “He didn’t. You stopped him. He didn’t.”

It’s enough to make Curtis rein himself in from further violence. Rose needs him more than he needs to hurt Hodge. Still, he shakes the man again as he hauls him back up to standing and shoves him towards the exit of the car. “This isn’t finished,” he warns him at the door, pushing him through hard enough that he falls to his ass on the other side. Curtis points at him. “You’ll pay for this.”

He slams the door and goes back to Rose, who’s still standing there looking lost, shivering, cold. The shower’s still running, so Curtis hurries over to turn the water off. He grabs the towel that’s hanging on the hook and brings it to Rose, intending to bundle her up as quickly as he can. She takes it and wraps it around herself, but it ends at mid thigh and Curtis’ eyes are drawn to a trickle of red running down her inner thigh. All the blood drains from his face. “You’re bleeding,” he says, horrified.

Rose looks down at it and sniffles. “Oh.”

“I’ll fucking kill him,” Curtis breathes, already turning to go back out and finish the job.

“Curtis! Curtis wait!” Rose grabs his arm with both hands as she shakes her head frantically. “I’m fine. It’s my period. He didn’t hurt me.”

Curtis calms down, his chest heaving from adrenaline. “You swear?” he urges, grabbing her upper arms and holding her in front of himself to get a better look at her. Now that he’s paying attention, he can see that she’s dripping wet and rattled, but not visibly hurt.

“I swear. I’m okay.”

His eyes track back down to the blood on her leg, suspicious until he looks beyond and sees her pile of clothing sitting over on a shelf. There’s a small folded rag there the likes of which he’s seen before; what the women pass around silently amongst themselves when they bleed. Curtis calms down as he realizes that Rose is telling the truth and not just lying to keep him from murdering Hodge. He lets go of her upper arms, suddenly aware that she may not want him touching her right at this moment. “Sorry,” he mutters, not knowing what else to say. He feels like he’s just run a marathon, his heart is beating so fast.

Rose surprises him by throwing herself into his arms again, a sob making her whole body heave against him. “Thank you,” she cries, hugging him, hiding her face against his chest. “Curtis, god. If you hadn’t come in …”

“Shh. I did. I did come,” he reassures her, wrapping his arms around her fully again now that he knows it’s welcome. She feels so small. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

They stand there for who knows how long. Minutes, at least. Calming down together. Rose’s crying fades, and Curtis’ blood pressure re-enters the stratosphere. He can feel the red hot anger and instinct to kill bleeding out of his mind the longer that time stretches on. He becomes aware of how cold Rose must be in only her towel and still all wet. “Here,” he says, ushering her back towards the shower. The stalls have changing areas right in front of them, and he steps back so that she can have privacy. “Get dried off. Get dressed,” he says. “I’ll …” his gaze falls back down to the trail of red on her leg. He swallows thickly and averts his eyes. “I’ll be right here.”

Shakily, she nods and pulls the curtain. She gets dressed, and when she opens the curtain again, her hair has been towel-dried and hangs limply about her face. She looks shyly up at Curtis. “Hey.”

“C’mere, Honey.”

She folds back herself into his arms eagerly, whining and pressing into him. “Thank you,” she whispers. “God, Curtis. Thank you.”

“I should’ve been here,” he grunts, thinking of how Tanya had held him back. He silently curses her. “I knew something like this would happen,” he hisses to himself, though he regrets saying it when he feels how it makes her shudder against him.

“Can we get out of here, please?”

He nods and starts to lead them towards the door of the car. He’s not surprised to find Hodge gone on the other side. Curtis silently fumes about what he’d walked in on, as he leads Rose backtrain. They walk through the car where her spot is, and Curtis gives her hand a squeeze when she looks back at it and makes a questioning noise. “I want you with me tonight,” he tells her, gentle but firm, because no way in hell is he leaving her alone now. “Please?” he coaxes, pleased when she looks up to him and nods.

“Okay.”

He smiles softly. “Good girl.”

Curtis has a good sized spot. Certainly big enough for two, which he’s grateful for when he guides her to scoot in across the bed. His is the third bunk up out of four, which means climbing a few rungs, but once you’re up there it affords a fair sense of privacy, especially once he draws the curtain across to close them in together. He flicks the small lamp on, its dim bulb flickering to life and giving just enough light to see by.

He’s got his blankets spread out on the bed. There’s plenty of room enough to sit up and move around, all of his worldly possessions hung to the wall or else strapped against the top of the bunk above. “Home sweet home,” he says, gesturing around half heartedly. “Nothing special.”

“It’s nice.” Rose looks around with a little curiosity before tucking her head down. She shrugs. “You’ve got one of the lights. Our spot doesn’t. I mean … my spot,” she amends quietly. “Our neighbor has the light.”

The lights are built into the walls, meant to faintly illuminate what were once the train’s original baggage racks, powered by the Arc Reactor and impossible to move. But some people have managed to rig up their own lamps from salvaged materials and a little creative wiring over the years. There are no windows in the Tail. Curtis has heard that there are windows uptrain, but he doesn’t know whether to be jealous or not. Would it really improve anything, to have a view of the wasted, frozen world they left behind? He’s not so sure. At least this way they can pretend that Snowpiercer is all there is, the delusion only ruined whenever the Jackboots arrive to deliver food or raid them.

Curtis settles beside her and knocks their legs together. “I’ll keep my eye out for something in the market,” he promises. “Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be in the dark.”

She smiles as though pained, looking down at her lap. “Being pretty is what got me into this mess.”

Curtis sighs. “No. It’s not just that, Hon.” He cups her face, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone. “It’s not just that.”

“What then?”

He smiles sadly. “Look, if there’s one thing you gotta understand about men, it’s that we covet the rare … and the pure. You’re good. Truly good, in a way most of us aren’t. In a way we can’t afford to be.” He drops his hand and turns away, feeling gross for having told her that, for having included himself in the roster of ‘men’ who think like that. But it’s true. “That’s why you stand out,” he mutters. “None of us are good the way you’re good.”

“What? But you’re good.”

Curtis scoffs. “Please.”

“You are! You’re on council aren’t you?”

He rolls his eyes. “That means I’m good with people, not good. There’s a difference.”

“No,” Rose insists. “No, you help everyone. You lead us, try to make life better for us.” She gets incensed when he continues to disagree. “You do! You … you make dolls for little girls who’ve lost all their toys. You protect us.”

Curtis slumps back against the wall. “Is that what I did back there? Protected you?”

“Yes. Curtis you saved me. You stopped him from …” She falters, unable to say the word, and the silence grows uncomfortable between them. Eventually she stares down at her lap and scoffs bitterly.

Curtis looks over. He doesn’t like the pinch that’s settled between her eyebrows. There’s something strangely self-deprecating about it, and he can’t figure out what’s going on in her head. “Hey.” He nudges her knee with his. “What are you thinking, Hon?”

She shakes her head. “Hodge,” she whispers. “He said things.”

“Oh god. Don’t. Rosie, don’t pay attention to anything that cretin said. Did he threaten you? Because if he did, you know I still have half a mind to rip off his—”

“He said that somebody would choose me, and if it isn’t him it’ll be someone else ‘staking their claim’.” She looks rather mortified as she repeats it. “And he’s not wrong. I mean that’s the way it’s done, isn’t it?” she asks bitterly. “The men. They choose who they want. We don’t get a say. Not really.”

“Rosie,” Curtis mourns, wishing that he could spare her, wishing he could tell her that she has choices, choices that people will respect. But he doesn’t want to lie. She doesn’t deserve to be lied to. “Hey,” he says instead. “You know I care about you, right?”

She nods, sniffling. “Yeah.”

“You should sleep here. Not just tonight but every night.” He can tell by her reaction that she realizes what he means, and he’s pleased when she leans against his side, still seeking comfort in him. He relaxes now that the hardest part is done. “Would you like that, Petal?” he asks softly, wrapping his arm around her and holding her close. She scoffs at the nickname, and Curtis kisses the top of her head. It’s been a long time since he’s had another person in his bunk—a long time. Not having a partner is lonely, sure, but with the way things are in the tail, it’s easier just to jerk off. Romance is all but dead, as is evidenced by the Tailies’ near-transactional customs regarding sex and relationships. “Will you?” he checks, relieved when she gives a little nod and a sniffle.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

“I don’t want that either.”

They sit there in silence for a while, and just as Curtis starts to wonder if Rose has fallen asleep, she whispers, “What was it like?”

“What was what like?”

“Men and women. Before. How did it …” she pauses, considering what she wants to say, or perhaps how to ask. “My dad and my mom,” she settles on. “They were married. They loved each other. Nobody chose my mom. They chose each other.”

Curtis nods and gives her arm a squeeze. “Yeah. That’s how it was.”

“Tell me?” she asks, sounding for all the world like a child asking for a bedtime story. “Please?”

Curtis rubs her back, resigning himself to telling her the truth. “People met,” he says. “At school, at work, through friends. If they liked each other romantically, they dated.”

“What’s ‘dated’?”

He winces where she can’t see. “When you liked someone, you’d ask them out on a date. You’d meet them and go do something nice together. Something fun. Get a drink or see a movie, eat a meal in a restaurant.”

“Did the man decide the dates?”

He frowns. “Sometimes. Women would too, though. Sometimes they’d be the one to ask the guy out. It just depended.”

“What happened next?” Rose asks.

“Well … you’d just keep spending time together, you’d keep dating. If the people decided not to date anybody else, they’d agree to be a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend. … Or husband and wife.”

“What’s the difference?”

Curtis winces at how sad it is that she doesn’t know that. The long term implications of their confinement in the Tail section are obvious and jarring, at times like this. He licks his lips. “Marriage was more serious than dating. More permanent. You might break up with your girlfriend eventually, but if you made her your wife, then that was like saying you wanted to be together forever.” He doesn’t bother getting into the concept of divorce, knowing that she just needs a basic understanding of the matter. “That’s how it was,” he finishes. “Before.”

Rose is quiet for a long while, thinking it over. Eventually she says, “And now the men choose.”

Curtis hates how resigned she sounds about it. “What happened in the wash car isn’t allowed,” he says, aware of the way her body tenses against him. “I’ll make sure Hodge is punished. But the thing is, Sweetheart … I’m worried he won’t be the last.”

Rose sniffles. “It’s ‘cause my dad’s gone, isn’t it?”

“That doesn’t help the matter. But you’ve been old enough for a while now, for some. And I’ve seen them looking.”

“For some?” Rose peeks up at him. “Not you?”

Curtis hesitates to answer. “... You’re young, Honey.” It’s not like he can say that he wants her. But saying that he doesn’t would be a total lie. He might not be looking yet, if he didn’t have the other men to worry about; but he does have to worry about them, and so he has been looking. “I’ll make sure Hodge is punished,” he reiterates. “Severely. Even with the way things are now, that was completely beyond the pale.” He feels that hot surge of fury boil up inside him again as he thinks about it: Rose standing there, shivering and crying, Hodge with his hands on her, his dick hanging out of his pants. “He was going to rape you,” Curtis growls. “He needs to pay.”

“And the others?” she asks. “You’ll stop them?”

His chest aches at her unshakable faith in him and what she thinks he can do. “I can only protect you one way,” he murmurs, pulling her close and burying his nose in her hair so that she can’t look up at him with those big doe eyes again. “Has Tanya talked to you much?” he asks. Her head moves against him in a little nod, but she doesn’t say anything. Curtis kisses her hair. “What happened in the wash car could happen again. Someone’ll want to claim you.” She whines and rubs her face against his sweater, clinging to him. He pulls her into his lap just like he had during storytime, earlier that night. “Hey,” he soothes, “I wish it could be different, you know? Wish I could take you outta here, make other people respect your choices.” He sighs sadly. “That’s just not how it works anymore, Petal.”

“I know,” she says quietly. “Would you take me on a date, Before?” He hesitates, and she notices. She looks up at him. “You wouldn’t?”

“You’re too young for me,” he admits. “Or you would’ve been. Before.”

“Now I’m not?” she asks, and Curtis averts his eyes uncomfortably, because of course she’s still too fucking young. If they were still in the World she’d be in highschool, going to prom and the mall, glued to her phone. Learning about sex from school and porn and from fumbling encounters with boys her own age, not from some jaded midwife in a squalid train car.

“Now …” he sighs. “Now, it’s different. It doesn’t make it right, but girls become fair game once they’re about your age. And any man who’s interested can try for you.”

“I know that,” she whispers. “But what about you? Are you interested?”

Curtis’ mouth is dry. He can’t answer. So he nods smally instead. He’s surprised when she doesn’t seem frightened or upset by this admission. He lets his hands hold her more securely, fingers dipping into the curve of her waist from over her sweater. “I care about you,” he croaks. “I want to protect you. And the only way I know to do that is to claim you myself.”

“Will you?” she asks. She lays her cheek back against his chest and yawns. “Claim me?”

Above her resting head, Curtis grinds his teeth. “Let’s just take it one day at a time, okay Hon?”

“Mm.” She nods sleepily. “Okay. I trust you, Curtis. Thank you for helping me today.”

He doesn’t answer her, just holds her against him and rubs her back as she gradually falls to sleep. He’s not the man she thinks he is, and she should be in her own spot right now, not tucked away in here with him, because sooner or later he knows he’s going to take advantage. He’ll have her, and he’ll make sure that every other man in the train knows that she’s his. That may not be what she really wants, or even what’s good for her.

But oh well, he thinks. At least it’s better than the alternative.

Masterlist

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This has been a fill for:

Event: @badthingshappenbingo

Card: sarah-writes-stucky

Square N4: "to serve man"

[iamthekaijuking]

Gigabash character overview: Rohanna

Plant kaiju are kind of a rarity in the genre. Hell, I’m pretty sure there’s more animate object kaiju than there are plant ones. I suppose that’s cause the average viewer/reader of kaiju media would probably be more engaged with a more active animal-like kaiju than an immobile plant one (plants can actually move btw… just very slowly and they usually aren’t mobile). So I was quite surprised when Passion Republic Games revealed that a character in Gigabash’s roster was a plant monster! PRG got around this classic conundrum by simply… making her a mobile plant. She also covers the “nature’s vengeance” archetype popular in kaiju fiction… sorta. We’ll get to that.

Rohanna is, of course, also the only confirmed female kaiju in the original roster.

Rohanna is an agile, slight stunlock heavy, character with fast attacks, some of the slightly slower ones of which hit hard and/or are ranged. She even has a “teleportation” attack that is a little tricky to aim. She also has three quirky moves too. One has her summon a big thorny branch that knocks an opponent upwards, but she can also use it as a club like some of the infrastructure in some of the stages. Her other two moves each summon a minion for a short duration, one of which is actually her ultimate. These minions are respectively called Piki the Pear and the Royal Warden.

I normally play Pipijuras and another character, but if things get serious and I wanna win I bust Rohanna out.

Design

Rohanna, despite being in a game heavily inspired by Ultraman, wasn’t actually inspired by their handful of plant monsters or even the most famous plant kaiju, Biollante. Instead, Passion Republic Games wanted to make something that represents their home country of Malaysia, and so based her off a Malaysian cryptid called the Sang Kelembai. This is a little ironic considering the creature is described as pretty hideous in legend and Rohanna is a beautiful flower monster, but her left arm (which grew back this way after being burnt away by a certain “dragon king” we’ll cover next) is purposely designed to be monstrous to reference the creature that inspired her. Further inspiration was taken from the Bunga Raya flower and the Malaysian tiger, the patterning of the latter was used for Rohanna’s S-class form. Rohanna has some concept art.

Interestingly, Rohanna’s eyes are actually the green glowing slits on her chest, which is shared with the Royal Wardens. Her flower head merely has eye-like markings, although considering that she turns it to “look” at opponents it’s probably safe to say that it has some photosensing abilities too. The devs also said she can absorb the genome of any plant she comes across and can replicate it.

Lore

Rohanna is another one of the kaiju of Tarabak Island and one of the big three fighting for dominance. Her terf is specifically west of the dam that the fallen civilization of Tarabak built, and is defended by giant thorny vines and patrolled by Royal Wardens.

In the in universe book The Lost World of Tarabak by Petyr Faust, the same one that told us about Skorak, we learn a bit more about the civil war situation going on. I neglected to mention but one of Petyr’s party members, Doug, actually knew the language of the natives and so acted as a translator, and he also wanted to become a member of the Eyes of Skorak. In fact it was the sole reason he came on the expedition, and he ultimately stayed on the island and was enslaved by the followers of the “infamous dragon king”.

We learn from Rohanna’s followers that another reason people rebelled against the dragon was that aristocrats actually leveraged their guardian monster against anyone they didn’t like, which very quickly led to an authoritarian government.

When Skorak ate the dragon from the inside out, some people fled the city and eventually wondered into Rohanna’s territory. Luckily for them, Rohanna actually provided them with food and shelter, and still does to this day. Out of the three kaiju and their factions fighting for control over Tarabak, I’ve got to admit the followers of Rohanna do have it the best of the three. In comparison to the indifference of Skorak and the cruelty of the dragon king, Rohanna actually cares about her worshipers somewhat. However there is a catch; her followers must be unflinchingly loyal to her and support of another kaiju is met with death. This fate almost befell Petyr’s crew when Rohanna saw Doug’s Skorak mask, but they were saved by the Eyes of Skorak throwing stink bombs at her army, which also tells us that Rohanna’s kind have a keen sense of smell. Unusual for a plant.

It’s Rohanna’s intolerance of people not worshipping her and a few other things that make me think she’s not actually a selfless being or even an embodiment of nature’s wrath, and in fact I think the only reason Rohanna was kind to the people fleeing from the collapsing civilization of Tarabak all those years ago was just so she could have worshippers of her own. Rohanna only ever leaves her territory unless another kaiju slights her or other humans take something from her, like her Pikis. There was one time Rohanna attacked Japan at the beginning of Thundatross’s story mode for reasons we don’t know, but since OtamaTEC researches kaiju and Giga Energy they might have actually taken something from her. It seems like Rohanna only ever plays the role of “natures wrath” when it directly benefits her, which I honestly think adds a cool extra layer of pathos to her character.

Passion Republic Games made some art of her and a Piki for Mother’s Day.

It’s really cute and sweet, but it also leads into something I’ve been wondering. Are the Pikis actually her children? Or do they simply see Rohanna as a mother figure? If they are her children, then are the Royal Wardens males? Or maybe a warrior caste like ants? Is Rohanna the queen caste of an eusocial species of plant kaiju?!

Also I don’t really know where to put this tidbit but one of Rohanna’s taunts is a reference to Filthy Frank. Do what that information what you will.

[sandshadow9]

You know what puts me down? It feels like this fandom cares more about dragging Tui and her work through the dirt as much as possible so they can act like they're "superior" to her or "better" than her, and they do this by nitpicking as many flaws in her work as possible, even flaws that aren't actually present in her books to begin with. Thoughts on this?

The quick answer: Yeah, I completely agree.

The long answer: Buckle up because I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while actually and have some thoughts. Ultimately reading a book is like having a conversation, and everyone will experience it differently. What some people find annoying others may find charming, and what some may think of us a frustrating plot hole others may not notice or care.

I will start by saying that, indeed, this fandom loves to drag Tui, and I myself like to pick apart her books to see how things work or don’t work, but at the end of the day I have immense respect and admiration for her. Tui’s writing is extremely immersive, full of personality, and engaging. Wings of Fire is one of the few series I’ve read that fully engrossed me in the world and characters. 

When it comes to reading books, there is definitely a bias towards seeing the things that can go wrong. When things are done right, we don’t really notice, but Tui does a lot of things right. There are a lot of factors that go into making a good book/series and I’d like to point out some of the maybe lesser appreciated aspects of the WoF books. 

Emotional scenes and tension: Tui is supremely good at writing those heart wrenching scenes, as well as those endearing scenes that steal your heart. Perhaps I speak for myself, but I cannot think of any scene that came across as melodramatic or weak in the emotional sense. She does not hold her punches. There have been several emotional scenes in these books where I had to just stop reading and stare at a wall for ten minutes, many of them in the Darkstalker Legends book. Writing intense emotions in characters is hard enough, but Tui manages to make them compelling and believable. 

Characters: I think this is the main reason most people are in the fandom. We all have at least one little creature that lives in our heads rent free. In my opinion, Tui really put her whole ass into the Arc 2 characters, but in general, when Tui is writing from the perspective of any character, she’s does an amazing job of pulling you through their emotions and perspective... although due to the point below, sometimes the character development can kind of slip away from her. 

Plot: For better or worse, Tui puts the plot ahead of everything. This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, it’s just what Tui decided to focus on, and when she does, she does it extremely well. Keeping a story moving at a good pace, while keeping things interesting, is pretty much a necessity for any good story. While some books in the WoF series are stronger than others, Tui is able to keep the plot moving both within a single book and across each arc. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read, YA and adult fiction, that can’t even manage to do that. When I read WoF I was glued to the book. I’d have to force myself to slow down when reading because I’d finish them in a day if I could. The downside to this, as mentioned in the above point, is that sometimes the character development that happens in previous books is lost. 

Writing style: What can I say? Her descriptive language is amazing. She knows how to make the most basic scenes interesting with her writing. There are many times when reading that I wished to myself that I could write like that. I think some people might not completely agree with this point, as Tui loves to use all caps and a modern sounding language in a fantasy world, but I personally don’t really mind that, but I can understand that some may find it unappealing. 

Conflicts: In terms of writing, “conflict” is another one of those super important components. They can be internal or external, and whether you agree with how the narrative handles them or not, Tui writes conflicts that stick with the reader.  Tui also knows how to keep things surprising and unpredictable but in a well written way. Seriously, how many of us were floored when the Prophecy turned out to be fake? Or when we learned that it had been Gill that Tsunami killed? Or that Turtle had been the one to turn Anemone into an animus? That is some good drama and conflict!

                               Other factors

This section is mostly about other factors that I, personally, keep in mind when I think about the series as a whole.

Timeline and publishers: This woman was pumping out a book each year. That’s a wild pace. I have been trying to learn more about publishing contracts, the agreement between authors and the publishing company, and haven’t learned much other than each contract is unique. Some authors have more creative freedom than others as certain contracts allow the publishers to request changes to the text. The main goal of publishers is to sell the book and if they think the text has content that will negatively impact sales, they may have the power to ask for it to be changed. I have no idea what type of contract Tui has, or if there was a contractual deadline for each book, but it’s something that should be considered. I bring this point up because it may explain her priorities and why certain elements had to be set aside in favour of finishing the books rather than fleshing them out. For every published book there is probably another novel’s length of deleted scenes and paragraphs.

                                Conclusion

Ultimately Tui’s strengths can create imbalances in other areas. Her prioritizing of Plot can mean world-building and maintaining character development falls to the wayside. Also, perhaps the biggest issue that fandom notices is that Tui asks complicated questions in her books but then tries to give black and white answers when really, no direct answer should be given. In the first arc we get questions like Am I enough just as I am? Even if I’m not the smartest or bravest or strongest or fastest or biggest, can I change the world? In the other arcs we get questions like Is there such thing as pure good and pure evil? And when faced with someone who continues to make choices that hurt us and others, even if we love this person, at what point do we offer compassion and when do we draw the line?

This post isn’t intended to discuss whether or not Tui succeeded in answering these questions - I’ll leave that for others. What I do hope came across in this post is that Tui does indeed know what she’s doing and I hope that we can all take a moment to appreciate the things that made us love this series to begin with ❤️

[angellic-critique]

To that anon afraid of writing like Viv, the fact that you’re aware of her nonsense and have enough self awareness to be wary of repeating her mistakes speaks not only to your character, but to your potential as a writer.

Remember, writing is a *skill* that must be developed through study, research, and hard work. Just like painting or any other skill that takes effort to improve at. A single semester of Writing 101 in college is not in fact enough. Developing your skill as a writer/author takes years.

If you aren’t already, I recommend building yourself a curriculum. Writing can be self taught, just like art, but you need to be willing and able to structure your improvement.

Start collecting resources and compiling them in a readily accessible place.

Organize those resources into categories based on the type of information they bring to the table (are they inspirations? Research? A collection of essays/video essays about the craft? Podcasts? Lectures?)

Make a list of the kind of resources you still need. Are you trying to write a particular kind of fiction? Read the works of authors who have successfully tackled the genre/subject/technique and ask yourself *why* it’s successful. Find out what steps the author(s) took to develop that work. Then compare it with a piece of media that does it poorly and ask yourself the same question—why did this writer fail where the others succeeded?

It’s crucial to be able to properly and thoroughly deconstruct and critique a piece if media if you yourself want to engage in the same craft. We can learn just as much from bad examples as we can good ones, but only if we learn how to properly dissect and discuss them from a more academic perspective.

Too many people assume that writing is innate. It isn’t. It needs to be respected as it’s own discipline and developed as a skill. Anyone can do it, but only if they’re willing to learn.

This ask is long enough but if anyone wants to DM me, I can send you some resources on the craft of writing <3

^^

And it can be learned in any way from letting to outlet your emotions or to craft and care to know that you have a story that you want to tell. Honestly well said 👏

I've got a really good book recommendation about in-animation industry and a couple writing guides/old books my mother gave me no longer in printing sorta deal, always seek out books and knowledge whenever you are able to friends!!

Practice makes progress!<3

[topazadine]

Get to Know Your Moots Writeblr Interview

Thanks to @davycoquette for coming up with these!

On the Tumblr Writing Community

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr?

About two years?

What led you to create it?

I used to have a Tumblr a LONG time ago but deleted it all and moved on. I came back after getting into Touken Ranbu because I wanted a place to write my long-form thoughts, and then I started writing my original fiction.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

I really like the tag games!

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

I'm very shy and probably won't respond as much as you'd like. I promise I'm not mean, I'm just socially awkward even on the internet.

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

I do love a good moodboard.

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today?

Just jump in and start talking about your stuff, don't worry about introducing everything.

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Prisoner!WIP, which for some reason hasn't given itself a name yet. It's about Orrinir being taken captive by the Sinans while Cerie and Uileac attempt to rescue him. Moodboard here

How long have you been working on them?

10 days, I'm at about 12k now

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

I realized that my series needed an actual close-up confrontation between the Bremish and the Sinans before the grand full-length trilogy. This is one of the 5 novellas before the last three books in The Eirenic Verses.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

A good four or five hours every day

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

"Fantasy stories." If they're curious, I may go into more detail.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created.

Cerie Korviridi Uileac Korviridi Orrinir Relickim Haniya Aina Mordrek Willets Susuma Aina Daiski Aina Ono Kagan Rhen Haratshi Juliska Sygnus Irith Druidinn Vinanna Nishi Toltis Nishi Tshumanu Mialt Sagremor Waals Asari Camellia Rhytha Sergeant Paltrik Carrot (mule!) Saelsie (horse!) Bannain (horse!) Erix (horse!) Keeva (horse!) Aleric (dog!) There are probably more but I can't think of them right now

Who’s the most unhinged?

Mordrek. Hands down. The man is terrifying.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

They all come pretty naturally at this point, except Haniya can be kind of hard. Sometimes it does take a bit to get into their POV, though.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Not really, no, they tend to do their thing pretty well

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?

I don't have much control over them. I just channel them and they do their thing, and I write about it.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters?

You can send me asks about my characters if you like, but I'm not always sure if I'll have a good answer depending on what it is. For example, if you asked me something like "what would be Cerie's favorite TV show," I would have no idea because #1 I don't even watch TV myself, like at all #2 TV doesn't exist in her world

On Writeblr Engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account?

Good writing or intiguing characters. That's the primary thing. I'll then go through a person's intro (if it's there) and see if they seem interesting and not likely to annoy me.

What makes you decide against following?

I will take a look at your introduction or profile and assess for these things. Being underage: I refuse to corrupt the youths. Any sign of racism, sexism, etc: Instant block. Being Pro-Israel: Self-explanatory. Being Antishipper: You're probably aggro about other things too. Giant DNI list: I'll just assume I'm included on it and block you. List of Diagnoses: I am not your doctor and I do not need that. List of Your Triggers: I am not your therapist and do not need that. You are in charge of your mental health, not me. My primary reason for not following someone (or unfollowing them) is signs of Main Character Syndrome. It's my biggest pet peeve.

[mzannthropy]

and it becomes your most hated book of all time - Sam plays the main male character of the adaptation of this book (Me Before You)> lol

I even liked the film, the chemistry between him and Emilia is wonderful, but the film is kind of pointless. That ending, I can't even watch again. What makes it even worse is knowing that there is a second book in which he has a daughter, like??????? How does he have a daughter??? Does not make any sense. I thought he was going to give up because he was in love with a woman who loved him and believed they could be happy together. And they were happy together. What makes it worse for me is that in the film Untouchable, which is a true story, there is a similar story, about the person who helps him, and gives him meaning, in the end the character gets married and is happy. Will ends up being selfish in the end. I hate how he wants Clarke there, and the fact that she's gone. Fuck it, no really. The end is he gave her money, fuck. It wasn't about the money, and it shouldn't be. She has a shitty family and a shitty boyfriend, just like he had a shitty family and a shitty girlfriend. It's worth it for Sam and Emilia's performances.

I've never actually watched the film, only read the book. For completion's sake, I suppose I will have to tackle it one day, but every time I imagine having to watch it, a sense of dread creeps on me. It's the worst piece of fiction I have ever engaged with (I've read the first 50 Shades book and this is worse!) and I'm worried I will throw something at my screen and break my TV. I don't believe in the "chemistry" argument, it means nothing to me and Emilia Clarke... I'm trying very hard but her voice and laugh grate on me so much, plus I don't see her as that great an actress.

Anyway, so here we are, I finally get to talk about it (can you believe this @jesstasticvoyage). Here it is, the reason why I don't interact with any other Sam Claflin fans, apart from Jess who is able to handle me. (I get notes from the same users on my original Sam posts, and I see you; it's not you, it's me! You'll see why.) Fucking Me Before You.

If you go through my Sam posts, you will see that I never mention this film, not even when I talk about his book adaptations. The only time I did name it was when I listed the female directors he worked with, bc the film has a female director. When I became a fully fledged Sam fan in 2020, I saw how beloved the film was and how everyone cried over it (why?) and how I could not escape it every time I read any article or interview, and I understood that I will have to be on my own. I couldn't believe how amazing Sam's filmography was, and yet nobody talked about it, it was all Finnick (who is at least cool, despite all my issues with THG that I've just posted about)--and this garbage.

Let me just make something clear, I don't hate MBY bc of its ending. I actually like the ending. I like that he chose death over being with Louisa, bc it contradicts this supposed great love story the author is trying to sell. Also I absolutely loathe Louisa Clark. She is my most hated character of all time and the worst protagonist I've ever read the POV of. She is stupid, the stupidest cow in the whole fucking galaxy. She even fails at being a manic pixie dream girl. I hate her so, so much. Every time I have the misfortune of coming across that scene where she sits on his lap in the wheelchair and they are on the dancefloor and she is laughing, I want to hit her in the face so hard that she fall backwards, cracks her skull and dies. I hate her.

The book is also very poorly written. I see Colleen Hoover get so much hate these days, but idk, I think Jojo Moyes is way worse. Maybe she's not on that many people's radar, to which I say: good! She's also allegedly plagiarised another author. The only reason I don't want to invent a time machine to go back in time and prevent her birth is my fear of creating the timeline where Sam will not break his second ankle and becomes a footballer instead of an actor, so you see that wouldn't have been any good.

Now, I've read pieces from people who are more knowledgeable about this than me that MBY is ableist, and I could make big posts about how ableist it is, but I don't bc it would only come off as insincere. (I didn't realise it was in fact ableist until I read those pieces.) I'm all about authenticity, I don't do virtue signalling/performative wokery. You can say I hate it for the wrong reasons. I hate the book bc it's such a fucking cheap tearjerker that only got published bc the publishers knew it would make people cry. But also I hate the fact that it uses disability as a device to tell a cheap tearjerker, so maybe in a roundabout way it is ableism that I hate it for. (I will post something about the ableism though, just for info.)

The protagonist is an idiot with no skills, woefully unqualified for the job she is hired for (she fails at every other previous job she tries!). All the characters are terribly shallow and one-dimensional. Will's mother is a bitch bc... reasons? Bc the author wants her to be? Overdone tropes of an inattentive bf and a bitch of an ex-gf. You see I don't think Alicia was shitty, it's that Louisa presents her that way and she is not a reliable narrator. Ofc she describes her as a bitch. Alicia explained to Louisa that she tried with Will after his accident, but he pushed her away (even though Alicia doesn't owe Louisa any explanation, and a cow like Louisa has no right to judge her, or anyone else for that matter).

From Tv Tropes MBY YMMV page:

Unintentionally Sympathetic: Will's ex and his friend. We're clearly supposed to hate them for hooking up, but it's not like she ditched him the minute he got hurt. She points out that he relentlessly pushed her away and rebuffed all her efforts to be there for him. Her moving on was inevitable and you can't really fault them for eventually turning to each other—obviously, their efforts to comfort each other turned into something more—she outright says that they've been friends for ages and that he was a great support to her after the accident.

Jojo is presenting MBY as this big love story. Except it isn't. Louisa has a Florence Nightingale complex, and Will. Doesn't love Louisa. "You're the only thing that makes me get up in the morning." Sure, that's why he kills himself. For which I don't blame him, if the other option is being with Louisa. But that means it's not love!

But you're right that it's pointless, bc it achieves nothing. If he decided to live and then died of natural causes, then yeah, that would have been a different matter, that would have meant that the protagonist succeeded at something.

Screenshot of a funny one-star review on Goodreads:

I do wonder if Jojo has a handfeeding fetish. I shudder when I think about watching Sam being hand-fed by Emilia Clarke. I really don't think I can take on this film.

Louisa inheriting money from Will, idk, I have no opinion of it and Louisa is not even the type of a woman that knows how to enjoy money. What's she gonna do with it, buy a million pairs of stripey tights?

As for the sequel, it looks like it's a trilogy and Will's kid is I think one of those most boring tropes where a guy didn't know he had a child for years bc the mother didn't tell him. Jojo once again showing her lack or ideas. Gilmore Girls did it, Peaky Blinders did it and worst of all, even fucking Star Trek Picard did it, and those are just shows that I've watched lately!

I have heard of the Untouchable film (I found it when I was looking up Omar Sy bc I liked him in Lupin). I planned to watch it but then forgot. I really need to check it out, it looks good.

This got long... thanks for reading.

[gascon-en-exil]

Idk man, it reminds me more of a kind of scenario where Kana and Morgan could S support all their potential siblings. regardless, i dont' care. I'd have to unlock their S support to complete the game anyway. but really if Intsys needs to come up with excuse even this complicated to make it clear to the audience that they should not suspend their disbelief into thinking that those characters are related (because fictional character don't exist so how the heck can they be literalt siblings) I am sure they themself know that they can't put actual incest without having problems. Heck, I married a 2nd gen in Awakening and even shipped the avatar with it, I shall be able to survive.

Oh dear, it seems that my inbox has exploded. That doesn't happen often. Lots of anon answers here.

You know that there will be people adding Alear/Nel and Alear/Rafal to their lists of pairings you're not allowed to ship, alongside all those I mentioned earlier as well as any Avatar/2nd gen, Azurrin, Dimigard, Byleth/their students, and all of the eyebrow-raising Pact Ring options in base Engage. I can't imagine being that uncomfortable with IS being as carelessly tasteless as they always are while still playing these games.

Kink ? Nay. It's just that Instys are cowards. they knew that some palyers would be disappointed to not be able to marry them, so they decided to over complicated things to make it sure that we understand that they are not siblings event though their are Sombron's kids. It's for the player's satisfaction. Just like how we could marry the Royals in Fates.

Incest kink is indeed a thing; do some searching on Pornhub or AO3 and you'll quickly find a wealth of examples. Some players will like having that out, like the whole thing with Byleth not S ranking their students until after they're no longer students just ignore that they keep calling them "professor". Some players will whole-heartedly embrace the incest.

I knew that the whole Nel/Alear Rafal/Alear was gonna sparks up between people saying it's incest vs those saying it's not. I personally don't view it as an incest relationship not only because I am buying Intsys's excuse since I have to suspend my disbelief into this, but because in their interactions, they don't act at all as such nor consider themselves to be related in any way. Heck in her supports with Veyle, Nel literaly friendzone her when Veyle ask her to be her sister. Moreover I am not into that kinks boat, I just like Alear x Rafal.

...And some will see the implication and condemn anyone who ships those pairings, even if they're not being read as incestuous. It's a no-win situation all around, although I could just say that that's in the nature of fandom to argue endlessly about these kinds of things. The best thing you can do is ignore the wankier voices and ship who you like, however you like them.

"even though I haven't seen any of Nel or Rafal's supports yet I'm confident in guessing that their Alear supports lean more in that direction than Alear/Veyle does." oh no. In their S support, Nel strays up says "I love you" and has a ring on her ring finger. Rafal is ring findered too while in Veyle CG she had the ring on her middle finger. It seems the localization did buy Instys's explanation... still think it could have been less weird to make Nel and Nil part of Sombron's species to explain why their are fell child.

"provided you want to read it that way". well I have unlocked their supports and Nel is being like "we are not family we do share an heritage" and the others try so hard to make it clear that they are not siblings i can't tell if it's just to appease the player's conscience or if it's part of worldbuilding. After all one could argue that relationship like Pygmalus dating Galatea is incest because he created that statue or something like this...

Yep, that tracks. Online shipping culture is all about finding any excuse you can to bash ships you don't like, so that's definitely going to be happening here.

Never mind the non incestuous explaniation and the ship wars. Will we ONE DAY know what on earth is going on with Sombron/Emblem 0 ?

My silly headcanon for that is that Sombron's missing Emblem is the player, and that when he's added to Heroes the dialogue will tease at him finding the summoner familiar. It would be delightfully meta.

How is Alear supposed to be Lumera's child in that universe ?? Like it make sense because of their hair being full blue and things having gone different but how is it even possible ?? Maybe I should not ask that because this whole alternate world is giving me even much more of a headache than the Awakening multiverse kids being the shepherds kids but at the same time, not their kids.

It's probably meant to be inferred from the solid blue hair. I'm not going to bother looking any deeper than that; FE dragon lore has never interested me much, and we already know that Engage is extremely on the nose when it comes to color symbolism.

Remember how we nearly escaped the whole "jean anna S support" while people were genuinely confused that 17 year old Alear could marry 45 year old Vander but not 16 year old Clanne ? They really had to bring Kaga's vision. Would'it not have been easier to just make the twins belong to the same species without having the ambiguity of them being an alternate Sombron children even if it's not Alear's father ? No ? to easy to simple ? make it more look like Morgan and all the 2nd gen ? ok

The specific ages thing seems mostly about being sensitive about censorship. It doesn't make much logical sense, but at least the ages don't appear anywhere in the game itself so I suppose you could ignore them if you like. I've never been an active Avatar shipper, so I wouldn't really know how that goes. The twins being Sombron's children was I guess done so as not to complicate the worldbuilding, with the Divine and Fell Dragons being essentially two family lines (also mage dragons exist on the side, but the story never does anything with that). See my above note on my disinterest in FE dragon lore.

I guess no one ever tried the argument "well technically those characters are not biologically related because they are ficitonal character that doesn't exist and therfore have no blood nor actual parentsand believing they are the same family is just part of suspension of disbelief just like when I use 2 doll; pretends they are siblings when i play with it and when I am done i totally rewirte their relationship" because it is way too realistic and is the simple true for any anti to ever acknowledge it. would spare the justification though

Pointing out that fictional characters aren't real never leads to anything, aside from sometimes the accusation that liking certain ships hurts real people. This came up in Three Houses wank on occasion, so it can apply to liking/disliking certain characters.

[savefilescomng12]

What Does E/n Mean on TikTok?

E/n is an acronym that's in common use in fantasy and roleplaying scenarios on apps like TikTok. Source: TikTokAs it has continued to grow and evolve, TikTok has become more and more catered to what each user might want from it. While there are certainly things that trend across large swaths of the platform at any one time, there's also plenty of stuff that is more niche, and it can be hard to understand those particular things when you come across them out of context. Article continues below advertisementArticle continues below advertisementOne great example of this is the acronym e/n, which is common in certain parts of TikTok, but is obviously confusing if you've never seen it before. Here's what we know about what the acronym means. Source: Getty ImagesArticle continues below advertisement

What does e/n mean on TikTok?

E/n is not exclusive to TikTok, and it's often found in posts that are more focused on narrative and storytelling. As it turns out, the acronym is actually a placeholder that stands for "enemy's name," and is commonly used in the world of fanfiction and in other forms of storytelling online. This kind of placeholder is used to give readers the chance to insert their own name choice into the story, and in doing so, make the story more personal to them. In addition to its use on TikTok, the acronym can also be found on Wattpad, which is specifically designed for this kind of fiction, and it also pops up on Twitter. The idea is to engage in a role-playing scenario where you can imagine that people from your actual life are engaged in a far-flung scenario. It's definitely not something that everyone would be interested, but plenty of people find it to be an interesting exercise.Article continues below advertisement

There are a whole slew of similar acronyms.

For obvious reasons, e/n shows up most frequently in scenarios where the story being presented involves some level of antagonism. These are often stories of triumph, where the character you're inhabiting is able to overcome obstacles that are put in their way by an antagonist. Not every narrative story has this placeholder, but there are a bunch of others that are also commonplace in this world of role playing. @just.imagine921 Some people have been asking what stuff stands for so I made this to help clear it up. This might not be all of the acronyms that other creators use, but these will likely be the only ones I will ever use ♬ Reflections - The Neighbourhood Source: TikTok/@just.imagine921Article continues below advertisementAmong the other common acronyms are: - Y/n, which stands for your name - H/n, which stands for his or her name - Bbfn, which stands for boy best friend's name - B/n, which stands for brother's name or boss's name, depending on the story - F/n, which stands for friend's name - T/n, which stands for teammate's name. While not every story in this space is likely to resonate with every person, the idea behind the exercise is to give you a chance to engage in some structured daydreaming. While most stories teach us how to empathize with others, these stories give us a chance to live lives very much outside of our own. These spaces exist outside of TikTok, but the video platform has become a popular way for users to engage in these kinds of immersive stories. Whether you're interested in this kind of role playing or not, hopefully you at least understand a little bit more about what it is now. Source link Read the full article

[thebaepatricia]

Book Review • Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 🩸🔪🦵🏼

Tender is the Flesh Agustina Bazterrica Genre: Horror, Dystopia, Science Fiction Publication: Originally published in Spanish in November 2017 and translated by Sarah Moses into English in 2020 Novel Setting: Argentina

An international sensation about a dystopian world in which humans are being processed for good and society is divided into predators and prey

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans —though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the “Transition.” Now, eating human meat—“special meat”—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing.

Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.

🩸

Marcos Tejo: Right-hand man to the owner of the most reputable meat processing plant, Krieg Processing Plant; he is in charge of daily operations and the supply and distribution of human meat (also called "special meat").

Jasmine: a human bred for consumption and given to Marcos

Don Armando: Marcos' father. He suffers from dementia and lives in a nursing home.

Cecilia: Marcos' estranged wife. She and Marcos communicate mostly over the phone.

Marisa: Marcos' sister. Obsessed with status and climbing social ladders.

🩸

What themes or messages does the book convey?

Tender is the Flesh conveys themes and messages involving cannibalism, disruption in the food cycle, survival, and slavery, to name a few.

What is the author's writing style? Is it engaging, descriptive, or thought-provoking?

Bazterrica writes in a thought-provoking manner. All chapters were purposefully and unapologetically detailed. I believe this increases relatability for the readers, otherwise a lot of messages could be lost in the pages. Bazterrica’s descriptive writing style also proves that the brutalities and violence in the novel are jusitfied and, in some cases, necessary. 

Are there any literary devices or techniques used by the author, such as symbolism, foreshadowing, or metaphors? How do they enhance the story?

Tender is the Flesh depicts eerily similar major issues we tackle now in our current world - starvation caused by poverty, human trafficking, human rights, capitalism, conflicting moral values and beliefs, etc. The novel is thought-provoking - and morally disturbing - that you cannot help but compare the two worlds - real and fiction - more often than what’s comfortable. It can be horrifyingly realistic if push comes to shove and the worst got the best of humanity.

Did the pacing of the book feel appropriate, or were there parts that dragged or felt rushed?

The majority of the book read neutrally. The only rushed part was the ending, but it’s forgivable and fairly conclusive. It was a cutthroat moment but the best bad ending you could get. On a personal note, if you failed to read between the lines and had to read the last page repeatedly (like what I did), then it’s confounding before it’s epiphanic. Interestingly, the ending of the novel circles back to the main conflict, that of which, “After all, since the world began, we’ve been eating each other. If not symbolically, then we’ve been literally gorging on each other. The Transition has enabled us to be less hypocritical.”

How well-developed are the characters? Are they relatable or believable?

Marcos is the kind of protagonist with static character traits. He was essential in moving the story forward. But in terms of character development, Marcos failed by massive proportions.

Did you find the book emotionally impactful or thought-provoking? Why or why not?

I found Tender is the Flesh to be thought-provoking and emotionally impactful - needless to say disturbing, revolting, and disgusting. Taking from my reading journal, “We unapologetically demonize something that indirectly harms us, but normalize dehumanizing something that would potentially benefit us. Sadly, that’s how mankind has operated ever since. Unfairly so, something is a threat until proven a potential gain.”

Were there any surprises or plot twists that stood out to you?

It felt like every main chapter had a plot twist of its own. At least, it revealed the dystopia’s system more and more. I couldn’t imagine how the novel would end, but the way it did was definitely twisted.

What are the strengths of the book? What did you particularly enjoy about it?

I thoroughly enjoyed Bazterrica’s writing style, the minimal characters, and intricacy of the details. No review I’ve read mentioned this at all, but the last sentence in every chapter is intriguing.

Did you find any inconsistencies or plot holes in the story?

In terms of plot holes, I wanted to say that most of the characters have either bland or flawed personalities, and Bazterrica drove us straight to the desolate part post-Transition. But I guess that’s the whole point? Also, in hindsight, having likeable characters is irrelevant with the plot. Liking the characters is not the point. The point is, “What are we going to eat now?” In sexual context, saying, “We could eat each other” could have been suggestive. But not in this dystopia where everyone could starve to death and have a family to feed. Also, *semi spoiler* but I wish Spaneli was included in more chapters - I actually like her character.

Were there any characters or plot elements that you found unconvincing or underdeveloped?

Marcos is underdeveloped. That’s all I have to say.

Did the book meet your expectations, and if not, why?

In terms of shock value, the novel met my expectations. Although I admit, I wasn’t prepared for the details. They were more grotesque than I anticipated.

What is your overall opinion of the book?

Overall, Bazterrica was effective in depicting a dystopian world where the main conflict is among humans and how everyone’s survival relies on all others’ deaths. The gross level was way up there. But above everything else, Bazterrica’s writing style is chef’s kiss.

Who do you think would enjoy this book? Is there a specific audience it's suited for?

I would suggest Tender is the Flesh to those who want a blend of “thinking” and “being grossed out.” It’s definitely not for the faint at heart - unless this is your fetish, in which case, this would be mid for you. I’m sure there are more horrifying books I’ve still unheard of.

Did the book leave a lasting impact on you, or did it change your perspective on any topic?

No lasting impact, hence the downgrade from 5 stars to 4. Gorey things aside, it was entertaining at best. I’m disappointed with the turnout of events (ending), but not surprised. Humans are always far worse than we think.

Would you recommend this book to others, and why?

I would recommend it with caution and cherrypick who I share my thoughts with - mainly because of how grotesque it could be to more sensitive readers. On a positive note, if you read the synopsis and found yourself more curious than revolted, then there’s a better chance of you enjoying this novel.

Would you read another book by the same author based on your experience with this one?

I definitely want to explore others of Bazterrica’s works.

Summarize your main points and opinions about the book

To sum, Tender is the Flesh was satisfyingly gross, thought-provoking, and interesting, to say the least. If my opinion counts, this is one of my top reads in 2023. For some eargasm, indulge in the audiobook version. The narration is fantastic. A no-brainer 5/5.

🎧 Audiobook available on Scribd and narrated by Joseph Balderrama

[writingwithcolor]

Desexualized Mammy & Strong Black Woman, too busy for “frivolous love”

“Alyse” (Anon Submission) asked:

My science fiction story includes a black woman (Talia) who raises two children that aren’t her own and takes on two young adults as apprentices. One of the children she is raises has Arabic background and was taken into her home upon his father’s death (his mother’s whereabouts are unknown). She was a close friend of his father and the closest thing he had to a relative. The second child has mixed French-Latinx background and was taken in after becoming shipwrecked with no means by which to contact her people. Talia was the first non-hostile individual she encountered and one of the few who would so openly embrace a stranger. Since Talia is Master Medic (the highest medical authority in her community) she is training two apprentices (think residency) and eventually mentors the second child as well. She was once married and passionately in love but lost her husband to illness. In this setting, some technology we take for granted is inaccessible and violence against their people is commonplace. Most have experienced sudden loss. This particular loss was the catalyst that drove Talia into medicine- a desire to protect her loved ones and prevent others from experiencing similar tragedy. She is usually kind (though businesslike) but sometimes succumbs to a frigid, furious depression when, despite all her knowledge and determination, she can’t save someone. 

I worry that her maternal association with the two children (one of whom is an outsider) mires her in the mammy trope. On top of that, she hasn’t pursued romance since the death of her husband. I’ve considered giving her a romantic subplot but there are already so many characters to keep track of. Furthermore, I just can’t see her engaging in the frivolous pursuits of new love when she’s dealing with kids, students, and an extremely taxing career. 

In terms of race and culture in this story, practically every character can trace their ancestry back to populations displaced through war. Even Talia’s second child was shipwrecked during a botched evacuation from a military science lab. The people who live here have been isolated for generations and no longer have a real concept of their ancestry. Cultures have blended, new religions have formed, and many of our familiar racial/ethnic issues are forgotten. However, new and different but equally toxic ones have replaced them. In this way, Talia’s blackness doesn’t carry the same associations in her world as it would in ours. However, readers may still make these associations. Do you see any issues with her character that I could amend? 

So! You have:

A highly educated Black-coded woman (the highest medical authority in the community)

She raises two kids alone 

She also looks after two apprentices

She is widowed (not sure the race of the husband, was he Black?)

Having experienced heartbreaking love, Talia's drive to look after, protect and save people through medicine is a great motivation for the way she is. Her experiencing depression and taking losses seriously is also very human and is dynamic characterization. 

However, such characterization with Black women is prone to brush across several tropes. You have a Black woman who gives and protects, but what does she get in return? Who cares for her? 

Prioritize your Black character’s happiness

"I’ve considered giving her a romantic subplot but there are already so many characters to keep track of. Furthermore, I just can’t see her engaging in the frivolous pursuits of new love when she’s dealing with kids, students, and an extremely taxing career." 

Priorities, priorities. Is love a frivolous pursuit in her eyes, or yours? Because I strongly disagree. You probably don't mean to but you, as the author, having an excuse to NOT give the Black woman romance is showing that you do not think she's worth being loved. TV viewers and stans who are uncomfortable when Black women characters have relationships find similar excuses to explain away not wanting BW in relationships.

"She's too strong and independent for a man/relationship" 

"I liked her better alone." 

"It'll take away from her character."

“A romance doesn’t feel right for her”

These sorts of statements above are grounded in racialized misogyny. 

Relationships do not lessen the woman.

Relationships does not lessen Black women. 

Love

Whether that love is romantic, familial, or friendship, it can come in many forms. Give Talia love. Because Black women characters deserve it! Either one or all! 

Let her have a loyal best friend, a cat, and a girlfriend. Because why not? And not to downplay the love of children to parents, but please provide her love beyond what she gets on a maternal level from the children she looks after. 

The stories that Black women are in today severely lack love for us, so why add to the narrative of Black women being all work and no play, and too [insert excuse here] to be loved? 

Of course, you didn't provide all the details from your story, but I'm not seeing much of a balance from the struggle. She is a caretaker, teacher, doctor (or doctor-like figure). 

Her position and background in itself is okay. It's the Strong Black Woman being presented with seemingly no commentary that strikes me. 

Where is her team to help balance the weight of the world? 

Who takes care of her when she's depressed from another loss? 

What does she get in return from taking an emotional and physical toll to heal her community? 

Do those around her recognize all she does for them and offer their friendship? 

When does she get to relax and turn off the need to be everything for everybody?

Fitting love into a book with many characters

There are many books with several characters to keep track of. People tend to manage. Also, I'm sure some of those characters are in and/or out of relationships. Even stories that couldn’t be classified as romances have relationships of some sort. It’s unrealistic to have a ton of characters and none of them be in relationship(s) of some sort. Not when there’s so many forms of it and many sexualities. 

Friends, frenemies, enemies, romance, affairs.. Relationships make stories (and life) interesting. By no means do I think adding these dynamics harm your tale. And what’s one more for a hard-working Black woman who sacrifices a lot and clearly deserves a shoulder to lean on? And, if you use an existing character to be that friend, family, or lover, then you won’t need to pencil in another character.

For romance specifically - I think a misconception when it comes to including romance in stories is that they have to somehow take over the story. Romance does not have to bombard the plot nor be described in lavish detail. Not every story is a romance and those sort of details aren’t everyone’s style or things they’re comfortable with. A sentence or two establishing relationships does not take away from the story.And how those relationships look and affections expressed will vary based on the characters, sexuality, etc.

Not every character needs to have a deep level of detail. 

“Katie and Lisa, a newly engaged couple, walked into the meeting.”

“Jack and Jamie are a married couple in their 40s.” 

“The two met in college. After two months of blissful courtship, they eloped, eager to start their happily ever afters. Twenty years together, they were still blissfully in love and never too far from one another.”

Sentences like the above are enough for some characters. You don’t always need to put in paragraphs worth of relationship-establishing details or plot. 

When it comes to the characters whose love you would like to highlight, at least a bit, you still don’t have to go over the top.

Use subtle details. 

“As soon as Talia’s back was turned, he gave her a longing look before shaking his head and getting back to the patient.”

“He squeezed her hand before taking hold of the stethoscope.”

“She kissed her wife goodbye before racing out the door.”

“You mean the world to me.” he had said, holding her face. Those words stayed with her all day, making her heavy load light as a sack of feathers.

“She soaked his shirt with her tears and he just held her tight, saying nothing, silently holding her together.”

As for Talia specifically…

Talia having the mindset you described, as love being frivolous and not a priority, is understandable knowing her background (I just don't agree with you as the creator using this as a means to keep her alone. Whether she’s romantically alone or without close friendships). She has lost so much, and continues to experience loss with patients. This can be extremely traumatizing. I gave some examples of being subtle, so perhaps that will help with the burden of feeling a thick subplot of romance doesn’t fit in your story. 

And as Talia doesn’t strike me as someone who would go looking for companionship, what if she stumbles upon it without trying? Is there someone on the medical team that can offer her friendship? Someone who admires her and feels the urge to care for her that she feels the same for, or has pushed feelings down for? What happens when she can’t hold those feelings down anymore?

Takeaway

Talia deserves healthy love, even if she doesn’t believe it or feel she has time for it. That love can come in any and many forms, not necessarily romantically required, although it is a plus. A struggle-ridden novel is balanced by love, support and rest for characters that hold the weight of the world. If you do not, evaluate why you want to write Black characters in these struggle roles without at least a social commentary. 

~Mod Colette