#from the settings to the characters to the story itself

[lobautumny]

So, emptyheadgamer's reply here illustrates a sort of lack of understanding of how writing works, and it's a fairly common misunderstanding too. Not every detail of the world a story takes place in does or should make it into the story itself on a direct textual level. That's not what's being suggested, here (at least, not inherently.) Rather, this is about worldbuilding, a process that is majorily writing things that will never be directly addressed for more than a passing remark within the text of your story.

The reason this is important is because the more well-considered your world is, the more it feels like your story takes place within the world as a part of it and its history, rather than the world existing as a formality/convenience to justify the story. It also gives you more points of attachment to naturally come up with plot threads and events that can intertwine with the story that feel natural and grounded and immersive.

Considering things like trade relations between nations, or the force of imperialism, or the effect of climate on available crops, or domestic political tensions, or natural disasters happening outside of where the story is explicitly set, or whatever else fits along these lines adds texture and life to your world, and can easily set the groundwork for things your audience didn't anticipate happening to your characters that don't feel forced or like a deus ex machina. It lets you indirectly add more personality to your characters.

If your setting has a bunch of miscreants randomly jumping adventurers on the road just because you wanted to have some bandit encounters, then sure, you can just leave it at that. But that's a lot less interesting and dynamic than considering why the nearby government doesn't do something about the bandits. Are they particularly well-defended and just more trouble than it's worth to clear out? Are they well-funded organized criminals who bribe law enforcement to look the other way? Do they live in some extremely treacherous area that the guards simply refuse to enter? Are new bandit groups literally just popping up faster than the guards can stomp them down? Really, who even are the bandits? Why did they form their groups? What draws in new members, and why are they robbing people on the streets? Is everyone from these groups attacking people, or are the ones who do fringe lunatics? Militia members who feel they're protecting their communities? What are the relationships between different bandit factions? Etc.

Sure, the answers to most of these questions will likely never reach the text of your story and be largely invisible to your audience on a micro level even when they are explicitly referenced unless you decide to base a plotline on said worldbuilding. But it's still valuable to consider these sorts of things because they get you in the habit of thinking about your own world on a deeper level as a world in which things happen even when they aren't happening to/because of your major characters, and which your characters live within and interact with. It's easier to write a more in-depth backstory for your bandit-turned-goodguy character if you already know why and how the bandits exist. It's easier to have the main road west be blocked off by ransom-demanding bandits who are simply too strong for your protagonists to pass if you know why the guards won't or can't sort the issue out quickly. It grounds your story when the audience hears characters reference goings-on in the world around them that don't explicitly have anything to do with your protagonist's adventure. It lets you subtly establish the groundwork for future surprise plot events such that they feel like a natural consequence of events in the world and not an out-of-nowhere twist that was written for the sake of having a random twist.

Beyond the very interesting political point raised by the original posts here, this toy cannot stress enough that thinking about these kinds of things will literally lead to you writing better stories. It's not just frivolous details that exist for no reason.

👀

[dduane]

Hi DD! I'm about mid-way through the most complex writing project I've ever done (several stories with some red thread storylines progressing in the background, so a sort of interwoven structure). I have an outline of the major plot beats, but the problem is, I've gotten about 2/3 of the way through, and this is where I've started to have trouble bringing my many threads together. The further I go, the the harder keeping it all clear and elegant becomes. Any advice for working at this stage?

It may seem counterintuitive, but once I'd found myself in a situation like this, I would immediately start working backwards.

It's difficult to describe what I mean here except semi-graphically—sort of in terms of one of those strings-pinned-to-the-wall diagrams so familiar to a lot of us from the various evidence-wall memes.

If we're imagining your present as-yet-unconnected threads as more or less progressing left to right, I would "stick pins in them" at their current furthest range and then move straight out to the far right side of the diagram.

For each thread I would then get busy establishing a detailed "end state" for the work: meaning a sense of what you want each of those through-line of plot to look like when you're done in terms of characters, situations, etc. I'd make very sure that all the major through-lines were covered, and (in passing) take a long look at how they'll stand in relationship to one another when all the action's finished.

Then I would start working back along each line toward the center of the matrix—looking to see what the next-to-last thing was that needed to happen to produce the final result on a given through-line. And then the third-to-last. ...And so forth.

I would try to work through the whole set of through-lines for each given step or stage before progressing any further backwards—unless, of course, some leap of logic occurs that makes an obvious connection between two different through-lines, or an earlier stage in the same TL that hadn't been obvious before.

(Is this making sense? God, I hope so.)

My experience with this kind of situation in the past is that it doesn't take too long before, on one or two of the lines you're constructing backwards, you'll hit something fairly major that somehow hadn't come up for consideration previously, or had simply slipped or fallen off the structural "radar" because so much other stuff had been going on around it. That event or piece of data, once perceived, will very often either immediately connect itself back to one or more of the "pinned" through-lines, or promote one of the other incomplete ones into growing connections to other adjacent lines of plot material. It's a little like watching neural tissue developing alternate pathways for itself after an injury.

...Anyway, give this approach a shot and see how it works for you. There are times when simply the act of reversing direction on the plot build will shake something loose in the business surrounding the building-it-forward part. It's worth a try to see what happens.

Hope this helps!

[pomefioredove]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ friends forever

summary: a beaded competition for yuu's affections type of post: drabbles characters: all students additional info: platonic or romantic, gender neutral reader, reader is yuu, based on an ask I got a while ago, fluffy, predictable sappy ending

Word travels fast at Night Raven College.

Gossip, secrets, whispers exchanged in the darkened halls, from student to professor, to professor to ghost, to student again.

The Ramshackle Prefect was beaming, bright as the dawn itself on Monday morning, a string of blue plastic beads on one arm. They seldom smiled so much, and for good reason- but Monday, they were glowing, holding out their wrist, and telling anyone who would listen about the gift their "best friend" had given them. It was an enthralling sight.

Deuce Spade, the poor, sweet boy, had become patient zero.

Word travels faster at Night Raven College when it's about the Prefect.

Deuce Spade had claimed title of best friend with a string and sixteen translucent plastic beads, something that made Ace Trappola itch. He didn't care! He didn't! Of course, he stayed up all night, trying and failing and trying again, to tie the tiny knot on a black-and-red beaded bracelet. But that didn't mean he cared!

It's on your arm, right above Deuce's, on Tuesday.

"Thank you, Ace!" you had smiled, announcing it to the entire unbirthday party. "You really are my best friend!"

Ace looked over his shoulder to smugly grin at his dormmates. "Aww, this old thing? It's nothing, just thought your wrist looked a little lonely with only one,"

It was a rather strange sight: the housewarden of Heartslabyul, his scepter and crown set to the side, his back hunched as he strung black, red, and gold beads over his desk that night. Riddle Rosehearts marched over to you first thing in the morning, set his bracelet in your waiting palm, and marched away, his face redder than his hair.

Trey Clover had forgotten all about homework, promising Deuce two week's worth of dish duty in exchange for beads and string. Forest green and black. He was too shy to give it to you himself, and left it at your doorstep in a basket of tea leaves and leftover tart. It smells of vanilla.

Cater Diamond made sure to snap a pic of his bracelet on your arm, black, red, and orange beads, with his and your initials right next to each other. "#BFFs #besties"

His Magicam story was viewed over 6,000 times.

...Mostly by the same people, over and over.

Ruggie Bucchi had a different take on the situation. See, he didn't have the kinda cash to spend on beads and string and fancy charms, and so you wore a striking dandelion crown to your classes on Thursday morning.

Jack Howl braided you a simple, brown-stringed band to wear on your wrist or ankle or wherever you liked it. You had told him you loved it, rumor said.

Then, all came to a halt.

Word spread that Leona Kingscholar had tried gifting you an expensive, golden-beaded bracelet from his home, (one that would haven taken up half your forearm), and you had refused it. You couldn't possibly accept such a nice gift, you said.

You would, as it seemed, only accept handmade friendship bracelets.

Kalim al-Asim kept Jamil Viper up all night, weaving and unweaving, beading and unbeading, doing and redoing and redoing again, until he had perfected your friendship bracelet in all colors of the rainbow. Little did he know that Jamil had already given you one that afternoon. It smelled of spices, giving away the fact that he had made it in between cooking meals.

Azul Ashengrotto told his staff he was taking a morning off to study, went to the beach, and collected shells in every shape and color. He strung them on black fishing line, and smiled as he gave them to you, free of charge. "Just something to remember me by when I'm away," he said, his face redder than it felt.

Floyd Leech had started one, but became bored of the tedious beading after ten minutes and decided to dedicate his next basketball win to you instead. Jade Leech finished it, and, while his brother was distracted, lined the teal-and-black striped beads with mushroom-shaped charms.

Vil Schoenheit never half-asses anything, friendship bracelet or not. He would do most anything to hear those sweet words of thanks on your lips (not that he'd admit it), even if that means taking hours out of his busy schedule to dye white yarn in wine and weave it with his gilded initials and red, bejeweled hearts. He likes seeing himself on you.

Rook Hunt, ever the nonconformist, fashions you a necklace out of broken bow strings and an arrowhead from his favorite quiver. He puts it on you himself, his fingers brushing against your throat and lingering on the back of your neck for a moment too long, as if enjoying the feeling of your heartbeat.

But Epel Felmier outdoes them all.

For on Friday morning, you come to class with a bracelet of lavender-painted wooden beads, his initials carved into the soft oak, and he comes in wearing the same bracelet, but with yours.

How had no one thought to make a matching one for themselves???

Idia Shroud 3D prints a bracelet in your favorite color, and Ortho Shroud engraves the flat surface with your favorite characters... they make two more for themselves, as if in a sort of secret club. It gives Idia quite the thrill to think about, though he'd never say it.

Sebek Zigvolt hmphs at the idea of showing such loyalty to a mere human, until Silver and Lilia Vanrouge return from an early morning stroll with baskets of acorns, flowers, and pine nuts for bracelet-making. Sebek and Silver both make theirs in earthy wooden tones and shimmering shades of rose and violet. Lilia sneaks in a few animal teeth and bone fragments. For good luck.

Malleus Draconia, tedious as it is, spends his Sunday morning spinning his own string, and lining it with beads, tiny in his hands, and small pieces of smooth glass and stone from Ramshackle. He gifts it to you with a blessing, a promise of your eternal friendship, in this world and the next.

By the end of the week, your arms are heavy with beads, shells, stone, nuts, flowers, and charms, covered from wrist to elbow. You can't move without sounding like a wind chime, jingling and clinking with each step.

Your friends eagerly await your praises, not-so-subtly asking which bracelet is your favorite, or, frankly, who is your best friend?

You promise an answer soon.

Thus, on Monday morning, you arrive with only one bracelet.

Sloppily made, in soft blues and grays, with the cut-out logo of a tuna can label stuck to your wrist, and a smiling Grim holding the hand beneath it.

[interact-if]

Our second edition of the Black History Month Author Spotlight series features beloved author, C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if)!

(CC is an absolute institution. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by doing a feature of the slice-of-life romance queen herself? CC is one the most inspiring, supportive IF writers out there, and it was a great honor to pick her brain! Read on for pandemic-setting feel good stories and Creole-based spells!)

Author: C.C. Hill

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Games: When Life Gives You Lemons (Slice-of-Life)

Synopsis: You play as an MC starting a new life in a small town called Lemon. It’s a story about self-discovery, love, and parenthood—a comfort story where the love interests want to sweep you off your feet.

Games: The Midnight Saga (Horror)

Synopsis: After finding yourself trapped in another dimension, you and your friends must fight for survival and defeat the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Make sure to grab a weapon as your quiet Halloween night turns into an out-of-this-world adventure!

Quote from the interview:

What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

Read on for the full interview!

Tell me more about yourself! What are some things new readers or long-time readers might not know about you?

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?

I'm working on so many things it should be illegal for my brain to operate this way. But mainly, When Life Gives You Lemons. My plan is to focus on the final part in March, do some beta testing, and submit it to Hosted Games in April for my birthday month.

I'm also under contract with Heart’s Choice, writing Spices of the Heart, with hopes of completing it this year. On top of that, I’m working on publishing my first visual novel, The Wedding. It’s close to completion, and I have the third quarter of 2025 planned for publication.

I only started writing interactive fiction in 2020. When the pandemic hit, I needed something to keep my brain occupied, and five years later, I’ve published three games and still have a ton of projects in progress.What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

How has your identity, heritage/background, upbringing, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process? OR How does your work feature aspects of your identity / experience?

My first game, The Midnight Saga, was heavily inspired by my background and where I'm from. The story itself is based on an old Haitian folklore about not staying outside after midnight—if you do, the Keeper of Midnight will eat you. I took that idea and built the characters around it.

I even managed to include some spells written in Haitian Creole. It was a lot of fun to write, and even though Book 2 is currently on hiatus, this story has a special place in my heart because it was my first game. The characters are a representation of my people and the struggles they’ve gone through. I’m really happy that it was my debut story.

What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?

For me, it’s branching and being able to write an MC and other characters in a way that readers can truly connect with. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of feel-good romance and slice-of-life stories, and I’m starting to feel like this is my comfort zone—and I want to stay here forever.

I never want to create a romance option that is inherently bad or purposely deceitful. My biggest challenge is writing characters who are flawed and complex—where readers can love them or hate them—but making sure they aren’t just villains for the sake of it. They’re simply existing in the world they were created in.

What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?

My writing process is a mess. My brain gets pulled in so many directions. When I get an idea, I have to code it, shape it, and give it life—otherwise, it’s going to bug me forever. That’s why I end up with so many WIPs. I need to see them through, at least to a short demo, to see if they make sense.

My desk is also full of notes, and I basically write on anything—pieces of napkins, tissue boxes, whatever is nearby. One weird habit I have is that some of the best changes I’ve made to my games, those "spark" moments, happen when I’m in the shower. It’s weird and strange, but it works.

What’re you excited to tackle/implement/work on next? Or anything you’re looking forward to in the year ahead?

Keep writing romance and feel-good slice-of-life stories. Get When Life Gives You Lemons published this year. Focus on doing this full-time. Publish my visual novel.

Overall, just stay busy and be productive.

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

To the readers—us authors don’t have all the answers. Sometimes, we start writing a story and end up forgetting certain plots or characters, which is easy to do when writing interactive fiction. So yes, we often write ourselves into a corner and just put a period there so the story can progress.

To the authors—write stories you love, something you would want to read. It makes it easier to keep going because if it’s a story you love, you’ll want to see how it ends, and that will push you to persevere.

This-or-that segment: (red = CC's pick)

Coffee or tea?

Early mornings or late nights?

Angsty or Cozy romances?  

Steady progress or frenzied binge-writing followed by periods of calm?

Introvert or extrovert?

Plotter or pantser?

[matt0044]

Also... if Bumblebee somehow (and I mean this purely hypothetical) wasn't planned from the start and came about after Volume 5 as they allege, well, it fits like a damn fine glove.

After all, some elements of a story come about even when you're finalizing an absolute final draft. Like... has nobody heard about the story of Neo being introduced into Volume 2 just before the White Fang Rally was posted online? Imagine how different Volume Nine might've been without Neo.

If Bumblebee was a Neo type situation, they already laid the groundwork with Blake and Yang's friendship. Yang pleading Blake to believe she didn't maim Mercury. Yang charging in to stop Adam from hurting Blake and losing an arm. Yang very much being upset over Blake leaving and opening up to Weiss about it.

Even if they were meant to be initially "just good friends," that still lent itself as good set up for a romance to bloom. i've often found myself finalizing a story and seeing two characters hit it off in my eyes, convincing me that there's something more worth exploring.

That it wasn't there from the beginning doesn't make it inherently bad or worse.

Hell, most Manga is written by the seat of an author's pants. Even those with a solid road map of a narrative will often go, "Oh wait... what if... I added in this or that." Inspiration strikes anytime and anywhere.

Sorry to go off like that but the fact is that the creative process is a lot more complicated than how the RWDE likes to think it.

It's so weird to see people say bumblby came out of nowhere, because as someone who was there when it first aired it was like, really subtly implied in anything rooster teeth posted where people were talking about rwby. like not obvious at all, getting less subtle through the years, but it was definitely there. the fans back then were very openly misogynistic so I wouldn't be surprised if it was like, those people avoided anything rt that had women in it and missed everything until it showed up in the show

This gets funnier when you see new fans or reactors and you see them catch on what was going on between those two lmao. Happened to me. I watched RWBY for the first time in March 2020 (wow, almost five years ago, time flies). I had no previous info about the show and I wasn't even aware that chose two were even a ship. And yet I started rising my eyebrows at those two as early as volume 2 (Lighting the Candle) and by volume 3 I was already wondering "huh, are they really headed that way?" and by volumes 5-6 I could say "yep, it's definitely romantic lmao". I finished volume 7 (more confirmations! Lol) and I listened to Bmblb (I lost my fucking shit when I saw the bike thing) and All That Matters and it got even more obvious. And this happens to literally most new watchers lmao. The point? None of you guys were crazy, you were all right and the ones in denial were the ones that sounded insane😭 they still do.

[demons-art-hell]

Lore expansion on Joel's role in gbau!

Exposition: Vampires, whilst a proven fact in gbau, are still rather mystic and generally unheard of Typically, they're thought of as near exitinct, when it truth they live under the radar in secret

Those with express features such as pointed ears tend to explain it away by being Elyian (very brief overview! I will get more into how vampires function in a seperate post)

Continued under the cut

Anyway, This being the case, there is lots of prejudice towards vampires, and plenty of blatantly incorrect information, particularly of old historical and/or fictional nature

After reuniting with Grian and Mumbo (and being introduced to Scar) at an unofficial homecoming (hosted by Gem & The Scotts because they wanted to show off perform), Joel takes an interest in writing about the project they're both a part of

Whilst there, however.. He notices how strange and different Grian is

First, and most prominently, his feathers have gold bands on their edges Now, Joel isn't an expert on hybrids, let alone avians, but surely it doesn't make sense for a feather pattern to suddenly change somewhere in adulthood

Following that, not only are his wings singed gold but so are his eyes... And they seem to glow with it?

Possibly least importantly, the man isn't wearing glasses This, by itself, isn't suspicious, but knowing how Grian was in his teens, he HATED contact lenses, and Joel knows he can't see for shit without his glasses

When broached on this, Grian clams up about his wings, muttering something of it being medical, but as for his eyes, his excuse comes in the form of switching to contacts, and, while he's at it, choosing coloured ones

Joel is unsatisfied with this answer, as it doesn't explain the glow his eyes appear to have, nor does he believe Grian would ever get over hating contacts, but he doesn't press further

Later on in the night, he notices a fuss as Grian hurries out into the bathroom

When he asks, Mumbo, who'd stayed behind to make space for him to leave, responds that Grian started having sudden nose bleeds recently

Odd

This is all strange behaviour, but nothing about this sets Joel off to investigate until the day he actually goes in for his article

And sees distinct bite marks on Grian's neck Ones he flusters about and hides quickly

And the whole thing just snowballs from there

Glowing eyes in the dark? Suddenly not requiring glasses? Having 'nosebleeds' where he could be going off to do who knows what Finding someone to feed off of perhaps?

He can't explain the gold in the wings, but it sure only adds to his suspicion!

Joel begins making excuses to remain at their project's headquarters, spinning some story about wanting to make more articles as he (not so) subtly begins digging into Grian

He notes many things like how he always seem tired, sometimes even passing out around the building, and eventually scrounges up from somewhere that he changed jobs, abandoning his own project due to 'not being able to partake in the contruction' anymore

He notes how little Grian goes outside and, when he does, how little he flies compared to when he last saw him

Perhaps the sun makes him tired? Weak enough to not fly? He certainlly seems sickly enough for it

The more time passes the further into a hole he digs himself, noting how Grian appears to recover from injury too fast, how he turns to face people just a fraction too early compared to when they call him, and him knowing things he shouldn't

Such as where someone is in the building, even if Joel KNOWS he hasn't seen them all day

It gets concerning, in fact, how much he puts into this

I love conspiracy theorist Joel He's incredibly suspicious of everything Grian does now, believing it to be an evil vampire plot of some sort I will probably try and write something on the makeshift homecoming, so that I can introduce more characters and their roles/magic in this au Note on the comic: A plaster is a band aid Also I call this a homecoming, but the school system in this universe will be closer to the British schooling system than the American one. Because I don't know anything about it. It confuses me Second notes: The 'project' Grian Scar and Joel are a part of is a hermitcraft equivalent. Eventually I will get everyone moving into the area! starting with Joel convincing Lizzie they should start up a second branch of their cafe there And the project Grian worked on before the incident is a life series equivalent! Alright! Good day, good evening, good night!

[yuseirra]

Alien stage "Wiege" spoilers!

I jotted down some thoughts and analysis upon having watched that video! I really liked the song(listening to it now, too) I'm sure there are a lot of details to spot (for example I read a comment that Ruler of My Heart was indeed, Luka's love song toward Hyuna, that he had a doll with a groom and a bride on the table in that one scene he was sitting facing Hyuna's photo.. I'm sure there are plenty of things like that) what I want to talk about is more of the general stuff and character analysis.

If you think about it, Mizi and Luka were the two characters who had the least doubts about their situation at the start of the story.

Mizi even applied to join the Stage herself; she grew up with a lot of love and care, so she was quite bright and cheerful and very naive. But after enduring all sorts of hardships, she went through the biggest emotional transformation.

On the other hand, Luka was probably aware from the moment he was born that he was created to be used up like a disposable tool. Because of that, he never even had the space to question his circumstances.

In the midst of that, he met someone he truly loved, and that person became his reason to live—but now, they’re gone.

So now, for better or worse, he's in a situation where he has no choice but to change and step out of the "cradle" he had been confined to.

Ivan, Till, Hyuna, and Sua all had their own thoughts about their circumstances from the beginning of this story—whether it was resistance or doubt, they had some awareness of the problem.

On the other hand, Mizi and Luka, despite being on opposite ends of the spectrum, were both characters who never questioned the nature of the Alien Stage when they first appeared.

Mizi was completely ignorant of its brutality at first, and gradually learns the truth and changes as a result.

Luka, on the other hand, was so accustomed to and overwhelmed by the situation that he never even considered the possibility that things could be different.

That’s why these two, who started at opposite extremes, ended up meeting in the middle. One started from the very bottom as Challenger #1 and climbed up, while the other was at the top as a winner but has now lost everything. (Honestly, more than the stage itself, it really feels like Hyuna was the reason Luka was alive. I was surprised by just how much he cared—way more than I expected. It seems like he didn’t even realize what he did wrong, or that it was wrong at all. If he really did kill Hyunwoo, then maybe it's because he grew up in an environment where survival meant competing with his clones, so the idea that killing a person was wrong never even crossed his mind.)

So what happens next…? I don’t know, but I feel like Mizi is going to survive in the end.

That'd mean if it comes down to a fight between them, then Luka’s chances of survival would drop, right?

But looking at the song that just came out, are they even continuing Alien Stage? With the rocket and all, something big might happen, and they could both make it out alive. Maybe this song is setting up that possibility.

If Mizi’s arc involves not necessarily forgiving Luka, but at least reaching a point where she can acknowledge his existence, I find that would be pretty compelling. That’s an interesting direction to consider. And well, Hyuna really cared about him—she wanted him to live. I don’t think Mizi would want to kill anyone either. And she cared about Hyuna so would she have her efforts go to waste?

I think the best direction would be for Luka to start questioning his situation, leading to more development in that regard. And as for Mizi, how she chooses to view him is key. Personally, I’d rather see them meet in the middle, rather than Mizi simply taking him down—because in the end, they’re all victims of the system.

They don’t have to like each other, but more killing at this point would just be a loss for humanity. Wouldn’t that just be playing right into the hands of those who set up and control this stage? I think the right choice is to resist that.

That’s my take, but I wonder what'd happen.

Also, the way I described Hyuna’s feelings in one sentence was completely spot on. I remember phrasing her feelings towards Luka like this:

I think Hyuna actually liked Luka too, which is why facing him was so painful for her.

It wasn’t pure hatred—it was torment because, despite everything, there were still lingering feelings.

She couldn’t forgive him, but at the same time, she could see how much he cared about her. It was hard to say he acted with malice—he was too cheerful, too unaware of what he had done wrong. (That’s just how he was raised and he didn't even recognize he hurt her, did he? He just looked so happy and unknowing;)

The thing here would be that she couldn’t hate him entirely. And since she had always really liked him as well, it made things even harder.

Isn’t that what it was? In the end, her genuine feelings won out, and "even so, I still like you" became stronger than her hatred. In the end, the love out-won the hate..

She must have really liked him for it to come out that way. I did see it coming, at least partially-

So I wasn’t entirely surprised by Hyuna’s response. (What really surprised me initially was Luka’s reaction—he liked her so much that he literally couldn’t contain himself! But thinking about it, that was sort of always there..; although they kept from showing it this directly. His reaction reminds me of an overjoyed puppy who didn’t know what to do with itself. To see him get elated that much... wow.)

Seeing them going as far as married/engaged if things were to be normal was a surprise too, I figured they would have dated! I was so sure about that but marriage? Luka must have really pulled it off, huh? I hadn't imagined them actually settling down together, but it's great when canon sets things in stone lol. So they could have been that way! Great! ...and see what happened.

Out of all the characters, Luka seems like the purest one. He just doesn’t know. (and he's supposed to be the eldest one of the bunch;)

He looks experienced, but in reality, he’s never thought beyond the framework he was given.

But that’s because he was never allowed to in the first place. His life never gave him that option, so it’s partly a survival instinct.

Escaping that is like breaking out of an egg. Since he grew up in an environment where it was simply impossible to even consider another way of life, I do think his circumstances can be taken into account—but now, he’s at a point where he has to change.

Given the pace at which this story kills off characters, he might be gone in the next video, but if he does survive, I feel like his arc could lead to something really interesting.

[gogandmagog]

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery feat: Death of a Butterfly by Evelyn De Morgan

Anne of the Island, Chapter Fourteen!

Fearfully behind again, and shouldn’t jump ahead this way, but the significance of this chapter makes me froth at the mouth, so here I am, cheating! 

Some threads (the kind you can pull at an unravel a whole sweater) that I find particularly interesting in “the Summons.”  

For starters, the language of “poor butterfly Ruby,” because what are butterflies if not gorgeous creatures of grace with tragically short lifespans? It makes my heart squeeze itself. I’m reminded here of that passage in Anne of Ingleside where Walter spills a packet of poppy seeds, and Anne says (of the poppies), “They have only a day to live, but how imperially, how gorgeous they live it!”

Meanwhile, Ruby’s death scenes are a little bit of the ole copy/paste trick, wherein Maud liked to utilise/cannibalise her own short stories or lesser-known works to repurpose them into newer ones, and are therefore not especially specific or meant for Ruby in their origin. Some of Ruby’s coffin bits, and descriptions of her deathly handsomeness are ‘borrowed’ from a short in Further Chronicles of Avonlea (“There was a certain insolent quality in her beauty, as if it flaunted itself somewhat too defiantly in the beholder's eye.” - The Son of His Mother) for sure, but other larger parts come from somewhere else too iirc, only I can’t immediately remember from where... maybe the same collection of shorts, but I’ll try to hunt this up asap.

Ruby’s fear of death makes me wince, it’s so depressing, and not a little haunting... and we can even track it backward to Anne of Green Gables, specifically in the Unfortunate Lily Maid, and find clues of its existing when Ruby was much younger. In that scene/chapter where the girls are setting up to send ‘Elaine’ down to ‘Camelot’, Ruby refuses to act the part of Elaine, saying, “But to lie down and pretend I was dead—I just couldn’t. I’d die really of fright.” 🥹 When Anne ‘yielding reluctantly’ takes the role, Ruby still exhibits death anxiety, even just in pretense, and she says, “Oh, she does look really dead. […] It makes me feel frightened, girls.” It’s unlikely that Maud knew then what Ruby’s fate would be… right? 👀

Something to crunch on, semi-related, in terms of “why”... is that there’s a scholarly faction that believes that Maud liked to use supporting character death as a precursory rite-of-passage of sorts, to proper adulthood and in turn, all the things that come with adult relationships (basically, as they imply, sexuality). It’s a thing for Anne, that Matthew’s passing gives way to the first step of allowing Gilbert into her life (without Matthew going, there would have been no need for Gilbert to give up the school for Anne, or to receive the forgiveness that followed), and similarly in Emily of New Moon, after Emily “looked into death and read the riddle of a buried thing” (that Ilse’s mother had not in fact run off with a sneaky link but had fell down a well and died), Dean concludes that Emily has “left the childhood of her soul behind,” and the narrative firmly reiterates that, “one cannot go down to the depths of hidden things and escape the penalty.” This is an interesting theory (picture me stroking my imaginary beard) to tie to Ruby (who stirs Anne’s deeps into further seeking a meaningful life), the impact of her early death acting as a middle reinforcer of this transition for Anne. Later, of course, Gilbert’s brush with death serves as the final push to Anne’s Ultimate Growing Up, and the understanding of her own mortality when she realises Gilbert is vital to her very existence: “She knew that she could no more cast him out of her life without agony than she could have cut off her right hand and cast it from her … If Gilbert went away from her, without one word or sign or message, she could not live.”

Where previously “Gilbert, who could not connect the idea of sorrow with the vivid, joyous creature beside him, unwitting that those who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths, and that the natures which enjoy most keenly are those which also suffer most sharply” is demonstrative of Maud’s strong ability to maintain core characterisation, in his relationship (or lack of understanding) to Walter, I have always felt that Anne’s disconnect from Ruby’s way to life, in this chapter, is also upheld in her later relationship with Rilla, whose Ruby-and-Phil-ish brand of frivolity and unserious nature sometimes dismays Anne (the same way Walter and Gilbert have a bit of a gap). Obviously it’s not a very admirable attitude in Anne, and she can and does come across to some reader as judgmental and haughty, but when Anne’s whole worth prior to and even well into her Green Gables adoption was based on her performance value and ability to ‘earn her keep’, imo it becomes a less-surprising reason (though notably not an excuse) for this ingrained viewpoint.

[gayofthefae]

El's season plot wasn't Mike telling her he loved her any more than Will's was the painting itself. Both were treated as pretty important for about three episodes and then brought back at the end. That was A plot, and one that contributes to their overall story for sure. But the pacing itself of both plots proves them more of setups for season 5 resolutions than plots themselves (and, of course, what does that say for the one that's "resolved", but I digress).

They are smaller pieces of a larger story, displacing their season plot to be something else. We want Will to give Mike the painting and he does. We want Mike to tell El he loves her and he does. But those are very straight forward setup/payoffs, and not kept up with enough to be true plotlines for Will or El - Mike maintains a plot with it but only he does. Will's is about acceptance, achieved when Jonathan accepts him, set up and maintained by lines like "what if they don't like the truth" and "sometimes you feel like a mistake". El's was about leaving Brenner, the connection being that feeling unlovable makes it harder to leave your abuser.

But if their plots were unrelated, then the other things truly were just setup. Every time Will and Mike have a romantic seeming scene, it was not season 4 buildup - as many of us were confused in volume 2 thinking it had been - but seeds planted for future seasons. It was not required for the key arc of the season, nor was Mike's "I love you" curfuffle with El.

Will could have not had/addressed his feelings for Mike and simply struggled with acceptance of his sexuality and El could have had Mike tell her he loved her but argue that she didn't believe him because she was a monster and he must be lying - there was no requirement for him to actually support her belief and it could have been an opportunity to show just how deep in it she was.

But instead, they gave Will and Mike repeated intimate one on ones and had Mike fail to tell El he loved her. When Will's resolution was with Jonathan and El's with Brenner.

So if those plots were unnecessary to everyone but Mike's plotline at this timing, why include either of them at all? What is their purpose to him? Well, exactly the reason I realized Byler was endgame in the first place: the synching up and therefore implied causation between his moments (and conflict) with Will and his issues with El.

Mike could have had a plot that had nothing to do with either of them and the themes and climaxes of both of their season plots would have stayed the same. Mike NOT being able to tell El he loves her and he and Will both fighting and having intimate one-on-ones after were both for HIS plot, confirmed as both by the climax scene itself, which includes both. Because the setup has to do with both of them, there was no version of that climax scene that was just about El. It was always Will prompting him and him turning to El, because it was the culmination of his plots with both of them.

But, of course, you can't have two plots. You can only have one. And we've established that both El and Will's relationships with him were NOT their season plots. Which means that his inability to tell El he loves her and his conflict and following heart to hearts (including those unrelated to El entirely) with Will were ONE plot. ONE plotline that meant ONE thing as it can only culminate in ONE event.

They aren't Will and El's plotlines with Mike oblivious and only having El's. Because they aren't Will and El's plotlines to begin with. People understand that characters only get one. They just didn't take the jump to understand that closeness with Will and distance from El CAN be one. (They do, of course, understand this, though. Because in season 3, everyone knew that his issues with Will were a direct cause of his relationship with El. Nobody clocks that when it's swapped though. But the structure confirms it).

[lurkingshan]

I've been holding back on heavy criticism because this is a scrappy little show that seemed to be trying its best on a low budget and under censorship, but lord. Last week I expressed concern because they set up a final plot that could only end in either violating the premise or delivering a sad ending, and they chose to go with the latter. I'm not even strictly opposed to sad endings, but this one was so nonsensical and unearned that it really pissed me off.

Absolutely nothing about the plot of this show holds together. It made up lore as it went along and contradicted itself constantly, it shied away from dealing with the mains being stepbrothers for most of the show but then had it matter at random moments (like when they wanted to suddenly have a plot about violent parental homophobia), it never actually depicted the romance, leaving all physical intimacy implied, and after all of that nonsense, all we got is a sad ending where the characters separate, queer suffering is romanticized, and the time travel loop is inexplicably broken because the show decided it was time for that to be true. I told @twig-tea that I can only assume the show was written and edited by AI, because I can't imagine actual humans thought this made sense.

I regret that I was bamboozled into thinking this show had anything to say or even a coherent story to offer, and I do not recommend that anyone else watch it. It's not really a bl, it's definitely not a good drama, and it absolutely was not worth my time.

[redux-iterum]

this might be silly to ask here, but i think you guys give neat advice! i don't know if either of you have experienced this yourselves, but if you have, how do you get over writing anxiety? i find that i place too much value in validation and will sometimes talk myself out of writing something because i fear it's imperfect. is this something either of you have dealt with? if so, how did you get over it?

Perfectionist anxiety is a bitch, and this very much sounds like it! The main piece of advice I can give here is to embrace the truth that things you make sometimes won’t be amazing, and will never be perfect. Perfection is a lie creatives tell themselves is achievable. It simply isn’t. All perfectionism can do is keep you from being happy during the process of making art. It will never do anything else. The concept of “perfect” is your enemy. It’s just going to make you miserable the whole time you’re writing or painting or whatever, because you know what you’ll get isn’t perfect, and you’re striving for it anyway, so you aren’t having fun. And really, that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it? Fun?

The main thing that’s saved me from reworking stuff over and over again is a lesson I’ve learned, which is being able to say to yourself, “Well, it’s not exactly how I wanted it to be. I don’t know if I like this one. Oh well. Moving on.” There is an immense power in “oh well, moving on” that will keep you creating even when you make something you actively hate. That’s not to say you shouldn’t strive for improvement, nor should you not attempt to do your best. What the goal here is, is the ability to step back from your need for perfection, look over what you’ve made, and be able to both critique it and accept its flaws, and then head off to the next thing. “Fuck it” is your greatest tool here. Ain’t the next Lord of the Rings? Fuck it. Next story.

Take it this way: you’ve learned something new every time you catch a flaw in your writing, which means you’ll do better next time. You are always scaling up in quality as long as you’re seeking to improve. Again, you will never be perfect, but you will be better than you were before. That’s something to celebrate, not scold yourself for! And the only way to do that is to say “fuck it” and keep writing. You can’t think yourself into greatness. You have to create okay stuff first and learn from those mistakes.

As for validation: attention from strangers is nice, but there’s a good exposure therapy in posting something and receiving crickets over and over. You get used to it and gradually learn to lessen its value in your head. I’ve personally been able to adjust to not getting much attention on my personal projects and art that I love so dearly, and just moving forward anyways, because I’m excited to do it, and that’s whose opinion I should care about. It’s the love of the game at this point for me. Importantly, it’s been able to teach me to find the true value in art, which is the process of creation, not the creation itself. I utterly adore making things, to the point that I don’t even really care about the end product anymore or the attention it may or may not get. Sure, I want it to be good and get notes, but what’s the point if I’m not enjoying myself while making it? What’s the value in perfection and attention when I’m miserable because that's all I'm doing this for? I’m the one that loves these characters and this setting the most, right? What else can I do but serve them as best as I can, and keep going as long as I need to? It's no loss if the entire internet doesn't love it the way I do. I'm creating it, and that makes me happy. What else need there be?

That’s how I think of it, at least. I hope this helped a little.

[maxdibert]

Hey, I’ve read your post, and I’ve got to say, I’m a bit taken aback by your approach. You claim that talking about how misogyny in fandom targets Sansa Stark is somehow itself misogynistic, and then you pivot to praising Arya as if she’s the only “normal little girl” worth defending. Frankly, your argument not only misses the point entirely but also ends up reinforcing the very biases you pretend to oppose. So, let’s break this down, this is gonna be long so...

Look, the idea that Sansa’s embodiment of traditional femininity—her sensitivity, her grace, even her vulnerability—is a “flaw” is where you first go off track. Feminist theorists like Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler have long argued that traits associated with traditional womanhood are systematically devalued. De Beauvoir discusses how women have historically been cast as the “Other,” their value defined against a male norm. Sansa, with her courtly manners and her initial naivety, isn’t weak; she’s a product of a culture that’s been set up to dismiss exactly these qualities.

Let’s talk about the male gaze—a concept that’s essential to understanding why traditional femininity gets such a hard time in popular culture. The male gaze isn’t just about objectification; it’s about shaping how female characters are seen and, more importantly, which types of femininity are valorized. In most mainstream narratives, the version of female strength that’s celebrated is one that mirrors male characteristics: aggression, decisiveness, physical prowess.

Sansa’s journey, however, is far more nuanced. While she certainly evolves into a politically savvy leader, much of her early story is steeped in what might be seen as “soft power”—diplomacy, emotional intelligence, and strategic patience. Instead of recognizing these as genuine strengths, a lot of fans, including you, seem to dismiss them as mere signs of weakness. It’s like you’re saying, “If you’re not out there swinging a sword like Arya, you’re not really strong.” That’s a tired, binary way of thinking that not only undermines feminist theory but also does a disservice to the complexity of female characters.

By insisting that Arya’s overt physicality is the only acceptable form of female strength, you’re subscribing to a dangerous double standard. The same behavior in a male character is often seen as heroic; in a woman, it’s labeled as “unladylike” or “aggressive.” This is precisely the kind of bias that feminist scholars like Judith Butler have deconstructed time and time again when they discuss gender performativity—the idea that gender is a set of repeated acts, not an innate quality. Sansa’s “performance” of femininity is just as valid as Arya’s, even if it doesn’t fit neatly into the narrow box of what you consider strong.

Now, let’s address your fixation on Arya. You’ve repeatedly tried to use her as a counterbalance to Sansa’s supposed “flaws.” But here’s the irony: invoking Arya as the standard of “normalcy” is not only a red herring—it’s downright hypocritical. When you claim that Arya is the archetype of a normal little girl who stands up to injustice, you imply that any deviation from her model is inferior. This is a classic example of what Bell Hooks critiques as the “imperialist” mindset that forces a single narrative of empowerment, one that often ends up marginalizing other valid expressions of femininity.

In your view, Arya’s toughness, her physicality, and even her rebellious streak are all markers of a “proper” female character. But what about the quiet resilience, the emotional labor, and the subtle wisdom that Sansa embodies? By putting Arya on a pedestal as the only acceptable form of female strength, you’re not just misrepresenting the original critique; you’re reinforcing a binary that has long been used to exclude and demean those who don’t fit your narrow criteria.

Moreover, you claim that anyone who criticizes Sansa is somehow failing to “side with the abused” because they’re not as proactive as Arya. Let’s be clear: true feminist critique isn’t about choosing one form of resistance over another; it’s about recognizing that all forms of strength, including those that are traditionally feminine, have value. When you pit Arya against Sansa as if only one of them can be a valid model of resistance, you’re doing a disservice to the rich, multifaceted reality of womanhood. It’s not a contest between being “normal” or being “tough”—it’s about acknowledging that both expressions exist and are worthy of respect.

This bias is not accidental; it’s baked into the way we’ve been taught to view gender roles. Feminist critics have long argued that society tends to favor traits that are coded as masculine—decisiveness, physical assertiveness, and even a sort of cold rationality—while dismissing the traditionally feminine traits as signs of weakness. By aligning yourself so strongly with Arya’s style of resistance, you’re echoing this very sentiment. You’re saying that unless a female character rejects her “normal” self and adopts these masculine traits, she isn’t really empowered.

This binary thinking not only distorts our understanding of female agency but also perpetuates a culture of exclusion. It alienates those who find strength in what you dismiss as “traditional” femininity. It’s worth noting that many influential female leaders throughout history—think of figures like Indira Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, or even more contemporary leaders—have often relied on a blend of traditionally feminine and masculine qualities. To reduce the entire spectrum of female experience to a single, narrow form of toughness is to ignore the rich complexity of what it means to be a woman.

You’ve also made some pretty bold claims about what it means to “side with the abused” and how that supposedly aligns with Arya’s character. Let’s be real: no one is saying that Sansa doesn’t fight back or that she isn’t resilient. In fact, her journey from a sheltered, naïve girl to a savvy political operator is one of the most compelling arcs in the entire series. Yet, because her resistance isn’t always loud or overt, it’s dismissed by some as weakness rather than recognized as a different—but equally valid—form of strength.

Your assertion that “Arya is as feminine as Sansa” while simultaneously implying that Sansa’s version of femininity is somehow less valuable is a glaring contradiction. It’s as if you’re saying, “Sure, both are feminine, but only one of them is good enough.” That’s not a critique; that’s a dismissal. By reducing the conversation to whether a character can or cannot be both strong and traditionally feminine, you ignore the broader point: that the cultural bias against traditional femininity is itself a form of misogyny.

It seems you want to frame the issue as if it were a simple binary: either a female character conforms to a hyper-masculine ideal, or she’s just too “normal” to be interesting. This is a tired and reductionist perspective. The original critique isn’t about elevating one form of strength over another; it’s about recognizing that the dismissal of Sansa’s traditionally feminine traits is part of a larger pattern of misogyny that permeates fandom discourse. When you demand that a female character must always be aggressive, unyielding, and overtly defiant to be seen as strong, you’re doing a disservice to the rich tapestry of what female empowerment can actually look like.

Now, let’s go back to your specific assertions. You say, “So very tired of this sexist, misogynistic nonsense from folks whose favorite character ever is Sansa Stark.” Let me ask you this: Is it really misogyny to point out that a character who embodies traditional femininity is unfairly attacked for those very traits? When you dismiss that critique as sexist, you’re not engaging with the argument; you’re sidestepping it by insisting on a one-dimensional view of what female characters should be.

You also argue that, “Sansa is a flawed character who has made mistakes,” and then immediately pivot to a comparison with Arya, suggesting that because you’d protect your little sister, you wouldn’t understand Sansa’s narrative. This kind of reasoning doesn’t address the critique at all—it simply reinforces a double standard. Just because Arya is written with a particular kind of strength doesn’t mean that Sansa’s different, quieter form of strength is any less valid. By using familial loyalty as a yardstick, you imply that real empathy and resistance only come in one form, which is not only reductive but deeply exclusionary.

Your insistence that “Arya is as feminine as Sansa” while also claiming that Sansa’s traditional femininity is somehow a weakness betrays an inherent contradiction. If both characters are indeed feminine, then why is it that one is celebrated and the other is attacked? This selective valuation is at the heart of the misogyny we’re discussing. It’s not that one expression of femininity is inherently better than another; it’s that society has conditioned us to favor certain traits over others. By clinging to this bias, you’re perpetuating a cycle of exclusion that ultimately harms all of us.

And then there’s your remark about education on misogyny. Telling someone to “educate yourself” might seem like a call to intellectual rigor, but when it’s used to dismiss a valid critique of systemic bias, it comes off as a thinly veiled assertion of moral superiority. True education on these matters would reveal how pervasive and subtle misogyny can be—manifesting not just in overt discrimination but in the very language we use to describe different forms of female expression. Instead of engaging with that complexity, you reduce the conversation to a simplistic, almost tribal argument: Arya equals strength, Sansa equals weakness. That’s not just inaccurate—it’s intellectually lazy.

So, here we are. Your reply seems to conflate genuine feminist critique with a narrow-minded preference for one type of female representation over another. By using Arya as a counterpoint, you inadvertently reinforce the very biases you claim to oppose. Instead of engaging with the complexities of Sansa’s character and the systemic reasons why traditional femininity is so often derided, you reduce the conversation to a simplistic “good girl vs. bad girl” scenario. That’s not only intellectually unsatisfying—it’s also a disservice to anyone who’s ever felt that their naturally gentle or reflective qualities were less valuable.

If you’re truly interested in a nuanced discussion about misogyny in fandom and the ways in which female characters are evaluated, then you need to move beyond these binary arguments. Feminist film theory, gender studies, and even everyday observations of cultural behavior tell us that there isn’t one “right” way to be a woman. Instead of insisting that female strength must always be loud, aggressive, and overtly defiant, we should celebrate all forms of resilience—from the quiet, strategic strength of Sansa to the fierce, unyielding spirit of Arya.

I hope this clears things up a bit. Instead of dismissing Sansa’s character for being “normal” or too traditionally feminine, maybe take a moment to consider how those very qualities are unfairly targeted by a culture that’s obsessed with a one-size-fits-all notion of strength. And perhaps, instead of trying to reduce the conversation to which character is “better,” we can all acknowledge that the real issue here is the persistent, systemic devaluation of traditional femininity—a devaluation that harms not only fictional characters but real women in every walk of life.

So next time you feel tempted to use Arya as a scapegoat to discredit a critique of misogyny, remember: embracing multiple forms of femininity doesn’t weaken feminism—it enriches it. And if you’re really interested in feminist discourse, I’d encourage you to dig deeper into the works of Butler, de Beauvoir, Mulvey, and Bell Hooks. Their insights might just help you see that true strength comes in many forms, and that dismissing one form over another is, in itself, a kind of narrow-mindedness that we should all strive to overcome.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to a more informed discussion in the future.

Omg Sansa Starkk!!!! The TV show did her so dirty. Holy shit, they took a complicated layered character (every character of asoiaf is complicated and layered actually) and gave her the most dismissive interpretation possible.

Fuck, when I heard the criticism against game of thrones, it being sexist and the depiction of violence against women, teenager me dismissed it. Then I read the books, and I agree with every criticism 😭

Sansa irritated me in the first couple episodes of season 1, until everything turned and it became a helish nightmare for her and then I felt immense sympathy for her. In the books, she became my instant favorite.

Even Arya had more layers and complexity in the books. Arya was much more human in the books, loved it.

The show assassinated several characters—it didn’t just simplify some, like Sansa, but outright destroyed others. For example, they turned Arya into a complete psychopath, period. The Arya from the last three or four seasons had literally zero personality; she was just a badass who killed people, that’s it. She would put on her psycho killer face, and that was her entire character. She was only there so the male audience could jerk off.

And then there’s Daenerys’ character assassination. And listen, this is coming from someone who can’t stand Daenerys and found her chapters in the books unbearably boring. But even so, I can’t stand it when characters are disrespected in certain ways, and what they did to Daenerys at the end was a complete disgrace. She went from being one of the main characters, always framed as good, positive, and revolutionary by the narrative, to literally a crazy, sociopathic, genocidal maniac—it made zero sense. I’m not saying it couldn’t have happened. Sure, you could spend two more seasons showing how she descends into madness. But don’t do it in three episodes—that’s just pure nonsense. Plain and simple.

And well, WELL—I won’t even get into the rant that is, for me, the biggest crime of the entire trash show: THE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION OF JAIME LANNISTER. Jaime is one of my absolute favorite characters in the saga, and his redemption arc is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s truly a masterpiece of storytelling. I can accept that the show’s Jaime was more meh and had less charisma, but what I can’t accept is that after setting up a redemption arc so well, they ended it like that. Like, WHAT. They should have just killed him off during the Long Night—seriously, I wish they had done that. It would have been less painful. What a complete disaster.

Anyway, back to Sansa. She has always been my favorite character from the very beginning, in both the books and the show. I also think she’s a particularly interesting character when it comes to analyzing misogyny within fandoms. Both book Sansa and show Sansa get endless hate for one simple reason: she’s a normal girl. Sansa isn’t a dragon queen, she isn’t a ruler, she isn’t a rebel like her sister. Sansa is just a regular aristocratic girl with regular dreams for a girl of her age and status—someone who has always lived in a bubble. And her reactions, her doubts, and her fears are exactly what any normal person in her situation would have.

And that’s what audiences can’t stand—first, because she’s a reflection of themselves, since most people would act and react like Sansa, not like Arya. And second, because in a patriarchal view of women, a female character is only acceptable if she has traditionally masculine traits (she leads like a man, fights like a man, speaks like a man). A female character with flaws, whose personality isn’t masculine but also doesn’t cater to male fantasies, is unacceptable—so she becomes a constant target.

So yeah, as I’ve been saying for over ten years: hating Sansa Stark is misogyny, and I will not elaborate on this because I don’t do free education for misogynists.

[beachyserasims]

The Lonely House

On a cold autumns eve in a modern rented house, a small family sits down together after a Harvest meal, bellies full and hearts open to share. They traveled here from different places to meet one another, some from as far as the rocky mountains and beyond. But in the past, they all lived together in their quaint family home, in a small prairie town just outside of the city. They reminisce about times they spent there, each recounting their own isolated experiences. Throughout the conversation, a pattern is clearly seen, and they all begin to agree on one truly disturbing reality… That house was definitely haunted.

This series contains 3 very short stories, a bit of poetry, and graphic art related to The Lonely House.

This series is non-fictional and rated +18 for mature audiences only.

Click for trigger warnings and tags related to this series.

Enter here… if you dare.

[bonefall]

Hey, what makes a character a 'plot device but not a character'? And how do you not do that? I'm trying to do it on purpose but also I need to still make them interesting because it's on purpose, yknow?

A good skill to pick up is to learn to criticise criticism itself. A "plot device" is simply a thing that moves the plot along, it's a neutral literary analysis term! Usually, when people are angry that "a character has been used as a plot device," it doesn't mean they hate plot devices. It means they're gesturing at something deeper.

Runningwind and Bumble are equally plot devices in their deaths. They are both killed by the antagonist to escalate political tension. Runningwind is rarely "accused" of just being a plot device, and yet, we're talking about Bumble for the same thing.

So, why?

Well, Runningwind is just a background character, but in life, he was a part of the community. He was characterized as impatient but responsible. Yet, he wasn't SO important that he died with a bunch of unresolved plot threads.

He is mostly an extension of the entity of ThunderClan. His killing by Tigerstar, and the fear and paranoia that settles on the group after this, feel like a progression of the story insteas of something forced.

Bumble, on the other hand...

Is hated immediately by Gray Wing, when she's established as Turtle Tail's friend. Bumble's abuse at Tom the Wifebeater's hands invites even MORE investment. The rejection is shocking and upsetting. There's a story there about our main characters being imperfect; jealous, bigoted, and judgemental.

But, she is simply killed off. Everything they set up for this character is gone with little personalized fanfare. It's not a tragedy with a lesson about cruelty, or something anyone regrets.

It's just... plot. Gray Wing whinging that no one will like his shitty brother now that his body count is 2.

More than that, in the discussion of women in particular, "Fridging" was coined to give a name to the way women characters often don't get their stories told at all. There is a CULTURAL trend of female characters facing disproportionate violence, for the sake of advancing male plots.

Bumble has a lot going for her. Petal had a lot going for her. Turtle Tail had a lot going for her. Bright Stream had a lot going for her. When they died, they took their potential with them.

It's not always wrong to kill off a character of high potential, mind you. In Gurren Lagann, Kamina's death is sudden and shocking, leaving a massive hole in the hearts of the cast that never heals. Grappling with that loss, but also letting his memory fuel them, is a major theme of that story.

All that to say... there's no formula for avoiding it. You've gotta identify what the deeper issue is, in your specific narrative.

I can't say for certain what that will look like for your story, but here's some things I keep in mind;

When you make characters who exist to die, make sure they're people before you axe them.

Ask yourself; what about them does the cast miss?

If they just miss them because they were (pre-existing relationship), go back to the drawing board.

Fluttering Bird as an example. Who was she? Dead sister. Why do they miss her? Dead sister. No traits until after her death.

Runningwind was short-tempered and helpful. Kamina was a valuable leader who made people believe in a brighter future. Swiftpaw was fiesty and desperate to prove himself. The better characterized, the more profound the loss usually is.

If this is a female character who is dying just to serve the plot, be aware of cultural bias and tropes. How is the gender ratio looking in your cast? Is this happening disproportionately with your girls?

Note how Quiet Rain's litter had both a boy and a girl, but the girl was chosen to be "weaker" and wither away.

And how most of the time in DOTC, whenever a man had to be upset, a girl would get killed for it.

If you ever feel like the character on the chopping block is NOT a full character, ask yourself why it needs to be a character at all. You don't need to spend narrative time building out someone when a literal object of high value might suffice.

"My sister died when I swore to protect her and I can't face my family" = Old. Tired. Ive seen this.

"I lost my heirloom sword when I swore to protect it and I can't face my family." = Fascinating. Why was the sword so valuable? Will they really not take you back? How did you lose it?

When you do kill off "high value" characters, try to make sure you're not leaving too many plot threads hanging. Or at least make a point of how they will never get closure.

[waterlinkedgirl]

Musical Touken Ranbu: Michinooku ~ Hitotsu Hachisu (Michinooku ~ A Single Lotus)

Here we go! Only a few days after the archive release and toumyu's ninth anniversary (congratulations!)

Michioku, or Michihasu, is a myu I have many conflicting feelings about, both positive and negative. However, I do believe that with the right amount of care in the next Mika-related story myu, the negative can still be cleared. Plus, I'm glad about a lot of things being re-established. The writer does need to step up her game a little on the plot-writing side of things, as well as the understanding-and-respecting-past-myu side of things, but as long as she does, this can still be given a proper place within what was already established.

Keep in mind that these are only the subtitle files, timed and tled to the DMM senshuuraku and the bluray respectively. The archive version will have a talk at the start, so the starting times of the subs will have to be delayed accordingly.

You can find the subtitles and my TL notes document here!

[mariocki]

Una lucertola con la pelle di donna (A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, 1971)

"You dream of having an affair with this woman who lives next door. To you, that woman represents sin, moral degradation. The house next door is a symbol of vice. From what you've told me, Mrs. Durer is not exactly respectable."

"No... she certainly is not."