#ineractive fiction

[night-market-if]

Steam Ad

Have you guys seen the new Steam Adverts? Because if you haven't, you need to look at the illustrious Belladonna. The hair. The leather. The attitude.

If you haven't done so yet, make sure to add The Night Market to your Steam wishlist here. You'll have to log into your account to do so but I promise you, it is worth it.

Art done by @mooreaux who always manages to take my thoughts and put them into picture form for me. :)

[mythbringer-mayhem]

GODDAMNIT

man, I was just scrolling and now I'm a goddamn Raidioapple shipper what the FUCK

Ok ok-

And now I'm going to elaborate just because.

I was expecting someone out there to ship Lucifer and Alastor the second I heard Hell's Greatest Dad. I mean- two people singing/arguing over being father figures? Sounds gay to me /pos. The internet sure does love it's enemies to lovers (me included. I'm hopless lmao.)

BUT. I have specifics for this ship.

I hate it when people just look at Alastor's aromanticism/asexuallity and just go "nah. I'm just gonna do it anyways." I used to headcanon Alastor as complete aroace in the sense that he just can't feel that way for someone (this is not meant to sound like "oh he can't love anyone :( he's incapable" I mean specifically a romantic/sexual relationship.) Then fucking short ass king of hell arrives, and Alastor just IMMEDIATELY chooses violence.

I didn't think much of that besides "oh that's a little interesting," and then I stumbled across Radioapple and had to take a double take. My brain needed to figure out how that would work, like how it would start, flourish, ineract, yadda yadda-

.....so now I consider Alastor Demiromantic-

(I'm still goddamn writing jeez-)

Read on if you like random people looking wayyyyyy too much into fictional characters.

Headcanon timeeeeeeeee

When Lucifer and Alastor first meet, Alastor is surprised Lucifer doesn't know who he is. Up to this point, everyone knows about the terrifying radio demon, so it must be a little weird for someone to be completely ignorant to his existence. Especially when that person should probably know the ins and outs of what's going on- ....because he's the fucking king of hell.

This is something new for Alastor. It made him curious. When you're curious, you try to learn more right? So, Alastor starts pushing Lucifer's buttons, seeing how he reacts. On Lucifer's end, Alastor's just being a smug asshole. However his true intentions are information on the esteemed oh-so-powerful king of hell. Maybe Alastor doesn't quite know where this fascination comes from, but regardless he wants to learn more. I can picture him progressively bothering Lucifer more and more (this is his unique way of getting to know him semi-discreetly)

As well as figuring out what ticks him off, Alastor would also probably passively learn things Lucifer likes. For instance, he finds out what Lucifer's favorite alcoholic drink is or something- bare with me- Let’s say Lucifer has a rough day, and it's very clear to everyone in the hotel. While he's frustrated in his own room, he hears a knock at the door. Answering it, he finds his aforementioned favorite drink. At this point, he wouldn't know who left it. But after a while, he'd be able to figure out it's Alastor through process of elimination. (This is inspired by a comic I saw! :))

Now we've got Alastor trying to discreetly be kind to Lucifer, and Lucifer is aware without his knowledge. And Lucifer would call him out for it lmao. Slowly, they'd start acting friendlier towards each other. It would take a long, long time though. The slowest slow burn of them all. They'd hang out more, do things, kick angel ass, have friendly banter, do stuff with Charlie. Untill Alastor finally realizes that he might have a crush on Lucifer. Though, I feel he'd take a while to fully figure that out, do some soul searching, maybe go to Rosie for advice.

Then they'd confess. Or they wouldn't lol. I can totally see them going on what is essentially a date, even though they just consider it "hanging out". It would be a quiet relationship. Something you'd miss if you aren't looking for it, but it is there. They both just need someone they can rest with in my opinion.

These ideas are probably sporadic and nonsensical- but I ✨️don't care✨️ I just needed to rant about the old timey deer man and the short depressed apple gremlin.

[argumentativeessaysfornoone]

Personal thoughts on this man

Uhh spoilers? I don't know.

Okay, okay, so first off let me be clear: I hate this man. And I have come to accept that I will never like him. Yes, I know he is fictional, and yes, I know that there are plenty of people who will cuss me out and curse my name in their sleep for stating that I hate this man, but there it is. I hate Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. BUT! Just because I hate a character doesn't mean that my opinions are invalid or that your own feelings on him aren't. It's just... everytime I play the game I feel like my feelings need to be heard. Like I'm betraying myself for not at least saying it. So please, allow me to air my dirty laundry for a bit.

I feel like there are 2 sides to every person who has experienced Dimitri's story. You either fell in love with him, or you're like me and hated how his arc panned out. To put it plain and short, I feel that the game spends too much time on Dimitri for any of the game's other themes to make sense. And it especially hinders how the other 3 main protagonists- Edelgard, Claude and Byleth are perceived and written. I also feel that the game often contradicts Dimitri, but decides to sidestep over it in order to progress the story or have Dimitri move forward in his leading role.

I think what it all comes down to, is me wanting to bend the variables to have a story that I like. And to have a story that I feel is justly written. Because there are things about Dimitri's arc that I think are compelling, but ultimately they are brushed aside to adhere to Fire Emblem norms or archetypes. A common phrase I hear about Dimitri is how he is sort of a deconstruction of the typical Fire Emblem lord. (A quick run down of what a typical Fire Emblem lord is: A young, idyllic young man who values justice, life and honor. They also have a fondness for the color blue.) Dimitri fits this description to a T. His native house is called the Blue Lions, he's passionate about his training, eager to help others and he desires to lead his country to peace above all else.

But what makes him a deconstruction of the Fire Emblem lord is his dramatic change during the time skip. We go from a bright eyed teenager, to edge incarnate. Suddenly Dimitri can't stop talking to the ghosts that he keeps hallucinating, and he no longer seems to value the lives of his comrades or enemies. Because of how the cards are set in this story, we cannot change how the characters ineract in this story. My best example of this flaw is the character that you play as: Byleth.

Byleth is in many ways, a bad player insert for the world of Three Houses. They must fill a silent protagonist role, so they don't voice a lot of concerns that players might have during part 1. But, also in many ways, Byleth is an interesting person to play as in Three Houses' story. But it comes with a lot of pros and cons. Sometimes I feel that they are better utilized in different stories, because in Dimitri's Azure Moon path, they are what I consider, to be the worst version of themselves in the game. This is what I mean when I say that I find parts of Dimitri's arc to be compelling, but is ultimately hindered by variables that cannot change. Byleth is the biggest variable that I wish I could change.

Over the course of White Clouds (part 1) Byleth is great, because this part of the game has to stay the same for all 4 story paths. With Dimitri, Byleth is a great mentor for him, and they feel like they have a strong student and teacher bond. But that's just it, when the time comes for Dimitri to need actual real guidance, they do absolutely nothing. They don't try to step in and relate to what he's going through, they just kinda stand there and watch as their star pupill slowly descends into madness. It's agonizing.

They stay silent during cutscenes where Dimitri is verbally assaulting them and his comrades, and they don't try to go against any of his poorly conceived battle strategies. This is where it really sucks to have this be a videogame. Because there are tons of people, people like myself, who will just skip the cutscenes where Dimitri is being an asshole and miss his arc completely. I'm not saying that the writers shouldn't have made Dimitri so unbearable, because I get that the point of it all is to drive home how bad his depression and trauma has gotten. But I do think that there is a certain tolerance level with each player. I mean, I really have to credit Chris Hackney, the english voice actor for Dimitri for this. Because part of the reason why I find this part of the game to be so unbearable is due to how phenomenal his performance was. Great job!👍

My ultimate stance is that the game sacrifices too much of its time to Dimitri's arc for Edelgard, Claude, or even Rhea make sense. The route is so focused on one singular conflict, that it has to shut everything else out. And that, in my opinion is too much of a sacrifice. I haven't even detailed on how contradictory and stupid Dimitri's revenge plot is. His obsession with Edelgard is completely unfounded and his philosophy on mourning is too self damaging. He's just... an extreme hyperbole of a type of person that I cannot stand.

I think what the developers were trying to say about Dimitri and this ideal of revenge, avenging, mouring and loss, is beautiful, but misguided. I can point to several works in fiction that don't drive me up the wall nearly as much as Dimitri does. Here's one: Katara's mother complex in the Nickelodeon cartoon, Avatar the Last Airbender. Katara was consumed by hatred over the death of her mother, even going as far as to claim that she loved her mother more than her brother. In an episode in season 3, Katara hunts down her mother's killer to exact her revenge, but loses her nerves at the last moment, realizing that he wasn't worth it. In the end she lets out her anger and grief, feeling lighter and ready to move on. In a vacuum, Dimitri's entire arc is better expressed and explained in Katara's one episode, than the entirety of Azure Moon.

By now I think I have properly explained why I will never, EVER like Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. But in the interest of positivity, I'll name the parts of Dimitri that I like. (There are very few.)

First of all, I like White Clouds Dimitri. He is charming, naive, and innocently fighting for his "justice." While there are still many moments of his facade slipping, he is still able to maintain this pristine princely image of himself. He's set up really well is what I mean. You can tell through small glimpses in his supports or moments in the main storyline where he's hiding something more, but he makes sure to put a lid on it. When I first played Three Houses, I picked the Blue Lions because I was curious about Dimitri. Knowing what I know now about him, I can't say that I wasn't disappointed, but the build up to the war phase is brilliantly done through the Blue Lions and Dimitri.

Dimitri's route is the only route in the game that has a specialized cutscene of Edelgard's reveal to being the Flame Emperor.

It's extremely well done, and it really highlights just how much of himself he's kept at bay. This is the moment where Dimitri snaps, and everything turns red. As someone who has spent over hundreds of hours into this game, I can firmly say that Dimitri did Edelgard's reveal best.

The second thing that I like about Dimitri, is how he is shown after his arc. Once Dimitri realizes that killing people out of anger is wrong, he seems to go back to his teenage self, but this is not technically true. After his transformation he does seem more friendly, but I would say that he is more grounded. Instead of trying to fiegn happiness, he is more plain spoken and somber. It's there that you can see and understand the long standing affects of his trauma and depression. In his A supports with Flayn (supports that are only available when Dimitri goes back to being sane again,) he confesses that he hasn't been able to taste anything since he lost his family. This is a symptom of PTSD. Just the way that his depression and trauma is written through little easy to miss facts like this, is wonderful.

This version of Dimitri is honestly refreshing. He's not over acting his happiness like he did during part 1, and he's not on the other end of that spectrum being 100% rage consumed with ghost speech. This is a version of Dimitri that has been through the wringer. He's learned his mistake and is now finally moving forward. In a way, he draws many parallels to the version of himself that's shown in Three Hopes. In that game, he's shown to be quite pensive, but still a kind person at heart. Similar to how he acts in Three Houses after his transformation, he's not angry anymore. A bit delusional at times, but sane enough to know that what he's really feeling is pain over losing loved ones. The variables in Three Hopes are also different, which is probably why I found Dimitri to actually be somewhat enjoyable there.

Honestly, I wished that the version we see of Dimitri in Three Hopes was the one that greeted us after the time skip in Three Houses. He's still sullen and talking to the dead like they're really there, but it's watered down. And in the main story of Three Hopes he makes no mention of it (thank god.) Three Hopes has many problems that plague its story for all 3 routes, but as a whole, Dimitri is much more pleasant to be around in that game.

Lastly, I believe that Dimitri works best as a villain. When he's an enemy commander, he's not someone who you should feel sympathy for. In all of the opposing routes from his, Dimitri is either shown to be a brutal killing machine that enjoys desecrating corpses and killing people, or in Crimson Flower (Edelgard's route) he's shown to be the kind of leader that relies on using others to win. Before you fight him, you're shown in the cutscene that he's betting on the Church of Serios to strike first, and that he plans to use them as a meat shield essentially. Dimitri's Crimson Flower depiction is the only time, other than playing his own personal route, where he's not completely bloodthirsty. People like to say that because he's not totally crazy here, that Edelgard is the reason for his extreme hatred and anger.

I would argue that while it's not shown through extreme hyperbole, Dimitri is still that same savage boar that he was in all of the other routes. He's held back, but it's a more realistic telling of his anger. Morose, passive agressive, and deceitful. Maybe even hopeless. He still loathes the Empire and by extension, Edelgard, we just don't see all of it because the story is not focused on him. Consider how compliant he was to some of Rhea's more dubious tactics and how in his final battle, planned to used the Church as bait. When you see all of the versions of Dimitri that are possible in the Three Houses Franchise, then it's up to you to decide whether or not his actions should be met with death.

I'm of course on the negative. I don't think going around all angry and murder-ey is a good enough excuse for your depression. And I'm alarmed that everyone in Dimitri's company just silently obeyed without question. Nobody stopped and pointed out that Dimitri is clearly not in a good state of mind to lead? Really? Any kind of appreciation I have for Dimitri is only available when I think of him as a man who died a foolish death. Dimitri witnessed his family killed in front of him when he was a young boy. He spent the rest of his adolescence in mourning and planning a way to get his revenge, all while feigning a pristine princely image. By the time he enrolls in the academy he's already let his demons control him, and when the time skip occurs we see those demons on full display. Now he's brutally killing and enjoying killing imperial soldiers. He doesn't care about anyone, and will use his friends as tools with no remorse. He claims that his work is just and that his deeds are for the greater good, but all it is is pointless aggression. (Really stupid aggression at that too...)

No part of that feels like he should be redeemed to me. I just feel like Dimitri's entire arc is better learned as a tragic tale. When he dies as a consequence to his actions there's almost a sense of relief, like a weight has been lifted. When the ending to his story is death, then you can better understand what went wrong, and what his mistakes bought him. Poetic justice in a sense. If he truly was just too kind a person to be king, and he let the pressure torture and nurse his grudge, then he should've let somebody else be king. There's like, a whole line of people who seek to reform not just the kingdom, but also Fodlan as a whole. Let them have the job. That's the moral I guess.

Well, there you have it. My feelings about the game, the character, and the story of Dimitri. I tried to avoid going into parts of his character (AKA analyzing his mental illness and philosophy,) because I've done that so many times in other writings that I have, that I just don't have the energy to tell you why I think it's incredibly flawed. It's strange to think about how long my relationship with this game has been, and how long my relationship has been with Dimitri has been as well.

I've never quite had a character make me feel this agitated, agitated enough to write feature length films on why I fucking hate him so much. Crazy huh? It's times like this where I have to remind myself that it's just a game. A game about anime teenagers killing themselves in a turn based rpg. Oh man, what am I doing? Okay, to wrap up, here's a quote from the Gronder fight during the time skip and you have Claude and Dimitri fight each other:

“Claude: Calm down, Dimitri! What does it achieve, us killing each other here? Dimitri: Move, Claude. I have no time to exchange words with you. Claude: It doesn't matter what I'm saying, does it? You aren't even listening. But I'm not gonna budge.”

"Kill every last one of them!"

[maniac-maniac-maniac]

tag game: stranger things edition

yet again, thank you @where-is-francis for tagging me!

Ride or die ship (your otp): steddie and ronance are at a very beautiful tie

Most annoying ship: stancy, i'm sorry but nothing good will come of them being together.

Second favourite ship: buckingham and lumax

Favourite platonic relationship: stobin obviously, but also elington, madwise and (unfortunately there is no ship name i know of) dustin and erica. i feel very strongly about this in particular.

Underrated ship: argylen

Overrated ship: i am sorry to say but mileven is so overrated to me. really eleven should be able to find herself and really express whoever that is, not be pretty much soft launched into craving male validation.

One thing i would change in canon: less dead people, especially probably eddie. i would have liked to see billy have a more well rounded character arc as well.

Something canon did right: not making all the queer characters the same. they have depth that goes beyond just being the diversity character. same for lucas, although i wish they did more with him.

A thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: i am not nearly as cool as a lot of people in this space but i did make "drive you home" which seems to be a hit for the size of my blog (small)

A character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): joyce

The character i relate to the most and why: eddie. everyone who knows me knows that me and eddie are the same person, not even different font, just different delivery. do i let this go to my head? absolutely, i am a loser and having people tell me i have bitches essentially is so so ego boosting. i am also like, a grown man who has a kids spiderman wallet, was a cult leader in 7th grade and once downed half a bottle of rumchatta (which contains milk) knowing i am lactose intolerant so like, how could i not be the disaster man????

Character(-s) i hate the most and why: i hate characters, yes, but first and foremost i hate the fucking duffer brothers. /hj

Something i've learned from the fandom: don't ineract with people who say "fiction is fiction" to excuse their fave's problematic behavior bc chances are they are a bigot. also lucas haters are always fucking boring.

Three tags i seek out on ao3: i do not often go on ao3, but when i do i am looking for steve harrington content p much every time. i love him so much that i could eat him.

A song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: no matter what i always half ironically say it is teenage dream by katy perry

No pressure tagging: @witchthewriter (i am very sorry for the multiple tags)

[hollowmend]

I’m participating in NaNoRenO again this year! Here’s some concept sketches I’ve done so far.

You play as Seren, a super advanced AI who has been accidently installed as the co-pilot of a space pirate ship (pirate space ship?)

[laufire]

I’ve been meaning to make a post about upcoming fandom events, mainly gift exchanges or prompt challenges, that might interest you guys. I don’t think I’ll personally sign up for all, but I might look into the requests and write extra treats for some, if a prompt appeals to me and it’s possible to.

-Goreswap Exchange 2022. Multifandom (although the fandom must appear on the tagset, which might limit you), what it says on the tin. Min. 500 words. Sign-ups close on February 12th, assignments are due for March 13th, and the works are revealed (and thus can be edited until) March 25th.

-Smut 4 Smut 2022. Multifandom exchange for smutty fic and art. Min. 1000 words, min. 500 “sexual in nature”, art must be clean finished line art (no minimums for treats). Nominations for new fandoms remain open until February 13th, sign-ups are from February 17th until February 26th. Assignments are due on April 10th, and works are revealed on April 17th.

-Once Upon a Fic 2022. Multifandom exchange focused on fairty-tales, epics, myths, fables, etc. (must appear on the tagset). Min. 1000 words (treats don’t need to meet the minimum). Sign-ups close on February 16th, assignments are due for May 8th and the works are revealed on May 13th.

-Space Swap 2022. Mutlifandom and multimedia excahnge for space fandoms of all sorts. Min. 1000 words fic / 1 minute vid / 1 original illustration / 1000 words podfic of existing fic / 500 words of new written + podficced story / 1000 words OR 3 different endings of ineractive fiction (treats don’t have to meet the minimum). Sign-ups close on February 20th, assignments are due on April 5th and works are revealed on April 12th.

-Unsent Letters 2022. Multifandom epistolary fic exchange. Min. 1000 words, and min. 500 words in the epistolary format requested (no minimums for treats). Nominations for other fandoms remain open until February 16th, sign-ups are from February 28th till March 7th. Assignments are due on April 23rd and works are revealed on April 30th.

ETA:

-March Meta Matters Challenge. Month-long event to post new and old meta in ao3 (since it’s allowed in the page), so that it’s not lost when sites close.

[andragoras-in-vanity]

I got tagged by @therealhieronymous, I don't have anyone to take though so I guess whoever wants to keep going can pick it up!

1. Name/nickname: Anders, Bunny, Vanity

2. Gender: I'm just vibing but we can say agender

3. Star Sign: leo

4. Height: 5′8 on a good day, 6′1 in my favourite boots

5. Birthday: august 3rd

6. Time: 6pm

7. Favorite bands: The pretty reckless, shinedown, sum 41, creeper, mother mother, Johnny Flynn, paddy and the rats, dropkick murphys, badflower, Harley poe, blackbriar.....theres a range

8. Song stuck in my head: No one lives forever by oingo bingo. Idk why.

9. Last movie: the shining

10. Last show: Ripper street

11. When did I create this blog: 2013 ish? maybe?

12. What do I post: lots.

13. Last thing googled: “story of seasons pioneers bachelors” yes I will be marrying Ralph don't talk to me.

14. Other blogs: An aesthetic/romance blog I tend to keep private so I know any ineractions i have there will be genuine

15. Do I get asks: Not as often as id like

16. Why I chose my URL: Its my name and I'm vain as all hell

17. Following: 991

18. Followers: 944 I think?

19. Average hours of sleep: Depends on the night

20. Lucky number: 1, 3, 13, 77, recurring numbers

21. Instruments: Piano for a few years when I was 5, drums since I was 7, bass guitar since 16 which I still suck at, penny whistle, kalimba, bohdran, i think that's it but drums and piano are the only ones I have any skill with. Id love to get a Celtic lyre or a violin some day but my hands don't work enough to try a violin 

22. What am I wearing: Torn jeans and my favorite long blue cardi

23. Dream job: Forest dwelling tarot reader/apothecary/ghost talker

24. Dream trip: My homeland of Scotland, Iceland, Labrador, id be happy anywhere that isn't hot and i were with good people. I want to see the northern lights too though

25. Favorite food: I hate food more than it hates me but I like bread

26. Nationality: Painfully canadian

27. Favorite song:  This lives in my head rent free, please just listen to it. https://youtu.be/3Vt5X1PtDtQ

28. Last book read: Anam Cara by john o’donohue

29. Top 3 fictional universes I’d live in: In with therealhieronymous about the shire or rivendell, drinks food and flowers are all I need. Over the garden wall, redwall abbey, or any Jane Austen story but only if I were one of her heroines. In all likelihood id live quite happily at camp crystal lake but only cause id make friends with the killer due to also being Other but that's a ted talk for another day

[introvertchill]

Since I saw here lately a lot of asks about INFJs and I am sure I've seen somewhere conparison of differences between INFJs and INFPs. The thing is I noticed something interesting that I don't quite understand. It was about infj not getting drained through online socialaizing as much as irl couse they "absorb" emotions only when face to face ineraction while infps always mirror emotions nomatter in which enviornment. Is it true? And how does it affect a person? Could you explain?

Hello Fellow Introvert, 

Though I am an INFP, I can attest to the INFJs absorbing emotions as I have known one my whole life and I am friends with others. INFJs are sponges. When it comes to emotions they do get drained because they are physically with the person and can feel all of their emotions and take them on as their own. So if a person is stressed and feels it, they take it on as their stress. Online they can’t grasp the full amount because they can’t see their expressions and body language of the other person so it is like an enigma. It’s still emotional for them, just not nearly as much as if the person was right there in front of them and able to give them a vibe. 

On the flip side, INFPs are have the ability to mirror emotion. So if a person writes to us or we read something even in a fictional book, we literally can feel what a character in that book is feeling and we mirror it. Though not as in depth as INFJs, but we still feel it pretty bad and it can actually pain us and drain us. For example, and I know this sounds weird, but if there is a show on, and I know the part coming is embarrassing to the character having seen the episode before, I literally turn my head and I can’t watch due to the embarrassment I feel for that character. I know again it sounds weird but I have been that way my whole life. We don’t TAKE ON the emotions as our own like INFJs do, we channel and FEEL what the other person is feeling at that time. It’s the craziest and I will sit there and talk to my INFJs mom and friend about it and they can’t relate but they find it intriguing. Mind you, not every INFP is the same though. We are all different in our own little ways.I hope that gives you some insight on that particular question. I only answer based off of what I have felt.  Feel free to message us!Best Love

Admin Autumn (INFP)

[ingebjorg9]

Ten-minute book reviews: The Treasure Hunt

I haven’t done one of these forever, so here goes.

Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series is set in Sicily.  It has something in common with a lot of Nordic crime fiction in that the narration dwells heavily inside the protagonist’s head, along with a very strong sense of place in the stories.  These stories are as much a product of Sicily as Wallander is a product of Skåne.

The Treasure Hunt is the sixteenth book in the series, and the sixth that I’ve read.  Montalbano is a generally sympathetic and likeable character, and there is plenty of humour in all the books, alongside a decent amount of mystery.  In this story, Montalbano is filmed by a news crew defusing a tense situation in which a pair of elderly people have holed themselves up in their flat and are pointing guns at the street (it makes more sense in context).  Shortly afterwards, he starts receiving strange messages sending him on a peculiar treasure hunt.  Enlisting the help of a geeky young acquaintance of his friend Ingrid, he ends up uncovering a hideous crime and lands himself in mortal danger.

Things I liked about this book: The premise of the story is extremely intriguing, with a suitably compelling mystery and baffling clues.  Camilleri’s narration is entertaining and moves at a decent pace, even when Montalbano is spending whole evenings ruminating about life, police work and everything.  By the time I got to the end I had twigged who the murderer was, but still found the ending very dramatic, and was pleased that the antagonist turned out to be who I’d suspected.  Ultimately, though, the characters are really what make this book: the mercurial Montalbano, the barely-coherent Catarella, the reliable Fazio.  The humour created when the characters ineract is priceless.  I also need to mention the quality of the translation.  Camilleri’s translator Stephen Sartarelli has a difficult job translating from the mixture of Italian, Sicilian and Sicilianised Italian in the original texts, but he never misses a beat.  The translated text reads smoothly and the section of footnotes included at the end of every novel is much appreciated.

Things I didn’t like about this book: Montalbano’s girlfriend Livia is annoying.  Seriously, why are they still together?  Everything he does annoys her, and they just seem to bring out the worst in each other.  By this point in the series she seems to exist purely to needle him and as a convenient device to cause him crippling guilt.  She also doesn’t get on with his housekeeper, which in real life would be a huge red flag!  Apart from Livia, not much about this book annoys me, although Montalbano’s propensity towards existential gloom gets a bit self-indulgent at times.

Final verdict: 8/10.  This is an interesting story, well told.  I will probably end up reading most of the books in this series.  Maybe Livia will get written out later on.  Well, I can hope, can’t I?

[night-market-if]

Image of Bella standing just 5’6 without heels next to Gabriel is so 🥹 (Bella don’t rip my head off pls) Would absolutely love more romance related content with only 2 of them (maybe as more high tire patreon or like payed commission shorts) 👀 would it be something interesting for you in future ?

I really want to write a poly story about those two soon. Or even a story about the two of them, just so I can nail down their mannerisms. Most likely that will be coming in the upcoming months. I am thinking about writing a few stories for Patreon that is more just an exploration of the characters. They can be considered cannon or not. It would just be nice to explore some aspects of the RO's that we don't get to see within the book.

[adam-42-man]

I think who you romance first in creatures such as we says alot about your personality.

[night-market-if]

Me plays through all the routes it’s just so good

Belladonna still my fav

She went Bad ass bitch mode at first I was like nooooo

Then it was like holy shit (I need a min) got tiny bit sick

Then the we need to talk I’m like yes YES we do

I don’t judge her I will protect her she deserves the freaking world

But now I’m questioning how protective she will become. Like on one hand she might use the Mc on the other maybe not.

And just saw the book 2 was green light ohh I’m laughing and dancing.

Ima go get my mates into this but I pinky promise I won’t spoil anything(well might mess with them hehe.)

Bella is one of those characters that is ever changing. What I have enjoyed about her is her responses are vastly different given any of the situations, but she keeps her face completely blank because her emotions are her own.

But in Book 2, with a locked in romance, that is about to change. I think there is so much potential to explore her and I am excited to start getting into it all.

[night-market-if]

I was wondering about your “2 monthly stories from RO's POV” in the Courtesan Tier. Different anon, but also not into men so I naturally care more about Bella and Hazel. I was wondering, how do you decide which two POVs stories to put on this tier?

Also, I thought Paper Moons was about Gabriel at first lol. Can I only access that on the Baron Tier, or does Courtesan Tier also get it but Baron gets it first?

Thank you in advance! Hope this is okay to ask :)

Hey anon!

So two of the RO stories go on the Courtesan tier and then the other two go on the Velvet. Then, the following month, they switch. It's gotten a little bit dicey with the intro of Malcolm but I try to keep boy girl boy girl for the tiers and then Mal has kind of been flopping back and forth each month. I think one month it got really muddled but that has been the formula I try to keep with.

As for Paper Moons, it is centered around the Graceling who is a female MC. Gabriel and his fam is in it, but you play as the Graceling hired by Reese and Elias to try and figure out how to save Gabriel from the madness. So, he's kind of your partner in crime in this one, but not the main character. I have all the current stories of it up on the Courtesan tier. Baron tier just gets to pick their own choices where as Courtesan votes on it per post. I am posting them for free on Tumblr too but they are about ten weeks behind. I would say this story is far more important to learning about the Graceling though than it is about learning about Gabriel. For reasons that have not been revealed but some have figured out. :)

I hope this helps explain things!

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[night-market-if]

I'm in love with the sad ghost, rip my heart

Pst... I love him too. :)