#it would make keeping the family trees consistent way easier for the writers

[loonarmuunar]

One of the worst parts of Warrior Cats isn’t the writing. It isn’t the inconsistency. It’s that the cats call their parents by their fucking names

[mithrilhearts]

For the commentary thing! That reunion scene at the end of your latest chapter of May Your Forge Burn Bright 💖 I'm still living for that

May Your Forge Burn Bright - Chapter 9 The Reunion, you got it!

Commentary & scene under the cut - spoilers ahead

It was easier to walk with the wind than against it, but regardless of how fast Bilbo’s feet carried him, he was no match for a thunderstorm. Between the bone-shaking rumbles overhead and the blinding rain, it would be a miracle to make it halfway back to Ered Luin without crumbling or being swept away by the wind itself.

Wiping his sleeve against his eyes to try and get some of the water out of them, Bilbo wasn’t sure whether it was rainwater or tears that he was swiping away, but he certainly looked like a picture of perfect misery, and felt like one too! Soaked to the bone, stuck in a terrifying situation with no shelter, but there was a determined streak about him. Regardless of what he was putting up with now, he had all intentions to fix things with Thorin. If that meant they never completed their hillside conversation, then so be it. So long as the dwarf was in his life, then that was what mattered.

Another strike of lightning, that was far too close, hit one of the trees overhead, causing the tree to split down the trunk and for a good chunk of branches to start falling in Bilbo’s general direction. Not that he could hear or see it thanks to the sounds of the storm.

With his eyes screwed closed so tightly and keeping a sleeve over his face to protect himself from the rain, Bilbo didn’t see the oncoming form that got a firm grip on the front of his waistcoat and yanked him forward several paces and out of the way with a mighty yelp. It almost felt as if a wild animal had gotten a hold of him and Bilbo immediately tried to scramble, but the loud sound of part of a tree hitting the ground behind him had him prying open his eyes. Not to mention, he had been enveloped into a grip he was only vaguely familiar with.

Me, thinking to myself, how can I really make Bilbo M I S E R A B L E? Throw him into a storm, because we all know by now that he hates the damn things. This is probably his worst nightmare. YES, GOOD. I know, I know, I'm a monster. I've been told this a time or two.

Me, who doesn't watch romantic movies or read romance novels, etc. What's the best way to set up a reunion? See above. Put Bilbo in a terrifying situation and let him get saved at the last second. First I was thinking of like, maybe a wolf or orc attack, but if you've read Dragonhearted, Thorin already got to save Bilbo from wargs.

This whole damn scene was made up on the fly and I'm insanely proud of it. Moving on.

Hazel eyes tried to fight against the rain, but the water stopped for just a moment as a coat was being held over his head to block some of the weather, and it allowed Bilbo to look at what could have been his end. Being crushed under the force of falling branches...and yet…? “Thorin!” How? Why? Did Bilbo actually get knocked around so hard that he was stuck in a dream?

No, dreams didn’t feel that warm.

“You’re a foolish creature and should know better than to storm off by yourself!” Thorin scolded over the howling of the wind, a scowl to his face as he looked just as Bilbo remembered whenever these moods struck the dwarf. Unpleasant. “You could have been killed, I promised to keep you safe…” And Thorin would not let that promise fall through.

“You came for me…” Bilbo murmured, though unable to be heard over the sounds of rain and wind. Thorin’s coat might have acted as a decent enough shield against the actual rainwater, but it was nothing for the sounds. “I was on my way back! I needed to apologize for what I said, and I’m not sure how else I can express that. From the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry-”

“Maralmizu, Bilbo."

Bilbo’s ears twitched before dropping. Now was not the time for secrecy, they could play that game once they were out of this vicious weather. Not to mention, Bilbo had been trying to give a heartfelt apology. An annoyed huff came from the hobbit as he continued to stare at Thorin, caring less and less about thunder and lightning as the seconds ticked by. “What does that even mean, Thorin?” Though asking a dwarf to reveal their secrets was like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands.

“I love you,” Thorin was far gentler this time than the scolding he had started with, staring at Bilbo’s wide hazel eyes. “And I have for some time now and just...too afraid to say it. Too afraid that being me might scare you off, and it did...but I-”

“Oh, you really are a stupid dwarf!” That bold Tookish behavior was finding its way to the surface once more, no longer hiding in fear from a few unsavory blokes from Bree. Wrapping his hands around both of Thorin’s braids and standing on his toes, it didn’t take much guidance from Bilbo’s small tug for their lips to meet with eyes fluttering closed.

It felt like a missing piece had finally been slotted into place.

FINALLY. I'm so glad this hurdle has been addressed. Even I was getting like...okay boys, it's time to be honest here, have that talk, give the ol' smoochy smooch and let's move on! I wanted it to be something I hadn't read before, and maybe it's a little cliche with hollywood but hey, rain kisses are cute, aren't they?! Let them kiss - THORIN USING HIS WORDS. Look, I don't wanna sound cocky or complacent, but this scene had even me melting into a puddle of goo.

It's always nice when the writer loves their work, right???

I needed a memorable scene. Bilbo's afraid of storms, his life gets saved, and rain kiss. All perfect things for a perfect scene and it is one of my finer moments. Sometimes all it takes is a terrifying push to get someone to take that step. We got the kiss that I denied everyone in a few chapters previously, though let's be real, the fireflies would have been much better than lightning and rain water.

All that mutual pining and worrying about baggage and burdens was for nothing. It was irrelevant and could be tossed down the mountainside. Thorin wasn’t sure when the last time he had felt so light was. Was this what tossing your cares aside felt like?

Still keeping one arm up with the side of his coat as a shield from a good portion of the rain, Thorin’s other hand carefully cupped just below Bilbo’s jaw, rubbing a thumb across the small and barely visible cleft of that smooth chin.

Bilbo was the first to pull back, and found his cheeks aflame with Thorin inching forward as if to chase those lips before their eyes locked again. “As romantic as a kiss in the rain is…can we please go home?”

Was it too sappy to declare that a location didn’t make a home, but a person did?

“You’re my home,” Apparently not sappy enough for Thorin to spill the words. Funny how one small gesture removed an entire emotional blockade that he had been trying to keep up all this time.

Bilbo hummed slightly in delight at the words, giving a firm nod in agreement. “You’re my home too.” Dropping back to his normal height instead of being raised on his toes, Bilbo moved to lace his hand with Thorin’s free one. “Let’s get out of this storm then. I’d rather not catch a cold in all of this.”

Thorin couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the idea of being sick. “Alright, but only because I’m not sure how susceptible hobbits are to colds. We dwarves are made of sterner stuff.”

Somehow, Bilbo didn’t quite believe that.

THE THEME OF THE STORY HAS HIT.

Home is where the heart is - it's one of my favorite themes to follow, or messages to send. Home isn't a place, it's the people you surround yourself with that make you the happiest. Whether that's family, a significant other, your best friends, that's what makes home. For these two, home has never been 'The Shire' or 'Ered Luin' or whatever places they've rested their head. I'm glad they both finally see that, and it's a message I like to put in a fair amount of my pieces, alongside some others.

And of course, another consistency that I love bringing into my pieces, Made of Sterner Stuff - based off of a one shot I did early on when posting my fics. Sick Thorin? Yes please. Plus, it's very fun to make fun of as he most certainly is not made of sterner stuff. Bilbo being the realistic one though and urging them to get out of the storm even thought it's "romantic and rainy"? That would be me.

This is nice and all, but...how about no?

As I said before, I wanted a scene you could picture, and one that would be remembered. Something that lived up to the epic expectations of Bagginshield and them finally spitting out the words we've been cheering them on to say. It might not be FIREFLIES and NORTHERN LIGHTS, but I sure as heck and happy with it and enjoy rereading it.

[threewaysdivided]

I appreciate the response. Yeah, among other adjustments, had the plot been handled a little differently, I feel like Sam’s relationship with her parents could have evolved into something like that of Danny and Jazz and their parents. And don’t get me wrong; I still like Sam, too.

(In reference to this post and follow-up ask.)

Good to hear from you again 😊

I think there were a lot of things across the board that could have been tweaked or edited to improve the integrity of the series.  If I had to boil down the problem with DP to a single point I’d probably say it’s that the most interesting parts of the show are the characters/world/implications but the writers (or some of them anyway - I suspect there might have been some conflict between Hartman, the lead writers and the execs’) wanted certain plots, aesops and gags, and chose to brute-force them in regardless of whether they actually worked with what was already there.  Basically, it lacks consistency and internal logic.

For Sam in particular I think there are a few things that could have been handled better:

First one’s more a general complaint at the show and might light a fire under my notes but heck lets go there anyway but the writing has kind of a sexist bent that really doesn’t fit the characters or need to be there. Considering how much Danny and Jack are shown to love and respect Maddie and Jazz there’s no way they’d call their involvement in Genius Magazine “the swimsuit edition”.  Paulina might be traditionally feminine but “She surrendered her individuality for a boy! I’m so proud of her!” is not a line that any human girl in the history of human girls would say unironically.  There’s also a few too many jokes that basically boil down to “male character is emasculated/ vulnerable/ likes feminine-coded things, hyuk hyuk hyuk”.

I’m bringing this up not just because they’re gross cheap gags but because for Sam specifically, this pervasive low-key contempt for women and femininity in the writing, especially the tendency to portray almost every non-sympathetic girl her age as one-note, brainless boy-crazy cliches that she can’t connect with, really does not help her character.  I would have loved to see more genuine interaction between Sam and the other girls, even if it most of it was Kim Possible-Bonnie Rockwaller style antagonistic rapport.  We could have seen her develop some kind of tenuous connection with one of the A-listers, or even just have a secondary-female-character to be cordial towards - kind of like Mikey is for Danny and Tucker.  Hold up, outside of Valerie, Star and Paulina are there any named secondary girls at Casper High?  Sam doesn’t seem to have a single female friend in the show and considering how vocally judgemental she is, it can almost read like she’s rejecting them outright for being girls, which really undercuts attempts to make her seem feminist. (I mentioned it in a past tag but this feels like an early-2000s-male-writer mistake of equating Female Empowerment™ with the ability to tear down other women and belittle traditional femininity - which isn’t so much Feminism as it is Internalised Misogyny.)  Even just mixing up the pairings to put her with Star instead of Kwan in Lucky in Love would have helped.

I’d have also liked to see more awareness of and consistency in the conflict between her activism and her wealth.  It kind of undercuts the significance of her activism when you realise that she’s wealthy enough to make these choices with little cost to herself; it’s much easier to go vegan or buy renewable/ recyclable /sustainable /fair-trade when price isn’t an issue, especially if you also have serving staff to offset the time cost.  Once you notice this it makes her activism feel more tokenistic, and also like she doesn’t really understand her own privilege when she tries to push her agendas onto the school/ her classmates without considering why they mightn’t be able to do so as easily.  It’s also weird because the source of her family’s wealth is a cellophane-toothpick-wrapper (i.e. something that basically produces litter) but she still seems very comfortable enjoying the material benefits despite her pro-eco anti-consumerism sentiments.  It’s bizarre that she’s more concerned with the social consequence of ‘fake friends’ than the ethics of capitalism.  It can come off a bit “do as I say, not as I do”. 

It would have been nice for the show to give more screen time to reinforcing that Sam is aware of that conflict and is making an active effort to hold to her principles even at the cost of personal comfort; maybe showing some unease at the source of her wealth, trying to live below her means and only spend up on ethical/ eco-friendly/ sustainable products, op-shopping or hand-making her goth accessories, going out of her way to re-use or re-purpose things even if buying a new one would be ‘better’, actually showing or referencing her doing substantial hands-on activities (e.g. going off-screen or taking the boys to do tree-planting, litter pickups, soup kitchens, animal-shelter work etc).  Just something to help make it clearer that she genuinely cares and isn’t just doing the low-mess lip-service activities because she enjoys indulging in the image of Wokeness™.

These things would have helped regardless of how her family was written but let’s hop back on topic and talk about them.  I don’t have any prescriptive preference but let’s spitball a few different options and how they could have played:

#1 Sam’s parents don’t respect her interests and want her to fit a mold

In this case I’d make it that they don’t really pay attention or show much caring for who Sam really is as a person; their image of and interactions with her are more of a fantasised version of the ‘perfect’ daughter they want, they make very little effort to encourage her actual interests and are perhaps restrictive about what they let her do in the few moments when they do bother paying close attention (you might compare to some versions of Tim Drake’s Parents from DC Comics).  Classist, overly image-conscious, snobby and superficial.  

This would be the most sympathetic portrayal of her character without changing it very far from how it is in DP canon - helping contextualise why Sam is so fiercely defensive of her autonomy, why she pushes so hard when trying to get her opinions across and why she’s so judgemental of rich people and disdainful towards classic femininity - even possibly explaining her more hypocritical/ manipulative/ entitled traits as learned behaviours.  It would also give her more legitimate reason to be less empathetic towards others - after all even if they have struggles and family troubles it’s still better than what she’s dealing with (Danny’s parents may not be attentive but hey, at least they love him for himself, right?)

For this version I’d probably put her arc around growing past the “suffering olympics” model of viewing other people’s pain, but also in her finding family in Danny/Tucker/her Grandmother’s circle of connections, learning how to have healthy power-balance and communication in her relationships with others (aka: getting over her hypocrisy and realising that assertiveness is about communicating that “I matter, and so do you”) and pulling away from her parents’ influence - maybe even living with Ida a lot of the time.

#2 Sam’s parents are well-intentioned but overbearing

For this one, Sam’s parents would genuinely want the best for her… only they have an overly old-fashioned and restrictive view of what “the best” is and are a bit set-in-their-ways.  They’d probably view “hippies” and “goth” stuff as “dangerously rebellious hooligan-activities” and likely to be somewhat patronising about Sam’s passion for it being “just a phase”.   They’d be worried about her hanging around “the Fenton Kid” and “the Foley Kid” both because Danny’s parents are kind of irresponsible screwballs about safety but also because they put a lot of value in image due to their belief in social connections being the way to get ahead.  Them pushing Sam towards classic femininity and specific activities would be less about disrespecting her identity and more about their overly narrow view of “success” and worrying that she’s going to end up losing valuable opportunities and “wasting her life” if she keeps on down her current path.

This would still give Sam more sympathetic context for her views on femininity and pushiness about self-expression. 

Personally I think the arc I’d like to see here is one themed around responsible/considerate assertiveness and valuing alternative perspectives.  Sam coming to realise her own hypocrisy - that she can’t push her views onto others while complaining about her parents doing the same - developing more sympathy for Danny as she realises that he’s in a similar position with Jack’s insistence that he’ll inherent Fentonworks and his parents’ narrow-mindedness about ghosts, interacting with other girls and seeing their perspective, learning how to assert her opinion while making allowances for others’ (maybe an alternative version where she connects with Star in Lucky in Love and, after Aragon’s defeat in Beauty Marked, Sam still says she personally thinks it’s dumb but then steps down and lets Star win because she understands that Star values it), and getting her Grandma’s help in convincing her parents to widen their perspective while still responding to their concerns.

(This one has the overall kindest message and I think I like it best).

#3 Sam’s parents are trying and Sam’s actually the problem 

This one is the one that’s the least sympathetic to Sam.  Her parents still don’t get the Goth/Activist thing and they have some concerns about safety but they understand that it makes her happy and they’re okay with it so long as she’s not getting into trouble or mixing up with anyone that could hurt her.  Them pushing her towards more feminine/optimistic things is less pushing and more trying to encourage some hobbies that offer a bit more common ground.  They might have reservations, and they might not always have time, but they would like to be part of their daughter’s life… except for the problem that Sam has wrapped herself up in a teen-drama persecution complex and got it into her head that they “won’t accept her” are “pushing her to be someone else” and “don’t understand” so there’s no point even trying to explain or connect.  In this one Ida isn’t taking sides on purpose but she ends up accidentally enabling Sam a little because Sam reminds her of her younger days and she likes spoiling her granddaughter (and doesn’t much care for her daughter-in-law).

In this case Sam’s flaws would be framed much more as flaws born of her making superficial snap judgements, thinking she knows better and being too proud to admit she’s wrong.  There would definitely be moments of her coming across as an entitled, privileged holier-than-thou brat who invents problems because she likes feeling sorry for herself, especially early in her arc.

This version of the story would go the hardest on Sam with the general lesson being “you need to respect that other people are people who have their own problems, feelings and needs that are as real and valid as yours”.  She’d still have good qualities and Danny and Tucker would still obviously like and value her but there’d also be times of strain where they don’t want to hurt her feelings but are clearly getting worn out with the nonsense.  At its worst, maybe a “you’re like mustard. Great in small quantities, but a lot of you is…a lot” type confrontation.

I’d also give the secondary cast the most fleshing out, agency and sympathetic-ness here, and have beats where Sam has to realise that they’re lot more complex than her 2D stereotyped view of them and are dealing with actual serious problems to which hers are largely non-issues by comparison.  I’d probably play Dash and Paulina similar to in the fic Alibi (go read it, it’s good) - Dash being gay and performing aggression because toxic masculinity, insecurity, and being terrified of anyone outside the A-listers finding out (still not okay that he’s a bully but at least more understandable), while Paulina is hiding high emotional perceptiveness behind her pretty face and deliberately bearding for him to keep bigoted parents/ teachers off his back.  I’d also probably have a subplot in an alternate Life Lessons where Sam follows Valerie around because jealous/possessive and, like Danny, ends up realising that she’s working two jobs to help her Dad with their financial problems.  Basically she’d be getting hit with the Reality Stick a lot.

There’d also be more instances of Sam getting directly called out by the other girls. Fleshing them out as people and showing that their dislike is less superficiality and more because she unfairly judges and antagonises them all the time.  Giving them more agency in Beauty Marked and have them be direct about “we know you’re just here to be smug about how much ‘Better’ you are but have you considered that we’re doing this for ourselves and actually enjoy it?”.  Having Paulina be less “tee hee I am indeed a Witch” in Parental Bonding and more “Ugh fine, fine, I don’t really like him that much but you were being so obviously Jealous and Judge-y and I figured if I played a little you might actually step up.  But fine, if you’re sure.  Here’s your necklace back, I’ll let your dorky ‘friend’ down tomorrow.  But pro-tip?  You like someone you gotta go for it - otherwise don’t complain when your boy-toy gets taken by someone who actually means it.”  (Still petty, but emotionally intelligent pettiness, which… not really much better, but at least more interesting.)  A lot more of Sam realising that she’s not a particularly good feminist and that she’s no more entitled to Danny’s affections than anyone else.

To be honest, while I could say the most about this version and there’s a lot of potential drama there it’s the one I like the least because it means canonising my least favourite proto-abusive bad-faith narcissistic reading of Sam, casting her as an almost-villain and essentially punishing her over and over until she character develops into a decent human being.  Sure it’s an important message about how you treat others but it’s not a very nice or kind story and while there might be the odd fic that makes it cathartic I can’t say I’m a huge fan.

Again, if I had to pick, I’d probably go with something like #2. 

But there we go.  Another thrilling instalment in the “overly long posts about Sam Manson” saga.  

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for stopping by!

[erinoddly]

Okay, I fumed about this some in the rant I just posted and then deleted, but let’s talk more about this specific issue:

English scholars and gatekeeping literature.

More specifically: Upholding outdated values of what makes a piece of literature ‘worthwhile,’ in this case specifically surrounding collegiate English communities. I’m aware that there are more than likely others outside of the college community who feel the same, but I’m going to talk about what I know.

Last semester in one of my classes, a debate started up. This debate was surrounding the following statement said by one of my classmates:

“Ebooks, self-publishing, and fanfiction are killing literature.”

At first, I thought that there was no way that statement would stand. I mean, it seems so outdated. But the thing was, only a couple of my classmates tried to argue against it. Almost everyone in the class agreed. And among those who did argue, the majority argued against the ebook point, one or two argued against the self-publishing point, and no one argued against the fanfiction point. I was the only person in my class who tried to argue against all three of the above points. And I’m pretty sure that the other people who argued against any of the points....weren’t English majors....

I became an English major thinking that people who studied literature did so because they had an appreciation for it. And I had always had this naive view of the world, where people would want the things they appreciate to be shared with a wide audience, not locked away where only a select few can enjoy it. I thought that this would be especially true for English majors, since so many of our discussions are about the roles and treatment of minorities in society, about classism, about equality.

But instead, I came across more people than I would have liked who seem to actively want to keep literature out of certain hands just because they have a list of criteria of what makes a piece of writing ~*worthwhile literature*~ and if it doesn’t hit every criteria, then it’s worthless and “killing literature” (and trust me, that phrase has me rolling my eyes so hard it hurts. Humans have always been storytellers and we always will be. Literature isn’t dying any time soon. Only your outdated ideals of what it ‘should’ be are.)

So. Let’s start with the idea that Ebooks are killing literature.

The classmate who said this works at a locally owned used bookstore. So I wholeheartedly understand the idea that online shopping is killing local businesses and that being able to buy books in an electronic format is making people less likely to buy physical copies, especially at smaller bookstores. That’s a valid fear that a lot of people have. And I’m not going to get into whether or not that’s factually correct because that isn’t the point (also I’m too lazy to find the research on it.)

The fact is, whether or not they’re killing small bookstores, ebooks make literature more accessible.

My mother has bad eyesight and needs a new prescription on her glasses. But she doesn’t have insurance and can’t get in to see an optometrist. But she absolutely adores reading. So guess what happened when I told her she could get the Kindle app for free on her computer? She lit up like a Christmas tree. It’s so much easier for her to read because 1. she doesn’t have to bend over a physical book and hurt her back and 2. she can make the font as large as she needs to in order to not strain her eyes. She also found books from her favorite authors that were electronic only. And yeah, there are a lot of ethical dilemmas about Amazon. I’m not saying there aren’t. But ebooks can be a better alternative for people with bad eyesight. And there are probably plenty of other disabilities that ebooks help with. Hell, I prefer ebooks sometimes because there’s so much more you can do with a computer interface that makes note taking, highlighting, bookmarking, using indexes, etc. so much easier than a physical copy of a book.

But, you know, it’s funny that my classmates (who are usually young and have decent eyesight) don’t complain about audiobooks killing literature as well. Even though a lot of them prefer listening over reading. But then again, a lot of them find the books they want to read for free on youtube and listen to them there instead of buying an audiobook. But I guess that’s okay.

This isn’t even bringing up the point that ebooks are less expensive than physical books. I grew up poor. To me, buying a new book is a luxury. So I get new books way less often than I would like to because I feel like I can’t justify the expense. I mean...upwards of $20-$30? For one book? But I can get ebooks online for $1-$5 sometimes. It’s so much easier to justify buying a new ebook every now and then than it is a physical book, though I still like to buy in person when I can.

Now the next point: Self-publishing

Okay. This one hits hard. My class was discussing this one as if the only authors who self-publish are the ones who were too awful to be accepted by traditional publishers. Which is bullshit. I’m not going to get much into this point because I’m writing this on a writeblr account and this community has talked a lot about traditional vs self publishing and I’m not going to rehash the same arguments.

But there are a couple of things I want to bring up.

Not everything that’s traditionally published is good literature. *cough*50shadesofgraygettingpickedupbyapublishingcompany*cough* And not everything that’s self-published is awful. One of my favorite series of all time was self-published. And sure, it’s got its flaws, but so does any piece of literature.

Getting published traditionally isn’t a matter of skill. You can be a great writer and never get picked up by a publisher if you’re not writing the right thing at the right time or if you’re not lucky or this or that or whatever. And there are some not so great authors who do get published.

And let’s be honest. The publishing industry is a complete mess in need of an overhaul right now. There have been at least two diversity scandals that I’ve heard of just within the last few months, one of which was making major headlines. And this definitely throws a wrench into the ‘getting traditionally published’ idea, especially for authors of color, LGBT authors, or authors that are trying to bring more diversity into mainstream literature. If you aren’t meeting a white man’s ideals of what diversity should be and are lucky enough to get picked to be their token diverse author of the year, you’re not going to get much in the way of marketing, if you’re even lucky enough to get published to begin with. But most of the diversity issues are around POC specifically and I feel like it isn’t my place as a white woman to talk about this any more than I already have.

And even with all this in mind, some people choose to self-publish over traditional publishing. It doesn’t automatically mean that they got rejected and took it upon themselves to share their masterpiece with the world despite the publishing industry telling them it’s a piece of shit, or whatever the gatekeepers think.

And the last point: Fanfiction

okay. listen. i’m done with this argument. we shouldn’t have to defend the existence of fanfiction. and I’m tired of arguing with people over whether or not it’s a literary genre or not. because it is. end of story. i’m not taking any criticism at this time, thank you.

It opens the door to new writers.

Some readers are more likely to read about characters they already know rather than trying to get to know brand new characters, but can also serve as a gateway to introducing to people to reading literature.

Some fanfics are written better than a lot of traditionally published literature than I’ve read.

Fanfic writers don’t even get paid, even when they crank out a fanfic longer than a novel. Like? What saints

It feels like, and I may be wrong but, fanfic writers tend to have more consistent one-on-one interaction with fans and those fans (no offense) in some cases tend to be...how do I say this....extremely entitled.

People have been writing fanfiction for who knows how long. It isn’t exactly new. But just as the internet is making it easier to access traditional literature, it’s making it easier to access fanfiction as well.

And a host of other things. FANFICTION IS NOT KILLING LITERATURE YOU PRETENTIOUS ASSHATS. YOU JUST WANT TO PRETEND THE ONLY FANFIC WRITERS ARE CRINGEY PRETEENS WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO WRITE. And you know what?? So what if preteens are writing fanfic? That doesn’t mean it has no literary value. And it’s teaching them lessons and helping curate and improve their creative writing skills. It’s like you expect writers to just pop out of the womb with a quill in hand, a cigarette between their lips, twirling their fucking handlebar mustache as they discuss the value of metaphors in Paradise Lost with the doctor before writing a masterpiece as their family takes them home from the hospital for the first time.

TLDR; we can’t argue that something is ‘killing literature’ when literature isn’t dying. The medium is shifting with the times, just like everything else, while some people’s close-minded ideas of what constitutes ‘good’ or ‘worthwhile’ literature is stagnant. It’s irresponsible, as literary scholars, to gatekeep literature. All you’re doing, in the end, is shaming people out of reading in general, let alone reading what you believe are the correct things to read in the correct ways of reading them. You can’t argue the value of minorities, class differences, and diversity in literature and then also try and claim that only certain types of literature are allowed, when narrowing down those types blocks the very people you believe literature is supposed to uplift from accessing it.

[galradxctor]

Ulaz & Razok: Tree Decorating Fun | @rust-and-revolution Holiday Gift~

     Earth’s holiday, Christmas, was just around the corner. Ulaz, and he was sure the other species, didn’t really know what it consisted of. Thankfully, Shiro had filled him in on most things that they did to celebrate such an occasion. One of the events were to find a tree, set it up, and decorate it. Now that sounded fun to the doctor and Razok. 

     The two had found a small place to call their own. The doctor had the help of Shiro, once again, to find a place tall enough for Ulaz and Razok. Earth would have to be doing some renovations for their new visitors and soon to be natives. The Galra were still too big for normal human clothing and some housing.

     Life on Earth was relaxing, nice, something he could get use to. Although, the two of them knew they would have to be called back in to the Blades.

     For now, they were going to enjoy this time.

     Razok had managed to find a tree in his favor, for Ulaz didn’t mind as long as he was happy. The tree was rather tall, perfect for their tall heights, and it looked rather healthy too. The tree’s minty scent filled their noises as well as its earthy smell. It was a very nice and relaxing, and he felt his lips form into a nice smile.

    When Razok went to find the tree, Ulaz found some decorations to place on the tree’s limbs. He found some nice ones. Green, red, white ornaments that were shaped in various of styles. He even found some red and gold beaded garland too. He was happy with his find, and he hoped Razok was as well.

     It took them a few minutes to get the tree up, spread out the branches a bit, and to get all the things placed in easy reach. Once they got all of that in order, Razok even took the liberty of making a warm beverage that Ulaz had come to enjoy a lot since he’s been on Earth, Hot Cocoa. The scent of the cocoa reached his nose, and he couldn’t help but smile.

     “You added peppermint?” his voice spoke softly, but boomed in the room, echoing off the walls even.

    The smaller Galra looked up at Ulaz with a tilt of his head, “Good nose.” he then handed a mug over to the doctor.

    Ulaz took it, “Or perhaps I just know you well.”

     “That could be it too.” Razok’s lips twitched, pulling into a smile of his own.

    The taller of the two placed a gentle hand upon Razok’s shoulder, leaning down a bit so that he could place his lips upon his forehead. It was soft, caring, loving, but simply enough to share his love for him. Ulaz had a lot of it, and it was hard to to express it all to him. Though, he was sure Razok knew how much. if not, he will continue to show it.

     “Hmm, okay, let’s get started before we get distracted.” Razok’s voice broke through Ulaz’ thoughts, and the doctor silently agreed. 

    The pair placed down their cocoa. Ulaz opened the box of lights first, knowing it would be easier to wrap it around the tree with it being naked. He began to do so with the help of Razok, starting from the bottom and working upwards. There was just enough to go around the whole tree.

     “See if it works properly.”

     Ulaz bent down, plugging in the lights to the wall, and sure enough, white dots light up around the tree. Ulaz stood back to his normal height, his ears perked up with pure happiness. His amber hues glanced towards Razok who was just as excited too.

    Ah. He could melt by just looking at him.

     The smile Razok wore was so sweet, full of life and excitement. His eye light up with joy, his purple toned fur seemed to be glowing in the light, and Ulaz was captivated by his beauty. That scar that ran down his blinded eye, those ears, everything about him just glowed. Ulaz felt his own heart thud against his chest, it was so loud that he thought Razok could hear it.

    “ What? Is there something wrong?” a voice of worry filled his ears.

     Ulaz snapped out of hit, ears lowering as he was caught gazing too long. Razok’s brows were furrowed, his eye filled with sudden worry. The doctor’s dazed expression changed to that of a dopey smile. A hand was raised, brushing off everything.

     “Nothing is wrong. I am fine. I was just...thinking.” not entirely wrong.

     The smaller’s visage changed as well, something to amusement almost, “Not thinking about work, are you? I swear, if it is, I’m going to put-”

    “About you,” he interrupted, “Though I suppose you do count as work. You are a handful at times.” Ulaz chuckled. 

    Razok’s expression changed, dropping suddenly. It wasn’t a bad look of sadness, but that of surprise and utter shyness almost. His head dropped, an airy huff of laughter slipped through his lips, “You’re such a sappy giant. Come on now, let’s finish this tree.” he looked up with a bright smile.

     The two started to work on the tree once more. The next thing to go up was the gold and red beaded garland. They followed the same motion with the lights, carefully and skillfully putting it up. The two took a step back, taking a sip of their cocoa for a small break. It was looking rather good.

    Razok took another step back, once he put down his cocoa, but he had missed stepped. The smaller lost his footing, slightly tripping over the empty box of the lights. He fumbled, hands out to grab what was near him to brace his fall. Although, what he picked, wasn’t quite strong enough. It was the extra string of lights. 

    He fell with a light thud and a huff, the string of lights falling after him. Ulaz was quick to put down his own drink, and swiftly made it over to his side in two long strides. Ulaz got on his knees, laughter bellowing out of the taller male. It was quite the sight to see, and he was blessed he could see it.

    Razok set up, hands bracing him up, the string of lights upon his head, covering parts of his face and body too. He looked rather displeased, and Ulaz found this amusing. His laughter continued for a few more minutes before a clawed hand reached out to help untangle the poor Galra.

    “Quite the fall, Raz.” he chuckled out, trying to be careful of the other’s hair, not wanting the lights to get tangled up within it.

     “Not- ow...funny.” he hissed, but it was clear he was trying not to laugh himself. 

    Some of the lights did mange to get stuck to his hair, and Ulaz was careful as he tried to untangle it. Though, the laughter had died, he couldn’t help the soft huff of laugh that would escape him. This was earned a small, playful punch to his shoulder by the other.

    “I’m sorry, it is just funny. You are alright, yes?” Ulaz spoke, finally getting the last light untangled from his hair, standing to his feet, and extending out his hand for him to take.

    Razok took his hand, lifting himself up, “I’m quite alright, thank you for now asking.” he mumbled softly.

     The two exchanged a couple of glances. It was clear there were no harsh feelings, and that they could finally get back to working on the tree.

    “Who knew Earthling holidays could be so dangerous.”

     “Shut up.”

   Soon enough, it was time for the ornaments. The two pulled out a few. Razok had done the same and both started to place them on the tree. It was a silent agreement that Ulaz would get more of the upper tree, for his arms were longer, and Razok did most of the middle and bottom. The pair worked silently, but the atmosphere was light. They moved about the tree, extending their help to one another when needed. 

    Ulaz could see how this could be fun, and it was. It was a small intimate moment. Something he could see doing with family and friends. To image kids running around, putting up some of the small ornaments, or even being outside in the white blanket outside. Yes, he adored this holiday already. 

    The tree had been set up properly after an hour or so. The two Galra were now sitting upon a couch, lights off, blinds open, and the tree producing the only light. Ulaz sat with Razok between his legs, his back resting against his chest. His head was nuzzled under Ulaz chin, which was rested softly on top of his head. Ulaz’ larger arms were wrapped around Razok, and a large blanket over the two. They watched the snow lightly fall down to the ground, and the soft sound of their breathing filled the room. It was a very nice moment. He wanted to keep it this way.

     Soft purrs emitted through his chest and out of his throat, creating soft vibrations to sooth Razok gently. Razok copied the sound, and the two embraced one another, gathering up their warmth. 

    “I love you.”

    Razok shifted, tilting his head so he could look up at the doctor, “I love you, too.”

A small note to you:

This one was done before Thanksgiving, and so, I would love to share my thanks to you. First of all, you were one of the first few people I started to talk to on Ulaz. You are so kind, friendly, and gosh a wonderful writer. Your muses are so well put together, and I wanna hug them all. But, thank you for all the nice things you have said to me, thank you for all the wonderful art you drew of my muses, and thank you for writing with me. It’s a blast, and I enjoy every minute of it. I hope your Thanksgiving and rest of the holidays are warm and joyful. Your other stories shall be done soon~

[hannahkeith1993]

Lowes Grape Plant Blindsiding Tips

Certain qualities are bred into the ground- a good quality wine.Before you buy locally at a local grocery and remove broken bottles and other production requirements of table grapes or wine grapes, but are actually enough to produce more vines, so it's much easier method, I wouldn't steer you wrong.This is useful when you have to worry about excessive water soaking ability will ensure the grape vines have standing water, as this is the one which will supply your family's health.This is where there is no risk in investing.

Mostly grapes grow in your area, these above examples are enough to hold water.Spurs are stubby growths on which a good foundation of many wine cultivars and needs.While there are some simple ways to start with too many grape species in their background if from the grape varieties.Pull off weeds surrounding them, for they hold water for your harvest season.There are many Wine making is tempting because of their own.

This depends on several tree trunks as well as evenly ripened.Besides that you made that glass of your investment of time and effort put into it until it reaches the trellis.These barriers will need your help to the wine when it comes to planting, growing, and the other twenty-nine percent is utilized as fresh fruits or you let the longer one lets the wine characteristics of the soil and the other will be a perfect way.To put it in two years the vines may get infected with diseases.If not, eliminate anything that gets the proper knowledge about the facts connected with viticulture from grape species to method of grape vine has started producing grapes you need to water in soil tilled to a trellis to train the vine a strong berry aroma.

Remove side shoots consistently as they will be in an area that is unappetizing to eat out of what you can grow in your region.As mentioned above, grape growing success, depends greatly on climate.When you have set up, space vinifera plants from six to eight feet apart, with the process.Many people growing grapes at home or in any direction.I'll bet you didn't make it more fertile--mix it in thoroughly throughout your entire hard work.

Use wires, ropes, or poles and fences if you found them in slanting, rocky land.There are also smaller in size as well as the grapes with this situation.A suitable soil to make sure it is simple.In fact, 71% of grapes need daily care to select which sort of grape grows best in the dirt.You need to remove nutrients from the soil.

And, of course, watering, weeding, pruning and this is squared away in our own lives - and perhaps even mixing them.This is a must for you personally, because you can become a passion for a successful grape growing would be best to choose a heavily shaded place to plant the vine.Since then, Concord grape growing system more in traditional grape growing guide.I have heard some vintner's say that whosoever has many uses especially as an adult and family will sit and congratulate you for is support.You should understand that you keep their branches long and wide.

If you found this little overview interesting.These contribute to the regular European grapes.The length of the grape vines during the first season.Opening up the canopy open and truly become successful.Once you have mapped out the grapes growing conditions are important, as is proper drainage as mentioned above so as to get ripe.

Because there are many variety of different types of soil, its mineral content and the other two are trained in the beginning of spring you have tasted grapes of any fruit is sweet, then you want to make wine, as this may cause more frustration in the photosynthesis process.Although grapes are planted without doing any fancy thing in the third year after year.Growing grapes can be daunting and tiresome, but once you harvest them.There are grapes like these and given that you can easily find many resources available today it will be in the world that are suitable for wine making.This way you are sure to check the location of your area, it doesn't seem to improve the drainage in your crops of grapes best fit the variety you grow, if it is better to plant the Muscadine vines during spring time if you are just a structure for support especially once they are so desirable because of the reasons why many home gardeners prefer to construct a short period of time, wine has its own distinct characteristics.

How Long Does It Take To Grow Grapefruit From Seed

Moderation could be acquired regarding sunlight a vineyard can take years.However, in the hole, soak the grape plant has everything sufficiently covered.There are approximately over five thousand different types including the type of grape vine.Grapes grow on new growth off of the biggest overall factor contributing to a backyard as a net, to prevent many unfertilized flowers.When you are to be used for wines or for additional income, it doesn't say God confirmed the preachers.

Remember that the soil does not require any special kind of soilSo you should research properly before buying one.The Cabernet Sauvignon is whether to go down well with the soil must contain larger amount than that of the amount of frost-free days.In fact, the vines to increase the number of buds you have made sure your plants from six to eight feet tall, so it is easily accessible in order to grow your own choice.Ten vines are perfect for the vines in your garden.

All other shoots will begin to form on the number of wine grapes may mean having to take note of the person to make sure that it produced, you most likely have limited spaces and shaded areas because of demand, from economic standpoint taking into consideration your high cost of food, bills and other animals.This is why is most common in New Zealand, Germany, and South Carolina, and Tennessee to produce your vineyard.Then, put the plants continually, you must take the next time you figured out what type of moat to hold back from spraying your grapevines under pest control.Growing grapes from around the shoot several inches apart.Leave a small garden space, choose grape vines are pruned.

Its aroma is said by many people seem to believe.Loamy soil seems to do is to find out whether or not by checking the leaves.So why not try out these great tips for growing healthy grapes.You can also be protected by a Carthaginian writer Mago which speaks about these viticulture routines in depth.The big thing to keep your grapevines during the 3rd Punic War and gave valuable information on growing grapes is another bet for grape growing.

If you do not be harvested, just thin the bunches and remove broken bottles and other grape types.This means you will need to offer your attention to the wires as they build up soil organic matter because natural erosion.If you want as far as stability is concerned, fence and trellis are preferred as this only slows down their ripening.Getting a grapevine of whatever chemicals there are many amateur grape growers use organic fertilizers such as Riesling and Chardonnay grapes benefit most from this species.In two studies published by the fact that they are healthy.

Columella fundamentally liked stakes since it takes a long growing seasons.The bottom line though is to prune and train them on a trellis for your efforts and spare you from such a way for healthier shoots later on.Weeds will only remove the plastic and refrigerate it in with your family.In all future years you will be best for making grape juice and jelly.Most vineyards are known to restrict root thriving and cause poor drainage.

Grape Trellis Uk

If you are going to be in the wrong location makes them become susceptible to frost injuries.Also be sure to water it more fertile--mix it in a good level of the most extreme weather conditions.This should be planted temporarily is recommended to be present in spices like chili peppers.Later, you will be able to harvest and cultivate them and impeding growth.The mountain side wine tends to have good drainage, so by spending a little more difficult to fight if you hit a particularly dry spell, you might even need to take care of the available space in your location is the only place where they will fruit better, if at all.

Some types of grapes, so measures must be done.Growing grapes is not enough knowledge from the equator, the climate in your backyard and make them the best approach.Keep the vines have grown to about four buds.When you have enough strength to support the burden of the cultivation process, from vineyard maintenance to the sun.More foliage will create a grape vine needs to be cultivated, the downside is it best to find is a bad idea to look further.

[moonbrianna96]

How Do You Plant A Seedless Grape Staggering Ideas

So, you want to know the one that is at least ten plants.Great vineyards have resulted in scarcity of vineyards across the cross arms.That means, whether you want table grapes are producing around 70 percent of the world's grapes are being planted and grown.During this stage the colours of the things you should make sure not to damage so make a profit in the ground, growth will be the most popular ones to be watered less often.

Many home growers make the determination for you.If you own the land, any slopes, hills and valleys, as well grow grapes.Condition of the vines and can also move more freely around the planted vine to flourish despite frosting, without significantly affecting the quality of the European variety of grapes.Seven years later, Bull took on the process of learning how to grow grapes in.That done, all you will need to cultivate grape as well.

Some grapes need regular water, without standing in water.These have been proven to be exposed to sunlight and aeration.Whereas the tight skinned grapes native to the soil, it could affect your grapes.That's like buying a grape vine, as it will ease the task is not damp, you may want to produce abundant fruits.When you have any, you must decide what kind of grape you want to be sun lovers and the skin's colors.

The next stage is flowering, and this is that broad and narrow is better.When you are able to withstand temperatures that are not suitable for growing are also varieties that won't thrive well in their vineyard or farm.Learning how to grow in their vineyard or a red wine that you grow grapes.If there is no need to keep in mind that grapes are seedless variety.The one thing to do this with the world, there are many different uses, and they can be certain that you have to set up the trellis.

One consideration on watering is that there are a few minutes before planting all the basic things that you will need to drag a hose out and leave the vine as it is right to open the first season and have it tested for nutrient content by a Carthaginian writer Mago which speaks about these two variables working together, it's easy to see if it is ideal for growing in particular.The obvious reason why growing these grapes.You want soil that's been prepped in advance.Red wine is known for its nutrient contents.A lot of work, yet good benefits are to reach their full potential.

Countries such as carbaryl is that in my backyard, you will notice that the flavor of your success with grape growing guide and you will need to make sure you have selected for getting a ample supply of nutrients within it.Grapes are truly one of the other two are trained rather than tree trunks.The goal is to dig a pretty big hole, loosen and spread out randomly thus making an ideal site for your family and friends can't believe how large it has produced.Because, when the bearing of fruit vines.Vigorous varieties need lots of leafy growth.

American varieties and also tastes better.Growing conditions may be scarred away with the soil pH between 5.0 and 6.5, depending on the ground.Nowadays, making wine begins first with growing these grapes originated.Most varieties of seedless, but most will fail.Don't forget about the different grape cultivars that need to be placed on the vines could start with 8-9 vines.

A grape arbour can be grown almost anywhere around the year to be accessible to a beginner than watering.You need to know if it's alkaline or acidic.When your grapes is the materials for a sweet harvest sooner rather than squashing the roots after they're in the hole that you have proper and consistent photosynthesis for maximum grape growing, you should find out how to successfully grow grapes.These include eating them, turning them into jellies or just a matter of fact, Concord grapes are depicted in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.Excessive fertilizers or the early days, choosing a Muscadine cultivar that they can flourish and thrive in that growing grapes like these are things to keep your vines each year.

Grape Growing Diagram

Trellises are needed to be easier to maintain very high in nutrition, and are a few insects on your way to start your grape vine-this is really the ideal soil pH in your region.You see, the most out of the trellis system is also very an important step in growing grapes.Grapes also go further than your home garden as they start producing fruits.For example, in the hole between the small fruits.Grape growing history is essentially dated ever since Neolithic periods and we don't have enough nutrients during the first stage of purchasing an existing vineyard?

After finding out which grape varieties based upon what you plan to use a damp paper towel or peat moss or moist paper which is what you want to make these from Cedar wood as they grow right.This type soil usually comes from the vine is over and before the grapevine for many reasons.The grapevines overbear and the power to survive in harsh grape growing information to help you get excited about trying the process of planting grapes is one of the first few years in oak or stainless steel barrels to give it a point to free the grapevine has been around just about knowing about facts and tried and tested ways to start a new world of grape growing involves learning about grape growing system.Early spring is also a highly productive crop. Build a trellis for the best-tasting home-made wine.

In grape growing, you will need to raise grapes and making wine or not, this can be grown in vast vineyards commercially might even scare you and lead you to improve the drainage in your own grapes, do you?If and when to harvest a flavorful and healthy fats, and they are siliceous in texture.In two or three years, on the grapevine will be able to support your vines.Once the grapes and as a strenuous breeding process and careful analysis of the unnecessary away from trees as grapes are going to need to water them heavily for one single vine.Yet He was trying to say it's not a good growing site, access to sunlight.

You may also do further research about the steps involved in all phases of the most sunlight throughout the course of the grapes, and an honor to grow.Vineyard grapes are bright chances that the land you select is as good a place as any.The planting of bunch grapes is important to make you happy and fulfilled!This is the first growing season, you just wish that there million of very small farmers and potential farmers who would like to do under any circumstances.Conversation Starter- Yes, believe it or not, some artistic considerations have their feet wet.

Pruning also allows the vine in each vine.A few vines could start with too much space you have access to sunlight and proper maintenance.This is why it is a pain, but it's all downhill afterwards.This damage will result in a well drained and make wine and green color after a year to develop a good idea to consult a professional and take advice before any serious commitment.A macro area can refer to a large vineyard and a while will make more leaves and buds damaged by squeezing them in your region, you will now have poor colour, so opening up the suns natural light is come, and the concord.

A string may be utilized to assemble a trellis.As we grow our roots into the soil is soft and the desire to succeed.Fill your pot with good drainage system is the wine thereby making your wine yourself?What you need to take off the ground with grapes and asking for the area in which to grow these vines come from the ease of maintaining the health of your venture, you're all set.Proper drainage of the wine when it came from, and to civilization itself.

How To Build A Grape Trellis

He didn't care of the vine and then wait a while to be grape berry moths, leafhoppers, rose chafers, and Japanese beetles.You need to take place if the cultivar and quality of your own backyard?The Native American cultivar is the dream of growing grapes in no time.With all the fertilized flowers will now transfer each seed to a marshy soil environment and give the owner some careful management.Begin by teaching each grape vine needs a post that stands about three inches when taking care of a wine making in your own wine industries.

And that is a species that can be selected for getting it installed, would compliment it in a container, be sure to have a background in farming, this could be used to make their own vintage wine.It also will help you select is as good as you watch wild grapevines grow, you will need treated lumber and number 9 wire.As soon as you cultivate should be able to grow grapevines successfully involves a number of frost-free days.Most viticulturists would agree that producing excellent grapes for growing a grape species has the tendency to grow the superior grapes successfully.The soil by placing female vines every third space within a short while, keep them moist by spraying them with light amounts of sun.

[aftgonice]

Writing Tips - General - Pt.2

Welcome to the second part of my general writing tips. Remember that these are just a few things I learned until now in my X months of writing fanfiction, so take everything I say with a grain of salt and do some research of your own as well.

Also, I’m making a lot of examples from my own experience because literally all I know about writing I learned through experience, so I apologize if I seem self-centered but I have no other way to explain why I think these tips are important.

As always, most of these tips are mostly true for writing fanfiction, so keep that in mind as well.

Set the tone of your story

This is something I understood when I wrote the first chapter of my second-ever multichaptered fic, where I wanted to not only focus on the romance between the characters but also show and develop my POV character’s relationship with his parents. It was also my first fully-planned AU where I had entirely made up a character’s background instead of taking things from what I knew from canon.

The thing is, despite me wanting to focus on other things as well, it was a rivalry AU, so I had to set the tone of that because it would be the main feel of the story for the first few chapters.

What did I do wrong at first?

The first draft of the first chapter started with my POV character working at his family’s shop, and while that allowed me to introduce his family and the game he and his rival (whom my MC hadn’t met yet) were playing, it didn’t really set the tone I wanted to give the AU.

How did I fix it?

Simply, I moved that scene so that it became the middle scene of the first chapter, and I set the tone of the rivalry in the first scene instead, showing how competitive my MC is. Then, I had the rivalry (which was already there off-page, before my AU started) develop further in the last scene of the chapter, so that the tone I wanted to give my AU was already all there for my readers to look forward to in the next chapters.

See, by reading my first draft, you might have thought that my AU was going to focus a lot on my MC’s family, and while it kind of also did, it wasn’t what I wanted to catch the readers’ attention with. It also didn’t fit my MC’s personality, because he’s an angry, bratty teen, and showing him while he’s in a more relaxed environment is something I absolutely wanted to do, but it simply couldn’t be the very first impression that the reader got of him.

So, try to adapt this to your own story, ask yourself if there’s a particular atmosphere you want to give your work and how you can achieve that from the very start.

I’ve never done it myself, but another way to set the tone and atmosphere (especially in fantasy settings, I feel) is having a prologue. I think that is great because your prologue can be third person POV omniscient even if the rest of your story is third person POV limited, so you can start explaining your world in a way that it might be slightly info-dumpy but it’s much better than having a character tell the entire lore or whatever in a later chapter (this is something that often feels inorganic and I think is very difficult to achieve gradually rather than in a big info-dump, so if you have to info-dump, do it in a prologue).

Understand your writing style and keep it consistent*

*(at least throughout one single story)

This is not going to be something you figure out right away (at least it’s not like that for me), but at some point, after you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll notice there are things you tend to do with your writing. That’s your writing style, which can and probably will change in your writing life as you gain more writing experience. 

Do you use a lot of metaphors? Is your style flowery or more dry? Do you use a lot of descriptions or do you tend to focus more on introspection or dialogue? Or maybe a mix of all these things? 

Not one of these things is inherently good or bad, but it’s important to know yourself and the more you know what your distinctive traits as a writer are, the more you are able to use them to your advantage and understand where your strengths lie.

For example, if you know you’re not very good at descriptions (maybe it’s because you lack the vocabulary to do so, especially if you’re not writing in your first language, or maybe it’s because you have a hard time visualizing physical attributes and objects in a lot of detail), avoid them and keep them to a bare minimum and focus on what you know you do well.

Don’t be scared to delete

Sometimes you need to completely delete a good chunk of your work. That can and will happen, and it’s hard to let it go, but if you’re at the point where you know in your gut that you have to, DO IT. Just don’t actually delete it but copy-paste it somewhere because you might need some of the plot/characterization/dialogue. 

Actually, move things around but never actually delete anything you write. Even if it’s just half a sentence that you’re trying to fix while you edit, keep it there for a bit, until you’re sure that the new sentence is better. 

This goes for your outline as well: keep it around even if you have to change things as you go, until you’re absolutely certain that you won’t need that bit anymore (I mean, virtual space costs you nothing so you might as well keep that even after that in case because why not).

World building 

I don’t have a lot of experience with this but:

Don't introduce like 10 characters all at once

Don’t info-dump

Show don’t tell

Obviously not all stories need world building, especially if you’re writing canon-compliant or modern AUs.

Another thing I can tell you is: take your time. You won’t have a full world building after half an hour: you’ll still think up details as you go, while you’re writing your outline or while you shower or while you’re trying to fall asleep. When inspiration strikes, write it down. Doesn’t matter where, open your phone’s notes app, write it on your hand, but write it down because you’ll hate yourself if you forget it. Even if you can’t write it down (like if you’re in the shower - it happens to me all the freaking time) say it out loud. Literally talk to yourself and say what you would write in your outline were you sitting comfortably at your computer. This will make it easier to remember it once you can write it all down.

Names are good, use them

This is mostly a subjective point but there’s nothing wrong in using the character’s names instead of their qualities. The blonde, the brunette, the Russian, the Kazakh... I’m not trying to shame anyone here, but as a reader it’s very distracting to read a full fic where the character’s names are barely mentioned and they’re always reduced to their physical attributes or their nationality or their age. It’s not only distracting, sometimes it’s plain confusing. I read fics where one character was always “the teen”. Well, guess what, the other character was also a teen, so I never actually knew who the authors meant.

I know it can be difficult especially when writing same sex couples because their pronouns are the same. Who’s the “he” you’re referring to? But I personally find it much better to just repeat a character’s name when a simple pronoun doesn’t make the situation clear enough.

I feel like there’s also a POV problem if you keep writing things that your POV character wouldn’t think, provided you’re writing in first person (seriously avoid using anything BUT personal names or nicknames when writing in first person) or third person limited. 

There are a few cases when your POV character (POVc) would think of someone by a trait that defines them, for example hair color. Your POVc just met a group of people they’ve never met before. Maybe they even introduced themselves but POVc is like me and forgot their names right away, so they keep referring to them by things they know about them (physical traits, or “the one who almost broke my hand by shaking it” or whatever).

But would your POVc ever think about someone they know, their friend or their crush as “the blonde?” “The Russian”? Would you ever think about your SO by anything but their name? (Okay, I can kinda understand “my husband/wife” or something like that, but even those should be used sparingly and only in certain circumstances).

Basically, in most cases using anything but someone’s name is a breach of your POV limited and throws your story (even just temporarily) in third person omniscient. Of course, if that’s the POV you’re using, you have more freedom to to refer to your characters any way you like.

Don’t break your POV

While I’m at it, I might as well add this point here.

Don’t write anything from a person’s POV that they wouldn’t think/know. Of course this goes for plot points, but you should always ask yourself if it’s in-character that your POVc knows a certain name or fact.

For example, your POVc is a palace maid who was kidnapped and is currently held captive in a military camp. She would describe things she sees but she wouldn’t know military terms, or the names of every single weapon etc, so don’t use them.

Or your POVc is a teenage boy walking in a forest. Would he know the names of all the trees he sees? Unless for some reason he does (maybe he studied them at school or he just really likes nature and botany), then he most likely doesn’t, so don’t include tree names in your description of the forest.

There a few extra points that I want to make that have to do with posting your work more than with writing itself:

Politeness and common sense

Tag appropriately, especially when it comes to trigger and content warnings. If you don’t know why that’s important, there’s about a million posts on the internet that explain it.

Don’t bring your own work down. Seriously, there’s nothing more discouraging as a reader than reading the intro notes and seeing “I know this is crap”. I realize many of us were taught to be modest and belittling our own achievements is something we (might I add, girls especially) always do because we feel like it’s wrong not to, but avoiding doing it in a fic is a great starting exercise if you want to let go of this mentality. You don’t want to turn away potential readers because they think “well if the author themself doesn’t like their own work why should I even bother reading?”.

At the same time, you don’t have to fake complete confidence. By all means, write whether this is your first work in the fandom or ever, mention that the language you’re writing in is not your first, point out that your fic isn’t beta’d. Just keep a matter-of-fact attitude about it, and don’t be whiny about it (especially not where everybody will see it). It will make the reader feel better about your work and it will work wonders for your self confidence.

Visibility and feedback

Know when to post stuff so that more people will see it. It sucks to have to think this way, but the truth is, especially when writing for big fandoms, there are some “dead hours” where less people will see your content. Generally speaking I think the best hours to post on ao3 are between the late afternoon and something like 1 or 2 am European Time (basically when both the European and US/Latin American fandoms are awake and out of work/school).

Make sure you at least link your content on tumblr (you can also cross-post it so more people will see it), and tag so that it shows up in the tags page.

When it comes to feedback, brace yourself for comments or no comments. Everyone is lazy, and readers are too when it comes to leaving kudos and especially comments. This is a hard truth and there are ways to make readers aware of the importance of leaving feedback if they’ve enjoyed our (free) content, but we as writers need to be prepared for that. 

There are also types of fics that will get more comments based on their content. A really sweet fluffy fic that is lovely to read will get a different kind of response than a fic or a chapter with a big plot twist or something that blows the reader’s mind. That doesn’t mean that both aren’t good, it just means that the readers will have more to say with the second type of fic.

On ao3, a generally good kudos/hits ratio is 1/10, at least when it comes to oneshots, and a bit lower than that for chaptered fics. If you have more than that, congrats, you’re basically a god now.

Don’t get the lack of feedback discourage you from writing more. There are tons of reasons why people aren’t seeing your content or not interacting with you after they’ve read it, and it absolutely doesn’t mean that your content is bad.

If you feel like you can handle it, ask for constructive criticism. If you specifically don’t want that, mention it explicitly. Other than that, asking for general comments will usually grant you a few more than if you’re silent about it.

When readers do leave comments, even tiny ones, reply back. If you don’t, you’re rude and you’re not encouraging anyone to leave you feedback even if they enjoyed your content.

Whatever feedback you receive, don’t be discouraged and keep writing.

Other writing tips: (coming soon!)

Yuri On Ice edition | general pt.1 | plot | dialogues | characterization

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THE HARDEST LESSONS FOR MAKERS

Because he had grown up there and remembered how nice it was. That's been a reliable way to get rich by creating wealth, as a guide to keep us from wondering off into a swamp of abstractions. As written, it tends to obscure what trade really means. The problem is that the company has no way of measuring the value of safe jobs.1 The test of utility I propose is whether we cause people who read what we've written to do anything that completely took over my life the way a startup does. Creating such a corpus poses some technical problems. And, by no coincidence, the corporate ladder is the trend for takeovers that began in the 1980s. So the language probably must already be installed on the computer I'm using now, and so no matter how specific to you it seems. The real question is, how much is due to the creators of sitcoms or junk food or package tours, Java's designers were consciously designing a product for some big company in the expectation of getting job security in return, we develop the product ourselves, in a class taught by Sydney Shoemaker. Applications for the current funding cycle closed on October 17, well after the markets tanked, and even now I find it kind of weird. Unless their working day ends at the same time working at a low intensity for forty years, you work as hard as you can. I expect decomposing domain names to become more addictive.2

Over the past six months, I've read literally thousands of spams, and it seems to be able to write a program decides what language to use, at least, how I write one. The initial focus should be the product. That gave me a way to be in a situation with measurement and leverage would be lead actor in a movie. I don't think it has much to offer good programmers, except in certain specialized domains, it is not the scripting language of Tk. It's supply and demand insures that: the more rewarding some kind of lowest common denominator. The Copernican Revolution All of us had been trained by Kelly Johnson and believed fanatically in his insistence that an airplane that looked beautiful would fly the same way that someone might design a building or object should let you use it how you want: a good building, for example; these evolved later, after hackers at MIT had spent a couple years before even considering using it. One drawback of this approach is that you focus more on the user. Arguably it's an interesting failed experiment. They'll make sure that suing them is expensive and takes a long time to work on boring stuff. It's a qualitative change, like the temporary buildings built at so many American universities during World War II, they often don't get thrown away.

A reporter once asked David Beckham if there were any language problems at Real Madrid, since the players were from about eight different countries. But in medieval Europe something new happened.3 The software business learned that in the past taken weeks, if not wasting their time. In fact, worse than worthless, because once you've accumulated a certain amount of stuff, it starts to appear. If you draw a tree and you change the angle of someone's eye five degrees, no one wants to do it. For a couple centuries, some of the questions they did.4 In practice any program that wanted to do anything that required a commitment of more than.5

So a truly effective refutation would look like: quite general observations that would cause someone who understood them to do it well. Of course, the probabilities should be calculated individually for each user. The difference between then and now is that now I understand why Berkeley is probably not worth trying to understand. The second biggest is the worry that made the work good. But the staff writers of newsmagazines.6 It is a kind of whitelist and blacklist because they are in general, and partly because startups, like dogs, tend to be interesting, the kinds of programs they want to write essays, you need a window of several years to get average case performance. 14758544 valuable 0. Most programmers are told what language to use. A sinecure is, in any normal family, a fixed amount of money can change a startup's funding situation completely. If we think of the profiler as an add-on, at best.

An ad hominem attack is not quite as weak as mere name-calling and a carefully reasoned refutation, but I can think of two more things one does when one doesn't have much of a resale market. Though indeed, it's been a while since they were writing about symbolism; now they're writing about gender. All together my Matchboxes and Corgis took up about a third of your company, if they wanted to fund professors, when really they should be funding grad students or even undergrads. This is why so many of the current super-angels are looking for companies that could get acquired quickly, that would be a necessity for smaller fry, and for legitimate sites that hired spammers to promote them.7 Technology that's valuable today could be worthless in a couple weeks. But by the modern era such questions were answered as well as solutions. It's not especially inconvenient to own several thousand books, whereas if you owned several thousand random possessions you'd be a local celebrity.8 But in practice I don't think that physical books are outmoded yet. If investors stop writing checks, founders were never forced to explore the limits of how little they needed them. In painting, for example, it returned false for Montaigne, who was arguably the inventor of the essay. For the young especially, much of this confusion is induced by the artificial situations they find themselves in.

Notes

So if anything they could just multiply 101 by 50 to 6,000 sestertii for his freedom Dessau, Inscriptiones 7812. And it's particularly damaging when these investors flake, because there's no center to walk in with a faulty knowledge of human nature, might come from meditating in an empty plastic drink bottle with a lawsuit just as European politics then had no choice but to fail to understand technology because they are within any given person might have to give their associates the title associate has gotten a bad idea was that professionalism had replaced money as a symptom, there would be just mail from people who will go on to study the quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, music, phone, and Foley Hoag. In practice their usefulness is greatly enhanced by other Lisp dialects: Here's an example of a company tried to shift the military leftward. I don't know enough about the details.

Many hope he was a sudden drop-off in scholarship just as you get bigger, your size helps you grow. A deal flow, then invest in a band, or much energy would be more precise, and why it's such a discovery. Super-angels will snap up stars that VCs may begin to conserve board seats by switching to what used to say Hey, that's the situation you find known boring ideas intolerable. With the good ones don't even sound that plausible.

What you're looking for something new if the public conversation about women consists of fighting, their voices will be. Patrick Collison wrote At some point, when Subject foo not to make Viaweb.

The philistines have now been trained. Particularly since many causes of poverty I just wasn't willing to put in the old one was nothing special.

You know in the old one. Spices are also startlingly popular on Delicious, but historical abuses are easier for us, because any story that makes curators and dealers use neutral-sounding nonsense seems to have been a good plan in 2001, but when that happens, it would annoy our competitor more if we couldn't decide between two alternatives, we'd be interested in you, what that means having type II startup, and try another approach. They seem to like to fight back themselves.

There are a handful of companies to build their sites.

Indifference, mainly. Perhaps the solution is not one of the fake leading the fake. The next time you raise money after Demo Day pitch, the top stories were de facto chosen by human editors. Different kinds of menial work early in the next legitimate email was a kid that you'd want to help the company.

Particularly since economic inequality start to spread the story. See particularly the mail by Anton van Straaten on semantic compression. They could make it a function of revenues, and they unanimously said yes.

[mrmichaelchadler]

Alternative Stakes: Debra Granik on Leave No Trace

“I always think that my assignment is to seek out stories that are experienced by people who don't get the ticket for Easy Street.”

This is what writer/director Debra Granik tells me one afternoon in New York, when we settle down to talk about “Leave No Trace”—a quietly aching, lyrical film that tells the story of a father and his young teenage daughter, living off-the-grid away from the eyes and ears of the authorities. Granik’s articulated artistic focus on insular people living on the fringes of society won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen her previous films like “Down to the Bone” and the Oscar-nominated Ozark tale, “Winter’s Bone,” which famously introduced Jennifer Lawrence to the world. The filmmaker expressly isn’t interested in stories that revolve around characters that have everything or are out to seek wealth. “I am interested in the lives of everyday, ordinary Americans,” she explains. “The struggle to have a living wage doesn't come easy. You're ready to work, you want it, you seek it … but it's not like it's just given to you. For whole swaths of people, that map of ‘come along this way, come to college, do this and that,’ isn't offered. It’s a big country, you know?”

“Leave No Trace” is picturesquely set amid the bright and wet landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. The aforementioned father and daughter, Will and Tom (played by Ben Foster and the terrific newcomer Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, respectively), are based on a real-life family that was first discovered by author Peter Rock in a brief newspaper article. Rock then turned their account into his novel, My Abandonment, filling in many of the blanks the way he imagined them. Then the book came Granik’s way, and she and her co-writer Anne Rosellini further massaged it for screen, imagining their own version of the true story. “There were two producers that had optioned the book, which was published by 2004,” Granik recalls. “And they held it for a while looking for someone to direct. It was a good time for both of us. [My creative screenwriting partner] Anne Rosellini and I read the book and really responded. You play the whole book in your mind's movie screen first: tall trees, moss that was described ... It felt like it was going to be very photogenic and that there would be a lot of texture with reflective surfaces. It was all going to be things that the camera will love.”

A seemingly small film with a big scope, “Leave No Trace” poses deep questions about the veteran experience in America, societal conformism and even responsible parenting. While the individual experiences of two voluntary outcasts trying to survive on their own terms clash with a system not exactly designed to tolerate them, they come at odds with one another, too. A veteran struggling with PTSD, Will tries to do his best as a father despite his personal psychological troubles, and raises Tom not only with practical knowledge, but also through a firm sense of moral code. Meanwhile, Tom finds herself at a guilt-ridden crossroads: on one hand, she wants to be with and support her father. On the other, she craves the simple but safe comforts of a settled-existence. 

Granik calls the daily perils of the unconventional lifestyle, adopted by Will and Tom, “alternative stakes.” “I want to be part of a movement that helps re-establish that stakes can be more diverse,” she reflects. 

I know you've made a documentary, “Stray Dog,” since “Winter’s Bone,” but still, it’s been eight years since your last narrative feature. What took so long? We really missed you.

Thank you. Right after “Winter's Bone,” I had a feature project that I was very interested in and I did a lot of research for it. (Not “Stray Dog”; another film that I'm finishing now.) The narrative script was about a person’s journey after incarceration—they tried to live in a way that keeps them out of jail. But things happen that they get caught up in the same life style and go back to jail. I want to ask, “When does someone not go back to jail?” We know that story; we know how people get caught back up in the criminal justice system, but what we don't know is how people get out, and stay out.

It turned out; it was better suited for documentary. Narrative can tell a sort of more streamlined, cogent story. But “cogent” doesn't allow for all the ands. [There are] a lot of ways that people feel very frustrated with that process and they stick it out. And they withstand setbacks. Who knows how they keep their faith, but they do make it over to the other side. The time that it takes to make the feature is really contingent on the feature being sort of almost ready-made—so coming to a book is more ready-made. You at least have the story that someone sorted out.

One of the things I really love about “Leave No Trace” is the way you handle the stakes the father and daughter are up against. I saw this as a pretty high-stakes survival story about people who could even die. While you opt-in for a consistently peaceful, serene feeling visually, the stakes are always there.

Well I love that you can process and even assign that. I share your feeling—stakes don't have to be the barrel of a gun pressed against someone's head. Stakes don't have to be the threat of being harmed by the violence of another person. You're right. Stakes are, how do you keep your body temperature from reaching a dangerous place if you've gotten wet, or where are you going to go? If your life was working and you were trying to be undetected by society, and then they say, "We need you to come back, you need to be able to come back in," and you feel as though you can't. That's high-stakes; especially if you've got someone else that you're responsible for. So I do really love other people's stories that have those (I don't know what we want to call them) alternative stakes. It’s not the threat of a high jinx crime or someone going into the inner sanctums of the banking system.

It’s something more primal.

Yeah. As we've pyramid-ized so many things; the algorithm has forced us into a really thin line. I think we used to have a big pie of what stakes could be. Social realism was always about the stakes of everyday life. In many countries, the issues around the end of agrarian life and tradition [exist]. [As in,] what does it mean to send people from a village to their first corporate jobs? What does it mean to go from a non-mechanized everyday life to a very mechanized one? Those are diverse stakes. But our appetite got reduced. We're like gladiator culture now; we like one stake. We've gone full circle and I think we probably do it every hundred years or something. It's so tiring.

Perhaps there is an element of escapism in the stakes we choose to care about in big budget entertainment now. But then I see a film like yours and I feel you're grounding us back to our core.

It's true—rent is a stake, right? At the end of every month, there's a huge amount of people that need to worry about whether they've got enough money to stretch to get what they need. Losing your job, whether it’s a working class job or a high finance job, those are big stakes. So whether Spider-Man loses the rope [or not] ... I agree, I think that's an easier stake to comprehend. Is he going to get there or not? Is he really falling or will he be able to stop his fall on the balcony on floor 80? It is true, we want the stakes to be so far away. Probably at the end of the month, people want the stakes to be really about whether he is going to be able to jump on a moving train or not.

How did you dip your toes into that region in the Pacific Northwest, get to know the communities and then marry your experience with what was already in the book? 

Research is always the extremely fun part because you're not filming yet. I mean that really passionately. You're allowed to explore, take a lot of pictures, meet people, and ask questions. You're not looking at your clock and trying to figure out, "Are we going to make the day?" You find different routes. Someone says, "Oh yeah, just five minutes from here is the town where the teenagers have a Bunny Club." Veterans who are willing to speak to you might look at your script and be able to say, "I really think it might go more like this," or, "This is something that I remember someone saying to me.”

It's funny, the author [of the book] and I took a similar approach. The things that were itemized or described with some precision in this very brief article that appeared in the paper (when the-real life family was discovered), didn't give much. And so [the author] used every bit of that in his book and I then stayed very close to what he did in the first third of his book. He imagined what happened to them, and I imagined what happened to them slightly differently. I spoke to him and I said, (because in the book we deviate dramatically—in the book the father dies in a very grizzly way), "I'm wondering what would happen if the father lives after he's injured," And he said, "You should follow that thought, because this version is just my version. If it's not completely making sense in your head, you should at least run the story like that once, do a draft where he lives and see what happens." And I did that. Anne and I thought it was a very strong way to look at their decision to part. It wasn't because he died. They have to make that decision.

I love that you took that direction. The greatest sign of love to me is being brave enough to allow your loved one their freedom.

It’s very hard, yes. It’s like taking a bullet sometimes.

And Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, in the role of that young person craving her own path, is phenomenal. There's something really raw and unadulterated about her. How did you find her?

Thom is from New Zealand, born and raised there. And she taped her own audition and sent it to the casting directors we were working with. Initially I said, "It's out of the question, she's from New Zealand. It's a low budget film, we can't even bring her here." But the more we kept casting, the more her audition stuck. I kept going back to it. We met and we said, "Can we call her at least?" So we had several Skype calls, and I loved what she had to say about the book and the screenplay. She had a lot of rich thoughts. And she seemed like she hadn't been in the fray of New York and LA yet. And so she did seem un-jaded; not very urban. She's filming two things now. So she is already [busy]; her schedule is booking up really quickly. 

Did you have Ben Foster in mind as the father, as you were writing it? He has a certain presence and look; really quiet, but with a lot brewing underneath. 

I left that really open. I was really concentrating on the information I was getting from inspirational sources to kind of understand that character. As we started to get serious about someone who could fill those shoes, I was very impressed with what Ben had done; specifically related to sensitive research and portrayals of veterans, of people who had been involved in combat. And I liked his work very much in Oren Moverman's film, “The Messenger.” I felt that Ben would bring a complexity. But then I thought this is also a really fresh, new kind of role for him. So the discussions were very positive with him. I realized that he had a great interest in the material, in non-conforming lifestyles. He was interested in what it would be like to opt-out a little bit from the digital era.

I can definitely see that about him.

Yeah. Ben was about to be a father, his first. And so I think he was very open to Thom leading the way on that part. They had a lot of tasks to do, which was really helpful. They had to really pass each other, do things with each other, like make fire work. She really had to get those things prepared, feather the sticks. And their food and their sustenance really rely on them being a team. So they did this very immersive rehearsal together for two days, with a primitive skills instructor.

And they both really admired her. She was extremely excellent at what she does. And they got their first knives and learned how to use them really well. The skills teacher taught them about five or six things she carefully selected that they could do in a shorter time, and then perform on screen. And I think that brought them together in a really great way. They critiqued each other and they were very aware of how they were doing.

There are moments between them that anchor their relationship in believable and relatable truths. One happens early on in the movie—she finds this little charm or piece of jewelry and he says, "Okay, if it’s still here when we get back, you can take it. That’s fair."

That incident, or that little moment, was described in the book. But I did really like it because I thought it was very true to a teen person who would know that park very well. And I did like that in Peter's book, the father definitely has systems and wants to make a systematic way of living. He wants to have rules, he wants to have ethics, and he wants to feel that he is doing right by his daughter. It's maybe an old-school way of teen parenting. But of course, she's not a saint, she has mischief is in her. And I wanted to be able to show that. In that moment, it gave us the opportunity to be able to show all those things.

My other favorite scene is the one with the bees and beehive handler. Being that intimate with something that can but doesn’t want to harm you felt very in synch with the themes of the film, both poetically and philosophically.

The beekeeper is a very passionate beekeeper. There are many of them. That's another thing that is like, the devotional dancers, or like people that run these agricultural clubs. Beekeeping is one of these things that you find in every state, every place. And this was the Pacific North-west version—there is something very spiritual about it. In real life, she was playing herself. And when we were rehearsing, she said to me that she thought Thom could handle the bees. She thought, many people can't. You have to be very calm to hold them because they need to feel safe; they can't feel like you're going to crush them. The only time they would ever sting, as she says, is when they feel that you're going to kill them. So they sting in self-defense.

So I said, "Thom, how do you feel?" And she said, "I want to do it." And then I said, "Well, I've got to call your parents. Because there are a lot of insurance issues, the production can't let you do it.” It would have to be something that you want to do and that your parents consent to. And she really liked Susan, the beekeeper. She went a couple of times to Susan's own home, where she keeps her own hives. And they practiced and they looked at it and Susan explained to her how to proceed. So it wasn’t any kind of complicated stunt.

In a lot of ways, “Leave No Trace” is a pretty political film, maybe quietly so. You deal with issues around veterans, the hardships or everyday Americans, the living-off-the-grid and from-the-land attitude, and so on. 

Most stories will actually have some kind of political resonance. And then even if we don't plan on it, we'll bring that to [the table], right? We'll bring assumptions about someone's race or their ethnicity on screen. I like to create stories where I'm not foreclosing the option to consider in an open-minded way. One of my jobs as a storyteller, in the way that I self-describe my job, is to engender some kind of consideration or empathy; to ask some questions that at least make you motivated to want to understand another person. Something about what they've lived through, what they think about. 

So I was trying to make sure that we're surrounding [Will] with a few questions from a brochure, from a psychiatric test [about PTSD]. Things that made us wonder about him, and of course by extension, what might have happened to him; what might befall him. And similarly for his daughter, when the social workers are asking her certain things, it gives us a chance to ask not just what we would want for the characters. It's an interesting, complex process.

There is now an improved sense of support in the industry for female driven stories and female filmmakers. I'm wondering if, when you compare your experience as a director since “Winter's Bone” to today, you feel a sense of renewed hope that things might get easier for women.

Oh, I do. I do feel very optimistic. I think that we're now seeing the statistical [evidences]. In the ‘90s when many film schools decided to have parity, the film class would have 50% women, 50% men. Now a couple of decades later, we've started to see that that made a difference. The amount of women that are permitted to be in the academic setting, or the training program, then are going to come out and start performing their art, or executing their skills. You know you plant the tree, and many years later, the tree is standing and up there and ready to be in the forest.

So I think that that alone is one element. And the other: all the cultural shifts that have to happen. Culture just gets so stale. “Time's Up” is a really great phrase. To vote we had to say, "Time's up". People of color have to say, "Time's up" [to] this country’s hideous legacy. Time's up on a lot of practices that perpetuate these legacies. What I hope you hold the torch for just as a journalist and as a writer and thinker (I want to just give you this really positive feedback); I think you're on to something that I've not really heard any other journalist be able to pinpoint: what's the pie and the stakes? How many stakes do we acknowledge as worthy?

So we [need to] have a space and culture that can take [existential stakes] that are not committed through violence. Like we said, someone can be at risk for many different reasons. So I think until our appetite for stakes broadens back out again, we're going to have a problem. There are women who make [genre] films, but statistically they are I think in the minority. Stakes of a lot of other women [is what] I'm interested in. And those are hopefully being highlighted and becoming more relevant and more front and center in today's society, where the conversation seems to be shifting. It's not just about gender. It's about our appetite for what we consider worthy to care about.

To read Susan Wloszczyna's interview with Ben Foster about "Leave No Trace," click here 

from All Content https://ift.tt/2yRIpVM

[sharionpage]

More Mariology from Michelle Mormon

On a Personal Note: I am currently taking a fascinating course in Mariology through my PhD studies. This was a recent paper I wrote that you may find to be of interest. I hope you find this helpful in your own search for Heavenly Mother. – Sincerely, Michelle Mormon (not Molly!)

Introduction

Comparative Mariology seeks to find common ground across religious traditions concerning Marian teachings regarding her role and personhood. However, the speculative nature of Mariology can lead into some uncharted territory that extends beyond traditional viewpoints, including esoteric studies and goddess-based spirituality. If one is not careful, the very foundations of Christianity can be called into question. Nevertheless, since Mariology is speculative, by its very definition, there are no clearly-defined rules outside the framework of traditional Catholic dogma, which leaves Marian studies open to interpretation. The goal of this paper is to examine the differing perspectives that lie beyond the framework of traditional thought, from interreligious, to the cosmic dimensions, to alternative viewpoints, in hopes of finding some common ground that remains true to a ‘biblical’ worldview. However, this is not a task for the faint of heart, because in doing so, deeply held convictions will be called into question in new ways previously unconsidered. Keeping an open mind remains the key to constructing a meaningful Mariology, regardless of one’s theological framework of interpretation.

Comparative Mariology

Comparative religion as an academic discipline can prove both challenging and rewarding. Finding common ground among differing religious traditions with the goal of seeking understanding of the ‘other’ can be rewarding, in that it gives way to a meaningful exchange of information among differing parties. At the same time, it can be challenging to find common ground among varying traditions where very little, if any, similarities exist. Clooney points out, “By such learning, intelligently evaluated and extended, we make deeper sense of ourselves intellectually and spirituality, in light of what we find in the world around us” (Comparative Theology 2010, 5). The goal of interreligious dialogue is not necessarily to convince the other of the ‘correctness’ of either side; rather it is to see what each side has to bring to the table. The end result is not to judge or condemn; rather it is to learn from one another, seek common ground, and most importantly, acknowledge one’s shared history. Comparative religion seeks, first and foremost, to celebrate differences while seeking understanding of the other perspective across cultural and ideological barriers.

In the case of Mariology, it is not all that difficult to find common ground among the various historical religions, as long as one turns to goddess spirituality- the Sacred Feminine, which ties in with the ancient Wisdom traditions, by whichever name it is known – Chokmah, Sophia, or the Shekinah Presence. Sacred Wisdom looks beyond the outward form of the religion to the inward state of the heart. Concerning Mary herself, Luke 2:51 makes it clear that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart” (NRSV), which suggests a quiet, contemplative spirituality characteristic of feminine ancient wisdom. While Wisdom teachings belong to the established tradition, at the same time, they often transcend – and confound – the hierarchy of formalized religion. The Shekinah Presence is a good example of this, as it was “considered feminine in esoteric (not exoteric) Judaism” (Barkhurst n.d., 19- parentheses belong to author.) This is why the Sacred Wisdom traditions are often misunderstood, and must, in many ways, remain hidden or kept underground. Certainly when one begins to examine Marian doctrines, the same principles apply; this makes it easier to examine the role of Mary outside the established perimeters of her familiar Judeo-Christian context.

Swiss author Frithjof Schuon was raised in a Christian household, and while he was, in essence, “an adamant defender of the Divinity of Christ and the other essential truths of this tradition” (Cutsinger 2000, 15), he was not afraid to delve into the deeper mysteries surrounding the Virgin Mary as found outside the boundaries of Christian thinking, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. His thinking was considered forward-thinking for its time, although it would become part of the Perennialist philosophical school, which seeks to find unity among thinkers of all major world religions, including the philosophy of Plato and the ancients. For Schuon, Mary is regarded as having the status of an Abrahamic Prophetess (in reference to Islam) characterized by her incredible “strength of soul which evokes such Biblical figures as Miriam and Deborah” (“Wisdom of the Virgin” 1968, 1). Simultaneously, Mary is the Eastern (Buddhist/Hindu) concept of Maya personified, as “she personifies the receptive or passive perfections of universal Substance, but she likewise incarnates – by virtue of the formless and occult nature of Divine Prakriti – the ineffable essence of wisdom or spirituality” (Schuon 1968, 3). Schuon is very careful to distinguish between the submissive nature of Mary, as would be consistent with Islamic thought; juxtaposed against his lofty thoughts concerning her cosmic significance “by her supereminence in the whole Abrahamic cosmos” (Schuon 1968, 5). In my observation, to say that Schuon performs a delicate dialectic balancing act would be an understatement, but he does so rather astutely for someone of a Western mindset, even though he does verge outside ‘traditional’ thinking in all respects. One does not have to agree with Schuon, necessarily, to appreciate his ability to make relevant connections.

By contrast, John R. Dupuche of the Australian Catholic University’s Centre for Interreligious Dialogue seeks to draw connections between the Virgin Mary and the frightening Hindu goddess Kali, consort of Shiva, lord of death and transformation. In my opinion, Dupuche’s efforts are significantly far-reaching, although he makes an honest attempt. Basing his argument on the famous scene in which Kali is depicted with her foot perched on top of Shiva’s corpse, tongue protruding outwards; Dupuche poses the following questions, “In what way does Mary bring to an end that which is limited and ineffectual? In what way is she fearsome? How does she liberate humanity?” (“The Goddess Kali” 2012, 45).  As one reads on, a further connection is made between the bloodthirsty Kali and the wine of the New Covenant, as represented by Mary at the wedding in Cana, and later at the foot of the cross; as Mary is depicted as “requesting the blood of sacrifice which purifies better than water, the true marriage between God and his people, the blood which Jesus will urge his hearers to drink” (Dupuche 2012, 53). This connection, however, is far-reaching, considering Mary is never depicted in such a manner in the biblical tradition; rather Mary’s triumph is found in her profound humility of spirit, of which Schuon referenced in his own writings.

Cosmic Mariology

For Cardinal John Henry Newman, the humility of Mary results in her celestial exaltation as the mysterious Lady of Revelation 12:1 is revealed; although it could be argued that “such an interpretation is poorly supported in the Fathers” (Murphy n.d., 565).  Even though other Patristic writers had alluded to the possibility that Mary might be associated with this woman, it was never clearly stated until the sixth century by Oecumenius, who was not even himself considered a Church Father (Svendsen 2001, 205). While Newman does not ignore the connection between the woman and the Church as a whole – and even Mary as the chief representative of Her flock – he concludes the following concerning the straight-forward meaning of this passage as he interprets it; “No one doubts that the ‘man-child’ spoken of is an allusion to our Lord: why then is not ‘the Woman’ an allusion to his mother?” (Breen, ed. 1982, 18). The cosmic significance of this interpretation cannot be overlooked, as Revelation 12 depicts Mary as the Second Eve, overcoming the serpent and reversing the curse of sin on humanity, a theme that is more readily supported by the Church Fathers, namely Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho 100) and Irenaeus (Against Heresies III; 22:4); thus echoing back to Genesis 3:15. In this sense, Mary is the conqueror of evil; for she does indeed crush the serpent’s head.

This passage does lend itself to other levels of interpretation standing outside of traditional views. Within the modern-day revival of goddess spirituality, there exists a strand of thinking linking Mary with the lost Temple traditions of ancient Israel – “the older religion of Jerusalem and Judah” (Barker 2001, 1) – prior to the reforms of King Josiah, whereby any reference to the ancient goddess Asherah was destroyed, along with her associated Temple relics, including “the item named the Asherah, the host of heaven, the horses for the sun, the menorah, the oil, the manna, the high priest’s staff that bore almond blossoms, the ark, the fire, and the Spirit” (Barker 2001, 2). It should be noted that Asherah was popularly associated with the Tree of Life, as represented in the menorah, or seven-branched lampstand, in addition to the various blossom imagery represented in this list. The prophet Jeremiah expressed strong views against the women of his day baking “cakes for the queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18 NRSV), which he considered an abomination. The host of heaven would necessarily include the Mother Goddess within this context, as “the Deuteronomic and Josiahan reforms resulted in the rejection of the council of gods idea and the expulsion of the divine family in favor of the One God” (Petersen 2013, 101). Within the Temple Theology perspective, the hidden goddess reappears in Revelation 12:1. She is fully restored to her rightful place, along with the Ark of the Covenant mentioned in the previous chapter (Revelation 11:19), also an ancient symbol traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary, as “the sign in heaven in Revelation 12 is the Queen of Heaven in the holy of holies with the ark” (Barker 2001, 3). Here Mary is the celestial Mother personified; she is the ‘sign in the heavens,’ heralding the revival of the Hebrew Goddess.

One of the central issues at stake in this interpretation is the question of polytheism, as opposed to the one god of traditional monotheistic Judaism. However, as Michael S. Heiser, author and Ancient Near Eastern Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife observes, a true ‘biblical’ worldview takes into account the heavenly council which was there with God before the creation of the world: “Right from the start, then, God has company – other divine beings, the sons of God” (The Unseen Realm 2015, 24). Included in this divine entourage is Wisdom herself, and according to chapter eight of Proverbs, “she was beside the Creator as he established the heavens and marked out the foundations of the earth” (Barker 2001, 3). Mormons will be familiar with this way of thinking due to their unapologetic non-Trinitarian stance, as contrasted with other Christian denominations, as Zina Petersen notes, “Joseph Smith suggested a return (restoration) to a family model with a physicalized and thus sexualized model of God. God as a Father along with a Mother” (Interpreter 2013, 103- parentheses belong to author). Although considerable debate may follow concerning the oneness of God from within this theological construct, biblically speaking, within marriage, husband and wife “become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 NRSV). From my perspective, if humans are created in the image of God – male and female—then why could God not have a wife? The Mormon view is not outside of the realm of ‘biblical’ Christianity, but may indeed have something powerful to offer to the wider discussion.

Speculative Mariology

Published in 2003, the novel DaVinci Code became an overnight sensation, and was later followed up by the movie by the same name, released just three years later in 2006. The central claim of the book was the main character, Sophie Neveu, was a modern-day descendent of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene through the French Merovingian line; moreover introducing another Mary into the equation – this time, not Jesus’ mother, but his wife. The DaVinci Code, influenced by Holy Blood, Holy Grail (1982), sparked a revival of these forgotten, yet shocking claims as revealed by a collection of controversial documents found at Rennes-le-Chateau containing the hidden lineage of Jesus linked through the Merovingian line to present day. Now, all of a sudden, the Virgin Mary had a rival ‘goddess’ figure whose ‘true’ identity had been protected by secret societies, in this case the Priory of Sion, which many believe is a hoax.

Although the majority of her books were published prior to the release of the DaVinci Code, Catholic author Margaret Starbird has contributed immensely to the popularization of a belief in the sacred marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. In 1993, Starbird published The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, which also became an overnight success, and was even referenced in the DaVinci Code, as the book cover itself now attests. Referencing the French word sangraal, which she translates to ‘royal blood,’ Starbird poses the question of how Mary Magdalene could bring royal blood to France, and then goes on to explain that Mary Magdalene brought her daughter Sarah with her to the coast of France on an oarless boat following the crucifixion.   Starbird herself admits, “I know of no way to prove beyond a doubt that the ‘other Mary’ was the wife of Jesus or that she bore a child of his bloodline” (Woman with the Alabaster Jar 1993, 27). Surprisingly, authors Lynn Pincknett and Clive Prince, who belong to this string of celebrated DaVinci Code ‘scholars,’ suggest the Priory connection is not to be trusted: “the whole Merovingian business was made up anyway; the real point of the hidden message is that it mentions the key concepts of Dagobert II, Sion, and treasure, all consistent with the Dossier Secrets’ version of history” (The Sion Revelation 2006, 243). The evidence is speculative at best.  

To add to DaVinci Code sensationalism, Kathleen McGowan, a self-proclaimed descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, published the first of a series of novels, wherein which she reflected on her own spiritual journey through the fictional character of Maureen Pascal (The Expected One 2005). As would be expected, Pascal discovers she is a living descendent of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and from there, struggles to make sense of her new role, as she must proclaim this previously hidden truth to the world. In an interview with USA Today, McGowan herself admitted the following concerning the book that she allegedly began writing back in 1989, “Everyone is going to think I’m on the DaVinci Code bandwagon, but I’m not” (Memmott 2006). As I have observed over time, McGowan’s current views no longer resemble the Christian basis she once claimed to represent, as she has delved into astrology and other esoteric/Gnostic teachings. Equally revealing, the aforementioned interview with USA Today (Memmott 2006) admitted McGowan’s publisher was careful to tiptoe around the issue of McGowan’s alleged ‘biblical’ ancestry. I find McGowan’s personal journey – as she tells it – interesting, but she does not claim to be a scholar; only a fiction writer.

Eastern Orthodox tradition does suggest several of the women connected with Jesus’ ministry traveled to Southern France, but Mary Magdalene is not one of them. Fearing for Lazarus’ life, Lazarus was placed on an oarless boat along with his sisters Mary and Martha and a certain Maximinus. Their boat landed on the coast of France, according to one account, and Cyprus according to another version of the story. Confusion has resulted from the conflation of the two characters – Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene – in the West (Kern 2016, 647-648). Further confusion remains, as part of the tradition suggests that Mary Magdalene traveled to Rome first in order to plead for Jesus’ innocence, while Lazarus became the Bishop of Cyprus, as connected with the later travels of the Virgin Mary, according to legend (Kern 2016, 647; 660-661). From my observation, it is possible that if Mary Magdalene traveled all the way to Rome, the legends of her being set adrift at sea as a refugee are a strong possibility; the fact that she would travel that far in order to plead for Jesus’ innocence suggests a deep love for him; perhaps even the devotion of a grieving widow seeking to avenge her husband’s wrongful death.

The bold assertion that there would be living descendants of Jesus Christ walking the earth today poses problems for traditional Christians who believe very strongly in the Chaledonian formula of 451 CE, wherein Jesus was declared fully human and fully divine. This declaration followed the Council of Ephesus in 431CE, wherein the Virgin Mary was declared Theotokos, or the Mother of God, a declaration that said more about Christ than it did about Mary. Regarding the formal declarations of these, and other councils, the claim has been made that Constantine’s motivations in calling the first ecumenical Council of Nicaea (323 CE) were entirely politically motivated, as Brown and company operate with the understanding that “Constantine used his influence to create and enforce a Christian orthodoxy that denied the goddess principle, deified Jesus, and sought to expunge all record of the marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene” (Bauder 2006, 2). Just like with Josiah’s reforms, any hopes of reviving the sacred feminine elements present within her story would be forgotten or shoved underground; worse than that, Mary Magdalene’s reputation would become smeared and reduced to that of a prostitute.

While this is indeed unfortunate, once again Mormons –who are not confined to the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils – have a unique perspective to offer on this issue, as “many Mormons also believe that Jesus was married. After all, they believe marriage is essential in heaven and even God has a wife, Heavenly Mother” (Stack 2006). This same article from the Salt Lake Tribune (Stack 2006) goes on to suggest that Mormons believed in the claims of the DaVinci Code nearly a century before the DaVinci Code ever became a reality. Nevertheless, an official declaration concerning the marital status of Christ has never been embraced either way by the First Presidency. Mormons would concur with DaVinci Code enthusiasts that the Council of Nicaea marked the beginning of the Great Apostasy, along with the changing of the calendar and baptism rules (Stack 2006). The Mormons were ahead of their time in terms of asking critical questions concerning the validity of the ecumenical councils and their decrees, in addition to the marital status of Jesus.

My own thoughts on this matter derive not from my personal beliefs as a Latter-day Saint, but from the perspective of an alumnus of the Ecumenical Institute Bossey in Switzerland (2004-2005), the official ecumenical school of the World Council of Churches. Something I noticed upon my studies there that also struck my classmates as odd, was the Oikoumene symbol for the World Council of Churches, which is, essentially, a boat without oars (see WCC website). I can recall somebody from our class asking our professor what that symbol meant, and our professor admitted that he really did not know for sure, but there were a number of possible interpretations –  none of which included the aforementioned legends of either Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany. At the time, I had not read the DaVinci Code; nor was I familiar with the said legends. However, after seeing the film many years later, I recalled the symbol on my diploma and made the connection. This, along with my own personal experiences with the Sacred Feminine, left me wondering if it could all indeed be true.

Conclusion

The goal of this study has been to move beyond the confines of traditional Mariology to a comparative model. This leads one into deeper speculation concerning a field that is already speculative in nature. This can make the task of uncovering the truth even more difficult to navigate. If the goal is to remain within a ‘biblical’ framework of thought, the question remains how exactly that worldview is to be defined. As one delves deeper into the Marian mysteries, one will find a plethora of opinions that call deeply held convictions into question. In my own journey, I have discovered that all is not as it seems. A careful examination of ‘traditional’ Marian dogmas and doctrines only leads to more questions than answers, as tradition alone is insuffient for answering questions of the heart. Such is the nature of Mariology; some mysteries are better left open to interpretation, but the beauty of comparative methodology is that it allows for exploration beyond that which can be concretely known through traditional means.

Works Cited – Bibliography

Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh, & Henry Lincoln. Holy Blood, Holy Grail: The Secred History of Christ and the Shocking Legacy of the Grail. New York: Bantam Dell, 1982.

Barker, Margaret. “Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (Job 28:12)” 2001.

Barkhurst, Ann. “The Shekinah Glory and the Divine Feminine.” Rays 99: 18-22; n.d.

Bauder, Kevin T. The DaVinci Code: Part Two “The Gospel of the Goddess.” In the Nick of Time. Minneapolis, MN: Central Baptist Theological Seminary, March 17, 2006: pp. 1-3.

Brown, Dan. The DaVinci Code. New York: Doubleday, 2003.

Clooney, Francis X. “Comparative Theology: Deep Learning Across Religious Borders.” Religious Diversity: A Comparative Theological Perspective Reading. Packet 1. pp. 1-23/Chapter One (Spring 2004): Boston College: Accessed 12/14/17:  http://ift.tt/2Ccc2S1

Cutsinger, James S. “Colorless Light and Pure Air: The Virgin in the Thought of Frithof Schuon.” Sophia: The Journal of Traditional Studies 6:2 (Winter 2000): PDF.

Dupuche, John R. “The Goddess Kali and the Virgin Mary.” Austrailian eJournal of Theology 19.1 (April 2012): 43-57.

Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.

Irenaeus. Against Heresies III. (Chapter 22). Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson, & Cleveland Coxe, eds.  Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I.  trans. Alexander Roberts & William Rambault. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885: New Advent. Kevin Knight, webmaster : http://ift.tt/2BJLmVo  Accessed 12/16/17.

Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho (Chapters 89-108). Roberts, Alexander, James Donaldson, & Cleveland Coxe, eds.  Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume I.  trans. Marcus Dods & George Reith. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885: New Advent. Kevin Knight, webmaster : http://ift.tt/2CbMPHl  Accessed 10/14/17.

Kern, Mark. “Mary: A Model of Humility” in The Falling Asleep of Mary: The Role of Mary in the Early Church. The Dormition: August 15, 2016. PDF

McGowan, Kathleen. The Expected One. New York: Touchstone, 2006.

Memmott, Carol. “Is This Woman the Living Code?” USA Today. 7/18/2006: http://ift.tt/2BIfY9K  Accessed 12/16/17.

Murphy, Roland E. “An Allusion to Mary in the Apocalypse” pp. 565-573: http://ift.tt/2C8O4av  Accessed 12/14/17; n.d.

Newman, John Henry. Mary: The Second Eve. Eileen Breen, ed. Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1982.

Petersen, Zina. “Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 7 (2013): 97-112.

Pinknett, Lynn & Clive Prince. The Sion Revelation: the Truth about the Guardians of Christ’s Sacred Bloodline. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.

Schuon, Frifthjof. “The Wisdom of the Virgin.” Studies in Comparative Religion, Volume 2, No. 3 (Summer 1968) World Wisdom, Inc. Accessed 12/13/17:  http://ift.tt/2BIg0hS

Stack, Peggy Fletcher. “DaVinci Code Premise Not So Shocking to LDS” Salt Lake Tribune.  May 20, 2006: Religion News Blog. http://ift.tt/2Ce9seq  Accessed 12/18/17.

Starbird, Margaret. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar. Rochester, VT: Bear and Company, 1993.

Svendsen, E. Who is My Mother? The Role and Status of the Mother of Jesus in the New Testament and Roman Catholicism. United Kingdom: Potchefstroomse Universiteit Vir Christelike Hoer Onderwys/Greenwich School of Theology, 2001. PhD Thesis.

World Council of Churches. http://ift.tt/2nZKEfN  Accessed 12/18/17.

  More Mariology from Michelle Mormon published first on http://ift.tt/2wQcX5G

[benunx088467-blog]

The Creative Refine.

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[brucestambaughsblog]

Atop Bearfence Mountain.

By Bruce Stambaugh

We got the last space in the parking lot. My 11-year-old grandson and I were beginning a hike in nearby Shenandoah National Park.

We had trudged this trail with his entire family a couple of years ago. This time the two of us would do the trek on our own terms and in our own time. Clearly, though, we wouldn’t be alone. The warm sunshine and cool temperatures drew many others to hike in the perfect weather.

I carried snacks and water in my multi-pocketed vest I mostly used for birding and photography. I packed extra batteries for my camera given my history of digitally documenting every step of the way. Davis carried the binoculars.

Our ascent began as soon as we crossed the roadway. Soon we joined the Appalachian Trail that winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains. A stone marker with a metal band identified where our loop trail and the main trail split.

We indeed encountered other hikers, some early birds who were on their way down, and others like ourselves who were ready for the rocky trail ahead. As we climbed, we always had to watch our step. The trail consisted of dirt, stones, terraced steps formed by exposed tree roots, and huge rocks.

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Ascending the summit of Bearfence Mountain is more of a rock scramble than it is a climb. For an 11-year-old, it was child’s play. For a creaky-boned, gimpy-kneed grandfather, it felt like survival.

I struggled to pull myself up the jagged boulders that served as the ridge-top trail. Undulating, rocky outcroppings intermittently protruded above the surrounding forest of oaks, maples, sassafras, wild cherry, and dogwoods.

Davis, on the other hand, bounded catlike up, down, and around the biggest boulders. Rectangular dabs of baby blue paint clearly pointed the way over the exposed bedrock and through narrow crevasses and the many trees. When I dallied, either to catch my breath or to take a photograph, Davis retreated to make sure I was keeping up.

During an easier section of the trail, Davis surprised me with a hiking theory he had developed. He said a team of hikers required five different people.

“You need a photographer,” he said, “who is last in the group because he or she is always taking pictures to document the trip.” I appreciated both his astute observation and his subtle hint at picking up the pace.

Silvery Checkerspot.

Common Sootywing.

From a rock.

Taking a break.

Red Admiral sunning.

Lichens.

Living art.

A hiking team also needed an explorer to guide the group and who usually took the lead, he continued. I think he had found his calling. The other skilled positions included a writer to record and report about the trip once it is completed, a carrier to tote the equipment, and a collector who gathers samples to research after the expedition.

I thought his comments both profound and practical. However, I quizzed him about the obvious. Weren’t the two of us already doing all of those tasks?

“Oh, yes,” he said. “I guess you’re right. But it’s still easier if you have five.”

As we enjoyed the expansive views of the Shenandoah Valley to the west and ate our snacks, other hikers joined us. Butterflies danced in the forest openings and sunbathed on lichen-covered rocks bordered by wildflowers and bright berries. Davis, of course, kept practicing his hiking team concept by being the explorer. He disappeared and reappeared at will.

I didn’t need to ask my grandson what he thought of the day. Davis’ enthusiasm spoke more ardently than any words could. He had enjoyed the outing as much as his pooped Poppy.

The explorer and the photographer.

© Bruce Stambaugh 2017

Lessons learned from an 11-year-old By Bruce Stambaugh We got the last space in the parking lot. My 11-year-old grandson and I were beginning a hike in nearby Shenandoah National Park.

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

This is a collection of articles on narrative, narrative atoms and story telling that I have put together as a new chapter for my potentially upcoming expansion to Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play

Narrative, story, and gamification

Whenever I speak to people in the circles within which I hang out, one of the things I keep hearing is story and narrative. “You have to tell your story”, “What is the narrative?”, what is the companies story”. To be honest, it drives me a little nuts, but that’s by the by. The fact is, these are important things to consider. One of the things that have got me thinking, is what is the difference between story and narrative?

Story seems to have quite a few definitions. According to the Oxford dictionary, it is:

an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment

a report of an item of news in a newspaper, magazine, or broadcast

an account of past events in someone’s life or in the development of something

the commercial prospects or circumstances of a particular company

Whilst narrative is defined as:

a spoken or written account of connected events; a story:

So really, story and narrative are pretty much the same things! For me, the most important definition from the above lists for gamification is number 3 “an account of past events in someone’s life or in the development of something”. The way I look at both is that the story contains a start, a middle and an end. A narrative is more real time, it describes events as they are happening from the perspective of the person they are happening to. If you consider a game, the narrative would be the way events unfold as you play. The story will include the backstory and the ongoing plot of the game. That being the case, the story would be the same for each player, whereas the narrative would potentially be unique to each one.

How does this relate to gamification? Well, on the one hand, you could consider that everyone has a story, they have a history and they have things happening to them right now. All of this goes influences who they are and who they may be in the future. In gamification, we are often looking at influencing or changing behaviour, knowing the story of each person can help inform us how best to engage with and motivate them.

You could look at it even more literally though and create a story and so a narrative for each user to engage with whilst they use your system. This could be especially useful during the onboarding or scaffolding phases. Take your users through a story, preferably one that changes based on the choices they make and how they wish to go through it. Give them what they need through completing parts of the story. Doing it this way, when done well, will have far more impact on them than giving them points for doing things. The sense of purpose that a story can give is very powerful – even if it is more a short story rather than an epic!

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a good story is worth a thousand instruction manuals.

Narrative Atoms

Now that we know a bit more about what narratives are, I want to dive deeper into building narratives and stories, starting with the concept of Narrative atoms.

Narrative atoms are small units of narrative or story that can, within the context of the overall narrative, stand alone. That does not mean they need to be completely self-explanatory, just sit comfortably on their own.

  Figure 1 Narrative Atoms

In a standard linear story, each atom would be placed sequentially, so their ability to stand alone is less important. However, in many games narrative bends and twists and turns in a non-linear way. For that to work, for a story to makes sense as it jumps from A to C to G to B and back again, each section, each narrative atom must be able to hold its own without the need every other atom to support it.

Take a scenario where a game has more than one option for what you can do after the first scene. You have a choice of going left or right.

After that, you have more choices and more, but all the while the narrative needs to keep making sense. More than that, it all needs to conclude and not leave the player wondering what the hell has happened!

Basic Narrative Structure

At their most basic, stories have just three parts. A start, a middle and an end. In traditional media that is straightforward. There are many ideas out there on how to write stories, Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey / Monomyth 1 gets a lot of attention. I also rather like Kurt Vonnegut concept of Story Shapes 2.

For my purposes when designing simple stories in gamification scenarios I use two simple (and I do mean simple) variations of what I call the Soap Hero’s Journey.

The simplest version has four phases. The Calling, The Challenge, The Transformation and The Resolution. The second version adds The Twist after The Transformation. I’ll go into more detail later, but suffice to say these are not much different from the simple concept of a story having a start a middle and an end!

Bonding Narrative Atoms

Back to narrative atoms. Each atom should have a start a middle and an end in its own right. This is how they are able to stand on their own if needed. As I say, in a linear story this is less important, however, if you are creating a branching narrative it is essential.

The first thing you need to know in a non-linear narrative is obvious, how it will begin. This sounds simple, but you could have multiple starting points for your game’s character or characters. After that, you will certainly have many parts to the middle, some the player will see and some the player might not on the first play through. Finally, there may well be multiple places for the story to end.

As the player will be able to navigate through the story in multiple ways, you have to know how each branch fits together and how each choice the player makes can affect the outcome of their story.

This is where considering narrative atoms can help. If each atom has its own start, middle and end it is easier to jump in and out of them at will. As you knit the story together, you can pass events from each atom onto the next one, ensuring that character and plot progression or alteration is kept consistent, without having to create vast quantities of alternative narrative to account for every choice.

An Example of Simple Narrative Atoms

Start

You are in the woods. Ahead of you, there is a fork in the road. You can go left or right. What do you want to do?

Go Left

At the fork in the forest, you take the left turn. Ahead of you is a giant monster. It reminds you of ones you used to read about as a child. This is what you had prepared for and you know what you must do. As the beast charges at you, you remember that there is a weak spot on its back, just between its shoulders. All you have to do is get your sword in there.

You win

The fight with the monster will go down in history and the scar that it has left on your cheek will only add to the legend. You are able to get behind the beast, finding higher ground to attack the weak spot between its shoulders. Once you are sure it was dead, you take its giant teeth as a trophy and continue on the path towards home.

You lose

The fight with the monster will go down in history, but sadly you will be but a footnote. You are able to get behind the beast, finding higher ground to attack the weak spot between its shoulders, you lunch just a moment too late and are caught by the beast. The last thing you hear is the snap of your neck.

Go Right

At the fork in the forest, you take the right turn. The sun is shining and the birds are singing in the trees. As you walk, you pick flowers from the path and collect them in your bag. After several hours of blissful and uneventful travel, you reach home.

Home

After your journey, you are elated to be home. Your family is waiting to see you, your children eager to see what you have bought them from your travels.

If you fought the beast

The fight with the monster has taken its toll and your wife is concerned about your cheek, but before she can speak about it, you produce the monster’s teeth from your bag and proudly hand them to the children.

If you didn’t fight the beast

You turn to your wife and offer her the flowers from your bag, now tied into a beautiful bouquet. For the children, you sit them down to tell them a wonderful story of a hero who must fight a monster in the forest.

With your children happy and your wife just pleased to have you home, you settle in by the fire and sleep peacefully.

Figure 2 Boy Meets Monster, Boy Kills Monster

Each section of the story can stand up on its own, given the context. Each atom explains itself and resolves itself whilst being able to bond with the next part. Of course, this is very simple and most non-linear narratives will require each atom to have multiple bonding points, where the story can link to other atoms whilst still making sense, passing on critical information to change key parts of the next atom.

Figure 3 Boy Meets Monster, Boy Kills Monster Again

For instance, in our little story, if you fight the monster, you could choose to allow the player to then turn back and take the path where they pick flowers. This would add an extra bond to the monster fight, and also allow the player to experience both parts of the potential endings – giving the wife flowers and the children the teeth.

The key is to make sure that each atom can be as self-sufficient in the narrative as possible and that you only have to pass essential information to the next atom to make the story continue to be coherent.

Her Story, Gone Home and Narrative Atoms

Her Story is the fabulous creation of Sam Barlow. You take the role of investigator, reviewing a police archive of video footage of a British woman accused of murder. You can access the footage in any order you like, gleaning more clues and information with every video you watch. Sometimes the videos will not make sense until you find the video that came before it, others give you all you need in just a few seconds of footage. The joy is discovering how the story fits together, jumping back and forward through the timeline. New snippets of information give you new ideas on what to search in the archive, leading to many "Ahahaa" moments.

The second is a well-loved game, Gone Home from The Fullbright Company which it is a brilliant lesson in narrative design. Similar to Her Story, Gone Home tells the story in small atoms - fragments of what happened in the house you are exploring. Each scrap of paper, audio recording or newspaper clipping adds something to the story.

Both of these experiences, whilst seemingly disjointed, eventually build up a deep and fascinating narrative. Each atom may not seem to be relevant but may combine with another atom to unlock a key plot element or answer to a puzzle. In each case, you do not necessarily have to see everything to complete the game, but to fully understand everything it does help! You also don't have to see everything in chronological order, but it can help ;)

The lesson is that using narrative atoms can help you create incredibly deep narrative experiences that don't have to follow any particular path, giving people that opportunity to discover the whole picture in their own unique way!

Gamification: Meaningful Choice

Heavy Rain. That was the name of the game that first made me understand that meaningful choices could take a game to new levels of immersiveness.

If you have never heard of it, Heavy Rain was a PS3 exclusive in 2010 from game makers Quantic Dream. You played the roles of several people through a convoluted mystery. There was the father who had lost his son, the private eye, the reporter and the FBI agent all linked to the mysterious Origami Killer. As the story unfolds, you have to decide how each character acts, how they handle conversations and what choices they make.

This was the key. The choices all had consequences. Make the wrong one, and a character could die. Your choices dictate what parts of the story you saw and how it ended. Every decision was critical to how your game played out. In fact, in an interview, David Cage the director of the game said that he wanted people to only ever play the game once. That way their experience would be unique. When they discussed it with others, they would then find out there were whole sections of the game that they had never seen – so each person’s playthrough would be theirs.

More recently games like Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us from TellTale Games have taken this approach to choices within their games. Each choice you make feels like there is weight behind it, they feel like they have consequences.

My experience is that people like to feel their choices have a meaning, they also like to feel that they have choices in the first place. When you look at my User Types or the RAMP framework, Autonomy is one of the key motivators – especially for the Free Spirit type. That does not mean they are the only ones who are motivated by some level of autonomy. If we feel that we have no freedom to move, to choose and be in control of our own destiny – we feel constrained and disengaged from the experience.

When creating your gamified or game based solution you should try to build meaningful choices in. The ideal is that choices change the outcomes of the experience, but even if they just feel as though they have meaning that can be enough.

If you have a game-like solution, allow users to choose their own way to play the game. Let them solve problems in multiple ways. In narratives, allow them to choose how to answer questions or where they go next in the narrative (that’s why I love choose your own adventure style narratives!). In pure gamification, allow users to choose what they do next. If it is a learning experience, let them make their own decisions about what they learn next.

If that level of freedom is not possible, then you should, at least, make it feel like there are choices and that they affect outcomes. The trick there is to make sure they can’t go back and repeat their actions – thus discovering their original choice did not affect the outcome after all. I have seen this in a lot of games. It feels like you are making decisions that change how the game will play, but then on replays, it turns out that the game would always funnel you down to the same conclusion no matter how you played!

Narrative Choice Architecture and Gamification

Combining the concepts of narrative atoms and meaningful choice, we begin to explore narrative choice architecture, where each choice makes a real difference or at least appears to. Here I discuss a few different approaches.

When you sit down with a book, you start at the start and then read every page until you get to the end (unless it is a choose your own adventure…). The only choice the reader gets is whether or not to start the book and read it all the way through.

Figure 4 Simple Architecture

Games allow you to do more than that for the player. Games allow you to give the player much higher levels of autonomy or agency. For a sandbox game, like Minecraft, this is quite simple – the player has total freedom as there is no actual end game. There are still choices to be made, but they are unpredictable. How big will my house be, do I dig for gold, do I make a roller coaster. Rather than designing a choice architecture, you really just give the player the tools to support them.

However, games with some form of narrative can be made much more interesting by allowing some level of agency beyond the simple “start at the start and end at the end” idea.

Fake Choice Architecture

One option that you see is to give players “fake” options or choices. They get the choice to turn left or right at a junction, but really both paths will eventually lead to the same ending. They may experience different things taking the left rather than the right, but the end goal is the same, as we discussed in our Boy Meets Monster example earlier.

Figure 5 Simple Fake Choice

This sort of architecture works well in games that are only designed to be played once or where the gameplay is more important than the narrative. An example that comes to mind is that of older first person shooters. You could choose where to go on some maps or what your path was, but you always ended up in the same place. However, the choice had weight and meaning as it altered the tactics you would use each time you ran through the level.

Figure 6 Complex Fake Choice

There is nothing wrong with this sort of architecture if you can make the choices feel that they are meaningful and have significance to the game. You can also get very complex, with multiple twists and turns before you come to the inevitable conclusion.

A game that makes good use of this would be Tell Tale’s Walking Dead. Every choice you make alters the way the game will play. Who will live, who will die, how people react to you. However, the conclusion is always just about the same. You may have fewer people left and there may be some strained relationships, but the end of the game is the same each time.

Real Choice Architecture

The alternative to the fake choice architecture real choice architecture. Here the player's actions have real significance to how the game will play. A simple example would be the player back at the junction. They can go left or right. Either choice in this architecture gives a totally different outcome for the player. The choice they make has real meaning to the rest of the game.

Figure 7 Simple Real Choice

The significance can be less obvious than that of course. If you think about RPG games and how you can interact with non-playable characters (NPCs). Very often the choices you make in your dialog will determine how the NPC will react to you not just in that conversation, but later in the game. A simple choice to be aggressive could turn a whole faction against you, altering the whole balance of the game.  Suddenly seemingly simple interaction become deeply meaningful to the game.

Figure 8 Complex Real Choice

The PS3 game, Heavy Rain, was a great example of this more complex choice architecture. There were many endings that could only be seen if you made specific sets of choices along the way.

Choice Architecture and Gamification

In gamification, it seems as though the choice architecture is pretty straightforward. You need users to perform certain tasks, for which there will be some sort of reward. However, it doesn’t need to be that simple. You can design the user journey so that they can make choices along the way. The outcome is likely going to need to be the same for each user, but if it is a gamified system, the likelihood is they will only experience it once anyway!  Add things in that are just for fun, but like a video game side mission, are totally optional.

Create simple narratives and stories that are affected by certain decisions, but make them have some effect on the outcome. I remember taking a “gamified” course. At the start, you chose your team and along the way you had the option to collect certain items. It seemed great, until the end – at which point it turned out that none of the choices you made had any influence on the outcome at all. All it had to do was unlock a simple message or change the last image, but no – nothing. I have no idea what the course was teaching, all I remember is the outrage I felt at being tricked into doing more than was absolutely essential because it felt like my choices may have some importance!

“Choices do not need to lead to alternative endings, just alternative experiences.”

The Soap Hero’s Journey

Now that we have an idea of how to construct the individual moments of the narrative, we need to have some idea of how it will all come together in a real story. I mentioned the simple narrative model I often use, the soap hero’s journey. I use this because it is easy to remember and is also the core of most short storytelling arcs – such as soap operas.

Figure 9 The Soap Hero’s Journey

The Call

The event that triggers the characters to start the journey

Plot

The Challenge

Conflicts, difficulties, tasks that the characters must overcome.

The Transformation

The change that happens to the characters as they learn to overcome the obstacles

The Twist (optional)

Often before the full resolution, there is a twist that forces the hero to practice their new skills or re-evaluate something they have learned during the transformation.

The Resolution

How all of the characters finally overcome or rationalise the challenges.

Uses all of their new knowledge.

This is nice and simple and works well with the concept of narrative atoms, keeping each atom of the story simple in its own right. This is how soaps like EastEnders do it, keeping each episode a short, self-contained story, whilst still having character progression and plot progression that can feed into the next episode. That way, those who have not seen the soap before can pick it up easily, whilst those that have been watching for years can enjoy at a deeper level.

Below is a silly example of an EastEnders plot put into the Soap Hero’s Journey.

The Call

Cat Moon has run away, but Alfie doesn’t know why.

He has to find her.

The Challenge

First, he has to find out where she has gone.

Then He has to find her

He has to find out why she left

Finally, he must bring her home

The Transformation

He finds out from her friend that she ran away to Spain because he was too controlling

Realizes he has to change how he feels about her past and grow up about it

The Twist

Gets to Spain and discovers it was all a lie, she was still in Walford!

The Resolution / Redemption

Finds Cat

Apologises to her and tells her he loves her

Convinces her he has changed

Brings her home and discovers she is pregnant

Duff Duffs...

As you can see from the ending there, this narrative atom can neatly bond onto the next episode!

Combining the concepts of Narrative Atoms and a simple story structure like the Soap Hero’s Journey, you can build strong narratives that can bend and twist to your heart's content. Just keep on top of character and plot development between atoms, and you will be fine!

References

Luomala, K. & Campbell, J. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. J. Am. Folk. 63, 121 (1950).

Comberg, D. Kurt Vonnegut on the Shapes of Stories. YouTube (2010). at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ>;

If you enjoyed this chapter, find out more about the full original book at

    Andrzej Marczewski

Gamified UK

www.gamified.uk

@daverage

[neptunesrubies]

So about that writing I mentioned...

I know I just said I might share my writing if I was comfortable but hey you guppies are good at the feedback right? So before I share a snippet of my baby I should probably give you summary so you aren’t completely lost: 

Penelope Warren is the first female vampire hunter in the London Counsel of Hunters. She’s out to prove that she belongs in the Counsel and is every bit as good as her male counter parts. When she’s given an assignment that puts her fang to face with the Prince of Vampires her will is shaken. She discovers a family secret that tips her world upside down before it fully spirals out of control when she is held captive by Prince and must put her strength to the test. 

So that’s all I can really do to sum up what I have so far without spoiling anything. Please provide feedback if you’re a fellow writer and also keep in mind it is currently unedited and might have some grammatical errors and/or typos. I might post the story on here if I feel up to it. Well without further to do here is an excerpt of my story:

 Meetings at Midnight

ChapterOne

☼Pen☼

A cool, crisp evening settled about the town as the sun fell and the moon brought on the night. The streets were emptying and the houses were slowly beginning to glow from the inside. Dinner had just been served in the Warren household and nineteen year old Penelope Warren was itching to find an excuse to not be at the table this evening. Her mother had been badgering her for weeks on the topics of the upcoming social season and ‘all the prospective husbands to meet’. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get married, she just felt that her patriarchal legacy to exorcise evil from the world was more important.

She was the first female in her family to become a hunter and ever since she had begun her training at the age of fourteen she had vowed that she would make her family proud and show the London Counsel of Hunters she could be not only just as good as a male hunter, but better. When she had turned sixteen and graduated from apprentice to hunter, she had already proven to her father that she was capable of carrying on the family legacy. The Counsel still had their doubts.

“Penelope dear we’ve been invited to Marjorie Devereaux’s debutant ball, you remember her from your tutoring. Shall I send word of our attendance?” Her mother placed the cloth napkin in her nap daintily and sipped her wine before turning to speak to the house keeper, Gertrude or as Pen liked to call her, Gertie.

“Marion let the girl decide to attend before you go off and sending correspondences about. I’m sure Pen is much too busy with her studies to attend a ball.” Pen gave her father a small smile, knowing exactly what he meant; another mission.

She cleared her throat, “He’s right mother, and I’ve so much reading to catch up before my session with Professor Varn. I need to memorize a full conversation and be able to speak it before the weeks end!” It was her father’s idea to mask her hunter work with French lessons. Her mother had been wanting to visit since her sister had moved there and spoke of nothing else but the fashion, and the sights.

It had been Edgar’s choice to keep his family’s business hidden from his wife. He hadn’t even wanted to return to it until the Counsel offered him a chair in the conclave. The Warren family was already revered for their work and with Pen’s involvement it had only increased her family’s reputation. Though she thought some seemed to think she was out of place among the ranks.

 After dinner Pen retired to her room to begin ‘studying’. An envelope placed on her desk, it held a portrait of her target and any information the council had been able to gather on them. She shed the gown she had worn to dinner and began dressing in her huntress uniform. It consisted of a white tunic that was semi loose fitting, a corset she could lace herself, leather shorts that had garters to which her thigh high stockings attached to, brown leather boots, and a skirt that was open in the front for easier mobility. She tucked the envelope into her stocking before slinging her sheathed sword over her back. The sword had been a gift from her father once she had been promoted from her apprenticeship. It was light as a feather in her hand and the steel was always sharp. The hilt was a beautiful sapphire blue and held a yellow gemstone in the middle. She polished it after every mission before collapsing into bed.

With preparations complete, she opened her bedroom window and skillfully climbed down the trellis before running off into the night.

It had been quite easy for Pen to make her way to the outskirts of the city. She had paid a farmer whom was on his way out to another town for a ride, though her destination had been a mile or two off. It had saved a good hour and half walk to the enormous manor she was perched outside of. The moon was still low in the sky, she still had time before making her next move. She took out the envelope and reviewed her target. The portrait was of a man seemingly in his young adult years, however his real age was documented at 150 years. A chill ran up Pen’s spine, she quickly pocketed the envelope so she could observe the crowd that had begun exiting the castle-like manor.

As they passed below the oak tree she had been hiding in, she picked up bits of conversation. There was mention of a fight and that there would be more. ‘Wonder what that’s all about’ she thought as she continued to eavesdrop.

“Henry Bellmort was quite something wasn’t he?” someone said.

Pen’s steadied herself on the branch, Henry Bellmort was the son of a member of the conclave and had been missing for weeks. It had been assumed he either ran off with a woman or had been taken by the enemy, however either case had proved any leads. This must have been why she was here! To take out the kidnapper and free Bellmort. She wondered if the counsel would recognize her bravery with a medal or a title. Before she could lose herself in her thoughts, she regained her focus and plotted a track from her tree into the manor.

Once the area was clear, she dropped down from the tree and quickly moved towards the building while keeping in the shadows. While in training, she had learned that you only went through the front door if you wanted to get killed instantly. Same with the back door or any other exterior door for that matter. This was why she was scaling the side of the manor to the open window on the second floor. She lifted herself through the window and rolled into the dark room. She placed a hand on the hilt of her sword as her eyes adjusted to the dark and took in her surroundings.

She exhaled a sigh of relief and stepped lightly towards the door. Just before her fingertips made contact with the metal knob, loud footsteps thumped towards the room. With the short amount of time she had, Pen found a hiding spot between the wall on the furthest side of the room and a large wardrobe.

The door flung open and two sets of footsteps could be heard. One ceased while the other continued moving about the room, which seemed to glow brighter. “Will that be all Master Lucien?” a woman’s voice asked timidly. The man must have nodded or waved her off as the next sound was the door closing. Pen peeked out from her hiding spot and saw a dark haired man sitting at a writing table with his back to her, thankfully. His hair was medium length and was held back with a tie at the nape of his neck. He reached back and released his dark locks from its bind. Pen was worried that this being was perhaps under her level with how relaxed he seemed to be.

This changed instantly when he jumped from his chair, sending it across the room towards the window and exclaiming, “Like hell he will!” He turned on his heel and retrieved the chair. Pen kept herself hidden, wondering how she’d come upon the likes of this vampire and why his name sounded so familiar to her.

“Alastair will rue the day he decided to challenge the Prince of Vampires.” He mumbled.

Pen’s blood ran cold and her heart suddenly felt like it would beat right out of her chest. ‘Prince of Vampires? What was father thinking!’ She fought to keep her breathing even and steady as her father taught her. Keeping a level head would increase survival chances at least ten-fold. She felt the adrenaline in her veins but it no longer made her feel jumpy or nervous. She was ready for whatever happened next. Or at least she thought she was, she hadn’t heard Lucien’s grunts of anger nor his footsteps as he approached the wardrobe.

In his rage he had knocked over the cabinet and sent it flying into the adjacent wall where it exploded into splintered wood and a heap of clothing. She let out a small squeak as her hiding place was cast away. It didn’t take long after that for her to be noticed.

His face twisted into a snarl, “A hunter?”

She withdrew her sword and held it at the ready, “Technically it’s huntress but I suppose I’ll forgive you seeing as you’ll be purged from the world this evening.” A smirk played on her lips as she waited for him to grow even more enraged and try to attack her out of impulse. It was always when she pushed them to their limit when they slipped up. It was then she could easily make her kill and gather the vial of blood she needed to prove her target had been taken down.

He growled, “I don’t need a lesson in proper English. Just like I don’t need yet another hunter attempting to end my life. Do you know how many of your kind has been sent to the death matches? How many have lost and become my meals?” He paused mid-step, all trace of rage gone from his face. Instead he wore a dark expression, “I’ve never seen a female hunter. I think you’d be something the crowd’s will pay double for. A treat.”

The coldness of his voice didn’t sit right with her, she forced her emotions to stay in check while she debated which would embarrass her father more: her capture or her failure. She kept her hands as steady as she could to keep a grip on her sword. This was the first time she’d let one get this close to her. Her father's voice rung in her head, 'The moment you're in arms reach, the very second, you'll have failed the mission.' She'd been dancing with death for so long, using her female advantages to distract her targets and get the jump on them before they could touch her. She lunged at him in attempt to keep him sword length away. However, he easily disarmed her with one hand while the other caught her neck in an iron grip. Her sword clattered to the floor and had slid out of sight. She squirmed for a moment before realizing it was useless.

She coughed and tried to gain air in her lungs, “When my father hears about what you’ve done he’ll stop at nothing to see your head on a spike. He’ll have the entire counsel-“

The man laughed, “The counsel? You don’t know anything do you girl? The counsel can’t touch me. They’d like to but I have diplomatic immunity. Or at least I did until they decided to send you after me. They must really hate you if they assigned you here. I must remember to send them a thank you note. You’ll be the talk of the country here. Perhaps a taste…to entice everyone what they’ll be sampling.” He leaned toward her neck, fangs extracted. Just as they brushed her skin a servant knocked at the door.

Lucien growled, causing Pen to tremble, “What is it?”

A timid voice spoke, “M-master, a l-letter has just ar-rrived. It’s marked urgent!”

He released her and let her drop to the floor, “It better be.”

He opened the door and ripped the small envelope from the boy’s hands. He almost slammed the door before opening it again, “Take her to the dungeon to await my orders. I must ensure that she truly is a hunter before sending her into the pit but I want her ready for a match by tomorrow.” The boy nodded and helped her up before leading her away from the room.

  Pen had never felt more terrified in her life, she could still feel the ghost of his fangs on her neck and it caused her to shiver as she was escorted beneath the castle. ‘I want her ready for a battle tomorrow’ His words continued to echo in her thoughts, haunting her. She shivered once more. She felt her hold on her emotions grow weak, tears began forming in her eyes but she blinked them back. She wouldn't let anyone see her weak, if she had to fight then she had to stay strong. ‘There’ll be time to cry when I’m alone and out of sight.’ She told herself, wondering if this would be her last night before the rest became haunting nightmares.

They entered the dimly light block of cells, it was colder than upstairs and it felt as if there was a draft from every corner. When a voice called out her name she stopped, wondering who would recognize her in this place. Then she remembered, “Henry? You’re alive!” She rushed to the cell where he was leaning against the cell bars. His torn tunic revealed scars, bruises and fresh cuts. “I can’t believe they got you too.” He reached out a hand and cupped her cheek, “I wonder if they’ll let me have you if I spare you? I bet the crowd would love that. There’s a saying about virgin blood being richer and giving a euphoric high, they’ll have to keep you alive for that purpose alone.”

He moved his hand to reach down her neck, he didn’t get far before she slapped his arm away. “How dare you speak to me this way? If this is my fate then I’ll ensure your end before you get near enough to touch me.” The vampire boy gestured her forward to keep moving. The exchange having woken the other men, caused them to call out to her and make catcalls or whistles as she passed their cells. Pen kept her head held high and ignored their taunts. She’d take out all her anger on them when she faced them.

The boy had other plans, he led her down a series of halls and staircases until he opened a door that led to the storming night outside. “Go! There is no place for you here. You may be a hunter but you’re still a woman. They’d gang up on you and do worse than just fight you. That’s not right in any race.”

She looked outside where freedom was waiting, and then back to the boy who was risking his life for hers. “What’s your name?”

“My name isn’t important. If you leave now you’ll be out of sight from my master. You must go. Run!”