#and klauses has such good detail | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ihavethoughtsplural · 4 years

Text

Blood and Chocolate: An Adaptation in Name Only

Previously: Section 0 - Introduction

Section 1 – The Book

Preface: The 1997 novel Blood and Chocolate is DENSE. The paperback only spans 264 pages, but the story follows the coming of age of a dynamic and flawed female protagonist, encompasses ancient werewolf legends and laws, goes in depth into lycanthropic politics, and also features a love triangle, a teenage soap opera, a forbidden romance, and a goddamned murder mystery.

Summary: Vivian Gandillon is a 15-year-old werewolf. A year after her father was killed in the fire that destroyed their home, Vivian is lost and grieving while her leaderless pack falls apart in the Maryland suburbs that they fled to. Aiden, a tall, gentle human classmate attracts her attention and presents Vivian an escape from the tangled, animalistic world of werewolves. Keeping her lycanthropy secret, Vivian begins to date Aiden, defying the laws of her people. Vivian is pressured to break things off by her mother, her five delinquent age-mates, and the would-be leader, Gabriel. Gabriel, a 24 year-old welder, is attractive, intimidating and the object of intense romantic competition. He, more than any other, tries to convince Vivian that her dalliance with a human is dangerous, eventually revealing that he speaks from painful personal experience. The story twists and turns, tearing Vivian and Aiden apart while pulling Vivian and Gabriel together. In the end, through many trials, Vivian discovers that she can’t escape either her human or her animal nature, and must embrace both.

Themes: Vivian’s central character arc finds her struggling with what she wants as opposed to what she needs. At the opening of the novel, Vivian wants to escape the violent chaos of her pack, with its painful history and uncertain future. She finds that escape in Aiden, with his Beaver Cleaver family, his lovably quirky friends, and his sweetness and simplicity. However, when the time comes to reveal the hidden aspects of her identity, Aiden can’t handle it. Despite his supernatural curiosity, he cannot accept the supernatural when it presents itself to him. His rejection sends Vivian into a tailspin of self-destruction that only ends when she accepts the love that Gabriel is offering, a love that honors all of what she is. To ultimately find happiness, Vivian had to give up what she wanted and embrace what she needed. In addition to this, there is also a great deal of time in the novel spent contrasting the human and the animal sides of Vivian’s nature. Her two suitors Aiden and Gabriel represent, respectively, the human and the animal. Scenes of Vivian socializing with Aiden and his human friends are juxtaposed with scenes of Vivian’s werewolf pack brutally vying for dominance. The very title of the book is a reference to this dichotomy, Blood – representing Vivian’s animal desires, and Chocolate – representing Vivian’s human longings. Throughout the novel, Vivian swings between these two extremes, at one point drinking herself into a heartbroken stupor over Aiden, then blacking out and waking up in her bed next to a severed hand. She tries, in her romance with Aiden, to balance her human and animal sides, but she only achieves that balance with Gabriel, a partner who also exists in the grey area between man and beast.

Highs: These are the aspects of the novel have captivated my imagination and kept this book in my collection for so long.

o Werewolf Society: It’s a damn shame that Klause hasn’t written more stories within this framework, because it is absolutely ripe for exploration and development. The enormous potential here is one of the primary reasons why this book has held my fascination for so long and why I have written so much (published and unpublished) fanfiction for it.

o Flawed Characters: No one who’s read the book will tell you that Vivian is perfect or even likeable 100% of the time, but it fits with her characterization as a grieving, lost teenager and serves to make her all the more like an actual person. Most of the characters are like that, with their good qualities balanced or sometimes overwhelmed by their less savory sides. It makes the fictional world feel richer and more realistic, despite the supernatural elements.

o Consequences: The characters in this novel make real, awful mistakes, and they face lasting consequences for them. One of Vivian’s mistakes – maiming Astrid while defending her mother, directly leads to Vivian’s ex, Rafe, getting sucked into Astrid’s revenge plot, leading to Vivian being framed for murder and the eventual executions of both Rafe and Astrid, during which Vivian is accidentally shot by Aiden.

CONSEQUENCES! They make the story more believable, more suspenseful, and this novel, with its cast of flawed characters, would not have worked without them.

o Assertive Female Protagonist: Vivian is refreshingly frank about her desires, which is very noticeable in her courtship with Aiden. Aiden assumes that he has to advance their physical relationship slowly so as to not frighten or offend Vivian, while Vivian urges him on. She doesn’t hesitate when going after what she wants, and she’s not ashamed of her sexuality. It’s a welcome change from the restrictions that western society places on female desire, and I’d like to see more characters like her.

Lows: Blood and Chocolate is far from perfect, but, in my opinion, there are three glaring flaws in this book, and I would be remiss if I didn’t address them.

o The Esme Question: The first point is one that, once seen, cannot be unseen. Vivian’s mother, Esme, is one of the women competing for Gabriel’s affections at the beginning of the novel. It is established that they go on dates (“Saw your mother go into Tooley’s bar with Gabriel last night.” p. 18), but Klause is not explicit about how far their relationship has gone. This ambiguity leaves open a potentially disturbing possibility:

It is canonically possible that Gabriel had a sexual relationship with Esme and then moved on to sexually pursue her daughter, Vivian.

Personally, I can reasonably believe that Gabriel and Esme never progressed beyond idle flirting because:

a. Vivian strikes me as the type of person who would mark her mother’s sexual partners as “off limits”.

b. Up until just past the Ordeal scene, both Esme and Astrid are still fighting over Gabriel, implying that neither of them had really “won” him.

c. The possibility outlined above seems like it would be a bridge too far to be included in a YA novel, especially in the 90′s.

Your mileage may vary. I’ve seen reviews of the book whose negative ratings hinge on the fact that Gabriel dated Esme at all, irrespective of whether their relationship was sexual or not. Honestly? I can’t blame them. If the mere existence of this possibility squicks you out, then it’s likely going to sour the ending and ruin the rest of the book for you.

o The Age Differences: The second point is the least defensible. At the end of the novel, Vivian is 16 and Gabriel is 24. That minor/adult 8 year age gap constitutes a “yikes” in my part of the world. Klause skirts this by establishing that werewolf society has some stark differences with human society, namely that a 16 year old female is considered an adult by werewolf law. This is still a rather uncomfortable detail to be included in an American YA novel, and the older I get, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

In addition to the Vivian/Gabriel age gap, there is the even wider Astrid/Rafe age gap. Rafe is Vivian’s ex and age mate, although there are reasons to assume that he is slightly older than her. This places him somewhere in a probable 16-18 age range. He is canonically younger than 21, which makes him, according to werewolf law, not yet an adult. Astrid has a son who is also Vivian’s age, which places Astrid somewhere in her late 30’s to mid 40’s. In the book, Astrid and Rafe have a sexual relationship.

To be fair to Klause, this is framed in the novel as being toxic and ultimately destructive to both Astrid and Rafe. Near the end of the story, Rafe finally realizes that Astrid has been taking advantage of him, turning Rafe, in my opinion, into a tragic victim of manipulation.

Let me leave this segment with a PSA:

If you’re reading this and you’re underage, please don’t enter into a “relationship” with an adult. The adults in these scenarios in the real world are predators, and they’re preying on your inexperience and naïveté. They know that you probably won’t recognize relationship red flags and they think they can pressure you into doing unsafe and unhealthy things in the name of “love”. Stay safe, kids!

o Sexual Harassment: My third and final low point is one that I have very mixed feelings about. As a result, this is the longest segment of this post, so strap in. In the novel, many of the interactions between Vivian and male characters are inappropriately sexual. The most egregious offenders are the Five, Gabriel, and Aiden’s father. The Five, Vivian’s male werewolf peers, are crass, rude and arrogant. Led by Rafe, they display a lot of entitlement for Vivian’s affections. The most pointed (and gross) of these displays happens on p.41:

“You’re not Princess Wolf now,” Rafe growled behind her. “Wait too long and we’ll take what we want.”

That? Yeah, that’s a direct rape threat! Rafe also goes on to grope Vivian at her birthday party. He’s a peach! Gabriel’s harassment mostly takes the form of unwanted advances. It peaks after the Ordeal, the battle royale where Vivian accidentally wins the right to be Gabriel’s mate. In the aftermath, Gabriel corners Vivian in her kitchen, forces a non-consensual kiss on her and declares his intentions to court her. Aiden’s father is notable in the contrast he provides. Vivian only interacts with him once, when Aiden invites her to a family cookout. During this scene, he repeatedly leers at her, makes suggestive comments and on p. 79:

Vivian could hear the innuendo in Mr. Teague’s voice. It made her skin crawl.

However, if you compare Mr. Teague’s harassment to Gabriel, the Five and others, you’ll find that there is a significant difference in Vivian’s reaction. Vivian isn’t afraid to bite back at the Five’s harassment – scoring vivid revenge for Rafe’s groping when she injures his genitals. She tries to do the same to Gabriel when he forces a kiss on her, but he relents on his own. We see a similar dynamic when Esme snaps at Bucky, another male werewolf, who catcalls her in a bar. This forms a pattern which suggests that forceful sexuality is a feature of werewolf culture. Vivian confirms this the first time that she and Aiden kiss on p. 51:

“He was gentle. She hadn’t expected that. Kisses to her were a tight clutch, teeth, and tongue.”

And this is where my mixed feelings come in. I don’t condone the harassment that Vivian experiences, but I understand why Klause wrote it. Any author writing inhuman characters can’t simply tell us that they are inhuman, they have to show it. The forceful sexuality of the werewolf characters in this book is one way that Klause clearly shows that they are NOT human and serves as a contrast to the human characters. But where does Aiden’s dad fit into this? His harassment is milder than the Five’s or Gabriel’s, but it disgusts Vivian in a way that the other harassment didn’t. Why? Sexual harassment seems to be a constant feature of her pack life. This isn’t even the only time that an older man leers at her – on p. 115, in the same scene where Esme gets catcalled:

Some of those male eyes strayed to Vivian, too, and she preened at the thought of being a threat.

That’s a far cry from the skin-crawling disgust she felt with Mr. Teague, but it’s basically the same offense. What’s different? We find it in a conversation with him on p. 74:

“I would think a girl like you would go out with someone older.” He winked at Vivian. Like someone your age? Vivian thought, repelled by the man’s lack of loyalty to his son.

Vivian’s disgust stems from the fact that the man flirting with her is her boyfriend’s father. She’s shown to welcome sexual attention from other older men, and she has no problems handling more overt harassment, but the paternal disloyalty sickens her. The overt sexual harassment is there, and if it makes it impossible for you to enjoy the book, I don’t blame you. Your feelings are valid, and I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong. Personally, I understand the authorial reasoning behind its inclusion, and its utility as a characterization tool, so it doesn’t prevent me from enjoying the story. Your mileage may vary.

Verdict: The 1997 novel Blood and Chocolate is flawed, but fascinating. It sets multifaceted characters into a tantalizing world of men and monsters, where the line between good and evil is blurred into nonexistence. It is, despite its problematic elements, my favorite book.

Next: Section 2 - Adaptation Challenges

#blood and chocolate #annette curtis klause #werewolves #loups garous #adaptation #katja von garnier #agnes bruckner #hugh dancy #olivier martinez #B&C-AAINO #cw: rape #cw: age gap

25 notes · View notes

teenagegothintegrity · 4 years

Note

Do you have any book recommendations

gonna be honest, i dont read books as much as i wish i did but uhhhh yeah heres some of my faves

undead girl gang- lily anderson. there is NOTHING i love more than girls, especially girls that practice witchcraft and have to learn to appreciate other girls for their differences rather than in spite of them. all while trying to solve a series of murders. also zombies are involved.

in a similar vein but without the witchcraft and zombies, beauty queens by libba bray is fucking awesome. it's about a plane full of beauty pageant contestants that crash lands on a deserted island, and they all have to work together to survive. it tackles serious subjects like racism, sexism, ableism, gender, and sexuality, all while being hilarious. it includes multiple characters of color, multiple lgbt characters, and at least one disabled character (its been a hot minute since i read it so i dont remember exact details.) it gets Wild near the end and it is SO fun

probably everyone has seen this on like every lgbt ya fantasy rec list but carry on by rainbow rowell is so good ok.

the silver kiss- annette curtis klause. i read this a very long time ago and i barely remember it, but i remember L O V I N G it. theres vampires, and the main character struggles with her own mortality as well as the mortality of her sick mother.

the girl who loved tom jones- stephen king. now i dont normally read stephen kings novels (im a big fan of his short stories, especially everything's eventual. ive read that collection so many times. so many times.) but this one is so good. if you've never heard of it, which i also hadn't, it's about a young girl who gets lost in the woods and has to find her way home while pursued by a creature that may or may not be a horrifying monster. its really intense. also listen to the river, the woods by astronautalis while reading it. it really enhances the experience.

thats all i got tbh.. i need to read more books lmao.. thanks for asking!!

#vega.txt #asks #anonymous

0 notes

thataspdfeel · 7 years

Text

that book list I promised

//rubs my grubby hands together happily

Boy howdy do I ever have some book recommendations. This would’ve been posted earlier but mobile decided to go fuck itself. Just a heads up, this is gonna be long

I mostly read series because tbh teen fiction is some of the best. It tends to take the most risks with both style and characterization. (Granted, it also tends to fall risk to some of the worst tropes imo like abuse stalker creepy guy is hot cause he loves protag)

Anything Garth Nix has ever written in his whole life. He’s one of my favorite authors and tends to stick to series. Keys to the Kingdom is 7 books and the first is Mister Monday and you read in order of the days of the week. No really. You’ll see why. His Old Kingdom series is 5 books and a short story so far and starts with Sabriel. It’s about necromancers who keep the dead down rather than raise them. Like I have the biggest boner for this series it’s not even funny

Terry Pratchett is my absolute favorite author of all time (besides Shakespeare) and he’s written over 50 books. You don’t have to read them in any particular order but he does follow characters across books sometimes. I recommend starting with Monstrous Regiment, Small Gods, or Going Postal first. If you want to start in chronological order, I think The Colour of Magic was written first

If you’re patient, read the whole Lord of the Rings series from The Hobbit onward. Tolkien sucks his own dick and describes clouds for a whole page cause he’s a world builder kind of writer. I haven’t had a chance to try the series again but I remember enjoying The Hobbit. Just know this is a very tedious option and may result in more boredom

Less boring is The Chronicles of Narnia but there are a few books that are just an absolute bear to get through. I recommend this right after lotr because these stories are a result OF THE SAME DRUG TRIP because Clive Staples Lewis (no really that’s what CS stands for) and Tolkien were college roommates. And because Narnia is a fucking fun place to visit

George RR Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire cause it includes more detail than Game of Thrones and because I’m always a slut for kingdom musical chairs and dragons

Speaking of dragons, The Inheritance Series which is Eragon etc because it’s like lotr for people who can’t stand reading about a cloud for two pages, almost entirely action. Plus, in one of the books, they (Eragon and Saphira) do a couple of really stupid, slightly offensive things to the elves and admit their mistakes which I thought was cool cause it feels like sometimes protagonists don’t apologize in books

Chris D'Lacey also writes these REALLY COOL books about dragons called The Last Dragon Chronicles where these ladies make dragons out of clay and I’m 90% sure The Fire Within is the first book. There are at least 7 and I really need to catch up

Angie Sage writes about a boy named Septimus Heap who’s the 7th son of a 7th son and those books start with Magyk and there are at least 6 maybe 9. They’re fucking awesome and full of magic and adventure and I’m pretty sure he gets a pet dragon somewhere

Suzanne Collins also writes a lot of great stuff but I REALLY like her Gregor the Overlander series. Think Alice in Wonderland with a guy and no drugs and it’s awesome

Anything Rick Riordan has ever written in his life. I love love love the Percy Jackson series and he also wrote Children of the Lamp which is the bomb dot com about djinn children

Douglas Adams has a whole Hitchhiker’s Guide series and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the first and it’s just bonkers and loads of fun. Basically earth gets blown up and the protagonist has to deal with it. An absolute riot

James Rollins writes the Blood Infernal series about vampires and were-beings not just werewolves. The first book is Sanguine and the protagonist’s best friend is a werewolf. The first two books don’t have much to do with each other aside from being in the same universe but book three picks up at the end of book one and ties them both together. I’m pretty sure there’s sex

I’d also recommend anything Edgar Allen Poe or Shakespeare ever wrote. I know that’s more Classical Canon or whatever the fuck but honestly? Delightful. Same sentiment for Stephen King

I can’t remember the names of all the series I’ve read but these I definitely do. So onto individual books!

I, Coriander by Sally Gardener set in 17th century London and has to do with a fairy world if I remember correctly

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine about a really ugly inn keeper’s daughter and it’s kind of a retelling of Snow White (She wrote other stand alones but I haven’t read them. Based off this, though, I’d recommend them)

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about a girl who immigrates from Nigeria(?) to the US and it’s just really really good

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe set in Nigeria(?) right when colonialism happens. The first part is pre-colonialism and then it gets into the beginnings of it and all this happens within the lifespan of one man. Trigger warning though for mentions of abuse, explicit child murder and explicit suicide. Like it’s a good book but it’s gonna be a rough ride if you don’t know what you’re in for

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is good, if tedious. It’s a Latin American book so the story is circular and told in spirals. I literally have no other way to describe it. Also don’t ignore the family chart at the very beginning because people get the same names across generations and it’s absolutely hellish. Trigger warning for incest, I think rape, definitely abuse, and a baby gets eaten by ants at the end which is more gross than anything

Black Rain by Kuroi Ame is about the bombing of Hiroshima. I’m pretty sure that’s all the trigger warning you’re going to need

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie is a collection of short stories about various Native American characters living on a reservation

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt is about a Blackfoot medicine man who finally talks about his life but it’s less interview and more John interpreting things so this needs to be read a little critically

Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions by Richard Erdoes is a book where a Sioux medicine man talks directly to Erdoes from a Native perspective about various things from sex to politics. Was a joy to read honestly. Very enlightening

Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo basically entails the way of the bushido or the samurai code more or less. Kind of technical but I enjoyed it

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause is about the werewolf protagonist trying to fit into her pack and figure out how to be a teenager. There’s at least one graphic mention of death (I think). It could also be suicide) so heads up

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause is a vampire romance set in the 90′s and has absolutely nothing to do with the other book and was definitely something I loved. The protagonist watches her mother waste away from illness so avoid if that’s not something you can handle. Apparently, there are more stories (which I’d LOVE to read) and I’d recommend them just based off the two I have read

The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney was amazing and I’ve just found out it’s a series not just a stand-alone so I know what’s going on my to-read list. It’s about an apprentice to The Spook who puts down evil things that hide in the dark. Kind of spine-tingling so if you don’t do horror, don’t read when it’s dark. It’s not horror-horror but if it’s not your thing, definitely read during the day

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is the only thing Faulkner ever wrote I can possibly stand. It’s a short story and the time is out of order but I still liked it

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is also a short story and my absolute favorite

Also not a book, but I greatly enjoy the Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet but not everybody does because 1 early American literature and 2 Puritan but that’s something if poetry is up your alley

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is about the life of a horse set from the horse’s perspective. No seriously. With I statements and everything. I thought it was very interesting. (I was also like 8)

White Fang by Jack London is by wolves. I don’t remember much more than that because of how long ago I read it but it was probably decent since it stuck in my mind

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman is about a prince’s whipping boy which is a thing because you can’t spank a prince directly so you have to punish somebody else. V interesting

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl was very enjoyable. I like Roald Dahl anyway but the concept of a chocolate factory was awesome. I also read it before I saw either movie and before the remake

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is pretty good but skip the epistolary at the beginning and read it after if you want to spare yourself some headache

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic and just really fun and I can definitely see why it’s a classic

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was really interesting and honestly, I’d read anything that man writes after I read that

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is even better than the movie but there’s abuse mentions in it like even more so than the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie, heads up for graphic depictions of miscarriage, racial violence, and I don’t remember if the one death mentioned is graphic or not but it’s a heavy book

I’d have more but I can’t remember their damned names right now and it’s bugging me. I also have obscure video game recs because I’m one of those indie freaks. They tend to really draw me in

Also, if you like manga, I’ve read like idk how many series but a shitload and the day onemanga shut down was the day my soul died

Anyway, I hope this is fine. It isn’t even the half of what I’ve read. Like I spent almost all of my childhood reading and I enjoyed most of it. I just wish I could remember book names. Their stories are floating around in my head, just not their names. If I remember any more, I’ll probably add to this list

#original post #words #i just recommended at least 500 books probably #maybe more even??? idk #kizamimai #god im so sorry i just love books so much #IF YALL HAVE READ ANY OF THESE HIT MY ASS UP #I AM ALWAYS FUCKIN DOWN TO TALK SOME LITERATURE #its why im an english major tbh

16 notes · View notes

wildflowerblv · 7 years

Text

Draft of Description and Rules

Why the Forum was made

Having participated in several other communities made for those with interest in consanguineous pairings or relationships, I observed that there was no place where people could come to talk exclusively about writing original fiction, in genres other than just erotica.

Focus of the Forum

The purpose of this forum is to bring together aspiring writers to discuss our characters and writing. The focus will be on those pairings that would be considered “taboo” in various parts of our world; specifically romantic/sexual relationships between siblings and/or cousins.

Who can join?

Anyone who is currently writing or is planning to write Original Fiction containing one or more consanguineous couples—preferably major characters, but minor characters as welcome too. This forum is not for fan-fiction, nor is it for fiction centered on erotica.

*You must be 18 or over to join, cause the kinds of discussion here will contain adult material.

You must be someone who is serious about writing to publish someday, either online or in print.

Current media has very mixed representations of consang couples: they are often used for shock value purposes or as side characters in a larger story. The aim of this forum is to support the creation of well-rounded characters that are more true to life, and who challenge existing stereotypes.

This forum is not for fans. It’s only for writers. It needs to be this way so that we can build trust with each other.

Aspiring writers of all skill levels are welcome.

You are still welcome, even if:

*If you are uncomfortable with the thought of incest, but still want to explore consensual incest in your fiction. As long as you don’t condemn others for their choices in life or in fiction, you are welcome.

*If you have very specific preferences (e.g. you like Bro/Sis but you’re not crazy about Bro/Bro, or you only do queer pairs). Just be respectful of others’ preferences.

*If you want to explore the darker side of consanguinamory, where there is a grey area between consent and non-consent, or if you have unhappy endings planned. As long as you are not coming to the forum with a pre-conceived notion that ‘all consang relationships’ are inherently unhealthy and/or are doomed to fail, then you are welcome to explore unhealthy dynamics as well. Exploring grey areas in fiction does not mean the same thing as being ok with abuse. However, IF your pairing is fully abusive or non-consensual, this is not the forum for you. [Only requirement for grey area is please put a trigger warning tag]

*If you want to explore poly relationship dynamics instead of the usual monogamous ones.

*If you are interested in exploring only either GSA or non-GSA.

*If you only want to look at the romantic aspects of the relationship

How we can make use of the Forum

This forum is an experimental project. It will be slow in the beginning because community building takes time. It’s a bigger challenge since there are few writers out there who are truly dedicated to handling this subject in an honest and balanced way.

So until we begin to gain members, please be patient with the pace of things. You could also help develop the forum by bringing people here, if you know of anyone that would be a good fit.

There are various ways we can make use of this forum. Here are just some possibilities:

· We could do bi-weekly writing exercises to practice writing scenes and dialogue, to get a good sense of how our characters would act and talk.

· We could discuss the nature of “double love” and how the familial and the romantic intertwine in a consang relationship.

· We can discuss stigma, its origins and how the characters deal with it in their societies.

· We can talk about our own fears or anxieties about publishing fiction containing controversial material, how we could remain strong and dedicated despite the judgment we may face as writers and allies of such relationships.

· We can do research together (e.g. share links to documentaries, scholarly articles, author/actor interviews, commentary, or other material on this subject) so that our writing could be better informed by facts and existing dialogues.

· We can help each other develop points in our fictional character & relationship arcs in a way that suits our individual visions.

· We can provide each other with feedback on our writing styles so that we can improve the quality of our prose.

· We can discuss fandom and ships… in connection with what we hope do with our original fiction. E.g. What are our fav ships/dynamics? What we can learn from the writers of the past? What can/should we do differently?

Privacy and Confidentiality

Please be conscious of the fact that this is the Internet. We will aim to build trust with each other, but even with the best of intentions, the mods can’t guarantee that everyone who comes here can be trusted to protect your material. For this reason, you decide how much or how little you share of your material. Try not to share too much, even things like original names… you can use ‘place holder’ generic names for your characters instead.

You can still contribute and learn something by participating in discussions.

Canon vs. Unspoken/Subtext

Although the forum is primarily for those that want to write Canon consang pairs, those relationship dynamics that fall somewhere in an ambiguous area are also welcome… e.g. pairings like Rebekah and Klause from Vampire Diaries/The Originals (it’s never really stated that these two are canon, but their dynamic seems to go beyond the bounds of regular sibling relations to a point that makes them irresistible to ship)

Basic Rules of the Forum:

#1 Golden Rule: Respect each other’s preferences; respect each other’s boundaries.

Basic Rules all Must Follow (no exceptions):

*No hypocrisy… If you are going to write about consensual incestuous relationships, you must at least have an attitude of neutrality when it comes to ‘real life’ consang couples (siblings and cousins, for the purposes of this forum). I want to keep the forum a judgement-free, safe space for all, including those who may come to it with personal experience of consanguinamory.

*No homophobia, transphobia, or racism (again, this must be a safe space for all)

*If you are going to write about relations that occur between people or characters who are minors, the sexual details must be limited within forum posts (obviously in the writing you ultimately publish, you go with your own rules).

*This forum is only for fiction. If you are mixing non-fiction elements into your writing, please make sure to change names and details to respect people’s privacy.

Exceptions:

The rules are there to ensure that the forum remains a safe space for writers of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and races. But if you have a character that is homophobic or racist or transphobic, this is fine if used as a necessary part of that particular character’s design/arc. As long as you, the writer, treat the other writers with courtesy and respect, all’s good.

1 note · View note

wyldlittledog · 7 years

Text

The Verses / The Wants

Current verses on the blog:

Canon, Canon-ish, and Ancient Rome/Syria Verses:

Canon: RPs that fit within the canon verse. (tag)

Canon divergent/AU: RPs that diverge from canon, but take place within the canon universe. (tag)

Batiatus AU: Nasir/Tiberius’ Dominus went into debt and Nasir was sold off after watching his villa crumble and empty of slaves. He winds up on the same slave cart Batiatus purchased in entirety in S1, and is thrust into Pietros’ former position as assistant to the Doctore. (tag)

Gladiator AU: Nasir grew up in Syria, and his father ran one of the most powerful citizens militias left after most were wiped out years before. When he was twenty, Nasir took over when his father was killed. A year later, he was captured by Romans and sold to a ludus. (More detail on this verse here.) (tag)

Fucking Syrian AU: Same backstory as the Gladiator AU, except Nasir was never sold to a ludus. How and why he ends up in Rome may vary. (tag)

Other:

Modern AU: V1. Nasir Azmeh was orphaned a young age with his little brother. In some versions, he grows up with said brother, and others he is separated by adoption at a young age. Either way, he has a rough childhood. He struggles in school, gets into fights more often than he should, and uses drugs occasionally. He began to heal through creating art, starting in his teens. In college versions of his modern AU, he studies painting and psychology, and wants to become a successful painter. (tag)

Modern AU (V2): AKA Sex Worker Verse, a closer to canon version. Nasir Azmeh was severely neglected as a child until he met an older man who took him in and actually cared for him, not recognizing the man as an abuser at such a tender age. This man, Quint–short for Quintus Batiatus, for my Spartacus peeps–eventually manipulated Nasir into sex work in his teens*, which he was unable to break free of until his early 20s. He has very little formal education, but he’s smart and is good at reading people. He is a skilled artist and painter, and generally a gentle soul once he lets you in. However, if he is still immersed in the world he shares with Quint when you meet him, he will resist intimacy strongly, and may lash out if he feels vulnerable. In this verse, he usually lashes out more with words than fists. (*In spite of headcanon, mun does NOT write underage sex/rape.) Let me know if you specifically want this verse! (tag)

Daddy AUs: A collection of several verses with @provemyselfalone and @nothornlessroses. Nasir has either “adopted” a reincarnated version of Duro as a son after the war, is actually reincarnated Duro’s biological father due to unusual circumstances, or helped raise Gwyn (daughter of Sibyl and Gannicus) after the war. I am open to other daddy AUs, if chemistry is right. Nasir loves to be a dad.

Single Daddy AU: (This verse is highly selective, and available to only those I’ve established strong ships with, romantic or platonic.) Having no strong role models and not knowing any openly gay men, Nasir stayed closeted in his teens. He had a couple girlfriends, and wound up getting one pregnant. The mother didn’t want to keep the baby, and Nasir wound up a single dad at 18. He struggled to clean up his act (reigning in his temper and getting away from his occasional drug use). Instead of pursuing fine arts in school, he pursued graphic design, and later got a job as a web designer to support himself and his little girl, Kalila.

Reincarnation AU: A variation on modern verse, where Nasir often dreams of being a wild, little warrior dog. He also has a fascination with the ancient Roman slave rebellions, but won’t tell you why, lest you think him crazy.

Vampire AU: Info. (tag)

Zombie Apocalypse AU: Either generic, or I can play in some specific verses (I’m behind on TWD and Z Nation, but catching up on the latter). (tag)

Crossover: The Originals: Variation of his main vampire AU. He’s 900-something years old and his abilities fit the TO verse. (tag)

More verses and crossovers available, just ask.

Wanted Interactions:

Spartacus: Castus, Chadara, Crixus, Kore, Lugo, Laeta, Oenomaus, or any, really! (I have only listed muses that Nasir does not already have an active version of them who wants to write with him.)

Muses From: The 100, Criminal Minds, Doctor Who, Jessica Jones, the MCU*, The Originals**, Orphan Black, Star Wars, Stranger Things, Supernatural, The Walking Dead***, Z Nation, and So. Many. More. Just ask!

And ALWAYS looking for good OCs. :)

[*I’m just getting into the MCU 900 years too late, so be patient with me. **No Klauses need apply; I’m exclusive with one already. ***I’ve seen through S6, and know some major S7 spoilers.

#the verses

5 notes · View notes

ihavethoughtsplural · 4 years

Text

Blood and Chocolate: An Adaptation in Name Only

Section 0 - Introduction

Preamble: In 2007, a supernatural romance thriller based on a young adult novel was released to theaters. It was a Romeo and Juliet inspired story revolving around the forbidden love between a human and a misunderstood monster and the dangers they face.

No, it wasn’t Twilight. That came out in 2008. It was Blood and Chocolate.

Despite the apparent similarities between the two films, the differences are more interesting. Twilight, adapted from an incredibly popular book went on to become a huge box office success and inescapable cultural phenomenon.

Blood and Chocolate did not. It was a critical and commercial failure, and even fans of the book hated it. In fact, though it has been mostly forgotten in the wake of Twilight and its imitators, its one major legacy is as a legendarily bad adaptation. But why? Is that fair? Does the movie still have merits despite this? In the following series of posts, I am going to be exploring these questions.

Bona Fides: You might be wondering why I feel like I can speak with any sort of authority on this subject. Well, I have a history with this book and movie. I first read the book in late middle school and was immediately obsessed. And, yes, I mean obsessed; I have had an unhealthy fascination with this novel since I picked it up from my local library. Years later, I now own two copies of the book, one of which has been read to shreds.

Additionally, I have been writing fanfiction for the Blood and Chocolate fandom for over 10 years now at an embarrassingly slow pace. (Seriously, my current WIP, Lucky, has been unfinished for waaaaay too long, and I desperately need to get off my ass and upload the next chapter already). As a result, I basically know the text backward and forward. I know Vivian’s zodiac sign, I can make convincing arguments about the “real” locations of Riverview and Gaskill State Park, and I will defend my many headcanons to anyone who wants to hear them (Spoiler alert: Nobody wants to hear them. The fandom is dying, if not dead). When the adaptation was announced, I remember scouring news articles and forums for all the information I could find. I speculated with other fans about casting choices and the adaptation changes. I wasn’t naïve on that last point – making the book into a movie would absolutely necessitate some major story and character changes. But I had faith. And then more details came out. We found out about the location change, the new plot, the casting choices.

(Olivier Martinez playing a 24-year-old welder? Yeah. Sure.)

But I had hope! And then the trailer came out. In a way, it was a good thing. For one, it introduced me to Within Temptation, still one of my favorite bands of all time. For another, it allowed me to mourn the adaptation that I had hoped for, and prepared me for the movie we were going to get. There’s a prophecy now? Glowy transformations? Tradition dictates swapping out wives every 7 years? And then the title “Blood and Chocolate” plopped onto the screen like a warm turd. I’m not stupid – I know that the title is a hard sell. I know that it looks ridiculous at first glance, and Annette Curtis Klause spends almost the entire novel justifying that title choice. The trailer? Doesn’t even try. So, I was ready. I was aware going in that the movie was not going to be like the book in more than a superficial sense. Still, I had to see it. I took a friend with me to the theater, knowing that I would need moral support to get through it. And then it started. And as it dragged on, I sank deeper and deeper into my seat, embarrassed that this, THIS was the movie I was watching. I had spent money to be in that theater. I would have to be seen leaving it. People would know that I had been there. Despite the mortifying ordeal of having watched Blood and Chocolate, I recognized that there were enjoyable parts. I even went on to buy the DVD – it sits on a shelf with its sister camp-fests The Room, Showgirls, Valley of the Dolls and, now, Cats.

Precipitating Event: Last week, I rewatched the adaptation for the first time in several years and came to a realization: I have mellowed since 2007. The healing effects of time have allowed me to genuinely appreciate parts of the movie that used to piss me off to no end. In fact, with this distance from the embarrassment of that theater showing, I might be able to fairly critique it. And really, if I don’t do it, who will? Nobody, aside from Hugh Dancy stans, seem to care about this movie. Well, Hugh Dancy stans and me.

(He’s adorable! Please don’t come for me!)

Goals: My aims for this project are as follows: I wish to express my thoughts about the original book, the real adaptation challenges, and the adaptation itself. For who? I don’t know. As time passes, it feels like the fandom is moving on, and I’m the one stubborn asshole squatting in the ruins. So, come along if you’re interested in me shouting at clouds. This is: Blood and Chocolate – An Adaptation in Name Only

Next: Section 1 - The Book

#blood and chocolate #annette curtis klause #werewolves #loups garous #adaptation #katja von garnier #agnes bruckner #hugh dancy #olivier martinez #B&C - AAINO

5 notes · View notes