ThriceCharming
Red Spade, Black Heart
from Maryland
Since: Nov, 2013
Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Red Spade, Black Heart
#2: Feb 16th 2024 at 4:48:44 PM
Well, that all sounds pretty good, but is it funny? Because it sounds like it could be funny, and I've been eager for something funny to read.
Is that a Wocket in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
EmeraldEmperor
Lies and Violence!
Since: Oct, 2020
Lies and Violence!
#3: Feb 16th 2024 at 6:46:36 PM
It's definitely more of a drama then a comedy, but there's a lot of humor and levity to balance out the darker themes. The main characters frequently and mercilessly rib each other, and the aforementioned epigraphs from in-universe historical figures that begin each chapter can be pretty hilarious and end up as running gags.
"Maybe I won't go to Heaven but you've never owned a pit full of man-eating tapirs so who's the real loser here?"
- Dread Empress Atrocious, best known for comprehensive tax reform and having been eaten by man-eating tapirs. They were later executed by her successor for treason after a lengthy trial.
"You know I despise surprises," Masego said, glaring at me.
"What happened to your spirit of adventure?" I replied.
"That's a myth," he said disdainfully, slapping away my hand. "Father's dissected several heroes and never found any trace of it."
"Not to nitpick," I said. "But being carried this way is doing great injury to the inherent dignity of a woman of my station."
Mighty Rumena had, after sundry misadventures, hoisted me over its shoulder and was now lugging me around like a sack of cabbage. I got the distinct impression the old bastard was having a lot of fun with this.
"If I allow you to lean against me instead," Rumena said. "Will you cease attempting to strangle me?"
The drow was a tyrant, truly. It was my Gods-given right as a Callowan to rebel against foreign powers regardless of context or feasibility.
"Yes" I lied.
Mighty Rumena fluidly leapt over a canal, landing on the other side with barely a sound. It jostled my body enough I had to bite down on a scream.
"So," I got out. "We doing this or what?"
"No," the Mighty said. "I merely wanted to see if you would lie."
That prick. I'd gotten my hopes up, thinking of looking for something sharp to stab it with instead of having another fruitless go at strangulation – my fingers were too shaky to have the requisite strength, and to be honest I wasn't sure it actually needed to breathe.
"Fine," I said. "Obviously you're a man – drow, I mean – of deep cunning and perception. I'll level with you, Rumena. I was going to try to murder you again."
"I am aghast at this unexpected turn," Mighty Rumena said.
Oh, so Crepuscular could do sarcasm. This was a day for revelations.
Total posts: 3
ErraticErrata, real name David Verburg, is a web serial author who specializes in complex, geopolitical storylines… navigated by chaos gremlin protagonists who gleefully take the piss out of each other and cheerily exploit whatever power mechanics they can get their hands on to survive another day. Usually accompanied by lots of murder and sapphic romance.
His first work, A Practical Guide to Evil, is probably the best piece of literature I've ever read. Consisting of 7 "books", it's set in a world where narrative tropes are in-universe mechanics that characters recognize and use to their advantage—so, for example, a villain who yells "Nothing can stop me now!" right as they're on the cusp of victory is effectively committing suicide, and everyone recognizes that a defeated enemy whose body is never found is 100% guaranteed to still be alive. A major focus of the series is deconstructing the standard blank-and-white morality fantasy setting. What societal conditions would not only result in a proudly evil empire, but also allow that empire to… you know, not immediately collapse when everyone is constantly backstabbing each other or starting civil wars to take the throne? Wouldn't The Good Kingdom, by virtue of being a kingdom, still have been built upon a lot of conquest and dirty politics?
The main protagonist is Catherine Foundling, an orphan of the Good Kingdom that has recently been conquered by their perennial arch-rivals, the gleefully self-aware Dread Empire of Praes. However, knowing that a classic heroic rebellion would only result in the senseless deaths of thousands, she instead wants to join the Empire, rise up the ranks, and enact reforms from within the system. As luck would have it, she runs into the Black Knight of the Empire, who is looking for an apprentice for a convoluted, decades-long 4D chess match against fate itself. Seeing potential in her, he appoints her as his right-hand and begins training her in all of his genre-savviness so she can survive the tropes of their world and finally, finally ensure that a villain wins.
What follows is a massive, truly epic fantasy as Catherine navigates her way to the top and does whatever she can to protect her people, surviving twists and turns of fate as the narrative does everything in its power to kill her for the transgression of being the villain of the story. Lines are crossed. Consciences are ignored. "Be gay, do (war) crimes" is certainly a thing that happens. Catherine broods and goes through self-loathing as her moral fiber frays. Things get bleak and dark... but it's never grimdark. Hope for a happy ending, while frequently distant, is always on the horizon. Even as the situation worsens, the characters excel at constantly providing levity and humor and heart and love to pull each other out of the darkness and commit to being better. One of the most piece of shit, human garbage antagonists I've ever despised goes through the best redemption arc I've ever witnessed in any form of media thanks to Catherine's influence. And, against all odds… that happy ending is achieved.
When I say the setting is epic, I mean it. The worldbuilding is amazing; there are dozens of different factions and nations and factions within those nations, each with their own highly detailed histories and creatively written cultures that make the world feel truly lived in. Every chapter begins with an epigraph of an in-universe historical figure or piece of literature, and while it can get to be a lot to keep track of at times, the final tapestry of detail and thought put into everything is truly awe-inspiring to comprehend.
Also: a lot of LGBTQ+ representation. The setting has millennia-old precedent for literal angels descending to give people of every gender or sexuality a divine mandate to kick your ass, so homophobia/transphobia has kind of been forcibly beaten out of society by the present. Catherine herself is a bisexual disaster who is very popular with the ladies. The Black Knight is demisexual, the Dread Empress is lesbian, and they have… I don’t think it’s outright named as such, but it’s definitely a queerplatonic partnership. The entire drow race consists of agender, asexual murderhobo demigods. And there’s a bunch more I don’t have space to mention.
Important disclaimer: the series does not approach the premise with the tacky attitude of "the villains are actually misunderstood misfits while the heroes are oppressive fascists" that you may find with some Villain Protagonist stories. Most of the villains are humanized and several fight unjust systems, but a lot are still murderers and control freaks who think everything would be better if they ruled the world. Several heroes, meanwhile, hold "ends justify the means" attitudes, or are shaped by their cultures to be racist against orcs or see upholding corrupt nobles as an honorable cause, or their naivety nearly gets people killed because they refuse to compromise their morals—but even the worst of them genuinely want to help others, and the vast majority turn out to be perfectly reasonable once some misunderstandings are cleared up.
That doesn't mean everything should be categorized into neat little boxes of good and evil, though, and the real world is too gray for a mindset like that to be sustainable. People are complicated, and heroes and villains are people; the negative traits of villains and positive traits of heroes are important to acknowledge, but they don't cancel out their respective potentials for good and evil that can manifest with the right prodding. Some heroes are so traumatized by their decades of service that they join up with invasion forces against evil kings and queens if it means eradicating all villainy… even though this would result in the conquest of the villains' innocent subjects who are very tired of foreign powers meddling with their lives. The same crimes that see villains reviled can also make them effective spies or officials that work on behalf of the people, allowing them to accomplish great acts of benevolence even if it's for selfish reasons. Catherine starts and ends the story as an unapologetic villain who racks up several disturbing crimes, but at heart she's a good person whose one true desire is peace, and when I say she brings about a happy, hopeful ending that sees the world unambiguously changed for the better, I goddamn mean it.
His second and current work, Pale Lights, is set in a "Lovecraftian Renaissance" where a gunpowder and seafaring era of humanity lives in an eldritch sea left perpetually in the night, populated by hordes of devils and gods. It follows several student god-killers as they unravel conspiracies and piss off everyone around them in their individual quests to fix their ruined lives and/or get some sweet, sweet revenge. The series' themes aren't quite apparent yet, but Book 1 is basically more murderous Survivor, while Book 2 is Harry Potter but with all the near-death experiences being absolutely on purpose so that the faculty can weed out the weak. Oh, and their version of Hogwarts is actually literal Scholomance. It is alive, it is capable of murder, and it really hates kids. The story is very character focused so far, with the 4 main protagonists currently just trying to survive each other before they can focus on surviving against elder gods and Lucifer himself. They’re all idiots and I love them for it.
Now that I've gushed at length, do I honestly expect anyone to comment on this thread besides myself? Not really, no. But might as well see if I can generate some interest.