Synopsis: Suevi is about finding love and surviving in Ancient Rome... as a Germanic slave.
Tags: romance, historical fiction, low fantasy, dark
Author: Bellamy
Hi! My name is Bellamy, I’m in my mid 30s, neurodivergent, pansexual and nonbinary. My pronouns are ey/em (alternatively they/them is totally fine). IRL I’m not out and I live in Eastern Germany, originally I’m from Southwestern Germany. English is my second language.
2. Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?
The IF I currently work on is called ‘Suevi’, and it’s a story set in/around 14 CE. The MC is of Germanic origin and gets enslaved. They get bought by a rich, influential Roman patrician family and have to face the struggle of being thrown into a completely different culture, that has a language they don’t know, and they’re at the very bottom of the food chain.
My journey into interactive fiction is actually relatively short. Suevi is the first IF I’m writing, and the first major project that I write. Before I started on Suevi, I hadn’t written anything bigger since my school days, I haven’t done any creative writing at all actually. And even though Suevi is only a prologue and the first chapter now, it is already the largest project I have ever written.
I remembered ‘Choose your own Adventure’ books from my childhood, and I loved them back then already. I love RPGs, and had played visual novels before, but somehow only found out about interactive fiction around half a year before I started my own IF. I fell head over heels for the interactive format.
My story is inspired by different aspects: My brother is a big history nerd and is very interested in Germanic tribes throughout history. I grew up in an area where different tribes that are said to have been Suevi settled in, and I was able to visit remains of the Roman Limes wall and different related museums in the past. A big inspiration was also the IF Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian by Haley Mattos, an amazingly written IF that I can only recommend. I wanted to give back to the IF community, and that’s what ultimately started the project.
Read on for the full interview!
3. What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?
The most rewarding aspect is definitely the feedback. It’s great to see that people enjoy my story and care enough to let me know, or give me constructive criticism to help me improve my story.
4. What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?
It helps a lot to have one designated area dedicated to writing/working. Also, be comfortable—wear comfortable clothes, put on some music that helps to immerse you into your story if you want, maybe have a few snacks nearby and a beverage of your liking.
5. What’s the one thing you’re really proud of that you’ve written so far?
I’m not that far into writing the story just yet, but I’m rather proud of the intimate fling scenes I’ve written in chapter 1. It was a first for me, and at the beginning I really struggled to find the right words, but I know it’ll become easier with time.
6. Do you have favourite interactive fiction games, characters, scenes or authors that you’d like to recommend?
Too many! There are lots of great authors out there that deserve some spotlight, but I fear I don’t have enough time and space to name all of them. I already mentioned Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian (@defiledheartblog on tumblr), which has a very similar theme to my own IF. An amazing IF with a nonbinary RO and a trans RO is Blood Moon by Barbara Truelove (@barbwritesstuff on tumblr). A WIP IF that is completely underrated imo is Party of Four (@partyof4game on tumblr), which has an asexual RO and a nonbinary RO. Zo, the author of Party of Four, is also ace! Lastly, an author that I really look up to is C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if on tumblr). She is amazing, I love her writing, she’s incredibly inclusive and a pleasure to interact with.
7. If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?
To readers: Please be kind to others. Lately there has been a massive wave of hate and harassment in the community, and it drives away kind and talented people who just want to share the stories they write. Support the works and authors you want to see more of. If you like an IF, send the author a nice message. It makes us smile and gives us the energy to continue writing.
To authors: Be kind to yourself. Take breaks. If you don't take breaks, your writing probably will be subpar, because you need a break sometimes, and you will have to fix everything you write after you actually do end up taking a break. It will also save you from feeling burnt out from writing. Don’t forget to hydrate. Only write a story if it makes you happy. You don’t owe it to anybody to continue writing a story you are fed up with; and if you don’t enjoy your own story, it will show.
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They were emphatically men of the sword. Wild and intractable, they shrunk from the bonds and discipline of confederation. They were Pagans of a bloody type; a part of their ritual of worship was to mutter incantations around a sabre stuck in the ground; and, when arrayed for conflict, they hung the skulls of their enemies slain in battle at the pommels of their saddles. With the momentum they had received, after the furious surge of the Huns had spent its force, and was finding its ebb, the Alans passed through Gaul into Spain in the beginning of the fifth century. In northern Spain they found a halting-place. They foraged in the river valleys of Portugal, and their roving bands spread all over the Peninsula, with little consistence, and consequently with little power. It is therefore difficult to trace their influence in the later periods of history. They
appear as a distinct people for only about eight years,
— from 409 to 417. Over the same track came the Suevi, and nearly
at the same time. They were a compact tribe, with far
The Suevi. more coherence. They had occupied and left
settlers in a hundred cantons between the Oder and the Danube, and had impressed their name upon a portion of the region since known as Suabia (Schwaben), one of the ten circles into which Germany was divided previous to 1806. By the requirements of their military government, each canton was bound to furnish one thousand men annually to do battle in
the interests of all.
They too were Pagans.
Every year, at the opening of their campaign, they sacrificed
a man to propitiate their god of war. As a sign of.
