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#but in the sense that they're horrible influences on each other
uhohgottashreep · 1 year
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trying to collect my thoughts about The Bad Boys (that is, jimmy grian and joel)
like. joel and grian are by far the most bloodthirsty people on the server ("aw i'm not the boogey :(" and grian's 3L murder spree while green). meanwhile jimmy is constantly referenced as the most likely to die. they're all horrible chaotic influences on each other, they're egging one another on -- but then they hasten to warn each other about leaf waterlogging on bucket jumps. they spend their afternoons quietly fishing in their little wooden clubhouse... then go back to doing property damage and stealing things and setting fires
it's two short + one tall, but the one tall is all ineffectual bravado and the two short are these totally unhinged berserkers
"we're the only ones allowed to bully jimmy" + "i love my terrifying murderous besties" energy, is this making sense??? they're driving me mad
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Idk if this is going to make any sense, but I always feel like there's something missing when I read thoughts about sskk and it really is the impact Kyouka has on them.
Like, a lot of it is "look at the impact Atsushi and Akutagawa have on each other" and "they are so similar at their cores" which is true! And essential for any bsd partner dynamic! But Kyouka also has commonalities - she has Atsushi's general wonder, simple wants and joys, and desire to be helpful and kind, but also Akutagawa's laser focused objectivity, initial lack of questioning orders, and straightforward ruthlessness when required.
But a lot of the external influence on sskk I see mentioned is Dazai and Chuuya's... which I get, because they're the previous double black, but also Chuuya is very minorly involved by proxy only, and while Dazai undeniably is at the heart of sskk conflict (and it's good to analyze in depth!!!), I feel it's understated how much it was actually Kyouka who kickstarted the development between them - Atsushi was brand-new to the Agency, but saving Kyouka cemented his mindset of proving his worth and also gave him someone to look out for - his position became less fragile from that point on and more permanent. Her mix of kindness and darkness also forces Atsushi in the Guild arc to reassess the idea that people are either "good" or "bad". (He's working on this still, but his judgements are becoming much more nuanced than at the beginning.) And as for Akutagawa... I have a lot of thoughts on their dynamic and how I really don't think there's a whole lot of bad blood there anymore after my all-time favourite scene where they fight in Cannibalism arc - but all I will say is that he legitimately thought what he was doing would make her strong enough to survive, and both Kyouka and Atsushi telling him this is wrong, that people can't live being beaten down like that forces him to reassess his own situation in the Hawthorne and Mitchell fight. (He still has a ways to go, but I seriously hope he eventually realizes that his treatment by Dazai was horribly unnecessary and cruel.)
But what's great is that Atsushi and Akutagawa influence her development too! I don't even need to get into Atsushi's: he believes in her potential and sees her as the young girl she is - not a weapon but a person. She starts off pretty much attached to him and only him, but as time goes on, she starts to adopt a more positive mindset and becomes more confident making decisions as a result of his faith in her. With Akutagawa, she is, like Atsushi, forced to reassess others, especially after he tells her he's glad for her having found that will to live. Kyouka is unable to continue fighting him after that, and I get the sense she saw him as a person there, instead of only the man who harmed her. I also find it really interesting that she has no shame or concern about her mindset aligning much more closely with his, to the point where she'll work with him if necessary.
This is a bit of a mess but really it's one long-winded ramble on how I loved these three working together in Dead Apple and would love to see them working and fighting alongside each other again. I know, I know, this is probably not going to happen because it's supposed to be about sskk as a duo but consider:
They are a trio in my heart.
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captainjacklyn · 6 months
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Love, Love, Love Part 2-ish
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A/N : continuation of this and this, hope you liked the first part because I'm on an absolute roll. To all those waiting for a continuation of many of my series, I am so sorry. I'm serious guys pls forgive me I know it's been a really long time since and I still need to finish other requests I started.
Context : Rollo gets transferred to NRC for a few months, The Headmaster decides that he would be staying at Ramshackle Dorm much to Malleus' dismay (along with grim and the first years who are aware of the truth). Yuu doesn't find it nice either but with time they allow the third year to open up to them, eventually growing mutual respect for one another, perhaps some friendship..and a bit more.
Warning(s) : fluff, mostly crack, hints of rollo liking Yuu, this is a continuation of some sort to my joke so pls understand that it isn't from the beginning, Rollo might be OOC he's just scared of Yuu, they/them pronouns for Prefect, the first years who weren't present in glorious masquerade find out and try to push rollo away. (it doesn't work) is this stolen from peter rabbit ? Yes. Most. but not all of it.
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The story starts...now ?
Something suspicious was stirring around the 'relationship' between Yuu and the strange newcomer. At least it looked like it to their close friends who were already bitter about the idea of that religious trauma-induced student coming but even more so when that horrible influence hung around their prefect.
It wasn't as if they didn't trust Yuu, they didn't trust him ! He was being all close with their mom friend pal, knowing what he did, they weren't going to stand around and do nothing. They're gonna do something about it, about him.
It all began the day the Adeuce duo and Epel witnessed Yuu casually speaking with grey haired priest and HE WAS SMILING?! OH HELL NAH GET YOUR EYEBALLS OFF OF THEM- but truly they misunderstood, for now at least, since most of the resident's interactions regarded around Yuu, threatening Flamm..Of ripping his guts out.
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"Ace, Deuce!" Grim shouted through the halls as he ran towards them, the both of them turned around to see the raccoon panting and wheezing from his sprint. "Hey there Grim- Woah what was that?~ You trynna imitate being a cheetah now?" Ace teased, his remark making the fire cat retort with a 'hey!' before Deuce stepped in to ask the obvious question. "What's wrong?" forgetting his comeback, Grim immediately switched back to panic mode.
"My Henchman! A-A-And that weird suspicious dude! They're SPENDING TIME TOGETHER AND BEING ALL WEIRD MUSHY LOOKING!" He exclaimed, his revelation shocking the two freshmen who's eyes widened in horror. "What- How?! Didn't prefect say they hated that guy?" Ace sputtered as he tried making sense of the situation, he was a bit confused as to why he was reacting this way but with the amount of braincells left he couldn't care anymore.
"That's what I thought! But this morning I found them- laughing and talking to each other!" he added more fuel to the fire, ace and deuce exchanged concerned glances and spoke in unison. "We gotta get the others."
"Yes !" Grim smiled as he threw a fist in the air. It took a good second for him to realize they didn't say what he thought they would.
"...Wait what- AH!" But he didn't have time to argue as they grabbed him by the neck and made their way to find the others.
Passing through Savannaclaw, Pomefiore and Diasomnia almost felt like an eternity to fetch Jack, Epel and Sebek. Especially the half-fae as he was persistent on the idea of staying by his future king's side during the entire duration of Rollo's stay. After sharing the news, they all bolted to Ramshackle dorm, and there they saw it.
Yuu was having a conversation with the same young man that dropped them down a trap door when they came around for a celebration. The same young man who tried to erase magic forever. And they were speaking like they've been friends for years.
The group of first years were hiding behind a tree, in between the gates of the not-so-abandoned dorm. All of their heads comically poking out to take a peek at the flabbergasting sight. "That's a lot of smiling." Epel commented as he watched the prefect supposedly laugh at something Rollo said. (They weren't, they quite literally started to laugh because of Rollo's genuinely terrified face) "More than before even." he continued, Ace added on with another remark, "They're showing a lot of teeth."
Then, Jack made a very bold statement which earned collective noises of disgust from the rest of the team. "Do you think they like him?" Sebek's face morphed into horror, Grim started gagging, Deuce looked like he was going through fifty existential crisis all at the same time, meanwhile Ace was debating on what he should express. Either way they were all mortified.
"They don't like him, they're just being nice! Yuu is nice all the time, they always smile at us!" the grey monster retorted, denying any further supposition. "Well..not like that." They flipped their heads towards the pair, and Yuu's hand rested on Rollo's shoulder as he chuckled nervously.
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"Could you imagine? You trying to take over the world again? What a joke ! I would bury you alive honestly!" the non-magic student exclaimed as they broke into another loud laughter. Rollo could only nod along a little offended but mostly nervous, "Right yes no that would- that won't ever happen." "Yes because I will actually force-feed you the flowers you tried killing us with."
"😨"
"😄"
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Yay. Part 3 coming up soon.
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astrojulia · 1 year
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Explaining the Aspects
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A very important part of everything in astrology (predictive astrology, natal charts, synastry…) is knowing how aspects work.
There are two ways to explain each one of them, the more formal one which is what you see in books and the one with analogies. I like to do both because it's hard to make something stick in my head, LOL. So let's go.
What is an aspect?
Okay, so now let's finally talk about what all these astrological aspects really mean. Basically, the aspects are like the different vibes and energies that flow between the planets, which represent different parts of your personality. So, depending on which planets are in aspect with each other, you might feel more stressed out or more at peace in different areas of your life.
It's kind of like a map of your inner world, and the different angles and shapes that the planets form can either create a sense of harmony or tension. The way that these energies interact can really affect your personality and how you feel day-to-day. So, if you've got a lot of planets aspecting with each other, you might feel those influences more strongly than if they were just hanging out on their own.
There are several aspects, but the ones I use and the ones that are most seen are: Conjunction, Sextile, Square, Trine and Opposition. What about the others you may say, well, I don't work with them, so I am not going to dive in about something I am horrible not good at.
Conjunction
Basically, a conjunction happens when two planets are in the exact same spot on your astrological chart - we're talking zero degrees here, people. Typically, people say that an orb of eight degrees on either side is what counts for a conjunction, so there's about a sixteen-degree arc where these planets can be hanging out together.
When planets are conjunct, it means that the parts of your personality that these planets represent are getting super cozy with each other. The quality of this connection really depends on which planets are involved - if it's two inner planets, you're probably looking at a pretty chill and harmonious situation. But if it's a mix of different kinds of planets (like mental and emotional), you might get some tension going on.
If the Sun is involved in a conjunction, it's going to make the planet it's conjuncting even more powerful. And if the Moon is involved, it's going to bring out the subconscious influence of that planet in your psyche.
Now, when we start talking about outer planets, things can get a little tricky. Depending on how your psyche is set up, a conjunction between outer planets can either be super harmonious or super stressful. And let's be real, most people find the energies of outer planets to be pretty difficult to deal with.
Even calculated points like the Ascendant and Midheaven can get in on the conjunction party, and they tend to take on the flavor of whatever planet they're conjuncting. So, if you've got a planet conjuncting your Ascendant, that planet's influence is going to be even more magnified in your personality.
In other words, conjunction is when two planets will work on the same issue in their company, and depending on the planets the work environment will be good or bad.
Sextile
The sextile is like two planets giving each other a friendly high-five from a distance of sixty (60) degrees apart. It creates a hexagram and a Star of David shape on the astrological chart. Basically, if two planets are within twelve (12) degrees of each other, they're sextiling. It's considered a good vibe kind of aspect, like the universe is giving you a little helping hand. It's all about opportunities and being able to make the most of them.
When planets are sextiling, it's like they're saying, "Hey, let me help you out, bro!" or "Yo, I've got a great idea, let's work together!" They complement each other and bring out the best in one another. For example, when a fiery planet is sextiling an airy planet, it's like they're two peas in a pod. Similarly, when an earthy planet is sextiling a watery planet, they just get each other.
But, like everything in life, there can be downsides to the sextile. If you ignore the opportunities presented by the sextile, you might miss out on some great stuff. If you pursue them too hard, you could end up stepping on other people's toes. If things come too easily to you, you might start taking them for granted. And if you're not careful, you might let greed and selfishness get in the way of your personal growth. So, remember to stay humble and grateful, and take advantage of the good vibes when they come your way!
In other words, the planets support each other here: it’s a collaboration no matter the company sector they work for. If one is making a mistake, the other will rectify it and not complain; if something is wrong it will provide support and not critique. For example, if your Pluto is in sextile to Jupiter, you will feel quite powerful while you’re feeling lucky, but if you play too much, you will recall that you need to be more serious and reserved.
Square
It's what happens when two planets are 90 degrees apart from each other. Usually, there's an orb of about 8 degrees in either direction, so the square can happen for about 16 degrees total. This divides the circle into quarters and makes a square shape within it.
The thing about the square is that it's all about conflict and confrontation. It's like two cars crashing into each other or one car smashing into the side of another. The right angle means there's a lot of resistance and neither planet can easily budge the other. So, it's not exactly a happy-go-lucky kind of aspect - it's considered a tough one.
Basically, the square represents different parts of your mind that are fighting with each other. And if you're not dealing with those inner struggles, you might end up projecting them outward and causing conflicts with others. The planets involved in a square are usually in elements that don't mix well, like Earth and Fire, Fire and Water, Water and Air, or Air and Earth. So, it's hard to find common ground and make peace.
But hey, don't despair! Even though squares are traditionally seen as bad news, some astrologers think they can be good for you. The tension and conflict represented by the square can help you grow and develop. It forces you to overcome obstacles and learn how to deal with difficult situations. So, even though it might not be easy, it could be just what you need to become a stronger, better version of yourself. And, honestly, a chart without any squares might mean you're not being challenged enough to really reach your full potential.
In other words, when the planets are subtracting each other. They go to the desktop and refuse to look each other in the eyes. They will not cooperate when it comes to working together. So if you have Jupiter in the 10th house and Mars in the 1st house, when talking about career you can see your Mars as your eternal front neighbor who sells exactly the same thing as you, you can help each other… but it will need A LOT of maturity.
Trine
Hey, so the trine is formed when two planets are separated by 120 degrees. It's considered a chill and harmonious aspect, and can be represented by an equilateral triangle within the horoscope circle. Basically, everything is balanced and the vibes are good. The energy between the planets flows easily and functions associated with those planets tend to work well together.
If you have a trine in your chart, you might find yourself feeling happy and content with its trine subject. However, there are some risks associated with the trine. If one or both of the planets are difficult for you to work with, the trine can actually amplify that difficulty. Also, because everything seems so easy, you might become too complacent or unprepared for life's challenges.
On the upside, the trine can help raise your consciousness and connect you with your spiritual side. There's also something called a grand trine, which is even more awesome because it involves three planets in trine with one another, creating a circular flow of harmonious energy. All in all, the trine is a pretty sweet aspect in astrology.
In other words, the planets add up and it can be both useful and dangerous. A trine in earth house (2nd,6th and 10th), might generate an obsession with these themes, making the native anxious, as well give the native skills that can make it shine in several fields.
Opposition
So, basically, when two planets are opposite each other at a distance of 180 degrees, it's called an opposition. This means that the functions represented by those planets work in opposite directions and can often lead to conflict. However, the conflict associated with an opposition is generally more easily resolvable than that associated with a square.
The key to resolving the conflict of an opposition is to realize that the duality between the two functions is just an illusion. Both sides of the opposition actually share common qualities and complement each other. By finding this common ground, opposition can be transformed into cooperation and harmony, leading to strength and wholeness.
However, if the conflict is left unresolved, it can lead to confusion, dilemma, and ongoing conflict. To protect itself from the discomfort of the conflict, the ego may adopt one of three defense mechanisms: siding with one end of the opposition, suppressing one side of the opposition, or projecting the qualities of one of the opposed functions onto someone or something else.
Eventually, though, the subconscious mind will create circumstances that force the ego to confront the conflict of the opposition. So it's better to face the conflict head-on and work towards finding common ground and cooperation rather than avoiding it altogether.
In other words, the planets will argue A LOT, but remember that not every discussion is bad, there’s discussions that’re for improvement, like debates.. but this is always an exhaustive process. When you use energy from your Moon that’s in opposition to your Mercury, both your emotional and rational will get tired because the two worked, even on opposite sides.
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Sources
[15] SERVANTOFTHEFATES. Disponível em: https://servantofthefates.tumblr.com/. Acesso em: 29 de mar. de 2023.
Art: Spin@書籍発売!
[7] GARGATHOLIL. Depth Astrology: An Astrological Handbook - Volume 1: Introduction. Smashwords Edition, 2014.
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drama-glob · 2 months
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Hazbin Hotel Thoughts (Based on what we now know about Lucifer)
HAZBIN HOTEL SPOILERS!!!
Now that we've seen Lucifer and gotten to see how he acts/how bad his depression is and his disgust/disregard for Sinners, it had me thinking about a few things about Hell, the other Deadly Sins and motivations for messing with Earth.
As mentioned by Lute, Lucifer pardoned Charlie and the hellborn from the Extermination when it was being set up, so by the time this happened, Lucifer had already tried to rehabilitate Sinners too but had given up (based on what he said anyway and since it likely took centuries to a thousand years or so for Hell to have enough of a population that Heaven felt threatened by it), so clearly he doesn't want the actual natives to be harmed during the slaughter; this and the fact that Lucifer has the Sinners restricted to Pride indicates to me he does at least care about them and maybe even saw them as less horrible than Sinners since we've seen that they're not wholly evil despite where they're born. (Yes, I know there's a chance Lilith played a big part in the negotiation if he was so disheartened by this point, but Lucifer didn't seem particularly evil or cruel, so him having some compassion for those that are true citizens of Hell that would also be killed without a second thought doesn't seem too hard to believe :/).
But with the fact that Lucifer shows such disdain for Sinners as a whole and even seems to regret them being given free will, it makes me curious as to the fact why would he want Pride to be riddled with more of them by having the Deadly Sins infiltrate Earth more and more? The best I can figure is that since he found himself as the King of Hell and despite his angelic origins, this is his home and kingdom now, so his concern lay with making sure it was as powerful and fortified as possible and just resigned to believing that humans were basically awful and the Deadly Sins' influence wasn't really going to change what was predestined, basically seeing the souls in Heaven as the exception not the rule. :/ I wonder if the Extermination also helps Hell's environment by feeding the planet or whatever with all that energy from the Sinners when they are killed, so there's that potential possible "silver-lining" to having so many die each year. :/ Earth does seem admittedly crucial to some grand plot in the universe, but since Hell only seems to get souls from there, it makes sense so much focus would be spent on it in addition to the stars that affect it.
On a side-note, I'm guessing the more depressed Lucifer got, the less engaged he was with the others and held less and less meetings, maybe even sending Lilith or Charlie in his place. It may have even got to the point after Lilith left that Lucifer was just apathetic about the whole thing and said, "Do what you want. Just keep your rings in order and don't let humanity catch on. I don't care." :/ I also wouldn't be surprised if Charlie even spoke/found comfort with those like Ozzie and Bee more than Lucifer just because they were more open and available to talk. :(
I just don't think he had the Sins and the Goetia focused on Earth out of spite/it being a big middle finger to Heaven, but merely as a recourse to make sure Hell survived since they are after all at Heaven's mercy with how powerful their weapons are. Granted, I'm sure the royals held their own feelings about Heaven and have their own intentions with the whole spreading Hell's influence agenda, (whether they all turn out to be fallen angels or not, which so far they've only mentioned Lucifer is one so that leaves their origins still up in the air), but Lucifer seemed more defeated and scared of Heaven taking what was left from him at this point than needing to prove his ideas were right and that it's purely Heaven that's wrong (even if he did try to defend them in the past mind you). :/
*It's just some things that were rattling around in my brain and I wanted to get them out, especially before we get the season finale that may debunk some or all of this. :)
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Hii!! Apologies you got Kidnapped into the fandom.
just wanted to let you know it's really rare to come across another Indian Lgbtq+ being on here and it's sort of......uplifting I guess? To know that you're not really alone in that sense.
I really love your sense of humor, and your posts, keep up the good work!!
Also, congratulations on being mutuals with @neil-gaiman on here.
Anyways, its not much of an ask, moreso an attempt at an appreciation post, but I hope it doesn't get lost in your ask box.
Also you should try Old Monk.
I bet your commentary on that would be hilarious!!
Stay fresh and hydrated!!
Hellooo maggot! Thank you for the apology, most of the fandom is extremely unrepentant for their crimes. A true tragedy. Shakespearian.
Thank you so much, and I'm so happy that you feel happier and seen. It's so easy to feel alone as a queer person in India, isn't it? It's horribly isolating and feeling unsafe all the time is exhausting. Which yeah is the queer experience worldwide too, to a lesser degree or in a different way. But here... it's a whole new level of fucked.
But we aren't alone. Remember that when it gets shitty, yeah? There are so many Indian queer people. I know many myself. There are so many queer Indian maggots, too (hey y'all give this maggot a wave so they know they're not alone!) and it's incredible to see how people come together to shelter under the fandom umbrella.
Especially good omens, though in good omens it is actually an awning to shelter under while it's raining, wet and looking into each other's eyes. Although not vavooming. I think. *Looks around alarmed* Have I missed something are we all vavooming???
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Thank you for tempting me to write more posts with alcohol, the fandom is an amazing influence, 1000/10 job at parenting me. One thing I will say though, every single of you have ensured that I keep drinking water. I went and drank a cup now just for you.
More water so more tears over Crowley!
Take all the love, we're not alone. That's what I love most about good omens. How much I feel seen, not just as a queer person, but as a person.
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tired-reader-writer · 6 months
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Magic in Winds of Wolfsong
This is the magic system (if it could be called that) I created for Winds of Wolfsong, my Arslan Senki AU. The post will mainly feature how the Marda clan (a clan of OCs that Arslan, Isfan, Gieve, etc are also part of) uses magic, but they're not the only ones who use magic in the ArSen world, this is centered around Pars and the clan because they are narratively relevant.
A history of magic
The study and usage of magic was much more commonplace and powerful back in the days, days before Zahhak would come to reign Pars. It must've been the case for much of the world, really, magic existed and then something happened that tried to wipe out the existence of magecraft— for Pars, it was Zahhak. Other countries likely had other incidents. For example, even in novel canon, we see the prosperity of magic in Jamshid's era. He and many mages created horrible magical beasts for the sake of hunting them down for sport, if I were to remember correctly. Zahhak himself was actually one of those creations.
In days of old, there were... many “schools” of magic, so to speak. Not school as in like the schools we go to to learn, school as in something like “school of thought”, a particular way of thinking or interacting with magic, a way of life. There were many such schools, each with their own different ways of training and learning magic, and much of the process of learning was via master to protege instead of something more like an institution. They were numerous and diverse.
When the Serpent King took the throne by force, he began to stomp out the use and study of magic outside of his own followers and disciples with extreme prejudice, fearing that any of these mage populations may eventually develop the tools to harm or kill him and end his reign. Much of the knowledge was lost and mages fewer in numbers, more isolated from each other because they had to go into hiding.
The Marda were one of the few that survived to this day, and were instrumental in the defeat of the Serpent King, for they were the ones to craft the legendary sword Rukhnabad.
But things did not get better even after Kaykhusraw ascended the throne. He betrayed them, betrayed the mages, because he feared their power, what they could be capable of. The priesthood, starting from his reign, became mage-hunters of sorts. They feared the possibility of Zahhak's followers remaining, or any of the surviving mages creating another Zahhak, and so they sought to eradicate them, and prohibited the use of magic amongst the priesthood outside of a very limited range of skills.
Because of these reasons, encountering a mage or sorcerer would be rare in the present day, rarer still would be the prospect of two mages from two different schools encountering each other. Magecraft has become extremely localized, only existing in remote or rural areas and masters never really having more than two disciples at most— even the masters themselves are extremely rare. One could say they are of a dying kind.
A clan or a whole organization of magic users would be nigh unthinkable in this day and age. The Marda's continued survival was an extremely unlikely case.
Magic as the fabric of the world
The concept of a world inhabited by spirits and emotions and mystical qualities is older than time— it's a concept present in many religions of our world and history.
The world is alive, in a somewhat literal sense. Spirits inhabit everything— the earth, stone, waters, air, trees, animals, humans, and the like. Some (most?) are untethered, floating freely. The world is saturated with them, and they are an essential part in the way magic works in this world, because magic is the pure energy derived from the soul or spirits.
Let's start small, with the human body.
A human (or really all living creatures) is composed of a body and a soul. They aren't so separate as you might think, the body influences the soul and the soul influences the body, harming one means harming the other, they only separate upon death.
The body is sort of the boundary keeping the soul from just outright blending into the world and other spirits. Spirits have no body, so they don't really have this clear-cut boundary between “themselves” and “everything outside of themselves” the way a living thing w a body will have. They phase in and out and merge and divide and all in all there's not a sense of “self” or “identity”, there's no need. They're of the world and... they're the world itself.
What happens when a person dies is that their body decays and disintegrates, and their soul “returns” to the world to mingle with other souls.
It's like water. The water in a cup is like a soul in a body. But when the cup is gone the water returns to the lake where the water originally came from, anyways. At that point there's no point distinguishing “this part of the water used to be in a blue cup” or anything, it just becomes the lake. It's the same deal with souls.
Magical energy is derived from spirits and souls, and certain locations may have more potent and concentrated magical energy, such as places where mass death had occured in the past, places where religious ceremonies used to be held but aren't anymore, abandoned temples, certain natural locations and structures such as caves, and more.
Magic as concord
The usage of magic would involve the harnessing of magical energy present in either oneself or one's surroundings, and there are many ways to achieve that though many of the schools have gone extinct.
One of such ways is what I call a concord. The interaction and harmony between a mage and the djinn. (Side note: We don't ever get confirmation on what kind of spirit the djinn are in canon, so I'm going to use the word as a catch-all term for all kinds of spirits for the purposes of this lore post.) Asking them for favors, borrowing magical power from them, and the like. It is a relationship of respect, it has to be, it's a part of the djinn the mage is asking to take, after all. Remember that djinn are literally made of magic and nothing else.
Something along similar lines though now largely extinct would be the relationship between a patron deity and a worshipper. The worshipper or priest could beseech for the deity to grant them blessings or boons. This is an older and more powerful form of a concord.
The boons received from a concord could be something like powering the sails for a smooth and speedy journey, charming your fires to stay warm for longer, the wind never getting in the way of one's arrows, fires staying alight for longer and requiring less firewood, the mage being less likely to be affected by temperatures, the ability to sense magic more clearly, things like that. There's not much in terms of spectacle, no showy fireballs or somesuch, that's for other fantasy stories. This is more... subdued. Intimate.
On the subject of concords, the djinn and the divine aren't the only ones a mage can form a concord with— there is another, more permanent kind formed with other living beings with bodies, particularly animals.
Familiars.
When a mage spends an extended amount of time with an animal that they've bonded with, think a beloved horse or a pet or anything along those lines, they begin to influence each other. The animal gains sharper senses, higher intelligence, and a longer lifespan. The mage might also gain sharper senses and the like. Their souls are linked with each other. This is what it means to love, remember that magic is derived from the heart and soul.
The Marda clan introduces animals to their children while they're young, in the hopes that they will develop a deep bond with each other.
Could it happen between two humans? I say yes, a similar sort of thing. Not the same exact thing but think of how people influence and inspire each other. Is that not a form of magic as well?
Magic as craftsmanship
Not the product, not the materials, but the act of crafting itself that is magic, though we'll get to the former two eventually as well.
Hours of needlework dipping and pulling taut on a piece of fabric, hundreds of hammer strikes on a piece of metal. A shuttle carrying the weft thread back and forth through the warp fibers, the taking of something tangled and faulty and spinning it until smooth and strong— that's magic.
Craftspeople are able to tap deeper into the work they do and work wonders as a result of their bonds with it. It gives them a way to connect more deeply, almost to engage empathetically with their materials, feel for what the things they're working with are feeling.
For example, a weaver may get frustrated when the fibers they're trying to prepare for spinning and weaving are sticking all over their body— but with enough firmness and dedication, almost an empathy of sorts, they may be able to pull the fibers off themselves and coax them into cooperating.
There is always a degree of emotionality or awareness from the materials and spirits, the latter of which are made of emotions. It is the craftsperson's task to interact with them, draw out their properties, give them a purpose, shape them into their best forms. Fairly ordinary things crafted from fairly ordinary materials, but the result is something extraordinary that might just be able to touch something more. Craft can give a sense of purpose and direction to the inherent base of magic ordinary materials possess— elevate them into something beyond a mere product. Even simple materials like stone and wood can become sacred when built into structures like temples or instruments for sacred rituals.
Of course, some materials have more potent magic than others... Normal metal vs metal from a meteorite, fruits and herbs harvested under a certain constellation in a particular season vs the same plants harvested at any other period, things collected from a certain location saturated with spiritual power, there is so much wonder in the world.
Some particularly well-crafted items could be passed from generation to generation, and come to embody properties they didn't originally have— they're given a sense of character and honor and whatnot, coming to mean something more than say just a sword or just a table, things used for a long time come to develop their own character, imbued with the user's spirit, entwined.
You will have most certainly heard the phrase “pour one's heart and soul into something” before, writers, artists, craftspeople, anyone who creates anything, it's something dear to us, dear to our hearts, and all creatives know what it feels like. The genuine bond and love we have towards our crafts. I just happened to make it... a little more literal here, because of course, there is magic in souls in this world, and a craft is something you pour your soul into. That is why it is a wedding tradition for the marrying couple in the Marda clan to display a lifetime of things they had created with their own hands, their masterpieces, because it is believed to be proof of the beauty of one's soul, the dedication they are capable of.
Magic as song
Music is the bridge between worlds, the language of all languages that transcend all barriers. It is used as a medium to communicate with the djinn, invite them for a ceremony, incite them to congregate, certain melodies and incantations and words giving a sense of purpose to the formless, amorphous, floating djinn, to achieve a desired effect.
This is also why melodic incantations are present in the prayers of Parsian faith (side note: the religion should probably have an actual name, Zoroastrianism for example is called mazda-yasna aka the worship of Ahura Mazda, chief and creator deity and the all-wise one. As the Parsian faith is based on Zoroastrianism, I suppose their name could be something along those lines as well, something-something-yasna, though I'd like to differentiate it from its irl counterpart just as there's a distinction between Christianity and the faith of Yaldabaoth. Do y'all have any ideas?)
Music is art, isn't it? Like many forms of art and craftsmanship it's something you pour your heart into. The same principles I've described above in magic as craftsmanship also apply here.
Magic as dance
Where there is music, there tends to be dance, and the Marda have traditional dances— dances to old and ancient melodies endeavoring to sync up the body and soul to what the song is conveying. It's a form of magic unique to them.
Dance allows the djinn to dwell in the dancer's body and to channel their strength through them— music communicates, gives, and dance… dance receives. Music invites the djinn, and dance directs them, like how an orchestra conductor may direct their band. The dancers regulate and control the flow of magic for a desired outcome.
The best mages, the ones who are dancers, dance for the spirits in certain times of the year around which their celebrations are centered. A lot of their ceremonies are centered around song and dance.
Allowing spirits inside your body is the ultimate gesture of trust, and it takes a lot of effort and understanding and practice because one must be in harmony with the spirit they had accepted inside them, lest things go very very haywire and harm the dancer or the people around them. It is regarded as the most intimate form of magecraft because of its nature. For non-masters, incorporating some moves would mean the stay would be temporary, but for masters... spirits dwell for the whole dance.
Kazai’s combat for example is heavily based on his dance, allowing the djinn to dwell in parts of his body to boost his strength or impart their properties unto him, earth for strength, fire for power, water for flexibility, and so on. Outside of combat, though, he can also act as a mediator/conductor for spirits during ceremonies.
Magic as writing and sigils
There is not much to say in this section because this is not a primary method for the Marda to channel their magic, but it exists. Think of charms and talismans, prayers inscripted onto an object. Think of wards and runes and spell-arrays. Just as melodic chants and song give form and purpose to the magic in the world, certain symbols and sigils and letters can achieve similar things. Think of how in many cultures irl true names and such hold power.
Magic as healing
Recall how I mentioned that all living things have souls— magecraft involves channeling not only the magic in the world around you, but also that within yourself.
Energy from the soul is consumed and utilized for things like healing wounds and injuries, and the body and soul work in tandem for both physical and mental tasks. There is a reason one feel fatigued after tasks, after all.
The art of healing is a way to control and amplify the process, skilled healers guiding both the patient's and the djinn's energies using their own as a medium to promote healing in a wound and such, making sure it heals swiftly and correctly.
To help with that, medicinal herbs are also utilized, the healer/physician concocting medicine and poultices, drawing out their properties the same way a craftsperson might. It's the same principle, and the notion of collecting herbs and ingredients in “auspicious” times (for lack of a better word for now) when the properties of the herbs would be most potent, also applies.
For the Marda, there is no distinction between mental problems and physical ones because harming one means harming the other, they're intrinsically intertwined, and so both types of problems are handled with the same amount of care, and healers are responsible for soothing both the body and the mind. I suppose it would be somewhat similar to therapy— just with... more spirits and magic involved.
Magic as defying nature
Not all forms of magecraft are harmonic with nature, though. Sometimes a sorcerer might choose to override nature, domineer over spirits, change their very nature, force the world to bend around them. This is the school of magecraft Zahhak's disciples aka Team Zahhak is under, earth isn't supposed to be intangible like one could swim in water, objects aren't supposed to be able to randomly change into a venomous snake, human bodies aren't supposed to have certain traits, winged apes and four-eyed hounds/wolves aren't supposed to exist, Zahhak isn't supposed to exist.
It's a school of magic diametrically opposed to that of the clan who promotes harmony and respect and cooperation. Zahhak's disciples look down on the Marda, and the Marda are repulsed by them.
Magic in other countries
I mean, they must exist, right? Serics may have something along the lines of stuff we see in wuxia/xianxia fiction inspired by Taoism, Misr and even the pagan religions of Lusitania and Maryam having their own brand of magic. They must have their own history and beliefs, and their own Incident that would've greatly reduced the prominence of magecraft. I have refrained from covering them because they aren't all that relevant to the AU. But they exist.
Inspirations and References
Otoyomegatari
The Ancient Magus Bride
A Tale of Crowns
Magi (even as I have so, so much beef with it)
Hunter X Hunter
Burmese Shamanism
My own experiences as an artist
History and mythology videos from Overly Sarcastic Productions
Videos about soft magic systems by Hello Future Me
The Hinokami Kagura scene from Kimetsu no Yaiba
Various videos from Tale Foundry
Bernadette Banner (no, really, her channel was what gave me such an appreciation for crafts, and inspired me to mend my own clothes)
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mishy-mashy · 2 months
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That smile that Bruce has in his final moments really make me think he already passed OFA and already knew his successor was going to strengthen the quirk rather than fight straight away. So he knew the quirk would be safe and they had some advantage over afo
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Yeah, he did pass it on before fighting AFO; every OFA wielder managed to pass it on before their death by AFO's hand. Only Banjo and En (excluding All Might and Midoriya) still held it when they fought AFO, so Bruce would've been like the others: fighting with the Ability/Quirk already passed on.
For reference, the excerpt from that volume extra with Banjo's face on it;
"All the predecessors besides the Fourth were indeed killed by All For One, but each one managed to pass on the Quirk before their death."
All For One killed them. But they passed on the Quirk before they faced him.
But also, Shinomori went into hiding to avoid society, I don't think he'd actually join the fight of the Resistance when they're fighting AFO's side—he's at the top of their chaotic land. It's a fight with the one who governs current society. The "demon lord". Most of the Resistance died with Kudo, so Bruce fighting AFO was either with whoever was left, or he was completely alone, and those are old corpses.
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At Bruce's fight and eventual death with AFO, I think he might've gone back to where Kudo and the rest died. Whether he did or not, he took the last members with the Resistance for a last stand, if any remained. They probably did have some left; Kudo shouldn't have left Bruce to fight him and continue OFA, with no one on his side. Cruel, and a small platform for Bruce to stand on. The platform of the vestiges was already small compared to AFO when doing a symbolism of the power difference. Imagine Bruce on his own.
(This was when Nana and Yoichi pushed AFO+AFO/Tomura out of the vestige world)
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Plus, since the Resistance started out of "our Leader [having] misgivings about the future", Kudo wouldn't have brought everyone to fight AFO. If he did, the Resistance ends right there; there has to be a chance their will and cause continues into the future, neverminding Bruce and OFA. I don't mean Yoichi's will here—I mean the Resistance's. Don't bring everyone to the death march.
But look at how we only see two others when Bruce died, and even after Bruce is clearly dead, AFO still tries getting an answer from him. He wouldn't have left any survivors in this fight, let alone Kudo's.
Since Shinomori got OFA when he was 22, I think he and Bruce had been something of colleagues before, especially since Bruce knew where to find him in the forests. Since Shinomori had run into the hermit life to escape society and its weirdos, citing it as a "horrible era"
Bruce could just trust him with it and ran back to the city. He knew where to find him, they're close in age, one decided to fight to restore society while the other ran from it for what it became...
He didn't choose a member of the Resistance. But Bruce made a smart choice for who the next successor would be. He chose fast (enough that AFO was still mad about Kudo and Yoichi to bother interrogating a corpse), and chose the guy who:
● lives off the radar
● has a will against AFO/society, driven enough that he went off to hide
● has an Ability that senses danger, so he can always escape or be warned in time
● can evade AFO and his influence repeatedly
● is cautious, if not careful
● isn't tempermental to go get himself killed, with enough fear to know to step back
● would be unknown and non-existent to AFO, because he avoids society, where the big evil lurks
Shinomori knew the instant he received the Quirk that he wasn't strong enough. Bruce would have to have been present to at least pass it on, so Bruce probably knew Shinomori's decision too, to build up the will.
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Until En with his hair, each transfer was probably blood, since that was the OG method between Yoichi and Kudo that worked for sure.
When Bruce passed it to Shinomori, he chose a guy who didn't have an offensive Ability like him or Kudo (who managed to use his offensively when it was just small objects at his time). He chose a guy who could keep the wielder and Quirk safe, and would pass it on once he was done with his turn. I don't know if they knew Quirks stockpiled in OFA, but if they did, Bruce made a smart choice. If they knew or not, Bruce still chose well to ensure the will continued into the future, away from AFO's reach.
So yeah. Bruce passed One For All before fighting All For One, and likely knew Shinomori's intention. The reason he smiled could've been because he knew AFO would take another loss today, but the only details we got of his death are few. He smiled, fought, and died impaled, with dead comrades around, and AFO trying to get an answer out of him for Yoichi's whereabouts.
I'm still curious on why Bruce smiled because there are reasons we could put together, and reasons we don't know. Was it because he got one over AFO? Did he enjoy the fight? Because he was facing death in the face and couldn't help but smile? Because somewhere, One for All was growing to screw AFO over in the future? We don't know much of the fight's details itself beyond [AFO participated] and [Bruce was killed].
(Remembering how Bruce's Ability works just puts his fight against AFO as even more desperate or dire, really. He temporarily charges energy, but can only release it per limb once [ex. Midoriya still having a leg of Fa Jin]. So like when Midoriya used his individual fingers, Bruce only gets one shot for each body part he can think of. His strength with OFA isn't as much as it could be either, because he isn't the wielder anymore. All he has are the leftover fumes.)
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lucky-draws · 6 months
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scholarly article: maria silent hill.
uhhmm i feel like ive got a lot of maria thoughts that have been floating in my head for ages and they need to escape captivity. this isn't structured analysis though this is just me trying to explain why i like her in a rambling and disorganised manner. (and sort of hoping it might help me to do some art or something.)
the obvious thing that makes maria such an interesting character is that she's not Real...she's the product of james' imagination (at least, that's one interpretation..) ...she's an idea, a symbolism, a hallucination, a ghost, whatever. but in born from a wish, you get to play as her, you get to hear her thoughts, you experience her and she feels as "real" as any other playable character, and it's like. its just so so good, because she's a self-aware unalive girl and there's so much to explore regarding her sense of self, and her sense of identity. like.
she has no past, no memories. or does she? does she have mary's memories, or tastes, or habits, or was she "born" as a blank slate? there's so many different ways to think of her, but in the case of her being a product of james' mind as a kind of idealised version of mary/expression of his sexual repression, i like to think that some of james' desires manifest in her, like maybe she has this kind of restless energy, a restless hunger/desire that she can't really control or finds it hard to suppress. idk its hard to articulate. ( listen to sister of night by depeche mode if you like because that is a song that makes me think hoh....this is maria ! )
and the whole thing of her knowing that she only exists in james mind/because of james. she tries to cling on to him, tries to convince him that "i'm always here for you, james!" because she knows that as a figment of his imagination, if he decides he doesn't want her anymore, she will just cease to exist. james is her "creator" basically. she's at his mercy.which is a horrible and tasty dynamic. and i just enjoy the whole thing of can she break free of him; can she break free of her connection to him, to mary, can she develop thoughts and feelings and desires that are entirely her own. could she become a "real" person. does she want to? she knows she's a ghost; but when she decides not to kill herself, is that out of a desire to live or resignation to the fact that she can't die? she's an incredibly lonely character.
(also if you've ever seen tarkovskys solaris or read the book maybe you will understand me when i compare her to the character of hari i.e. an apparition/hallucination who possibly becomes/believes she becomes real. idk. unalive girls who become alive even though its sort of not possible. i just enjoy them. )
i also have a very specific sort of canon-divergence flavour of idea related to the rebirth ending and in a sort of maria x mary way; my vague imagining is that james succeeds in bringing mary back to life, through the ancient Powers of the town or whatever. but there's a catch, so to speak; maybe the town demands that for a life to be reborn, a life has to be taken, and so james um. conveniently for shipping purposes. dies. but mary lives, and so does maria, because the mysterious and tricky town considers her to be inseperable from mary/kind of the same person, so they both end up alive and in silent hill. which opens up so many issues like. how does maria come to terms with looking at someone who is her copy (and vice versa.).
does mary even want to be alive? maybe she isn't "properly" alive; maybe she's just a ghost like maria. maybe james isn't really dead; maybe they're both existing as products of both his imagination and the town's influence; either way, now there's two unalive girls in an empty, monster-filled town. and it's like do they hate each other are they just sad ghosts together do they have gay sex sometimes we just dont know. i wanted/still kind of want to write fic about this idea in some form or other but so far i just haven't really managed to find time or braincells but maybe i still can at some point.
of course, there are other ways of interpreting maria; i've seen the theory that actually, she's the product of mary's desires; she's who mary wants to be, an idealised mary who isn't sick. and maybe she felt some kind of repression or opression being with james. and it certainly fits the "born from a wish" title very well; a wish to be healthy, a wish to be free. who knows. that idea is equally tasty and fascinating, really, but i only have room in my tiny mind for one interpretation so im kind of just leaning for now towards her being born from james' mind intstead . so uhm.
conclusion: she's just so so fascinating to me and she rotates in the back of my mind 24/7. i love sh2 and i looove born from a wish its sooo interesting to be able to play as someone like maria.
also she's sexy .
the end.
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bethsullivan94 · 7 days
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Beth's Diary #1: Before The Storm
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Hello and this is Beth's diary "hashtag one". I'm currently working as a guitar technician in Portland, Oregon. I constantly feel like I'm at the wrong place driving on the wrong lane of my dreams, you see, my whole family is from LA and everybody knows I wanted to become a profissional writer since high-school. I have skills for writting any kinds of stuff. From poetry to song lyrics, from short stories to novels. I even started a project for a Netflix tv-show with the help of a senior/war veteran about his life in the army. It was actually a comedy full of good fortune. I'm excellent on starting new projects but horrible to conclude them. And well, here I am now, brought by destiny, to LA! After a full night of work and partying. It's raining like crazy and I love it. It helps refreshing my memory and mind. It's alot going on concerning my internal battles. I'm near my youngest sister's home and I catch myself in a crossroad: You see, it's been a long time since I've been trying to prove myself and value to my family, the world and I. But when I say family, I only mean my youngest sister. My parents are separated and they're nuts. Dad was an alcoholic and mom is a drug addict. Even though me and Ellie tried SO hard to get a better life, forced into some part-time job becoming a full-time career - so to speak - there are just too many scars of life that holds us down somehow. Ellie might be the youngest, but she still the strongest. Always has the right answers to everything. Perhaps she got the turn around she deserved when she had her 3rd child, Kassie. Oh sweet Kassie, that cute little blondie angel she is. I miss her so much. I like to give her the best influence I can give her. My heart was beating differently to the rythm of the drums, few minutes ago at the live show. My life just took an unexpected turn tonight as I discovered I'm pregnant. This revelation sent me shockwaves to all my senses, including my burning eyes.
I'm completely unsure of how to navigate this chapter of my life and here's a toast to the worst case scenario, coz I'm doing this alone as I don't know exactly who or where the father is.
That's it. I'm gonna need Ellie's help to figure this one out. Again. I'm calling an uber L.A.X. to get there. *Beth leaves the pub and gets in the car while getting all wet by the heavy rain. Beth decides to make a quick stop at a shop to buy Kassie a gift and her father too. For Kassie, a nice bracelet for badass rock chicks only. As for Kassie's father, a toilet shape coffee mug with a saying ''Lazy man's beer mug". She laughed so hard when she spotted that one. Back in the uber driver's car, she can't help but feel a twinge of envy towards Ellie. Watching her youngest sister effortlessly juggle the responsibilities of motherhood while maintaining a stability and a sense of grace left Beth feeling weak and lonely.*
Beth swallowed her pride mixed with crying and sobbing and leaned on her faith of her sister's support. "Thanks for the ride!" I said, before getting off of the car. The heavy rain was the least of my problems at that moment. I didn't feel myself uncomfortable about the thousands of drops of water more than the life growing inside of me by each second that passed. I look up to the sky and I see the building she lives in. So tall and painted in red. Kind of gave me the creeps when coincidentally a thunder struck the sky. "Come on Beth, look alive" - said that to myself as I ring the door bell. I hear she yelling at the kids who were supposed to open the door for her. As she approaches the door, I take a step back. There's Ellie looking to the other corner of the coridoor, confused. I do a sneaky move and go near her while she's on her back to me. She slightly turns: "BOO!"
Like for more ♥
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smoreofbabylon · 4 months
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I just came from mirror dance and would love your director's commentary on this bit. I mean a lot of bits but if I have to pick:
A part of her feels she shouldn’t, somehow. But there’s no rule she can think of, and Wyll’s smile is very charming, and she’d like—whatever that moment was, she’d like to be part of it briefly, to keep it alive. So she nods, and rises.
She doesn’t know if she’s ever danced before, but the movements feel familiar somehow. Falling into step with Wyll is simple—not as effortless as it looks, but it’s pleasant, paying attention to someone else so closely and feeling that attention returned. Reach, turn, step. Like training with a weapon, she thinks, but she doesn’t remember which one. Hands up, almost touching palm to palm, stepping back. Movement without urgency, almost a meditation. She’s smiling. Slide apart, then together, and turn with the music, with Wyll. Even without looking, she feels Gale’s eyes on her, and it pleases her somewhere deep in her treacherous heart. 
Once again I'm like "oh I have a few thoughts about this" and then... paragraphs happened, lol. (If you want to ask for director's commentary on any of my fics, lmk.)
-So a thing I have been thinking about a fair bit recently is how much influence the writer Lois McMaster Bujold has had on my prose style. The thing I do where sometimes there's just a short line of italicized thought stuck in a paragraph of narration? That's the Spirit of LMB moving in me. (I love her stuff so much. If you've never read her, two good places to start would be Barrayar if you like science fiction, or The Curse of Chalion if you like fantasy.)
But the idea of a mirror dance is lifted directly from Bujold, actually; she's got a novel by that name. (It is, uh, not a good place to start the series, as it relies a lot on knowledge from other books to make sense and it also probably the darkest novel in the whole series. On reflection, though, it's also about a person who was raised in a horribly abusive environment in order to shape them towards evil learning to embrace a new home and community and atonomy, and also going back to kill their abusers, so, uh, some parallels there.) It's a dance described in her series of swords-and-spaceship novels as a fun, less-formal dance that's easy for beginners to learn, because there are no set steps, and when I was thinking about Wyll wanting to dance with his friends and loved ones who have no training in dance at all, that sort of approachable style would be the sort of thing Wyll would go for.
-The original idea for this story was a little goofier, I think! In discussion with @mightymizora I ended up thinking about how much you could do with illusion magic and how, in the context of my series, the group doesn't have a bard, so Gale is basically the guy with the aux cable, meaning if they wanted music they're sort of at his mercy, and I was imagining him and Wyll having more direct conflict about what to 'play,' but it didn't turn out like that.
-I also originally thought the story would involve Shadowheart and Gale dancing, possibly at the end--a sort of "you thought you were helping out your bro with his crush situation but you were also helping YOURSELF with your crush situation"--but when I decided where I was putting it chronologically, after Gale's condition has worsened, that no longer quite made sense.
THEN I thought it was possible Astarion would come ask Shadowheart to dance, to help out his friend. Specifically, because I am a dork, I was thinking about that scene in Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth and Caroline Bingley take "a turn about the room," and Darcy says "You either chuse this method of passing the evening because you are in each other's confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking; -- if the first, I should be completely in your way; -- and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.'' Astarion was going to reason, "Look, he's not making a move and it's driving us all insane, so I'm going to and he's going to have to look at what he's not making a move on." But that felt a little too gay-best-friend-y, and not necessarily true to character for him.
-So I thought about who would say yes to dancing, and it made sense to me that after the fun, flirty dance with Karlach, where they have a chance to be silly with one another, Wyll would ask Shadowheart, and she would say yes because, y'know, it looks fun, and she is learning how to have fun, even though having fun feels wrong to her. Their dance together is much more staid, both because (in my mind) she does have some experience with ceremonial dance of some sort, and because that's more her style generally. Wyll is meeting her where she's at, like he does with Lae'zel next. He's good at that!
-This whole story turned out to be way more about Shadowheart having friends than I thought it would.
-The other thing that was true throughout writing this whole story was that there were SO. MANY. TIMES I wrote something about Shadowheart's emotions and then had to erase it and figure out how to describe what she was feeling from her perspective, i.e. the perspective of a person who is deeply unaware of her own emotions because she's never been allowed to feel them. So she's constantly aware of Gale throughout the story, she's worried about him, she's checking in on him, but she couldn't say to herself why that is, or even necessarily acknowledge that it's happening. But knowing that he's watching her (that he can admire her much better as he sits by the fire, lol) makes her feel Some Kind of Way about it, so much so that even she can't deny it entirely, even if she can't quite name it.
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brigwife · 7 months
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Children of the Red King, Charlie Bone and the Red Knight: Part Six (FINAL!)
I've been putting off reading it because I didn't want it to be over - but all good things must come to an end...
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Tbh, if there was a massive gong hanging up in my school, you can bet the kids would constantly have been daring each other to bang it so often that it would have been removed lmao. Manfred's teenage tantrum tho <3
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my babygirl turning up in his silk jimjams and cracking jokes like he thinks he's at a slumber party with the girls 🥹🥹 (Slightly terrified by the thought of Ezekiel's "too short" nightshirt though. No crusty 100 yr old man balls, please 😥
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Omg I LOVE it when the evil guys screw each other over and then get mad about it, as if any of them have any sense of moral decency asdhajfadj.
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I love this I love this I love this. These crusty old Bloors really thought they could just hide up in their (ivory) tower and make other people fight their battles for them. WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG, LADDIES.
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Poor Dagbert is really having a time of it in these books, isn't he? It's just one shock after another <3
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"Charlie Bone must NOT go back to school-"
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I wonder how big the Vertigos' bathroom is that Emma can seriously get away with this without Olivia noticing lol. Considering we know they're very rich, presumably quite big. Also it's really lucky she didn't lock the door. Also surely that waistcoat must have been getting kinda gross after being worn 24/7 without being washed. Ew.
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haha Olivia is literally the personification of that birb meme. Though it's likely she also knows about Emma's crush and is trying to be deliberately obtuse
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A few seconds later? To me this suggests that Olivia must plan out her outfits the night before - because this girl probably has a FULL walk-in wardrobe, yet can always look fabulous at the drop of a hat
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This is literally my only thought here
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This is literally my only thought here
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😂😂Mrs Kettle may a big ol' lesbian, but Paton Yewbeam is her exception. It was probably the sword that did it - let's be honest. And it's understandable, tbf.
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Fido and Ben are so loyal and good hearted 💖💖
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"What should we call him?"
I don't know, Charlie. Maybe his NAME?? 😭😭
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LMAO Charlie doing a Bilbo Baggins and getting himself knocked out before the fight even begins
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WHATTTTTT I DID NOT REMEMBER THIS!! 😭😭 I only remembered that he married Julia at the end so he must get better. But WHAT THE FUCKK??? Oh Charlie my poor lad. He's only 12 and he had to see that.
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Lyell's been having the time of his life cosplaying as the Red King, and he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids
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So my understanding is, if Lyell had just hung around out in the open as normal after being unhypnotised, the Bloors would have done something horrible to him. So the big LARP-act was for his own safety as much as the safety of the kids he was protecting? It's quite a neat scheme, tbh.
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MY BOY? MY BOY WAS ENDOWED ALL ALONG!!! 🥹 🥹 Does his pal PC Wood know?? Is he ALSO endowed?? Oh my god this just makes every interaction Paton had with the police so much funnier
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Oh my goodness they are adorable. Adorable idiots. And the idea of Paton proposing from a hospital bed, probably with the nurses watching - I'd love so see it asddsfsdghh.
Also - I'm gonna file away Paton's advice to Charlie about getting injured to help your relationship away for if I ever write that Chabriel Merlin crossover that's living rent-free in my brain
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Still the official organist after ten years awol?? Wow. I'd love to see the reaction of the cathedral staff when he just rocks up again like "ahh sorry, I had to take a temporary leave of absence, but I'm better now".
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Old Ezekiel is a goner, but I refuse to believe Manfred died. Perhaps he was badly injured, maybe even permanantly - but he did not die. With the influence of Ezekiel gone, and humbled by the loss of their fortune, Manfred and Dr Bloor gradually become repentent. Dr Bloor gets a job in a regular school, and Manfred goes to uni to study interior design, and they scrape by. They even make-up with Bartholomew. Then when Julia gets pregnant, and the bookshop gets too small, Manfred offers to build the Ingledews a new home only at the cost of materials, as an apology for everything he's done. Emma helps him paint the nursery.
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This little section where Billy got passed around the families like a spare part got me so sad :( I'm glad he finally gets officially adopted as Charlie's brother. Imagine if he had known that all that fortune was once almost his own... and tbh I kinda wish it was. I'm not a fan of the protagonist getting EVERYTHING in the end...
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Is anyone else getting end-of-Matilda vibes from this? I love it so much - kids getting adopted, nasty headteacher getting booted out and new management taking over - everything ties up in a neat little bow. It's so sweet 💖💖
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It just gets more sickeningly cute! And finally, Charlie acquires a great Yewbeam aunt who isn't a piece of shit! I headcanon that he calls her great aunt actually, just to wind her up 😆 But tbh, I stand by my headcanon that Paton takes the name Ingledew after they marry, to finally rid himself of all conncetion to his fucked up family 💖
And I just love the last paragragh. Emma and Tanc are cute, and it's a satisfying conclusion to the last 4 books of them dancing awkardly around each other
Welp. It's over. I guess now I just have to read and write fanfic...
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Ok, so I've seen lots of headcanons about Mycroft being distressed about the Queen's death and Greg comforting him (and, honestly, cute) ... but as an anti-monarchy Brit who loves projecting onto Mycroft, let me offer an alternative:
We know Mycroft referred to an unspecified royal as a 'very old friend', the implication being it's probably the Queen, but we also hear Mycroft at various points decrying any kind of intimate relationship on the grounds that everyone else is, comparatively, goldfish (although it's clear he adores Sherlock, and he and Greg are also clearly made for each other, I do think it makes sense for his character that they really are anomalies).
SO, let's interpret that comment as the fact that the Queen is, for him, a long-standing ally - not entirely deplorable, but mainly just useful to have on side because, ya know, she's the Queen.
And so when she does die, the cause of Mycroft's monumental headache is not grief, but the fact that he has to beat off journalists until the palace is ready to announce it, plus contribute to the logistics of the funeral, the coronation, deal with anger of those who think it's fucking outrageous that so much money is being spent on the whole rigamorale and not, idk, homeless people... AND now he has to speak to Charles. Who he really, really doesn't like.
And so when Greg turns up unexpectedly with coffee at Mycroft's office - and bear in mind this is a coincidence; the announcement's not been made to the public yet - he looks at Mycroft's face and he just knows, immediately.
'Oh my god', he says, plonking the coffee on the desk, and looking up at Mycroft. 'It's happened, hasn't it?'
'No', Mycroft says stiffly. Then: 'Stop smiling.'
But the thing is, Greg has never been super fond of the royal family, always a bit anti-establishment, even though he ended up in the police... and he can't. He breaks out into a full grin, and then he starts giggling... and Mycroft has never been able to hold himself together when Greg starts laughing.
And suddenly, the worst afternoon of all time is bearable, and they're giggling away together in Mycroft's office, trying not to laugh too loudly with the whole floor conversing in respectful whispers outside the door.
'Do you want me to lose this position?' Mycroft hisses, when he can catch his breath. He pauses. 'Although, it might be preferable to - '
'Charlie?'
Mycroft hums then, trying to retain some shred of... propriety, perhaps, not that Greg needs that from him.
'You're a horrible influence', he declares instead, and he lets Greg kiss him, and smooth his hair back, his laughter finally stuttering to a halt.
'I know', Greg says, and he steps back. 'Give me a text if you need anything else, yeah?'
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cicaklah · 8 months
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my girl @ronniebox tagged me and so here we go!
Rules: List ten books that have stayed with you in some way, don’t  take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard - they don’t have to  be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - my mother gave me this book to read when I was maybe 11, it was her copy that she had bought when Pratchett came and gave a reading at our local library in like, 1992. I'd say no book has been more formative to me, but in writing this I don't think thats true.
The City and the City by China Mieville - I got into Mieville through my girl @crimeandcricket, and was horribly traumatised by the body horror in perdido street station, and was way too influenced by his often pretentious writing style, but the city and the city is a masterpiece I'll never recover fully from and changed me for the better.
The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian - I'm fairly sure no one but me loves this book, but it is also a book that multiple people stopped me when I was reading in public just from the cover image. My favourite kind of book is a book that can only be written by one person, and Adrian is a theologian and paediatrician, and this book uses every single one of his hyperfixations and also made me cry more than anything else.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster - Actually, this book probably did more to calcify my sense of humour than Pratchett did. The smartest, funniest, coolest children's book ever, and this has reminded me to get the tattoo of Tock on my wrist.
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield - I read this every christmas morning as a treat to myself. I also adore White Boots, the ice skating book, but Ballet Shoes is such a perfect gem of a story that is the favourite of my grandmother, my mother and myself.
Shabanu/Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples - The first book that made me cry, inspired my fondness for camels and was probably my first feminist awakening? I've only read one of the sequels, but it was so brutal I still haven't emotionally recovered entirely.
The Amateur Cracksman by E. W Hornung - my mastermind specialist subject, a book that consumed me across time and space, Raffles my beloved, Bunny my beloved, I remember the moment I read the first story and my life changed literally forever. The Black Mask and A Thief In The Night are also obviously amazing and really all three should be considered one book, but something in my life changed for the better when I read the line 'AJ Raffles would be my friend!' in The Ides of March and I realised oh no, they're mine now.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang - very hard for me to choose a Ted Chiang story so thankfully I will pick his second collection, which has The Life Cycle of Software Objects and also the one about the parrots. It does not have Hell is the Absence of God or stories of your life, but tbh, software objects was the first of his stories I ever read, so it deserves to be here, even if it guts me like a fish every time.
Rivals by Jilly Cooper - if I could have anyone's writing career, it would be Jilly Cooper's. Everytime I read this insane soap opera of a book it holds me hostage until I finish it, and its like 700 pages long. The most wonderfully 80s OTT sex farce about horrible people trying to buy an ITV franchise. I genuinely can't believe that disney plus are making it into a series.
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson - One of his least famous books and yet I think his best? I had read the Mars books several times before I picked this up, but this alternate history where 90% of Europe are killed by the black death, following how world history changes through the eyes of characters who reincarnate but always find each other, somehow??? it grabbed me by the throat and never let go.
tell me YOUR formative texts pls @crimeandcricket @deputychairman @myth-blossom @skylightpirate @stickthisbig @apricotbones @postalninja @cajunandfire @within-infant-rind
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lbhslefttiddie · 10 months
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Could you talk a bit about how you plan out your longer fanfics? I’ve have a long fic I’ve been wanting to write, but I’m not sure how to plan/outline it, and I’d love to hear what your process is!!!
Mouse and the Thorn and Into This Wild Abyss had some very different things going on in the planning stage—it really came down to what kind of story i was telling and what was important for executing that!
(longish sowwy)
ITWA, from the moment i conceived it, revolved around sqq going through a largely preordained plot, and so i created a longass bullet list of all the major plot points and moved them around into the general order i felt it was best for them to happen. I generally kept the points brief and without flavour, lest it mess with the writing of the scene itself or I get bored of it before i even start. There was some variance in the writing stage, partially because i (cough) forgot to add several plot points in the originally planned spaces (see: xin mo), and partially because that's just sort of how it goes when you're actually feeling out a chapter, but the outline was like a guide that i would be able to pull back towards if i strayed too far, and allowed me to keep the end destination in mind, and keep track of important details. All told, the core aspects laid out in the outline didn't change much in the finished product. Frankly, it was huge relief to have that outline!! It definitely saved my ass many times. Truly a revelatory experience for me.
MotT, on the other hand, doesn't so much have a hard plot—lbh is currently 13 years old, before even the beginning of scum villain, so even the plot that comes built into this universe is a very distant thing. We basically just have a core cast of a few inextricably connected characters who are constantly influencing each other, and the "plot" is really just who is going through what character arc at this particular point in time.
Trying to create an outline would, to me, feel horribly rigid, when a lot of flexibility is necessary for something like this. Instead, i have a handful of cool scenes in my head, a general sense for where each character is at and where they're going, and it's just a matter of passing the mic around in a way that feels balanced for whatever arc we're in.
............It's worth mentioning that the way i've written/am writing MotT, while i think is for the best for this project, is also way fucking harder than how ITWA was planned and written. I've mentioned this before in passing i think, but on multiple occasions, i'll have written entire scenes out, and then need to push them back or move them around way more than anticipated because Something Else Needs To Happen First. (this also reflects in my art; the files are listed by date rather than chapter, and so some clusters of art are actually in backwards order--i did the art for what became ch 16 before 15, and 15 before 14)
It's not necessarily a problem, and I'm certainly enjoying myself, but this messy and fluid way of putting a story together straight up would not be possible if i did not already have a solid sense for pacing and balancing emotional elements. I'm absolutely certain that even a few years ago i would not have had the skill to write this fic without writing myself into a corner or rushing everything in a forced way or losing something important to the core of the story; i would go so far as to say this story is only possible because I wrote ITWA first.
I definitely would not recommend this strategy for your first longfic, personally. obviously, do what feels right for yourself, etc, and at the end of the day you should never let concerns of skill or experience stop you from writing the stories you want, but i think this process could, uh. Cause headaches. If you're out of your depth
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the-pipis · 2 years
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Hi ok so.. time loop au. Very basic summary since this au was manifested today so more detail will be added as I work on it more. Think of this as a basic plot summary.
CW for suicide, murder, and people losing their minds in a timeloop 💔
Mark and Cesar and Jonah and Adam are stuck in loops of their respective alternate events. Ironically tied to the same house, keep that in mind it'll come back.
Thing is, they do not KNOW they're in a time loop. A sense of deja Vu, a feeling that this day seems... Very familiar? But no real genuine knowledge that they're repeating days over and over and over again.
However, this sense of repeating starts to get worse and worse. A horrible sense of dread starts to over take them all, and each of them starts to deteriorate mentally and yet... The events still happen the same each and everytime.
Somethings start to change eventually, Jonah and Adam are so tightly wound Jonah leaves him at the house on the first night. Mark kills himself a day in.
Eventually this sense of deja Vu morphs into something of an understanding of the situation, that while they don't have full memory of what's happening their minds have picked up just enough to know something is very very wrong. This leads to the climax of both time loops, where things take a complete change for once.
Mark, convinced now that Cesar will always kill him, goes to the Torres household that morning. Before Cesar has died, before his mother has died, and when Cesar answers the door to see his best friend mark pulls out his gun and shoots Cesar right between the eyes. He kills Mrs Torres after, believing that she'll do what her son couldn't now. Mark then shoots himself in a moment of hysteria.
Cesar awakens with a burning hatred and a horrid headache, something in him willing him to go and face Mark. He isn't sure why, and pauses for a moment, because why does he feel this way exactly. Someone appears to him then, and Cesar gets the blessing (curse really) of being turned into an alternate. Mixed with the memories of Cesar Torres and the nature of alternates, Cesar makes his way to Mark's house and rips him limb from limb. In a horrified moment of grief afterwards, he begs the being who did this to him to kill him, and the angel obliged with a smile.
Adam and Jonah's breaking point is shared together, when during their argument Jonah instead gets out of the car and goes inside. The verbal argument continues, and eventually mixed with the influence of MAD and their already deteriorating mental states the two lash out and start fighting. Fist to face, biting, kicking, snarling and screaming and sobbing. Both do quite a number on each other, yet Adam is generally more built than Jonah so he starts to get the upper hand. In a moment of rage, Jonah shoves Adam back, who grabs the front of his jacket, before he stumbles back and falls down the stairs to the basement. With Jonah. Killing them both.
Then the four awake, together in the same house that almost all these events have occured in, facing a being of creation. The true angel Gabriel appears to them, and offers them an ultimatum.
Fix your minds, fix your relationships, save yourselves from those nights of horror, and finally they will be at peace, they will be free. It's vague, and they are never told what this peace or freedom really entails, but by this point? Each of them now know completely of the time loops, and what they've just done. Regret is thicker than metal in the room, the tension cuttable with a knife.
Can you fix yourself when you've already resigned yourself to your fate? Can you fix a relationship you murdered with your own hands? Does this really end?
They don't know, but they have no choice now but to try.
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