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vessilin · 4 months

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hey guys i have decided that i will now become a TMAGP account. hashtag. love this new podcast!! as soon as my hands stop swelling I WILL be making RedCanary fan art. I cannot express how much i’m loving this series rn

more below the cut! ! (SPOILERS)

OKAY SO!! episode #1 has thoroughly shaken me to the core. thank you so @sunnyspookss for listening to me yap about it over discord. love u suns!! here are my thoughts on the characters :

Sam - I cannot describe how I feel about this creature. I’m loving them and they’re giving me very… main character vibes (obviously but… anything could change who knows). Currently loving the idea that they wear glasses !!! Def a really fleshed out character (even from just the first episode).

I know Sam SAID that they were working here to ‘get back on [my] feet’ but I feel like there might be something more behind it?

Alice - right off the bat !! I’m loving her. she seems so incredibly sweet and i’m HC-ing her as a trans woman. live laugh love Alice !!! She’s so silly and in some ways reminds me of Tim Stoker ? I think it’s really interesting and I can’t wait to see how her character develops!!

ALSOOO TTHE FACT THAT SHE AND SAM USED TO DATE!??? AUGH. during college too? I feel like this is running a real close parallel to Jon and Georgie.

Gwen <333 - I can totally see some of the Bouchard family line coming in here. At first (a.k.a. the first 10 minutes or so) i didn’t really have any strong opinions and kinda forgot that her last name was bouchard but after the little scene of her and Lena in the office I started to love her even more. The boldness and the gall this woman has makes me want to shake her around like a squeaky toy.

When Lena was like “what do you even want here anyways 😒😒” AND GWEN WENT “your job” I LOST IT. LIKE.

I don’t even know if she and Elias are related but goddamn?!! I’m literally in love.

Lena - She knows something. This woman. this girl. she knows something that I do not know and I do not like it.

Colin - Live Laugh Love Colin!!! He def knows what’s going on!! I have a feeling he’ll be rlly important to the plot and his little end ‘speech’ (more like dialogue but oh well) at the end of the first episode was like??? Major Eye vibes.

RedCanary - I don’t even know where to begin. The insanity? The deleting photo? Canaries should stay above ground? The anger at ArcherK?? The mystery?

I really hope this character comes back but even if they’re a Sarah Baldwin situation that is 110% okay. I love the premise of this person finding something in that box (or maybe just the box in general) that drives them to insanity or drives them to some new information?

Misc. - Ok! Im not sure if the same like… ‘fears’ apply but someone (hi sunny) has said that there might be a new fear system? i think that’s going to be really fun to get into once I listen to the second episode. Secondly !!!! The Magnus Archive being turned into the library of alexandria (not literally but still) is such a cool concept to me. I think it’s very inchresting to think about because

A) as a child i loved researching TLA (the library of alexandria) and B) it makes a whole new timeline- i think?? Or maybe it’s some like alternate dimension or something!!! who knows!! I love it!

The idea of lost knowledge (and that knowledge once being uncovered driving people to insanity) (shoutout redcanary we will remember you!) is such a cool concept in general. the what-ifs and the maybes that can stem from it are so interesting and I can’t wait to see if they expand on that or not!! Either way- i’m loving the podcast so far.

ALSO JON AND MARTIN BEING CHESTER AND NORRIS RESPECTIVELY? DOES THIS MEAN THAT AUGUSTUS IS LIKE. ELIAS OR JONAH???? AUGH THIS PODCAST IS SO GOOD IM LOSING IT

#the magnus universe #magpod #magnus pod #the magnus protocol #tmagp #tmagp vague #tmagp spoilers #tmagp speculation

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sineala · 10 months

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Hi Sine! I find myself in possession of a very long plot (not going to count how many of those are in my inventory), and was hoping you'd share what program(s) you use for yours? I'm the sort who'd use a murder-wall with notecards but I don't have space rn. I *should* use tagging systems but all the ones available are so sketchy and unreliable that I lose focus just typing. Also I tried to search but. This is tumbs. Thanks - Shusu

Oh boy, this question was made for me!

The first novel-length story I wrote, I wrote in TextEdit. All 90,000 words of it. I basically just made a list of the scenes I wanted in the order I wanted them in, started typing the story above the list, and deleted every scene from the list when I had written it. I don't recommend this.

These days, I use Scapple and Scrivener. I have much more detail below. I am sure I have talked about them before but, as you say, Tumblr is hard to search.

Different things will work for different people, and I don't always start this way, but sometimes, while I'm still trying to rough out an idea, I start with a mind mapping program. You know that brainstorming technique that you learned in, like, third grade, where you take a piece of paper and you write down the main idea in the center in a bubble and then branch lines out from those with more bubbles containing related ideas, and then branch things out from those, and so on? You can get programs to do that instead of a big piece of paper, and the advantage to doing this on a computer is that your piece of paper can be infinitely large and you won't ever run out of space.

I will sometimes skip this step if I already know what order things are going to happen in (in that case, I just make an outline), but if it's the kind of unformed idea where I just want to write down everything that happens as I think of it so I won't forget it later, then I use a mind map.

I also use it to write down bits of dialogue as I think of them; the program I use lets me change fonts and colors and so on, so I have color-coded my dialogue by character:

I feel like I have probably posted this before but Tumblr is not letting me search. Also, this is probably not how you're supposed to use this, judging by how it exports data, but whatever.

There are a variety of programs that can help you make mind maps, and I'm sure a lot of them are good. The one I use is Scapple, which I like for a few reasons: it's very easy to use (you type something in, and then to connect two bubbles you drag one on top of the other) in a way that gives you a lot of freedom; it's not a subscription model like a lot of apps are (you buy it, you pay once, you can use it forever, and it costs about $20); and mostly, it's made by the developer of the writing program I use (Scrivener), meaning that the two programs integrate very well.

So then there's Scrivener.

Scrivener is probably the absolute most useful software I have ever owned; I have bought it four times now. (All three desktop versions and then the iOS version.) It is a word processor that is designed to help you structure and write novels. There are similar programs for free or at least cheaper, of course, but this is the one I use. (It also isn't a subscription; you just buy it.)

The downside is that it's a very complex program. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can look a little daunting. It's one of those programs that has hundreds of features and you will only use about fifty percent of them, but everyone uses a different fifty percent, so there's something for everyone. (It can generate character names! There's a feature on the Mac version where it can highlight words by part of speech! You can change all the icons! The LaTeX export is pretty decent!)

Honestly, as long as you can figure out how to make scenes, rearrange scenes, edit synopses, and get your work out of the program, you're good to go; that's probably what you'll be doing most of the time.

Scrivener is basically designed around the murder-wall-of-notecards writing approach. A Scrivener project contains your Draft, which can have a bunch of folders in it (chapters) which can have individual documents (scenes). Each scene has an index card associated with it, and each index card is where you can write a synopsis for each scene.

You can view your story as single scenes or as a whole story (optionally with a window showing the synopses, so you can remember what you thought was going to happen while you are writing; I have shown this above) or you can just view the synopses as an outline or as index cards, like so:

There's your murder wall right there.

Rearranging the index cards also rearranges the scenes. (Rearranging the scenes using the list in the sidebar also rearranges the scenes.) So if you want to swap scenes around, you can do that. If you want to write the end first, you can do that. If you want to add three more scenes in the middle, you can do that.

You can also search your whole project, color code the index cards, tag them however you want with keywords (e.g., a keyword for every character who appears in the scene) and then look at everything you've tagged with particular keywords, notate scenes by whether they're done or not, and basically everything else you can think of. Mostly I have used this to color code scenes by POV so I can keep track of who's talking; I could also have used keywords.

So my first move when I start a project in Scrivener is to make a bunch of blank documents for all the scenes I think I will have, give them some kind of meaningful title, start writing down on the notecards things that will happen in each scene, and then move them around. This is where Scapple comes in handy -- both because I already have an idea from making a mind map in Scapple of what scenes I want, and also because the integration between Scapple and Scrivener makes it really, really easy to get started.

How do Scapple and Scrivener integrate, you ask? If you make a mind map in Scapple, you can drag and drop it into Scrivener and it will automatically make one scene for every bubble you have, and the text of each bubble will be on the notecard, so you can basically start with all of your scenes that you already have made in Scapple and then reorder them as you like.

Scrivener projects also have a Research section, where you can store basically anything related to what you're working on; you can set it to show your draft and your research at the same time. Basically anything can go in here. Mine usually have notes, more notes, character information, lines I cut but wanted to save somewhere (there is also a versioning system built in if you prefer that), comics panels, reference pictures, and entire webpages. This way, you'll never have to figure out what you did with that thing you looked up for your story, because you can keep it right there with your story.

Scrivener costs $60, which is kind of a lot, but there are very often coupons for 50% off from online software retailers (I just saw one on Boing Boing a couple days ago that still works as of the time I am answering this; I can vouch that they are a legit retailer). Also if you know anyone who has won NaNoWriMo, they get a Scrivener coupon as part of their winnings, and some people don't use theirs. It has a thirty-day free trial period (IIRC that's 30 days of use, not 30 calendar days) so you can try it and see if it works for you.

I also made a Compile Format for Scrivener 3 -- the current version -- so I can export HTML suitable for AO3 or Dreamwidth in one click. Scrivener can export your work in basically any format you can think of, but the default HTML exports all have too much stuff in them for my liking.

(Scrivener also has a bunch of preset templates for various kinds of writing -- like, there's a Novel template with room for character sheets and settings and all of that. You can make your own template, too. I actually made my own template for writing fanfiction for AO3. I'm not sharing this one because it is so personalized to me that it wouldn't be useful -- but, for example, I already know that I'm going to want a document in my Research section where I list notes about canon, and one where I list what bits I need to edit, and one where I copy in any conversations I've had with beta readers that I might want to refer to, and one where I list the things that will be in the AO3 header (it contains empty spaces for Title, Fandom, Tags, Summary, etc) so I can now always start with that. You can make a template yourself by opening a new project, setting it up exactly the way you like with the Research documents exactly the way you want, and then doing File > Save as Template. It will copy everything including any text that's in there so you want to use something that doesn't already have any story or research content written in it because then that will get copied. But it's a real timesaver.)

Anyway. Scrivener is the best.

#replies #rfpreiwaphase #scrivener

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jalo-parker · 8 months

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Ok I'm making an official post for Estrials. (or well official until I make a better one)

Everything below cut so I don't make anyone scroll past the novel length (/hj) post I'm about to make when they're just trying to browse their dash :]

Alright so Estrials! They're a species I made up (though they are definitely inspired by some other things like atla cause of the elemental abilities) and they can be anthro, feral, or even like catboy esque(?) (for the lack of a better term) (an example of what I mean would be my sona)

Heres some examples of existing Estrials (in order: my sona (he/it/pup) (small child edition), evil xisuma (little creature and non little creature forms), jimmy (again little creature and non little creature forms), and bigb (little creature and non little creature forms) gotta love bigb and his little sweater) (also ex is part voidwalker too which is why he looks so different from the others, so like yeah you go combine Estrials and another species that would be epic)

Here we have some of my ocs and a few of the others listed above! Ryder is also part voidwalker and technically doesn't have a little creature form, but I did include a little bust shot doodle of him

If you're still here, now I'm going to tell you how to make your own! (please do I beg I want more little creatures in the world)

Ok so, they are an open species, though there are a few rules (both like actual rules and trait rules so you stay in line with the species)

-First rule: don't be a dick. I will revoke your Estrial rights if you're not a decent person (no like actually I can't take your character but I can make a list of no good icky people so other Estrial fans know not to interact with you)

-2nd rule: have fun! No really I'm not going to be an evil overlord about people making Estrials. Just enjoy yourselves and be kind to others

-3: more of me just saying this than a rule but you can totally have more than one Estrial! Make like 50 of you want I really don't care

Now rules for like traits and stuff

-1: your Estrial has to have some sort of wings (preferably feathered ones but you can do bug or bat wings if you want) (mechanical wings are also cool! Especially if they're meant to be like a prosthetic or something that would be sick) and some sort of horns (literally any horns idc go wild) you can have any number of these traits too

-2: only one elemental ability per Estrial please (or none at all, you can make an element-less Estrial if you want) there's only one Estrial that has more than one elemental ability and he's not even really an Estrial (it's my sona, it's complicated and lore related don't ask unless you want a novel length reply full of lore)

-3: they have to be either based off of some sort of canine or some sort of feline, though you can totally add features from other things (ex: lizards or fish or deer idk) as long as the base creature that has most of the features showing (so like the main body and head I guess?) is a canine/feline you're good (so like the tail, legs, and even ears can be some other creature if you want) (River, shown above, has a fish tail and some fins kinda like vaporeon. So really, go wild)

-4: any patterns and colors are ok, so yeah make that sparkle dog looking thing !! Go wild, be free my friends. Make the shadow the hedgehog Estrial (no actually you totally could)

Ok no more rules! Info time 😈😈

-Estrials can be any size that's bigger than like a small dog (so like chihuahua ish or bigger) and smaller than a horse (yippee big creature)

-The anthro and catboy(?) Estrials can be any human height btw (anthros can be a little smaller than humans too as a treat)

-They can have any length of fur (so yeah you could make a hairless one, I'd actually be real interested to see that someone do it before I do) and be from any region (hence the different fur lengths. Some of them live in real cold places and have to be real fluffy to keep warmth in, and some live in warmer places and have a lot less fur to cool off easier)

-All Estrials can hide their wings (like magic poof they're gone completely and then poof they're back now) and the catboy(?) ones can sometimes hide all their Estrial features (so like their nose, horns, ears, wings, and tails)

-I'm leaving a whole lot up to interpretation so like go wild I guess. Just don't do anything too weird.. I don't want strange things associated with my species..

Ok now the big thing: elemental abilities

So we have 5 elements + no element (though I'm kinda thinking of adding a 6th.... maybe..). Every Estrial falls under one (and only one) of these categories, though their power levels can vary (so like some fire Estrials can only do tiny poofs of flames and others can have like whole fire tornados going on)

Fire, water, air, earth, and plant

They all overlap with others a little too

-Fire Estrials can bend/control/whatever you want to call it magma, lava, fire, and lightning. They can also heat things up, which does mean they can heat other elements enough to somewhat control those (so like heating metal until it's molten and being able to shape it, or heating water enough that it turns into steam. Though steam is a lot harder for fire Estrials to control) though they lose that ability once the element cools off again

-Water Estrials can bend things like water, ice, some gasses (if the gas has a liquid state at a reasonable temperature. So like not things that require to have subzero temps to be liquids like oxygen), and any other liquids (not including molten things if you count those as liquid).

-Air Estrials can control all gasses (unless they need to be superheated to be a gas) and air. They can also definitely move things with air, so like sandstorms and using lots of wind to lift and move big objects. They can even control the weather a bit because of this (though water Estrials also kinda can. They can make it rain at least) by blowing storms around (including hurricanes and tornados, though they can also cause them too)

-Earth Estrials can control anything that's made of some sort of metal or mineral. So like glass (even if it's not molten, they can still change its shape, though they can also control molten glass) any rock, and all kinds of dirt (including compost in case you were wondering. So like if its considered dirt they can control it)

-Plant Estrials can control all plants. And can move things using plants. And can grow plants. Idk what you want from me the name is kinda self explanatory.. they can also grow plants in their fur (or hair if you have a catboy(?) Estrial) (again I don't really know what else to call them..) this does include stuff like coral, mold, and fungus btw so go wild with your biohazard mold guy (omg Ethan Winters ??? Somebody call crumb immediately) (that is a joke do not call crumb cuptoast just because I referenced Ethan Winters..) (though crumb if you somehow see this hiiii you can make an Ethan Winters Estrial, that would be so sick actually)

That's about it for now! If you have any questions feel free to ask away by commenting, dming me, asking them in the reblogs, sending an actual ask, hell you could even dm me on another platform like twt or something idc. Also, if you make one Please.. please show it to me.. I will be so incredibly happy if I saw your Estrial.. as a treat, for me.. please.. (also do credit me for the species if you post about them. You could just tag me or do like a @/jalo-parker just as long as my user is there you're good)

Ok, bye bye now have a good day :DDDD

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anxiously-sidequesting · 5 months

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Favorite to least favorite schools?

OOOOOO A QUESTION so okay this is an interesting one for me because not only are my faves tied for first place BUT I have such a limited knowledge on the schools I don't play as often so the list is gonna be super wonky HSLABDIRKE BUT HERE, LET'S PUT IT INTO WORDS:

Most favorite school(s): Storm/Death

So we all know I love Storm and it's for No Reason. Like I can't even say it's because of the game mechanics or whatever I just love Storm and there's no reason why. Even as a kid I immediately knew that I wanted to be the Purple Lightning Bolt School before I even took the book of secrets test. Like I swear I kin Storm but like. Kin-lite if that makes sense. Like I'm NOT Storm itself but IDKKKK HOW TO EXPLAIN IT I love everything about Storm; the aesthetics and the color scheme and the lore behind it, it all just SPEAKS TO ME so yeah I never grew up. Sjsldjdi

But like narratively? Lore-wise Death has to be my favorite because not only is there so much that goes into the Magic itself but like so many important and well-lived characters are Necromancers. And in my PERSONAL opinion some of the most compelling tales come from Necromancers alone because OF WHAT THEY GO THROUGH SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NECROMANCERS. Like yeah I relate to that shit and honestly? The game says that the three Primordial forces are the most powerful magic but I feel like Death (along with Life and Balance of the main schools) is one of, if not the most powerful. Also because dead stuff and goth girls are my two most favorite things in the world so

Next Favorite School: Myth

Actually if I, myself, was the young wizard instead of my homunculus puppet I think I prooobably would be Myth. Like I think that's just literally who I am and even though I don't think my aesthetic lines up with Trolls and Cyclopes that much I just literally feel in my heart I'm just so...... (gestures towards myself) that I'm quite fit to be a Myth wizard. Lore reasons only. Like the "imaginative" Wizards is so mecore. I like Myth a lot but it's definitely below Storm and Death

The school after that: Balance

This time it's a mix between aesthetic and lore a lil bit. I like the fact that Balance doesn't even really seem to be a unique Magic that it's its own thing but rather a bit of each and every existing school (including the Astrals and Shadow) that it just became something entirely new and on its own???? Like it's familiar in the sense that you can see it in other Magic schools but there's still something in the core of Balance that makes it Balance. If that.... even begins to make any sense (I'm sorry my vocabulary is fucking shit. I know no words to describe things well). Also this is just my personal headcanon that Balance is one of the hardest Magic schools to master because it's so complicated. Like Balance in the Spiral is like Physics or Chemistry in our world

So this is where I start to fall out of groove with the other magic schools because I don't know shit about them so I'm gonna have to just rank them off vibes alone at this point:

The next favorite school: Fire

I was a fire wizard like years and years and years ago before I listened to my autism and went with Storm and honestly Fire fucks!!!! It's a cool school and idk how popular it is in terms of game mechanics (I think Ice and Life and Balance is most popular I think? idk I don't play the game) but I've always thought Fire was just super pretty to look at during battle. The color scheme may be a bit basic (red and orange for fire mhm) but it still works and honestly???? Personal headcanons that Fire wizards are actually one of the most mellow-headed wizards out of all the schools (commonly mistaken with Ice wizards; remember kids "Calm" doesn't equal "Aloofness") and that Pyromancers are typically daycare teachers or people who are normally in charge of/care for the youth

Some of y'all are gonna hate me for this but I can't really put Life or Ice above or below each other because I just don't really think about either of them that much HALSEHRKSH: LISTEN I DONT HATE EITHER OF THESE SCHOOLS, they just don't really....... stand out to me that much and my life and ice wizards aren't that far enough along yet where I can spot a significant difference between those schools and the ones I actually do play. Aesthetically wise yeah they're pretty!!! And then that's it DUDJSJSO I APOLOGIZE TO MY LIFE AND ICE MUTUALS/FOLLOWERS

(I assume anon meant like, the schools you start out with and not the schools you learn about later so I left out Shadow and the Astrals but if I had to put them somewhere on this list Shadow would definitely be right under Storm and Death, Moon would be below that, Star would be after Fire and Sun would be just kinda hanging out on the outside somewhere)

THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION ANON I HOPE MY ANSWERS WEREN'T A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT 💖💖💖

#im so sorry i let all my ice and life followers down. i know #this is my strike two after that malistaire post. another one of my unpopular opinions i just dont know tht much-#-about ice or life enough to care about them HDNSJAJAJAIA #like if anyone wants to reblog this and offer their own opinions PLEASE DO I LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT Y'ALL'S THOUGHTS #i remember i talked a little bit about how death is my favorite tied with storm a while back but yeah #i still cant EXPLAIN WITH WORDS whats so special about storm to me that the other schools dont got. like-#-i know its compmetely subjective like this is just ME PERSONALLY. but storm reaaaaaaallllyyy fucking hits different for me #a surprise to probably no one that shadow is also one of my favorites HWLDJDJDI #ILL TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE I LOVE SHADOW MAGIC I LOVE IT #so tldr its just sentient “evil” magic + turning into eldritch abominations + headcanon material/potential #wizard101 #wiz101 #w101 #asks #anon

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slugbitex · 9 months

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Gettin' Closer | Ineffable Husbands OPEN

Hello, I'm currently looking for a roleplay partner interested in pursuing a Good Omens related roleplay! I know I'm late on the season 2 bandwagon, however I'm forever searching for someone who is as interested in these two, just as much as I am.

For pairings I hope to further explore the dynamic between Aziraphale and Crowley, however I may be convinced to dabble into Nina and Maggie later on.

Currently I am only looking for those who are ABOVE the age of 19, as I am 22 myself and only feel comfortable roleplaying with those my own age. If you are younger, please, find your roleplay elsewhere. Otherwise, I will simply block and ignore your message.

I am a multi-paragraph, literate/novella style role-player, looking for someone who is the same. I've tried the one line thing, and I just couldn't get into it. Although I firmly believe in quality over quantity, my responses never dip below 5 paragraphs, and I only ask the same in return. On average I can write upwards to 1,000 words, replying regularly on a free day.

My time-zone is currently CST, though I don't have a preference for my partner.

As far as the roleplay itself goes, I'm heavily addicted to angst and the character development it offers. Darker themes and emotions, paired with the beautiful agony of an unreciprocated romance is just chef's kiss, and I only hope you agree! I love fluff as much as anyone else, however it just comes across as meaningless if there isn't a build-up to the event. I want their relationship to simply feel real.

That being said, I am completely fine with NSFW themes! However, I require a reasonable amount of build-up between the characters for this to happen. If it seems unnatural, then it's just awkward. It's meant to be the "cherry on top", more or less - not the main focus.

When it comes to ideas and plots, I don't have a lot in mind. Though, here's a few vague starters and word clusters to get us going!

Fallen Angel - One way or another, Aziraphale has been deemed unfit for heaven, and is given away to the boiling pits of tar and Sulphur. Was this warranted? Was he framed, or set up? Who knows! This is mostly meant to explore what happens during an angel's fall, and how their dynamic would change due to this. This could also take place after the ending of season two, and results in the angel seeking out his dear friend's help.

Season 2, take two - In this idea, the events at the end of season two are relatively the same. However this time, Crowley said yes. Why? Who knows! Could have been his undying love, or could have been something more sinister in relation to the Metatron. This idea is fun, and could explore the toxic relationship between Crowley and Heaven further, and how that effects his love for Aziraphale.

After the Kiss - This follows the canon events of Season 2, and is basically meant to flesh out what happens after their kiss in episode six. How do they rekindle that relationship? Does Aziraphale need Crowley's help? Does Crowley need Aziraphale's help? It's pretty vague and open to ideas.

Anyways! Unfortunately, that's all I have for now. If you're interested, please message me with a small introduction about your roleplay style, and if you have any ideas! A simple "hey, want to roleplay?" will be ignored. The more enthusiastic you are to work with me, the more I am to work with you.

Thank you, have a good day/night!

#good omens #good omens rp #good omens roleplay #goodomensroleplay #aziracrow #crowley x aziraphale #good omens season 2 #ineffable husbands #ineffable husbands roleplay

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blackvahana · 1 month

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Unknown Void(?) language, 17/6/24

Lev pointed out last night that, while I was seeing it English, the self-writing book I was working with was actually recording in the same language(?) that the book now at the bottom of the gas-giant-cum-abyssal-ocean was written in.

I don’t want to get too much into it because I’d rather stream it out of me before dissecting it so I don’t start trying to force it into beliefs and rules surrounding what I think it should be…. Guess I’ll just get myself to write another couple pages.

The writing is partly linear. Taking this sketch of one page for example:

All of it’s in black, red’s just to illustrate something later.

The major theme(s) of the page are way bigger than the rest of the writing, sort of leaving it a little like a word-cloud-meets-magnet-altering-iron-filings, the words of the entire things bend towards the main concept… Except they don’t? They do? They heavily seem like they do. It’s more like those realistic portraits that are contained in perfecty concentric circles, you just see a face because the width of the lines is changing in relation to the features of the person being depicted, but the intent to depict the face is there like the intent to depict the gravitation is here.

Various important “words” pop out as larger, though this kind of shows (me) that it’s a… Syllabic set of characters? Characters are a mix between syllables of energy and meaning strung between them, so to a human on this plane’s mind it would pobably be classified as letters/syllables, but the syllables are strung together into temporary characters. This is hard to explain because that may seem like arguing that English words are “temporary characters”, but the difference is that when strung together they energetically become one whole. Think of English letters forming words as bits of pipes screwed together to act as one pipe, characters like kanji as singular tubes of whole pipes, and this more like when you screw the “letters” together they magically merge into one pipe with no screws. Bad metaphor.

It's a very expression-based language. Think of the whole syllabic symbols as words things like how w-o-r-d becomes "werd" when spoken, a single sound, a single unified thing, because we don't speak "w-o-r-d", the act of writing here is much more like the act of speaking than writing. Anyway

Now to the red part. The symbols are written in a way that reminds me of musical notation with sharps and flats. A base character, like a primal sound, is written and then altered by strings of characters above and below it. It’s sort of like writing:

ing driving driving

I go car shops home

am using to to

… to say effectively “I’m going to the shops then coming home”, constructed more like “I am going (driving) to the shops then to (driving) home” with various parts of that conceptualisation implied or spoken in different parts.

Lighter more transient alterations are on top, these are very solar based in my head, then heavier more stagnant, grounding things are on the bottom which are lunar based, though I think it might be more day-night, or light-dark based… I’d have to figure out which person incarnated into me is talking about this though and where it comes from because for me personally sun is grounded, heavy, and stagnant and then the Moon is transient and light.

Actually, I’ve been theorising that this is some version of Void Fae/Shadow Person type talking for. obvious reasons, but if this was more so Light Void + Dark Void = Void that would make more sense. Still, though, I can’t help but notice I smell Grey on it, I guess there’s nothing saying he didn’t learn this from someone and add it to his menagerie of languages.

I am wondering if maybe he took a Void language and then repurposed it slightly in order to call on the Void, which…. Hmm. Possibly. I’ll need to gather selves and investigate.

There is definitely a spoken version of this, I dug it up in muscle memory and oh boy am I not speaking it outside religious and ritual and magical stuff. It’s vibratory, very heavy and intense in, well, vibration. That’s part of why I’m like “Grey, where are you with regards to this..” because. Dragon Gets His Hand On Void’s Open Secrets vibes. Anyway. It's growl-y, it's heavy, it's watery

It’s also very sigil-esque not visually but in terms of magic and manifestation, and sigils are already tied to the Void. It reminds me of a distant great great aunt or something of the “Take an intent, turn it into a sentence, reduce it to letters, then sigilise it" type of sigils, in the way that a younger generation may start trying to reinvent disco while calling it something else without realising its the same kind of thing. In this case though, it's more like the Void expressing itself in parts like this and forming sigil-esque expressions that are only being labelled sigil-esque because people on this plane generally only know how to do what it does through sigils.

#Yeah I'm pretty sure it's Void stuff so #Void magic #Void //#astral diary //#Tool: self-writing books #ramblings //

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neonscandal · 1 year

Text

9 Anime to Watch When You Want to Feel Like 👇🏾

Looking to sate that lovey, dovey, sweet tooth of yours or maybe you just want a saccharine palate cleanser, below are a few short series/movies to check out for casual viewing. While these are mostly the kind of shows that give you the anxious butterflies wondering will they or won't they (they will), I tried to include something for everyone though this is a list deserving of several installments. Either way, the genre de jour is romance✨ even if it does come with a side of laughter.

HoriMiya - (series)

Filed under: "It's popular because it's good", "Opposites attract", "Sunny x Grumpy", "Love Triangle" (but less so- read the manga though), "Unrequited love", high school

Horimiya is a funny comfort watch and palette cleanser because, within the ensemble cast, you see many different types of relationships play out which I didn't include above. I think what adds to this series is the fact that all of the MC's are very in their heads about everything for one reason or another so you will find someone you can relate to. The beauty of this story is knowing that one small thing can ultimately lead to something great and that everyone grapples with coming into their own, one way or another. So, there's a bit of angst in line with a coming of age story but, considering the title is a portmanteau of the two main characters, you know things work out in the end.

Sub/Dub | Funimation, Hulu, Crunchyroll

Sasaki and Miyano - (series + OVA)

Filed under: "It's popular because it's good", "Friends to lovers?", "Oblivious to love", "Love at first sight”, “Slow burn", high school

This is another funny comfort watch for me that is compounded by the fact that the build up and consideration this story takes is so. heartwarming. I would loosely say delinquent adjacent Sasaki falls in love with fudanshi Miyano and spends the whole series being a precious idiot in love. At an all boys' school, Miyano tends to find BL scenarios everywhere, except when it comes to he and Sasaki.

Sub/Dub | Funimation, Crunchyroll

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku - (series)

Filed under: "It's popular because it's good", "Friends to lovers", "Oblivious to love", "Otaku x otaku", established relationship, office

I'm not going to weigh in on whether there's merit in MC Momose's assumption that being an otaku is relationship suicide. In fact, she swears she'll get it right this time by burying that side of herself down when she starts a new job. But she soon finds she doesn't have to pretend when she bumps into childhood friend Nifuji. While she tries her best to border on "normie", she finds acceptance and space to let her nerd flag fly along with another couple at her office that cosplay as normal people during their 9-5. Relatable.

Sub | Prime Video

Kase-san and Morning Glories (OVA's)

Filed under: Established relationship, high school

So this is tricky as you can really only watch one of the OVA's, wherein they are already in a relationship. Kase and Yamada find themselves excitedly exploring their new relationship while also offsetting the fact that they really don't have much in common. The story is sweet and rather honest about intimacy when it comes to things like your significant other seeing you naked or how we tend to project our uncertainty onto others even in an established relationship. Even though there are a lot of things pulling them apart or reasons why they may be better suited for others, they make a concerted effort to choose and stick with one another.

Sub/Dub | HiDive

Given - (series + movie)

Filed under: "It's popular because it's good", "Friends to lovers", "Love triangle", "Oblivious to Love", "Sleeps with everyone but you", "Dark secrets", college

I can't tell if this is good or if I'm just a casualty of Jonah Scott's Akihiko. It's hard trying to make it in a band. Even if you're talented, there could always be someone out there just a little better than you are. Same could be said about love, I guess. Especially in this series. It glosses over answering questions about some of the more series issues the main characters are facing but ultimately ties things up, even if the bow is shitty (I'm looking at you, movie). I think, without context of the manga, including the movie on the rec list makes it problematic so, dear reader, maybe just stop with the series.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll

MY Love STORY!! (series)

Filed under: "Ugly duckling", "Height difference", established relationship, high school

There are several points during this series where I was waiting for the other shoe to drop because Takeo and Rinko are simply so happy and innocent together. There are also several points where I expected this to turn into a BL because of Makoto. Ultimately, I'm glad Takeo is surrounded by the love he deserves because he's a sweet, baby angel.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll, Hulu

More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers (series)

Filed under: "Friends to lovers", "Opposites attract", "Fish out of water", "Forced proximity", high school

This series hasn't finished airing but I'm calling it now. The "get married and settle down" propaganda these days is crazy and that's likely how this little ecchi based on the premise of needing to simulate married life in order to graduate came to be. Additionally, at least one inclusion had to be the very specific romance genre wherein a pining but melba toast dude catches the interest of people extremely out of his league. But things aren't always what they seem, here, especially in the case of gyaru Akari Watanabe.

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll

My Senpai is Annoying (series)

Filed under: "Height difference", "Unrequited love", "Forced proximity", "Age gap", office

Technically, this show is more of a slice of life when it comes to Futaba Igarashi but I included it anyway because who wouldn't ultimately swoon for Harumi Takeda? Like, we get it, girl, that giant himbo with his old school chivalry and novice comprehension of technology would wear anyone down. TBH, writing that line made me want to rewatch this series again. This is a slightly smaller ensemble but ultimately still working through some funny relationship hiccups. I'm not calling it a slow burn. Reframe your expectations for a slice of life, but it has those awkward bits where characters have burgeoning and unavoidable emotions hence its inclusion.

Sub/Dub | Funimation

TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You (series)

Filed under: Established relationship, married, ~high school

I lowkey had mixed feelings about this series but included it because, when I ship characters, this is very much what I mean. Just the overwhelmingly wholesome and awkward way two people create a life for themselves even if the milestones are a bit out of order. Additionally, while there's usually an element of boring person not deserving of other person and angst therein, this series highlights ways in which both main characters are beloved so it's literally just the icing of "we're here, we know we're in love, now what?".

Sub/Dub | Crunchyroll

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if-confessions · 1 year

Note

Reader - sorry to those authors, but I really hate it when they put every single one of their posts in the general ‘interactive fiction’ tag. I end up blocking half the blogs that do it and scrolling right by the rest :/

Tumblr wilderness into action, where there is no real rule and the tagging "conventions" would probably not be followed anyway...

It is true that the tag is flooded with essentially everything barely related to Interactive Fiction nowadays, from questionably relevant asks to essentially shitpost polls.

With the #interactive fiction tag being the one-stop-for-all to find IF games*, it's not surprising some authors will tag everything this way to gain more followings or some sort of interaction***. In other terms, to stay relevant**. Even if that means flooding the tag with random stuff and burying other people's projects... *people use tags as a way to organise their posts, more than trying to be seen. **no shade to those authors doing this, it is a marketing strategy, even if a frustrating one for the targeted users. ***also not a guarantee to get interaction...

What do you think should be/not be allowed in the #interactive fiction tag? Should we have a consensus on a tagging etiquette? If so, how do we go at it?

Under the cut is my answer to the first question... so just me theoretically gatekeeping stuff because I can. And because no one will end up following those point, anyway.

What I think should be in there:

Project introductions (obviously) and teasers

Project updates (added content, change of status, etc...) and update teasers

Dev logs/periodical check in

Reviews (<- there's not enough of those)

Interactive Fiction resources (theory, history of the genre, gameplay systems, program resource lists [not tutorials, I would put that in #coding if or something], communities [discords, forums...])

Event announcements [Competitions, Jams, Award ceremonies...]

Interactive Fiction discourse (a.k.a. callout posts about community shenanigans, sometimes we need to be shown we are the black kettle)

Recommendations lists

Patreon/Ko-fi/Commission posts

What I think is irrelevantly tagged as interactive-fiction:

Asks in general (sorry, but we don't need anons proposing to characters...) save for the ones related to the categories above

Polls, same as for the asks. Unless it's directly related to above, nope, pass. Results of polls as well.

Just art posts (like portrait, settings, background, random doodles, etc...) that do not fall in any of the categories above UNLESS the project is a VN or asset heavy IF.

Inspo posts. Nope nope nope... That counts for playlists or pinterest-like mood boards* *unless it's character introductions, then see below

One like post about how much [coding/writing/marketing/other IF activity] is annoying/the worst/etc...

Those conga-line/tagging posts about personal questions

Organisations lists for tags/prompts/other pages, or FAQ

Honestly, the ask posts are the main ones flooding the tag. That's probably the most annoying one out there.

What I am on the fence about:

Character introductions: does this count as a teaser? Honestly, probably more in the irrelevant pile.

UI screenshots: kind of an update, also kind of superfluous...

Fan art stuff: from the author, I'd say no... but from the fandom, yeah...

Snippets/Prompts: eeeeehhhhh... does it count as like a teaser for the writing to expect in the game? or bonus content? except non-canon shit (that goes in the nope pile)

Bonus content.

I'm probably missing some types of posts... but there it is.

Do you have to follow this? No. I don't make the rules about what you should tag or how you should tag it. Do you think this is horseshit? Comment on the post (or send an ask)

#confession time #if-confessions #tagging etiquette

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umbranocturnes · 11 months

Text

_Introduction...

Greetings everyone, I am Umbra Nocturne also Umbra Nocturnes. (Umbra Nocturne is my writing alias, Umbra Nocturnes is for art related to my writing. It's only a letter off so no real difference lol) This will be my official Tumblr blog! I will be posting content relevant to my two book series tentatively titled "The Violinist" and "As Above so Below". I am a LGBTQIA+ writer / artist and Aro-Ace Non-Binary (They/them (you may also use he/him) )

I take commissions! You can find the information in my carrd link as well as other socials for my original work [Here]!

Also, I am neurodivergent so the way I interact with people might seem strange. I suffer from pretty debilitating mental illnesses, so I'm not perfect, I try to do better when I make mistakes so please be patient with me. I might be "jumpy" or extremely defensive as I work through this mentally and get more comfortable with Tumblr and its community. It's not an excuse and I do apologize if it happens but it is a warning.

IF you want more stuff from me I also have a fandom blog! I am in several fandoms and I also role-play! I will mention it at a later date!

You can find me and my original content here:

Instagram: @/_umbranocturnes_ [HERE] [main platform]

Discord: [Ask]

Twitter: @/umbra_nocturne [HERE] [not active I will delete that hell hole app eventually-]

Artfol: Umbra_Nocturnes [HERE] [semi-active]

Sections:

Censorship & Context

Book Series Summaries [Content summaries]

Final Warnings and Statements

_Disclaimer!...

My stories/art revolve heavily around historical themes related to military history! One of my series takes place during the Second World War and contains both axis and allied characters. I also work with content from: The Great War (WWI), The Victorian Era, Medieval Europe, and misc timelines! If content containing explorations of: WWII, mental illness, death, trauma, injuries/wounds, persecution/discrimination, war crimes, fictional axis characters (nazis and others), real historical events, and other affiliated content disturbs you it's best to move past my blog.

I in no way aim to glorify or promote harmful ideologies / hate groups. I do not support hateful ideologies of the time periods my works takes place in! My stories are historical-fiction, not everything is real! I might create fictional events, characters, and or organizations that don't exist, so don't expect 100% accuracy.

_Censorship...

This blog will be heavily censored.

Censorship will range from blacking out / blurring, written warnings, or omitting, it heavily depends on context. I am not a monolith, I am not an expert, so do your own research and fact check! I give as much context as I can with the knowledge of history I have. I am nowhere near done with research, so my context might be inaccurate. (It's not my intent to be misleading it happens, feel free to correct me if you know more about something than I do, but ALWAYS cite your sources please!)

I will be mindful to censor to the best of my ability: names of real war criminals, faces of real war criminals, criminal organizations (EG: Nazis), Hate symbols, Hate Speech/Slurs, graphic depictions of war/war crimes etc...

Context is very important in historical settings. I choose different methods of censoring based on the context of a work. Not everything on this blog will be censored.

Writing (if I post any) will have a warning message something like: (WARNING: the following section contains uncensored depictions of (X thing)! Please skip ahead to the red - - - - - to avoid it!) Then you can scroll to a dashed red line and bypass the content.

I will have a TW tag for each post so you can blacklist specific tags! It will be (( #TW: [insert name] ))

If you run across something in my work that you feel should potentially be censored, please reach out through DMs and tell me! Sometimes I miss things, I am not a monolith, people make mistakes, it's not intentional, and I appreciate people letting me know so I can fix them.

_Book Summaries!...

Let's get into something fun shall we?

"The Violinist" -

Is a story set during WWII. Beginning in 1941, we follow a man named Setheroth Noctus who is brought back from the dead as a undead being and is once again thrown into a life of war. Caught in the events of the Second World War, he joins up with his old Lord Valerius as an allied spy, working with the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and other British intelligence organizations to spy on the Germans from within the ranks of high command itself and to commit various actions to sabotage their war effort. Setheroth struggles with leading a double life as a fraudulent high-ranking SS commander with men under his command, and being a saboteur serving the British crown and the Allies dismantling the nazi war machine. He faces constant internal struggle and along the way makes unexpected allies and discovers more about himself than he bargained for. This story also follows along with the misadventures of one Brahm Faulkner, a British physician and long time friend of Valerius, as he and his friends struggle to survive in war-torn Britain and across the Allied fronts. The events of the war change their lives irrevocably forever.

(This story contains LGBTQIA+ pairings, LGBTQIA+ main characters and supporting characters as well as drama, tragedy, romance, suspense, historical-fiction, an supernatural elements. It is a fictional war story. An no I would like to clarify- it's not just "bury your gays" / nazi victims. They are proper characters who have influence on the plot.)

"As Above so Below" -

A collection of short stories (a document) containing lore of my world's dead beings. It builds upon concepts used in "The Violinist". Some short stories follow important characters throughout events in the dead realm's collective histories, and provides insight into how they live. However this is not a true "story" it's more like lore. There are two realms, that of the living and that of the dead. The dead realms are inaccessible to humans, but all manner of dead beings reside therein. The dead realms encircle our living one, ever expanding and invisible to mortals. There are three realms that make up the "dead realms" Elysium in the upper-most divide, with Tenebraeyl and Oblivion residing on the lower division. Elysium and Tenebraeyl are home to unique dead being races, and are ruled over by a council of Lords and a "King" that rules over all. Tenebraeyl will come to know two kings, Luzifer and Death bound by marriage. Elysuim is resided over by Heliyos and Oblivion by none. A realm of ash and vast grey desert, nothing resides where the dead being's ashes return to. Only one man has ever resided there, Belial the traitor of Tenebraeyl, and a entity responsible for unfathomable destruction.

(This also contains many LGBTQIA+ characters and relationships. It is lore with dark "gothic" overtones, high-fantasy, drama, historical anachronisms, ""comedy"" etc... (A Song of Ice and Fire (GoT) but with way more supernatural beings and queers behaving both good and badly.))

_Final Warnings & Statements...

I do not tolerate bigotry!

Although some of my work is set in the darkest points of history, and may contain characters who act/think in bigoted ways, I the admin DO NOT support bigots! If you believe in the ass backwards terrible shit the nazis and others still perpetrate to this day GET OUT! My blog is not a safe space for neo-nazi extremists, reichblr, wehrbos, holocaust-deniers, genocide-deniers, or anyone else who romanticizes fascism or seeks to suppress people's rights. I am part of the LGBTQIA+ community and I will NOT tolerate discrimination even from within its own fucking ranks. (Looking at you LGB movement- fuck you, you are just quiet cowardly forms of bigots.) Despite the nature of some content I deal with, I am a LGBTQIA+ friendly admin and endeavor to make my work as safe/avoidable as I can given its nature.

2. I do not support nor condone the use of AI Generated work or NFTs for profit or otherwise!

I do not consent to my work being used for Generative AI work of ANY SORT. Even recreational, I do not consent to it. Also goes for NFTs. Do what you want with your own work but not mine.

3. I am keeping current/modern politics off this blog.

I keep most of my political opinions to myself and away from my socials for the sake of my own sanity. Do not assume that the things I post are reflective of my views on current politics, that is very wrong. Modern politics are a huge trigger for me, this blog is my safe space away from it. I still keep up with politics but don't actively post about it most of the time. So this account is a "modern politics free zone" 95% of the time! Anything post Cold War is most likely not on here.

4. Sometimes I might share funny history meme nonsense but let's keep jokes sensible.

We can have history jokes and memes, but I DO NOT appreciate certain jokes from certain assholes. No, your holocaust jokes are not funny they are shitty and offensive. You don't have "dark humor" you're just a asshole. History jokes can be funny- yes I still laugh at the Caesar salad with knives joke, yes a good Sabaton meme will send me to my grave, but some things are just not good to joke about. Keep in mind the context of your jokes. Is the thing you are making fun of something that is serious that you probably shouldn't be laughing about with strangers online? If the answer is yes, just don't say it friends.

[Updated: 02/02/24]

#ww2 oc #historical oc #original art #original character #my oc #oc artist

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jeannereames · 2 years

Note

do you have any other hc’s / dynamics for aleko’s and hep’s relationship in DwtL? i read the ones you posted prior but just finished reading the books and am craving any lil extras you might have while we wait for the next installment 🥺 thx for all that you’ve given your readers you’re so kind!!!

I’m delighted you enjoyed the books enough that you’re looking for more! I don’t have a whole lot more of those “10 Things” or similar backstory information on Tumblr; see THIS POST to be sure you found them all. If you’ve not already found them, I have some Director’s Cuts (or similar commentary) on select scenes (links below).

The main website for the novels, Alexander’s Macedonia, has a page titled “Extras and Fun,” with everything from cut & extra scenes, to how to say their names, to a playlist for Alexander. There are also some vlogs there showing the Macedonian countryside, for readers curious what it actually looks like. I expect you already found the website, but in case not….

If you enjoyed the books and have not already done so, I’d very much welcome if you took a minute to rate (or even review) either or both books on Amazon (book 1, book 2) or Goodreads (book 1, book 2). Especially ratings for Rise on Amazon would help as I am just 2 shy of the magic 50, where the book automatically pops up as a suggestion when someone purchases a similar book.

Director’s Cut or similar writeups on scenes:

Magical Realism: Dionysiac Initiation at the close of Becoming

Greek Notions of Pneuma “There was something elementally reassuring in the presence of another body beside his in sleep. Sometimes at night, Hephaistion would curl around him like a shield, and half-awake, Alexandros would turn so their faces were close, breath mingling. A man's spirit lay in his breath. They breathed one another.”

Hephaistion, Alexandros, Fear, Philosophy, and the Power of Bottoms (on the scene between Alexander and Hephaistion in the penultimate chapter, following Hephaistion placing 7th in Personal Combat.)

Related to the above, on the line, "You're the only one who can make me feel everything. Good, bad, everything. Only you completely rip me up inside. How can I be king when you make me so bedamned weak?" / Hurt, confused, and frankly insulted, Hephaistion wrestled with how to respond. "How do I weaken you?" / "I told you, I love you too much. Yet I can't stop."

I think that’s all the commentary I’ve done on specific scenes. There’s a fair bit of commentary on specific things in the novels (such as, say, Hephaistion’s self-harming in Becoming), or my thoughts on characters or future plans. You can run a search with “DWTL” to find posts specifically aimed at the novels (as opposed to my more general commentary on Alexander or Macedonian history). I suspect you may already have done some of that. If there’s something you’re not finding, however, that you’d specifically like to know, drop me an ask. 😊

#asks #director's cut #dwtl #Dancing with the Lion #Alexander the Great #historical fiction #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #ancient Macedonia #fiction on Alexander the Great #Classics

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mi4012roishutton · 2 years

Text

For my first film analysis in Visual Language 1, I chose a scene from Midsommar by Ari Aster to analyse 30 seconds from. In this scene, the protagonist Dani and a crowd of people stand watching a cliff and a woman on top of it. In these 30 seconds, Aster slowly reveals what is to come for the characters and what they are about to witness. I chose this scene in particular from the film because I believe he succeeds in doing so very well using different aspects of visual language to do so.

In shot 1, the medium framing allows the audience to see a large stone engraved with runes that are marked by bloody handprints. The camera zooms in on this stone to give the audience a closer look at its details and emphasise the sight of blood, foreshadowing what will happen. From this viewers can assume some kind of danger or violence is imminent.

Shot 2 again uses medium framing of Dani slowly looking up at something. Through this framing, the audience can see she is shaking, clearly nervous as she tries to breathe steadily. The high angle used by Aster reinforces this sense of fear and vulnerability as it seems Dani is facing something she is very afraid of and appears small and helpless in comparison to it.

Shot 3 shows the audience what it is Dani is looking up at: a towering cliff. The cliff is viewed from a low angle, making it the most dominating figure in the scene. In these 30 seconds, low angles are only used for this cliff. For this reason, when the woman appears atop the cliff her presence seems Messianic and foreboding as she overlooks those below. The medium framing of the cliff allows viewers to fully appreciate its size and overwhelming presence. Following the bloody stone and Dani's anxiety, this cliff does not appear at all to be a positive addition to the scene and the tension building encourages viewers to anticipate something shocking about to come. The composition in this shot is unsettling as the cliff and woman are off-centre and jagged, as if uncomfortably forced into the frame. Almost every other shot in these 30 seconds is centre on their frame. This composition is another tool I believe Aster used in order to make viewers uncomfortable so that they can relate to Dani and, like her, get the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to the woman on the cliff.

Shot 4 illustrates to the audience very clearly the divide between Dani and her friends and the rest of the crowd watching the cliff. The split between the group is obvious through the difference in clothes and the distance between the larger and smaller group. The large group is all dressed in white and some stand with their arms open, welcoming whatever they are to see. Tension is further built as the audience waits with the crowd who stand still in anticipation. In this way, viewers are shown a strong contrast between conformity and non-conformity, those in the community and those not. The wide shot helps execute this division that Aster wishes to show and the high angle, the point of view of the woman on the cliff, supports this menacing aura that the cliff adopts as an ominous presence above the crowd.

Shot 5 brings the audience back to the cliff, this time in the centre of the frame and shown to be the primary focus of these 30 seconds; it is from this cliff that the plot will progress. The colours used in this shot all blend into one another as shades of light blue, a colour associated with calmness. This is starkly different to the anxious feeling viewers will develop alongside the main characters looking on during this scene. This shot is the final high angle in these 30 seconds and the cliff feels no less sinister. With the woman approaching the edge slowly, it is very unsettling how steady she is as viewers can predict what is going to happen.

In the final shot, the audience can see a bird's eye view of what is directly below the cliff. This shows the audience what Dani cannot see and that is a large rock perfectly in line with the cliff's edge, suggesting that they are connected in some way and that the woman might jump from the cliff to land on it. In this way, the tension built up is coming to a breaking point as viewers are allowed to know what happens next before Dani does. I think this effectively engages the audience who realise before the characters that what they are going to witness is some kind of sacrifice. This is made very clear by Aster's framing and composition in this shot and it is his final boost of tension before the worst happens.

Aside from what each shot communicates to the audience, the transitions used in these 30 seconds are sharp cuts between the crowd and the spectacle. These cuts help to maintain and build upon the lingering sense of fear in the shots as slowly more is revealed to Dani and viewers on what really is happening. Dani being central in shot 2, not to the side of or alongside other characters, I believe suggests that there is a big emotional connection between the cliff, the mysterious woman, and Dani.

Although these 30 seconds are made up of only 6 shots, I think Aster does a great job of leading viewers to realise on their own what happens next and effectively uses tension by being intentional with his framework, angles, transitions, colours, and symbolism.

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daydreamorama · 1 year

Text

Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year DMBJ Treat Exchange - Dear Creator Letter

I’m so excited for this new type of exchange with no assignments, just treats, and a year to create! Will be fun!

If you want to join

Post: https://at.tumblr.com/dmbjexchange/year-of-the-dragon-lunar-new-year-dmbj-treat/4sbprg0i7qdo

AO3 collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/2023DMBJTreatExchange

Okay and here’s my letter :D.

----

Dear Creator! I'm daydreamorama on Ao3!

I would prefer gifts with text in english.

Preferred DMBJ canon: Reboot and Ultimate Note (but don’t mind spoilers from any other canons)

Relationships: Liu Sang/Wang Pangzi/Wu Xie/Zhang Qiling (can focus on any subpart while they are all together, or pre all of them joining), or Liu Sang/Hei Xiazi. (or go wild and put all five together). (Update: I've also been craving Liu Sang/Kan Jian feel free to do with that as you want) (also feel free to skirt the line of ‘I don’t know if this is romantic or platonic or what, but it’s something’ cause who even knows where the line is anymore)

Characters: all the above, and feel free to use anyone else from canon as long as they aren’t the only focus.

General likes:

My absolute favorites: Asexual characters (sub-type sex-repulsed) and Getting together (the whole polycule or one person joining)

You include both of those and nothing else and I will go feral.

Some other likes: misunderstandings, Touch-starved (or other complicated relationships with touch), pining, anxiety, Anything related to bondage (for any reason romantic, torture, accident, whatever), Non-sexual bdsm, AUs (except college/highschool), Coming out fics (especially when accompanied by lots of angst/anxiety about it by the person coming out), Characters in ship where those involved have different sexual or romantic sexualities (eg allosexual/ace, ace/aro, etc), hurt/comfort, angst

Rating: M or below. (feel free to skirt that E line if the plot/emotions needs it!)

DNW (Do not wants): poetry, first or second person POV, outside POV, main Characters younger than 22(it’s fine if they were younger in cannon as long as I can read them as older now even if age is never mentioned), highschool/college AUs, major character death, sad/ambiguous ending, full non-con within the ship, characters saying ‘i love you’ or ‘baby’/'sweetheart' or similar pet names, focus on terminal illness (ie No Wu Xie Lung Cancer, post cure is fine (during tltr if sick not mentioned also great)), characters exclusively using different pronouns than they use in canon, explicitly take place during sha hai/sand sea or when Xiaoge is behind the gate

In terms of media I do not want any fanvids or moving gifs.

For any other visual media I have the additional DNWs (does not apply to text): anything above Teen (or skirting the line), shirtlessness or pantslessness (want fully clothed), kissing (hair or hand kisses are okay), hand holding, hand touching erogenous zones (even if innocent) (such as butt, chest, crotch, lips, upper inside legs)

Prompts if you like them and don’t just want to work on the above vibes!

Telepathy

Liu Sang’s oversensitivity to external stimuli (like the time he was sick when introduced in canon)

someone taking care of someone else's hair

Fake Dating/Marriage AU with lots of angst over falling for partner(s) and thinking the other is just doing it/showing affection for the fake, bonus point if the other partner is already in a relationship with someone else and that person falls for that person too.

model/Idol Liu Sang and ship(s) does not know (or they DO know and it’s combined with Fake Dating above :D )

Sentinel AU or crossover

Valdemar AU or crossovern (bards? Heralds? Companions? Healers? Gifts?)

Stargate Atlantis crossover. (prefer crossover here not just an AU, I just think it would be fun if Rodney and Wu Xie met. Science vs ‘science’. Xiaoge and ronan or teyla fighting, Liu Sang’s complete disbelief that Aliens are real, Pangzi constantly trying to take alien artifacts home, I dunno, have fun!)

Sense8 AU: the above 5 characters and pick your 3, any three! Bonus points for: character realizing they’re gay (or straight or bi) due to accidentally witnessing other characters; dealing with sex-repulsed ace in polycule, when others want to have sex.

Liu Sang or Xiaoge (or both!) are cold and wet and just having a really hard time. The cold/wet one is touch averse and isn't close to anyone with them (yet?)that they would feel comfortable helping them but their fingers are too numb to take off their clothes and they need help if they don't want to freeze to death.

Happy creating!

#dmbj #dmbj exchange #LNY 2023 DMBJ Treat Exchange #LNY 2023 DMBJ Treat Exchange Dear Creator Letter #have fun and join in #I may edit this to add more prompts and likes later #but the DNWs shouldn't change

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writing-with-olive · 3 years

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How to write essays fast

I've been writing a lot of papers, so that's what's on my mind.

So this mostly applies to your standard 5-paragraph paper, though it's fairly straightforward to adapt it to longer (or sometimes shorter) assignments.

One of the main things to note is that essays are VERY formulaic, so knowing the formula and being able to write down your ideas in a way that fit into the formula is probably the number one way to get stuff done fast. Because of that, most of what I’m covering is breaking down the formulas so they’re more accessable.

Also this got very long. If there’s anything you want me to expand on just let me know in the comments or send me an ask/DM and I’ll make another post that goes more in-depth about it.

Structure (I hate this step, so I’ve figured out how to do it very fast becuase it’s still important)

The first thing to consider is prewriting and structure. To start, there are two major paper structures I usually consider. The first goes

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Main point #3

Conclusion

This is good if you have a lot to say on the topic, or if it's something closer to a summary essay where there's not really an opposing side. In something where there are distinct sides, (or if you have less to say to support your own side), you may want something that looks like

Introduction

Main point #1

Main point #2

Why the other side is wrong

Conclusion

The "why the other side is wrong" side is involves thinking through the MOST credible arguments the other side might make, and methodically breaking them down to show how they don't work. The stronger the argument you choose, the more effective this is.

Since I personally hate prewriting with a passion, I usually do this step very fast and end up with an outline that looks like

Intro [insert thesis statement]

P1: [three word summary]

P2: [three word summary]

P3: [three word summary]

Conclusion

(thesis statement, introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion tips are all below the cut)

Usually, this is enough so when I look at my outline, I can see what I'm trying to focus on for each paragraph - and do so without straying from my main point.

For the prewriting, the main things to do are identify with basic structure of the two will serve your purposes better, and write a thesis statement that solidly supports your argument.

Thesis Statement

There are so many guides about creating thesis statements that are powerful, but I'm just going to quickly go over how to be fast about it.

The first thing to know is that a thesis statement is usually a complex sentence: it's your entire essay distilled down to a single line. The general formula I follow goes something like this:

"In their [media type] [name of specific piece], [creator's full name] explored/demonstrated/other verb [theme you're going to be arguing about] demonstrated/using/as evidenced/as shown by [example 1], [example 2], and [optional example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“In his short film Job at Place, David Davidson explored the manifestations of human stupidity through the absurdity of the main character’s home, school, and office.”

Or, if you're writing a historical piece, it might look something like this:

"In [place/time period], [thing you're arguing was happening]: they had to/the conditions were such that/other thing to set up a list [example 1], [example 2], and [example 3]."

For example, a thesis statement that follows this format might go

“During the Tusken Invasion of 32nd century Tatooine, it was the lives of the children that were most affected, from their social development and connections with others to more personal struggles they didn’t yet have the tools to overcome.”

The examples you give are going to correlate to your paragraphs - example 1 is for body paragraph 1, and so on.

Introduction

I like to think of the introduction as a funnel that gets more and more specific.

First, write a broad statement that touches on whatever theme you’re referencing.

Job at Place is about human stupidity, so something like “while great minds have flourished throughout the ages, so have the not-so-great.”

Tatooine is about war, and about child development, so something like “children’s development has always been impacted by the state of the world around them.” or “war has many effects, many of which impact those not directly involved with the conflict.”

The idea is that it’s a broad statement that can almost be looked at like a universal truth.

Next, you’re going to go deeper - two sentences that narrow down the time and place you’re talking about specifically, and how that time and place fit into your universal statement.

The fourth sentence gets even more specific - introducing how the thesis sentence fits into your first three sentences.

Then the last line is your thesis statements.

Body Paragraphs

Your three main body paragraphs all follow the same formula. (I’ll get to the “why the other side is wrong” paragraph in a minute)

The first sentence you’re going to want is a topic sentence. For this, you’re going to want to look at the example you gave in your thesis statement that corresponds to this paragraph, and see how it relates to your central claim.

If we’re going with the Job at Place example from above, for the second paragraph, you might open with a line like:

“A striking characteristic of Davidson’s short film was the abnormality of the main character’s school, used to showcase exactly what happens when poor decisions get taken too far.”

Everything within the paragraph will then back up the claim you’re making in the topic sentence (which in turn is backing up your thesis).

For each paragraph, you’re probably going to want about three pieces of evidence, either in the form of direct quotes (plucking words directly from the source) or paraphrased quotes (summarizing what happened in your own words). The quote should be used to directly support your argument.

After each piece of evidence, you’re going to want about... twoish lines of analysis (this number can change as you need it to, but two lines is something solid to fall back to).

While analysis can take all kinds of forms, one pattern you can use if you’re stuck is

evidence sentence

what it means

how that meaning ties back into your main point

Following this pattern, a piece of analysis of Job at Place might look like:

“One of the first images of the private school is that it’s a tall spire with creaking stairs and loose floorboards. Despite this, the principal has eight personal cars parked outside on full display. While the first glimpse of the school might indicate that there is little money to care for the structural integrity, the notion is directly negated by the principal’s actions. By using these two images, Davidson demonstrates what can happen to the youth when those in power let greed carry them away.”

After you write your analysis, include some kind of transition phrase, and go onto the next piece of evidence.

The last line of your paragraph is going to transition into the next paragraph while also summing up the main point of what you talked about in the current one. (This line can also get moved down and tacked onto the beginning of the next paragraph, before the topic sentence, but I have found it tends to look less cohesive that way).

You might choose something like:

“While the school was a disaster in its own right, it wasn’t the only example of human folly.”

If you’re writing a “this is why the other side is wrong” you’re going to want to think about the MOST compelling arguments the other side could make. Take the top one (or two), and figure out ways to crack them apart using evidence from your source material.

In this case, your topic sentence might start off with something like

“While opponents might say [insert compelling counterargument], their reasoning breaks down when one takes into account the evidence.”

At this point, you’re going to follow the same formula as above. The main thing to keep in mind is that for the duration of this paragraph, your point is that the other side’s claim of X is wrong.

Conclusion!

If you know what you’re doing, this is actually the easiest part.

(wait, what??????)

The thing is, you NEVER want to introduce new ideas into your conclusion. Instead, you’re summarizing your main points.

The formula I follow per sentence is:

Thesis statement but reworded (you can change the sentence structure too)

Topic sentence for paragraph 2 or 3, but reworded (I’ll explain why you shouldn’t do the sentence for P1 in just a sec)

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 3 but reworded

Topic sentence for paragraph 1 or 2 but reworded

Wow sentence or question (i’ll get to this too)

The idea for the middle three sentences is you don’t want them to read as repetitive, so you’re going to mix up the order so it doesn’t match the order of the rest of the essay. This will help to keep it fresh.

The wow sentence is basically the last impression you get to make. I find it’s usually a good idea to go just a tad dramatic (it sounds dumb, but it has never failed me). If I can’t think of anything, a declarative statement on whatever major theme was being discussed throughout the essay usually does the trick.

Examples:

All of this shows that in the absence of friendships and platonic love, humanity will falter.

Fiction may seem far fetched now, but if the world falls into those same mistakes, it’s only a matter of time until it becomes a reality.

Art has existed for as long as humans have populated the earth; it’s not going away any time soon.

A lesson everyone must understand is the most powerful weapon isn’t anything physical or tangeable: it’s the ideas that exist in the minds of those who care.

(I told you they were going to be dramatic) A way I look at it is if you can’t imagine dropping the mic on the last line, it needs to be stronger (yes I found that plagiarized with not even a whisper of credit on Pinterest, but it works).

If you wrote a SOLID essay, consider ending with a question aimed at the reader (this will push your essay in the direction of either the positive or negative extreme: a strong essay will become stronger, a weak essay will become weaker). Questions can be a call to action or rhetorical as a means to drive home your final point. Becuase they’re more nuanced to the content of the essay, I don’t really have great examples to give you though (sorry).

Hopefully this is useful to at least some of you - good luck!

++++

Tagging:@candlemouse

If you want to be added to or removed from any of my taglists (found pinned to the top of my blog) just let me know :)

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nowandforalways · 2 years

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Frodo has the lowest voice out of all the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings musical and it's very important to me: an accidental essay.

EDIT FROM 2023: This was written before the Watermill Theatre's production, and does not apply to their arrangements, where Frodo has the highest part more often than not. :)

Join me under the cut, won't you?

A bit of background if you're not a musical theater/opera person:

Generally speaking, in musical theater and opera, there are certain vocal ranges (that is, how high or low a voice sings) that are associated with certain character types or tropes. The rule is that the main character will have the highest voice, the villain has a low voice, and everyone else is scattered in-between. There are other character traits that can factor in as well - a character in a higher social class will have a higher voice than one of a lower social class, older characters have lower voices than younger characters, innocent, dreamy, ingenue-type characters will have higher voices (these also tend to be the main characters so it works out well for the convention) while their solid, steady friend(s) will have lower voices, etc. - these matter less than the rule of the main character, and even within themselves have sort of a hierarchy of which tropes have more weight in combination with others.

Some shows choose to play with these conventions - the villain in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute has the highest voice in the whole cast, the youngest character in She Loves Me (a teenage boy) sings lower than two of the adult male characters - these decisions to subvert audience expectations are usually to communicate something about the character, whether right from the start or as a twist later.

So how does this apply to the hobbits?

Well, just to get it out of the way, all of the hobbits are tenors (the highest voice type that is generally assigned to male characters in musical theater) - they are small, they are all less experienced in the wide world than the rest of the Fellowship, they are good guys, so they all get voices on the higher end of the scale.

According to a majority of the conventions (rule of main character, highest social class, 'ingenue' type, etc), Frodo should have the highest voice out of the hobbits. But what do we hear?

There are 3 main hobbit songs in the musical: The Road Goes On, The Cat And The Moon, & Now And For Always (I'm discounting The Cat And The Moon for this analysis because the hobbits sing in unison pretty much the whole time) and in each of them, Frodo is always on the lowest part.

In the stage version of The Road Goes On (it's not in the cast album version but it does happen) Sam & Frodo sing together on "...behind the moon and beyond the sun/step by step where the Road may run", and Frodo is singing lower than Sam. When Merry & Pippin join in and sing the same line as Sam & Frodo ("Just beyond the far horizon.."), Merry & Pippin are on the melody (the main tune of a song) and Sam & Frodo take a lower harmony underneath it. On the 1st chorus of Now And For Always, Sam & Frodo are both singing the melody, but both other times they sing the chorus (in the cast album version), Sam takes a higher harmony (a descant, if you wanna be technical) while Frodo stays on the melody below him.

So why does this matter?

Basically, by having Frodo on the lowest part at all times, the audience is reminded through musical shorthand of some very important facts about him, and by extension the other hobbits.

The lower part(s) in any multi-part harmony is often quieter or less conspicuous than the higher part(s), and this puts the solitary and thoughtful Frodo in relation to the other hobbits quite well. In The Road Goes On, Merry & Pippin sing the melody above Sam & Frodo's harmony - they are younger, they are louder, they are flashier, so to speak, so they sing the melody of the song in a range that will make it stand out. Sam & Frodo's lower part is there for musical support, essentially - this makes sense for Sam, whose role as a character revolves around supporting other characters, but is somewhat subversive for main character Frodo.

Now And For Always takes this weirdness even further, because now the melody is the lower part of the two-part harmony. So instead of the main-character Ringbearer singing the melody while being supported from underneath by his loyal and steadfast gardener, the assigned vocal parts are based more on Sam and Frodo's characters as individuals. Thus, we have the dreamy, poetical, and younger/ingenue-ish Sam soaring above with his harmony, while the older, still-main-character Frodo is carrying the melody below, somewhat less notice-grabbing, but sturdy and steady nonetheless (I could write an essay on Sam and Frodo's characters and how they relate to each other based on this one vocal part assignment alone, but I'll save it for another day).

So, in conclusion, Frodo having the lowest part:

Reminds us that he is the oldest out of all the hobbits (something that 19-year-old Elijah Wood in the Jackson movies makes very easy to forget).

Communicates to us his maturity, his strength, and his steadiness - words like that are usually applied to Sam, but Frodo is the one who pushes on while carrying the Ring, and they apply to him equally well.

Keeps him somewhat quieter, sometimes out of focus, not as obviously heroic or action-oriented, but still moving, still steady, still holding on, carrying what needs to be carried - his entire character is represented in his voice part.

And that is very important to me.

#thank you and heyday #lotr musical #frodo baggins #lotr music analysis #mary analyzes the lotr musical #(there i'll just make that the tag for this lil series)#i think i'll go all in on now and for always next #mwahahaha #for frodo

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gay-snom · 3 years

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contextualizing lwj’s coming to terms with his feelings subplot!

i wanna talk about the role of confucianism in this subplot because i think it’s something some western fans might not pick up on. basically, the sociopolitical climate of confucianism in his character arc, and a little bit about his interaction with the public image theme.

disclaimer: i’m not chinese but i do have a double minor in chinese and asian studies and have written a few papers on confucianism.

we’re gonna be talking about the novel bc i feel its a little more in-depth and nuanced than lwj’s “what is black, what is white” monologue in cql. namely the tension and misunderstanding in wwx’s first life and how lwj got his scars. i feel like it’s pretty well accepted that wwx made lwj reconsider his world view, so i’m just gonna expand on it. also i want to point out it's pretty unspoken in most of the text, but lwj is also affected by/used to explore the public image themes, as his image the is ideal confucian scholar.

confucianism is centered around the ideas of how to behave “good” in sociopolitical contexts. basically it boils down to a belief system on how society should be run. if everyone follows confucian beliefs, you will have an ideal society. the main text is the Analects, which you can read here. it’s been around for a few thousand years (like around 200 BCE ish), had a huge revival in the tang dynasty (618-907 CE). it was put on imperial exams, the emperor’s cabinet had confucian scholars, etc. this is just to say confucian values are important to historic society, especially upper-class scholars, which seems to be a role cultivators commonly fill in xianxia. here are some basic tenants:

being a gentleman/scholar/superior man (君子 jūn zǐ) : partly being learned in the arts, literature, music, poetry, etc., mostly behaving righteously and dutifully.

filial piety: usually described as obedience. it's not simply obeying everything elders tell you, it includes doing it with reverence and thankfulness for their sacrifices for you.

leading by example: if leaders/the government is righteous, the people will follow. lwj has his flock of juniors that are all strong cultivators and the lan sect is just generally known for being moral and good.

rites/rituals: a focus on politeness and holding proper ceremonies, sacrifices, and funerals

speech: there’s some great meta about the register he speaks in here, i just want to touch on think carefully before you speak, only speak sincerely, etc.

tldr; lwj is THE perfect gentleman (even his title contains the character suffix 君 -jūn, like lxc. which, while this character is not uncommon for cultivator titles, it wasn’t chosen carelessly either. also not to be confused with 尊 -zūn). seriously, look at almost all of book 10 and you'll see don't do/consume in excess, don't talk during meals, sit only when your mat is straight, etc.

okay, so Why is understanding his feelings for wwx so troublesome?

1.2 "They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion... Filial piety and fraternal submission! - are they not the root of all benevolent actions?"

in other words, people who are filial will never create political tension. so like, morally, wwx should be considered horrible person! he’s not only snubbed the jiang sect. he was a head disciple who undoubtedly had younger students looking up to him. and then he goes and stirs up some huge political issues! he is now a bad role model for the people below him and disrespected the people above him. lwj has an entire image to uphold, he has poured his entire life into following these rules and beliefs, and then wwx comes along. would continuing to be in wwx's life taint lwj? there are some contradicting teachings in regards to interacting with wwx:

15.4: "Do not take counsel with those who follow a different Way"

15.28: "When the multitude hates a person, you must examine them and judge for yourself. The same holds true for someone whom the multitude love."

15.36 "When it comes to being Good, defer to no one, not even your teacher."

this is part of the reason lwj had so much trouble accepting his feelings. he didn’t know how to handle this situation, making him appear distant during/directly after sunshot. if he judges wwx's intentions to be pure, it's then not wrong to be friendly with him. but wwx still is morally wrong by society's standards. now, lwj has to not only figure out his feelings, but also reconcile this with how he still thinks wwx is Not a bad person, despite everything. what if he does get "tainted" by wwx? will it hurt the reputation of his sect? that would be un-filial, right? he spent his whole life memorizing rules that are probably extremely similar to sections in the Analects, and now these mixed messages (coupled with the relatable gay panic) are overwhelming.

onto the next! there’s something unspoken in the scene where wwx discovers why lwj has the whip scars. as other posts have mentioned, lwj taking wwx back to the burial mounds and nursing him is high treason. however, this action is also extremely un-filial. also his entire image is built around being a perfect gentleman, if this were to get out to the public he would lose absolutely everything. he would be just as irreparable as wwx.

“I was worried if those from another sect found you first, WangJi would be considered your accomplice. The best scenario was his name being forever tainted, and the worst was his life being taken away right then. Thus, along with Uncle, we chose thirty three seniors who had always thought highly of WangJi... ”

there’s no way lwj didn’t know what would happen if he did this. obviously as lxc says, if this got out, he would lose basically his entire face. and even though lxc didn’t mention this, it would definitely lose a lot of face for the lan sect as well since lwj is so prominent. the decision about what elders to bring is also notable.

“...As if he knew all along he would be discovered by us, he said that there was nothing to explain, that this was it. Growing up, he had never talked back to Uncle, not even once. But for you, not only did WangJi talk back to him, he even met with his sword the cultivators from the Gusu Lan sect...”

so yeah, he obviously knew they would come for him and what the consequences would be. and he still talked back! that’s already not a good look for the lan sect. but attacking them? totally unforgivable! lwj gives up how he was raised and the importance of filial piety, what he has held on to until this major plot event. since it's basically the biggest "fuck you" to his uncle and his clan, this was not a decision he made lightly. lwj shows them he cares more about wwx and His Own ideas of right and wrong than the sect’s or society’s.

Wei WuXian dug his hands into his hair, “...I-I didn’t know... I really...”

when was the last time wwx was at a loss for words? wwx spends a few paragraphs after this lamenting how he hurt lwj, but he's not unaware of the gravity of what lwj did. it's an underlying assumption from being raised in the culture. i would argue his first instinct is "oh god he gave up what for me?" since those lamenting paragraphs are after lxc finishes speaking.

"But he said... that he could not say with certainty whether what you did was right or wrong..."

this is something thrown around a lot in the Analects, that not even confucius can say for sure what is right or wrong. what better way to show lwj is still a perfect confucian than have him paraphrase confucius himself?

“...WangJi was a model for the disciples when he was young, and a prominent cultivator when he grew up. In his whole life he had been honest and righteous and immaculate--you were the only mistake he made!”

here’s the confirmation that the world and even his family thinks of him as a perfect gentleman, the top tier of society, and it was all thrown away for wwx. this is just so heavy. the mistake thing? thats not only because lwj is fraternizing with an enemy. lxc and the rest of the sect who knew are terrified this will forever corrupt lwj personally, not just publicly. lwj was so devoted to believing this was the right thing to do he offered up everything he had. the gravity of this decision is insane. it’s very obvious that he loves wwx, it’s just that he struggles a lot internally to accept everything that is happening.

as for helping wwx leave after the massacre, is this gentleman-ly of lwj? was it actually in-line with his image? is it more honorable to save someone who is dying, at the cost of your own health, than to look away? isn't looking away a form of resentment? i wasn't able to find a specific passage about bystander-ness, but personally i think it qualifies as "bad intentions." there is also this passage for what it's worth, originally it was about government suppression:

12.19: "...What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?" Confucius replied, "...why should you use killing at all?..."

lwj is always more actions than words, and he was not fucking around. his core beliefs really haven't changed, and remain very strong throughout his life. he is still righteous enough to accept his punishment, graceful enough to search for wwx's body since there was no one else to do the funeral rites (10.22/10.15), caring enough to take in a-yuan, upright enough to still spend his years going where the chaos is.

just with this one action, the audience knows he has come to terms with realizing that authority isn't always just, and neither is the public opinion/opinion of other gentlemen. he has reconciled. this is him standing for what he believes is right. this is his devotion. this is his own choice. just. poetic cinema...

anyway that's it for my first meta post! i would love to hear your thoughts, feelings, opinions, discussions, other meta ideas, whatever! thank u for reading! <3

#its My post and i get to pick the subplot #i have...brainworms #wwx and lwj are foils in the public image theme change my mind #mdzs #mdzs meta #lan wangji #mo dao zu shi #stfu #meta

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