#these characters were created to fit in with the universe's context in mind

[flowerandblood]

Writing the Long Series

How I manage to do this for @troublesomesnitch

I often get questions about how I write and how I structure my work. If you are a perfectionist and like to have everything organized and tidy, this guide is not for you, because most of my work is chaos. However, I know that there are people like me who are tired of having to make lists, think about beta-readers, etc., so for all those who don't like to plan, here's how I write long series.

1. Never assume that your series will be long

When I write a oneshot or the first chapter of my story, I never assume how many chapters it will have − I do this very rarely when I have a specific plot in mind for a mini-series, but I often change my mind anyway, adding or shortening the series as I see fit. It's usually only when I've written the first two chapters that I have a sense of whether or not the story itself for me is asking to be longer.

With The Impossible Choice I thought I would close it in 20 chapters, and ended up with 55 chapters and 3 Alternate Universes. I had no idea when I wrote the first chapter that this would happen. Putting the pressure on yourself "okay, this is my moment, it's time for a long series, I want to make it 30 chapters" will make you shy away from writing at the thought of how much work lies ahead. Don't think about it, just write.

2. You don't have to have an ending

In none of my long series I knew what the ending would be. I usually know what's going to happen a maximum of 2/3 chapters in advance. I believe, but this is just my personal opinion, that writers pay too much attention to the ending, and if we are not writing a crime story, or the ending itself is not supposed to be a big breakthrough, it doesn't really matter. Even whether everything ends well or badly. Sometimes what's more important is the journey and what's in between.

I come up with the ending at the very end, when I have all the chapters. Then I know exactly what happened and what ending to the story will make sense in the context of what has happened so far. What's the point of coming up with a super-thought-out ending if it doesn't seem to fit the whole? This is starting from the wrong side. We are supposed to feel emotions throughout the story, not just at the end.

3. Don't predetermine how each chapter will end

This is suicide. Because what if you have a couple of scenes at the beginning, an end scene and a blank of what to write in between? It makes no sense!

When I write a chapter, I just go scene by scene and look at the number of words. Once it's over 2'500, I'm already thinking about slowly closing the chapter and I usually end it with some kind of breakthrough sentence or a character's thought. That's enough.

You don't always have to come up with a cliffhanger at the end. It's more important that the story reads smoothly and with breath, not to have someone gasp in surprise at the end but feel that what they were reading was just a bunch of scenes that weren't necessary.

4. Accept the fact that you won't use all the scenes you've imagined

I know we often think we have fantastic ideas, that this and that could happen, but sometimes we find that when we write, they just don't fit anywhere. There's no need to get upset then. If it's not a key scene for the whole story, it should be omitted or modified completely. Having said that, I'm against planning scenes ahead, except for the ones that matter most and push everything forward. It then makes such a pattern with holes that aren't there when you write everything in sequence.

Some people say − don't know how to do it? Leave it, move on to the next scene! I say no here! Don't keep writing until you know which way you want to go! And even if you do know, if you can't make it happen with a scene or dialogue, ask yourself if that way is good. Maybe just because you came up with it doesn't mean it makes sense in the context of the whole story you've created so far?

Maybe it's worth taking a different course, surprising yourself, choosing a different solution? Don't be a prisoner of your own decisions, let the creation of the story be fluid and changeable according to what you feel will be most viable for the development of your character!

5. Write other stories between chapters

Write oneshots or other mini-series in between chapters of your big project. Allow yourself to take a breather and not think about it all the time. I always intersperse my long series with my other work and it has helped me a lot. Sometimes, you just lose the verve for that concritical story and feel like writing something else − you should do exactly that. Don't think 'oh no, I'm starting a new story and I haven't finished that one'.

Even if you don't finish that one, nothing will happen. By controlling yourself in this way you are killing the fun you should be having with it. When you feel like it, read your long series again, or at least the last chapters to get the mood and then try to sit down to write a new chapter. I've found that when I take breaks and come back to stories like this after a few days, good new ideas come to me which keep me engaged in creating this story.

6. Play with characters, not scenes

Sometimes we come up with a scene that doesn't resonate at all as well in the story as it did in our mind when we wrote it. The reason I knock such scenes out is usually because they don't fit the character I'm writing about.

In my series The Fall from The Heavens originally when Lady Strong and Aemond are sitting in the library years later and Aemond tells her about having his first intimate experience with a whore, I wanted him to have tears in his eyes, get up from the table and walk over to the bookcase, Lady Strong was going to approach him and try to draw out of him what had happened.

However, as I wrote this, I felt somewhere in the back of my mind that something was wrong. I realised that while the scene itself was interesting and poignant, it didn't fit completely with my Aemond in this series. He would never allow himself to show weakness in this aspect, he would never have tears in his eyes at the thought, at most he would feel disgust, discomfort and anger.

I thought I would change this to a scene where her question reminds him of what happened and he tries to put it out of his mind and pretend he was content, drawing sastifaction from her jealousy. This, in my opinion, was definitely better suited to his spiteful, sullen character.

7. Do not ignore the thoughts of the protagonists

Some authors forget that only they know what is in the characters' heads − readers do not. Putting everything in dialogues makes no sense, because ordinary people don't say everything they think about.

Each of us thinks about something constantly, even when we just look at someone, when we sit alone or when we don't say anything. The characters' thoughts, so often overlooked, are a gateway to entering various scenes and events without the need for dialogue or additional events.

In The Knight & The Judge, readers would hate my Aemond if it weren't for the fact that they know his thoughts, how he regrets his actions, what he goes through, why he does certain things. Events do not happen by themselves, but are the result of what is happening in his head, even if he does not say much to other characters.

8. Don't be afraid to use side characters to show your couple's perspective

I often swap perspectives, once showing the perspective of a female character and once of a male character, but I also often use the eyes of side characters like Aegon, Daemon or Alys to show what their relationship looks like from the side.

Although some people dread this (like being afraid to write a chapter without smut because no one will read it because there won't be spicy scenes − that's nonsense) such a pov often gives a much wider view of how our characters are perceived from the side, what others think of their behaviour, what their decisions lead to, how they affect other characters.

If these side characters are an important part of our story, we can use such an extra chapter to build up what they will do in the future, engaging with our couple's story.

9. Confrontation does not always mean violence

I notice that often when there is a conversation between the main characters, many authors do their best to make both characters as sassy as possible, throwing fanciful insults at each other, threatening each other, considering it a good prelude to sexual tension. Of course, in one or two scenes this will work, even more so when, in fact, the two parties are very much at odds and practically hate each other.

However, it can't be that even though the characters are getting closer, they act as if they haven't gone through any development, haven't had any thoughts. It amazes me when someone writes an elaboration on the appearance of a gown or a room, on how someone raises a hand or performs an action, but does not lean into the fact that their character's behaviour is unnatural.

People say unpleasant things to each other in anger, but usually, forced to be in each other's company, they also have calmer discussions. Sometimes one word or sentence can make someone's perspective change, make them understand something that was unclear to them and new feelings emerge that can push the plot further − compassion, grief, longing or even understanding.

Creating templates out of our characters who have specific characteristics and always behave identically makes the whole story unbelievable.

10. Be kind to yourself

At the moment, there are no series from my first months of writing here written by me that I would consider good and I edit most of them, or I just left them as is and will never come back to them. I just know they are bad. But that's the way it is, in order to develop we have to make mistakes and not always be satisfied with ourselves (although at that moment I thought I had created my life's work).

Be understanding and kind to yourself. I managed to create so much work, not always good, mainly because I did it with passion and joy. I am very proud of many of my stories now and I like them even when I come back to them after a long time, I feel my progress and I know that it was worth it. Give yourself a chance and don't block yourself.

#writer thoughts #fanfiction writer #writer prompts #woman writers #female writers #creative writing #fanfic writing #writing community #writing is hard #writing struggles #writing #writers on tumblr #writing prompt #writing advice #writing about writing #fanfiction prompts #fanfiction #fanfiction author #fanfiction advice

[dogtoling]

how would you go about designing a sona-adjacent character for splatoon? I know I’m going with octoling bc I play as them exclusively and this is more a character made from my ingame avatar, but everything else has me indecisive.. sorry I know this is a vague question but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts

this is a cool question! I struggled with this for a really long time and have had MANY sona designs (which either got trashed or became separate characters over time). Really i think how you approach a sona is different for every person. sorry if this is incoherent as i'm typing at 6am from bed

So basically first thing is what are you planning on using the character for? For example in my case when I used to try making splatoon sonas I made them *too much* like me to the point where i didn't like them and they didn't really fit in the world or were interesting at all. But that's just talking personality-wise. I could make an extremely bland octopus guy who doesnt play Turf War or ever go anywhere but it's also like, what is even the point of having a Splatoon sona at that point. What you want to use your sona for kind of affects how they would ideally be in my opinion.

So the way I ended up designing my sona (Koira) was to have us share traits but not have them specifically BE me, which is an approach that I find works really well in creating a connection to a character while still letting them be a character of their own. I would refer to it as more like making a self-insert character to control in a setting rather than physically being there and feeling confined to being yourself if that makes sense? it probably doesnt. But the self-insert player character is kinda what you already do in Splatoon anyway.

I find it a good approach to go with a mix of aspects that are accurate to you but combined with things that are kind of out there. Then you can have a character that's still interesting and appealing to you and might seem similar enough at face value to be relatable, while not being like, super boring. I don't remember my exact design process with Koira, I wanted the design to be silly and stand out and be relatable to how I play the game and approach the series, while at the same time not being confined to what I would realistically do or be like. Like I do not own a labcoat in real life, or mismatched boots, or round shades.

But I DO own a pair of broken shades i found from a trash can, and in the context of being an avid squid researcher online I felt it would be very fitting to make my in-universe guy an actual squid scientist, and i WISH i had shoes like that because theyre pretty cool. And he has split ends because I DO have split ends (there are so many), but i don't have blonde hair. I picked yellow because it's my favorite color. I would NOT touch turf wars with a ten foot pole if i actually existed in the splatoon world and was the same person there that i am in real life, but like, in the context of Splatoon i might as well have my Splatoon guy represent some aspect of my gameplay experience, hence they own like every weapon but don't really play. Et cetera.

So really again people have different preferences with how to approach making a sona, or sona-adjacent characters like you said, personally the Player Character approach tends to work pretty well for me. I try to reflect my real physical in-the-flesh self less, because that's kind of boring (i literally already exist), and go for the more exaggerated version where some aspects represent me but it's not Literally Me. Like, I'm trying to make What If I Was An Octoling, and not What If An Octoling Looked Like Me The Human. The process of how to get there is a little patchy and again, probably different for everybody, and bear in mind that you might make a sona and not like it and start from scratch. That might happen 5 times. That might happen 10 times. You still learn something more about the process every time.

Here's some questions I can present to help with sona designing...

1. What are some traits that I think reflect myself? How can I include those in the character design?

2. In tandem with the previous question; what species should I pick? (You already picked Octoling, so this one is a bit obsolete - but it's worth thinking about for people who struggle to pick.)

3. If I existed in the Splatoon world, what would I probably, somewhat realistically be doing with my life? What kind of job or hobbies would I have? Can that be reflected in the design?

4. Do I care about any of the above stuff or do I just want to come up with something original? Could I use some of my answers to work with and fill in the blanks with other things that are just cool?

5. How would the ways I play Splatoon be reflected if translated to an in-universe character? (For example, based on how I play, my game-realistic Splatsona would just be a full-time Salmon Runner...)

6. Do I want to use in-game gearsets, or reference the kind of style I prefer in real life, or maybe come up with something unique?

7. Can my main weapon or playstyle be directly equated to my character's personality or appearance? Do I want their personality to be game-accurate, real life accurate or somewhere in between?

8. Finding inspiration through your player character's Badges, Banner and Title that you currently have; what do those say about the player? Or what about the locker?

9. What are some things I love about the setting of Splatoon that I could reflect in a sona or self insert? (For example I made mine an in-universe Inkling researcher to reflect my own obsessiveness about Inkling biology. And squid suckers. I have a dried squid in a minigrip bag on my shelf)

10. The obligatory step in any character design: Can i do something to make it fun or appealing to myself? Adding some flavor.

Aside from all that and I definitely forgot SOMETHING, my general character design tip is do not expect the first draft to be the final perfect result. I watched a video once that said to draw every character design Three Times before 'finalizing' it and it works EXTREMELY well when youre whipping up a character basically from scratch and have an idea in your head, but on paper, you just need some kind of first draft to see if that idea works. The second and third iterations usually help trim out whatever didnt work in the earlier designs and when you keep making more, the parts that DO work are solidified and refined over time.

Rule number 2: if you make a sona design and don't like it, ask yourself why. Then change it! It's not the time to start some kind of self reflecting journey, maybe you just want a more interesting haircut than what you have in real life and you can totally do that if you're bold (my hair is brown, I didn't want the splatoon to have brown hair when like half the point of the game is Neon Color). Maybe you want bright pink eyes. Maybe you want a ridiculous job that you could never do in real life but that would make your character way more interesting. Maybe you want to give them a pet slug because you would LOVE ONE in real life but dont have one, and that would complete the character.

i forgot my point but hopefully this helped and was useful even a little bit? yay

#mailbox

[boyfridged]

Sorry to ramble in your ask box but

I sometimes doubt It wouldn't matter if Jason came back a murderer; even if Jason returned totally normal, I believe Bruce would view it as the universe punishing him.

I'm not saying Bruce doesn't miss or love Jason, but I think Bruce has personified his grief and sense of failure in Jason.

I was recently looking at "came back relatively intact" Jason au's and thought to myself, "I don't think Jason could ever stop being a ghost, at least not to Bruce."

What do you think?

i mean, this is the whole story, isn't it! i believe that the reason why jason becomes a murderer at all* is that he is believed to be a ghost; by most of the other characters (although rarely stated outright), but also himself equally (annual 25!). jason's death had been too important (and one of the deaths that were supposed to be irreversible as a rule) and hence even post-res he remains a mere haunting. this became a defining trait of his in the contemporary rendition of his character, for better or for worse. the primary issue with it is, of course, that no one wants to meaningfully engage with this at all.

and jason was not merely killed; he was fridged, for bruce specifically. what you said "i think bruce has personified his grief and sense of failure in jason" is a very apt description of what fridging is on a meta level in storytelling! my tag #cemeteries are for the living is actually specifically about it. there's no autonomy in death; the dead you keep become your own story. it is partially natural (although when it comes to bruce, it seems that he personally just sucks at grief work tbh.) except in jason's case, since jason comes back to life, it has even more dire consequences.

but i digress. i'm not sure if bruce would perceive jason coming back as he was to be a punishment, but i definitely agree he would not be entirely... normal about it; and it's not like there is a normal reaction to your child coming back from the dead. but if we assume there is some range of more appropriate ways of dealing with it, i do not think bruce would necessarily manage to fit into it anyway. i believe first of all there would be this terrible fear there that he can fail jason again; if jason is alive, it is possible for him to get hurt again (yes, i'm thinking about this poem again.)

i actually talked (maybe it was in dms with a friend and not here?) about a scenario in which jason gets back to bruce right after his resurrection (for some reason in this vision the resurrection takes place a bit later however) and so he's still a kid that he once was (i don't remember the exact setting we conceived but for clarity: he is not catatonic). we came to the conclusion bruce would not be able to parent him anymore. he would, of course, love him and express it, but there would be something off about the whole setting still. i think we even somehow arrived at dick taking over the custody (not in a formal sense but in every way that matters) for the most part (and that being, mind you, a situation that was not really desirable. it was supposed to be painful for everyone.)

oh and just to throw it here. jason's death changed bruce the most. he is, to an extent, also dead. that creates a barrier in communication from both sides.

*despite of how some like to use garzonas' story to argue otherwise, i don't think there is any good and valid in-context evidence for a claim jason would turn to this modus operandi if the timeline actually followed his 80s characterisation and development.

#outbox

[waterfall-ambience]

Perpetua Naming Significance

One of the general rules for Perpetua is that names have power, and that every character's name has to be meaningful to some extent.

And this one got really long so it's going under the cut

Damien Vexx - In universe, his name was chosen out of a list of first names and surnames picked out by the Wither King. 'Damien' was included because it sounds like 'demon', though it is etymologically unrelated. 'Vexx' as a surname comes from the word 'vex' (to annoy), just with an extra 'x' because it looks cooler.

On a meta level, this is supposed to be reflective of how he's largely ineffectual as a villain. There's also a few other Damien/Damians in media who are either meant to be evil (Thorn (The Omen)), antiheroes (Wytte (Hooky) or bratty kids to some extent (Wayne (DC), Desmond (Spy x Family)). I learned of many of them after having named Damien Vexx, but it solidifies my decision.

(Captain) Ignacio Javier Luna - I wanted his name to be Filipino-Spanish-sounding, so I picked names from my personal life. 'Ignacio' was one of the names my parents were considering when naming my younger brother (and he's a bit salty that they didn't do it, because he thinks it's a cool name. And it is). 'Javier' was originally going to be 'Xavier' because 'haha Xisuma connections', but I changed it so it'd flow better. The name 'Javier' was also the second name of a 'golden boy' classmate of mine, so to me at least, there's an association with success.

In terms of meaning, the religious associations arose naturally (Saint Ignatius, Saint Francis Xavier), as did the association with fire (to complement Damien's lightning) and celestial bodies. His name helped inform his entire vibe.

The 'Luna' surname was taken from the Filipino revolutionaries Antonio and Juan Luna. In a Filipino cultural context, the shared surname is mostly to signal that yeah, Captain Luna is important. Pay attention to him.

The in-universe lore is that one of Captain Luna's ancestors blew up the enemy moon ship during a war against an evil space empire, and people started calling him 'Luna' as a reference to that.

Edward Marlowe (The Wither King)- If Captain Luna is meant to be Filipino, the Wither King had to be white (no specific heritage in mind). Both names are English in origin, 'Edward' meaning 'rich guard' as a reference to how his family was supposed to guard the Star Crystal that became the Perpetua Key. 'Marlowe' means 'the remains of a lake' according to the baby name sites, which creates an association with decay, while also kinda sounding like it could belong to an old money family.

Helen - We could go into mythological associations, but we won't. I needed a name that sounded fairly mature and 'normal', in comparison to a lot of other characters. MCR provided. Being undead, she changes her name and identity as she sees fit (because she can), so she doesn't really carry a surname anymore. Though if she were to use one for whatever reason, it'd be either Baycock, Ashtoreth, or Harrison, depending on her mood (references to The Omen and Good Omens).

Avery Tan - As a trans guy, he named himself. He took advantage of his surname to make it sound like a pun on 'Everyman' (to poke fun at him being 'ordinary', it's also his superhero name), though etymologically his name has nothing to do with being generic. 'Avery' is derived from names that have to do with magic (elves, fairies). He doesn't have anything to do with the fae, either (not like Alice or Riza). He just liked it, partly because the name was gender neutral and it gives him some degree of plausible deniability if he doesn't want to come out to someone, or as well as being flexible in case he feels different about his gender identity.

The surname 'Tan' was originally picked from people I knew IRL.

Minerva Tan - 'Minerva' - Roman form of the Greek goddess Athena. Her parents named her this in the hopes that she'd be intelligent, and boy howdy, she was.

Alice Hallward - Part of her backstory is that she was the protagonist of a portal fantasy as a child, so the name Alice ('Alice in Wonderland') felt like a natural choice. 'Hallward' is a nod to my current favourite fictional painter, Basil Hallward from 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'.

Riza - She was created to fill in for Alice and live her life while Alice was going on adventures and trying to get back to Fairyland. Being derived directly from Alice, we're playing by 'Shadows House' rules where their names intentionally sound similar. Riza's name was derived like this: Alice -> Alis -> Lisa -> Riza (original -> sound -> name ('too soft') -> name (more fitting to personality)).

Icarus Noctua - Another mythological name, because I can't help myself. He was originally meant to be something of a 'Grian meets Victor Frankenstein' type of character for my DnD character's backstory, though the campaign didn't push through. Frankenstein is sometimes called 'the modern Prometheus', so I chose the name 'Icarus' to reflect his hubris. 'Noctua' means 'owl' in Latin, because sometimes you've gotta double down on the bird/flying associations when creating Grian expies LOL.

Newton - Immediate association with Isaac Newton, though Perpetua's Newton isn't a scientist but an architect instead. Icarus gave this name to him in order bind his demonic consciousness to a robotic body. As per demonic naming traditions, his name was Rotanev, after the star. He eventually embraces both mortal and demonic names.

Phobos Abaddon (The Knight of the Nine Circles)- 'Phobos' after the Martian moon, and meaning 'fear'. 'Abaddon', meaning 'ruin or destruction'. Truly one of the stereotypical demon characters ever.

Not everyone with a celestial name is a demon, but if they're a demon, their name is probably celestial in origin (eg Betelgeuse).

As of now I haven't quite fleshed out his Perpetua counterpart in terms of their relationship, but his name is Gavin (derived from Gawain, the knight from Arthurian Legend, who was sometimes described as 'brave but hot-headed' in the surrounding literature).

Augustin Ambrosio Luna - 'Augustin', having general religious but also Catholic associations (Saint Augustine), as well as in my personal experience, being common among younger brothers. His second name, 'Ambrosio' is the real kicker though because it's derived from 'Ambrosios', meaning 'immortal'.

The irony is that Augustin isn't the immortal Luna sibling, in fact, he's so Not Immortal, the most important thing about him is that he's dead. Not undead like Helen is, but fully dead, in part because Ignacio did his best to erase him from Perpetua's history so the gods couldn't try to tamper with his memory by resurrecting him.

#globeland perpetua #original characters

[kit-the-dreamer]

thoughts on this... strange goop thing?

For context, read the second part of this post ⬇️

So, to answer your question, my thoughts are:

I actually love the idea *^*

Imagine how fun it would be to play levels that mess up with the color palette of the screen, making them come and go, mix up or change depending on what's happening on the story.

Also also, ''sinister forces behind its spread''?  That's awesome! That means that the Gloom Goop may not be the only thing we should be worrying about, because there is...

a secret villain.

*dun dun dunnn*

ALSO also, the way the story is redacted implies that the Gloom Goop isn't actually acting on its own, it isn't spreading itself to cause damage because it wants to, the Gloom Goop is BEING SPREAD, it is being USED by someone (aka. the ''sinister forces''). SO, this could lead to some interesting antagonist arcs:

1. The Gloom Goop is kind of non-sentient. It's just a tool that's being used by the ''sinister forces''. From here we have two options:

a. The Gloom Goop gains sentience as Sackboy/girl progresses and is discover that they're just being used by the villain, making them go through a redemption arc.

b. The Gloom Goop stays non sentient through the whole game and the only antagonist is the true villain. The Gloom Goo is just a substance created by the villain.

2. The Gloom Goop IS sentient but just too innocent to notice that they're being used. They are just helping who they believed their friend, aka. the villain, until they realize teaming up with Sackboy/girl is a better idea and they have a redemption arc.

Both ideas (1.a and 2) are pretty cool to me since it could finally introduce to the LBP Universe an antagonist whose nature doesn't determine if they're redeemable or not, unlike The Negativitron, whose concept (being made out of negativity) implies that he HAD to die for the game to deliver it's message (''fight the negativity inside you''). But for the Gloom Goop, even if they're made out of 'darkness' and steal the color and creativity of Craftworld, their redemption could also be seen as a benefit for Dreamers and the Imagisphere due to 'Creative Overload' being a thing, or even just by exposing the dark side of creativity (neglecting your own health, mood swings, depression, ...). And so, LittleBigPlanet would leave us with another few interesting messages:

1. No situation is only black or white. There is a scale of greys everywhere. -> creativity has its dark side; a lack of creativity has its positive outcomes (calmed mind)

2. Second chances are important (if they don't endanger your own integrity tho) -> we give the Gloom Goop a chance to change

3. Help can come from the most unexpected places. -> The Gloom Goop helps

a. A specific planet from being Creatively Overload and destroying itself (or something)

b. A character/s who was/were way too hiperactive due to Creative Overload

c. Sackboy/girl, who thought that they were being pretty useless lately since they have lots of ideas to craft but no time to make them real (eg.: create levels)

Considering the lessons LBP1 and LBP2 delivered us (sharing and fighting our negativity, respectively), these ones surrounding the Gloom Goop seem pretty fitting for the franchise, making them be like a sort of mediator of creativity at the 'end of the DLC', where they worry about Dreamers and steal their creativity (also known as ''artistic block'') whenever they see the Dreamer's focus on a specific creative pursuit is harming them mentally or even physically.

We may or may not sometimes hate the Gloom Goop for that, for taking that moment of creative inspiration away in a matter of seconds, but in the end, they just do it for us, so whenever you encounter this situations, take a moment to empty your mind. Take a walk, do excercise, eat, drink water, and take care of yourself. JUST THEN, the Gloom Goop will give your energy back for you to continue following your dreams <3

..........

Awwww, what an adorable message and lore I just created ;♡;

Seems like the Gloom Goop is allowing me to be creative rn, hahaha

I may or may have not diverted a biiiiit of the topic ;-;, but I hope you liked my 'analysis' of such interesting creature. The Gloom Goop should actually become a thing in LBP if their existence contains this kind of message xd.

;w;♡

#ask #littlebigplanet oc #little big planet #gloom goop #lbp oc #concept #lbp idea #rambling #doober #♡

[fantomette22]

Wait what is your headcanon about Maria's twin???? If I got that right?

Hm… yes you got it right. In one of my headcanons I imagined that Maria used to have a twin sister. 

This would be the short answer, but I supposed you’re looking for a more complete explanation. I will try to write it below. Even if I don’t get into too much details, I sure have a tons of others things to say about Bloodborne universe/ world building.

(About the conditions of life and the importance of the old blood in it)

So thank you for asking! You give me a good reason to share all of this x) And talking about this headcanon.

Like some might be aware I have tons of different hc & interpretations. Some who directly contradict canons and even each other. It’s more like silly AU/fic stories. 

Exception to my main big hc/story, even if I don’t believe it actually 100% happened that way. But I’m trying to make it fit as much as possible into the lore and original material. (It’s MY hc and for now, nobody is going to tell me if I’m right or wrong so…)

This ideas/stories just came in my mind, and I express most of them by just talking to myself. Not sure if everyone does that or if it’s only a neurodivergent thing. Some days I really wonder… Anyway.

Before getting back to the main subject I got to talk about two things really fast. 

One subject that I would want to express, if I ever write a story on Bloodborne it’s “how the use of the old blood really did help people and improve their life”. Why it became so much essential and when they realize it was too dangerous and should be stopped it wasn’t possible anymore.

After decades of progress and researches a lot of persons would prefer to try to find a compromised than stopped everything and just get back austerity (hello really life environmental issues struggle ?! wow I didn’t indeed this comparison at first),The risk of a big regression, a civil war perhaps and it would still be around in some kind of black market I’m sure. 

(yep all of this inspired by Laurence theme song alone…damn).

Yes, the old blood and all this mess probably killed thousands of people (especially if we addition everything until the event of the game) but it probably saves a ton of persons as well (a poisonous miracle cure…) In the begging at least/gold era at least.

Like you know Bloodborne is mostly based on the XIX/19th century (1801-1900) and the Victorian era (after 1837). A lot of people used to die of various illness we don’t have anymore. The infantility death rate was really high too. People got a lot of health-related problems. Pasteur (the guy who create the rabies vaccine), the vaccination and a lot of new medical protocols appeared at the end of the century. That’s also why at this period people and society had a different view on death. They were closer to it and have way of dealing with it that would be weird or even disturbing today. (See my post on the doll).

But this doesn’t seem match the universe of the game. Maybe they did have better quality life. It looks like it. But we know nothing about the political/ social/health context before the blood show up. We can’t be sure it was exactly like the XIX century and people could had 5 siblings, but they all died or was it more like us today or even a mixt of both.

The characters we know only seems to be only child or have like only 1 sibling. That mean advanced society who already did their demographic transition. Or all their family passed away. What’s sure is that it’s a more egalitarian society lol.

Maybe life conditions in Bloodborne were much better than actual 19thcentury but I saw a cool post (but don’t remember where) that say that in order for the church to basically lead Yharnam politically, some wars/epidemy/famine would have happened earlier. 

That’s why I thought it would be interesting to hc characters to have family members/friends/people they know, who had died before hand, of shitty illness. Or even if they didn’t know the persons, they have at least friends /relatives, who lost close people to them. That would really solidify the importance of the healing church/ old blood instead of just “oh an epidemy of ashen blood show up the church heal them”. I do believe they gained a lot of popularity/influence/ power over this. 

SO, because of this and another dumb thing, I think it would be great to made Maria had a sibling (a twin sister), who passed away when they were both really young (preschooler age?) + all the family drama that would occur. And it would serve my narratives even better. in my main hc/story. Because, guess who else I hc having a little sister who passed away as well ?? 

Gehrman (I had this one for a while now…you see what I did there ?! ).

I mean he did survive almost everyone so pretty sure he lost he’s entire family at one point…

(I have a lot of quite different interpretations of their relationship as well. Depend the au/hc but I’m not going to expand on that or I’m never going to finished lol, maybe another day). So let’s just say in my main hc, at the beginning she remind him more of that part of his life. After a few years alongside her, his view on her changed.

If you know FF7 remake dlc and Yuffie and Sonon, well at the beginning it’s kinda like them XD but of course they’re characters with really different personality. It's more about their general bond and dynamic as a duo.

There’re other characters I think/hc who may have lost relatives too.

Also, one day I thought about how Maria would react to the Doll. I believe she would have really differents & mixt reactions at the same time (I won’t go into details!). One of them would be “Oh I always wanted a sister…” And I think if they were to interact that would be the relationship they would have.

(But yep I believe the doll is a part of Maria too. In the hunter Nightmare it’s a nightmare version of herself aka the worst version of herself. I believed she was actually in between the 2 !  That the real Maria was both and neither at the same time. If that make sense. But who knows… that’s just my interpretation).

And to finish, the wildest AU that come to my mind who solidified the idea of a twin sis. Remember how the doll and the Gehrman’s apprentice were supposed to be 2 different characters originally ?? I thought : hey that would make a “funny” AU if the Doll was based on Maria’s twin sister lol. Anyway forget about it. Also some people think/thought that the doll might still be based on more than 1 person/… that’s interesting

So Hm yeah I hope that i offered an explanation on the "Maria had a twin sister headcanon" ! ^^’

I don’t even have a name for her… (if someone have ideas XD). Not even sure it it’s true or false twins as well. But I do have a preference for identical twins, I think. Don’t asked me who was born first either I don’t know. Oh… actually, Maria not being the first born would make sense… a lot of sense…

#bloodborne headcanon #bloodborne analysis #bloodborne #bloodborne lore #lady maria of the astral clocktower #ouah I didn't expect to write 1200+ words XD #my asks #should I put a 'show more' maybe #so yeah here's my hc... #and I didn't ever put everything x) I have so many stuff about some characters backstory #so hm I hope you like this

[rise-my-angel]

what did you think about the ending of tlou?? and are you excited for season 2?? would love to hear some of that wonderful Mimi insight!! ☺️☺️

Okay, so I consider this season a closed story much like the original game. A story designed to end where it ends and the actions in front of us exist in their own merit and not that of future set up or outside sources. Meaning I do not consider events included in tlou2 to be canon, and I also don't take whatever neil/craig/usually game voice actors say about the show as truth or canon either. Beacuse a lot of what they say is purposley trying to make you think these events will lead naturally to what will be season 2 which is the second game.

I disregard the second game because I think it is completely illfitting to this universe story that forced characters to change to make it fit. And so, I am only looking at this show soley on the same way I did the first game. As its own unique thing that does not need a sequel.

That being said, (under a read more cus God forbid i make a post about this show thats not 8 thousand words long)

I love how the hospital events were framed not as tense and brutal, but painful and emotional. When the game came out everyone talked about how crazy that sequence was, but here its so interesting that its flipped. In the game you play this out yourself so you end up putting your emotions onto the scene but here we're forced to endure that this Joel isn't fueled by anger but a gut wrenching desperation. And the new added context that Joel losing Sarah drove him to attempt suicide paints it in a new light as well as direct confirmation that Ellie was not told anything and was drugged against her will.

Joel isn't just saving himself. He told Ellie JUST before they got seperated that he was so sure he wanted and was ready to die, but by some miracle, he flinched and lived long enough to heal and find purpose through her. Joel sees Ellie's pain. And he realizes, that Ellie has been manipulated into thinking that she has to do this and her own trauma might be used against her. Its why he doesnt respond at Marlenes comment to ask what she would choose.

Joel knows that he healed and that Marlene has not only taken Ellie's ability to flinch awat, but that she is the reason Ellie thinks she is the worlds only hope. Joel knows Ellie can't choose for herself, because Marlene is metaphorically holding her in place. Ensuring she won't flinch.

So Joel knows, he has to flinch for her. And I refuse to say he was wrong in lying because he is clearly not proud of himself for it. But, I think he's waiting. Waiting for Ellie to be more ready, to see that light he fell in love with return to her eyes and then they can talk. Joel wants to heal that guilt in Ellie before they talk about what happened, so that when she finds out the wholw truth, she is ready to accept Joels perspective and not be stuck in this suicidal ideation that Marlene tried to create.

Also, Ellie not only had full plans for what she and Joel would do after (i.e moving to Jackson as a real home and starting to live like a real family with Joel) , but she herself had doubts. In episode 6 she asks with very distant emotion and clear doubt whether or not the vaccine works and she doesn't say any more about it beacuse they and up talking about Sam. Ellie not only didn't sign up to die, she wasn't sure it would work.

I personally think Ellie wanted to finish this at the end, partially to make Joel proud. The things they'd been through, and on multiple occasions she tries to pretend shes stronger then she is (crying after shooting that guy only to wipe her tears away and pretend shes cool about it when Joel comes in the room). She now knows what they have but she wants to make him proud that she didn't give up. She has been quiet and nervous since entering Salt Lake City to the point Joel asks her about it and then when he gently says she can change her mind shes caught. She wants the only father shes ever known to be proud that she saved the world and caught between Marlene telling her it all falls on her shoulders alone.

People seem to mostly agree that Ellie at the end knows Joel is lying, but doesn't push it. But where I disagree is when they say her trust is broken. Its not. I think shes quiet on the way to Jackson because shes upset Joel is lying and she's also trying desperately to figure out what could have happened in the hospital that Joel lies about the entire thing. And I think her saying okay at the end isn't really to Joel.

Its that she decides, it's okay that he lied. It's okay because she trusts that Joel did what he did to protect her beacuse he has always done that from day one. Its why when Joel loses it in episode 1 Ellie has a torn look about her. The only person whose ever defended her like that is Riley but that was in a far more kid vs kid protecting the girl she likes manner. Joel was different then that and even from other adults.

She doesnt know why he did it much like she doesnt know why Joel is lying to her. But it's okay. Beacuse now she knows for sure its not angry or malicious. This time she knows its from a place of love and I think Ellie starts to heal from this point on.

Joel was right to do what he did, he was right to lie to a traumatized child to not add to what he knows is already survivors guilt and I think Ellies trust never wavers.

Ellie knows Joel better in the show then the game because they open up to each other much earlier and theres much more new added context to it. Theres no distrust here.

The lie isn't a set up for future problems. The lie is Joel wants to keep the worst from her until he's sure she isn't still trauma ridden and Ellie not only decides she still trusts Joel. But I think she understands why Joel lied and it only serves to strengthen it.

Shared traumatic experiences do not tear apart. It bonds peoe together.

Last thoughts: I think the flashback with Anna is legitimate but I think Marlenes flashback is purposley scued memory to justify her actions in present day. I don't think the umbilical cord conversation happened at all. I think Marlene is inventing things to eellivate the guilt of her own monstrous actions. Also I apply real world science here because its fun, and I can say for sure no amount of experiments or tests on Ellie could produce a vaccine. Its impossible and fungal infections do not act the way viruses or bacterial infections do. I think Marlene is just desperate to win a losing war and by doing this I think she is not evil but has genuinly deluded herself into thinking that she can do the impossible. And I think she purposley found the only doctor who agrees to do this, because absolutely no doctor or scientist worth their salt would think Ellies immunity had anything to do with making a cure and his moral corruption to kill a child is far more monstrous then anything Joel did all season. So the vaccine in my opinion is bogus, I think its just the delusional actions of a group of failed rebels clinging to any power even if its just having power of a childs life. Its all bogus. The first two episodes started clearly that by the time the outbreak happened, not only was there absolutely no evidence of a cure or vaccine possible, but on outbreak day they didn't even know that the cordyceps jumped the species barrier. There is no cure.

But society is already healing. Jackson is proof that its not power or control that heals. It's love. Love and respect. Funny enough the only other place that works is Boston, which tells me that its not FEDRA itself thats the problem, its the individuals in charge. We see it in Kong in episode 7, FEDRA sees thenselves exactly like the fireflies do. But they are both wrong. Beacuse its not with violence and command does Jackson work, its community and freedom. Hell even the indigenous couple proves that. There wasnt even any animosity for Joel pointing a gun at them beacuse they all understood that the way normal peolle survive is through supporting eachother. The man immediately apologizes about being dismissive of his brother because support is what holds life together.

Summary cus I talk too much: I don't consider any future games, existing sequels, or future seasons to be canon. The Last of Us was never intended to have a future. It was a closed story of healing through love and I think the show showed this between Joel and Ellie better then the game did and thats where I'd prefer the story stay.

(.......ignore that my longest series is literally me continuing the story....i didnt base my story off the cycle of horrifc theme of hate and vengeful violence based on the Isreal/Palestine contlict I continued the theme of healing through love so im allowed to write more of this story beacuse i didnt decide that the story about love triumphing hate and violence ends with love causing hate and violence.....)

#tlou spoilers #the last of us spoilers

[self-loving-vampire]

2, 8, 18, 23, 25?

2. Do you like playing with mods?

Generally I do, but I don't usually install them immediately. I usually prefer to play a game without mods first, at least for long enough to know which parts of it I'd rather change.

Depending on the game, the modding may be pretty mild (just quality of life changes) or more major, such as new spells, major balance changes, new weapons, new mechanics, and so on.

Skyrim is an example of a game I always play with a ton of mods. In my opinion the base game is kind of mediocre. It's not super unpleasant to play, but it's kind of shallow and tedious. A lot of the things I'm interested in, like the vampirism, are also super inconvenient in the base game (you can't even loot corpses in vampire lord form!)

But with enough mods it can actually be a fun time. I make it into a sort of vampire simulator since there's actually not that many vampire RPGs (especially ones set in medieval fantasy settings as opposed to something more modern, like VTM:B).

8. A game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved?

I think this is pretty much the default? I personally don't really mind spoilers in most contexts, though.

18. A game you’d like to replay that you haven’t

I want to replay every Touhou game sometime.

23. A game ending that’s really stuck with you

Surprisingly enough, the ending of Wizardry 8. You spend the game gathering artifacts that will grant you access to the Cosmic Forge. There's multiple possible endings, but in the one I got you actually do use it.

It's a magical pen that can be used to re-write the universe, which your party does to make it a much kinder place. Your characters all ascend and become the benevolent deities of this universe.

In addition to the meta implications of the final Wizardry game handing the player the pen and telling them to create a new world themselves next, I just really like that there's a game where your objective is to become god and fix the universe and it actually lets you do it and nothing goes wrong as a result of your "hubris".

Sort of related: I have been thinking about the ending of Mary Skelter 2 lately, months after I finished it. For reasons that... well... spoilers.

The ending of Planescape: Torment is also worth mentioning but that's a whole essay in itself. I think the ending of Fallout: New Vegas is also really cool aside from how buggy the final sequence tends to be (the game as a whole, really).

25. A game with a cool art style

There's really a lot that I like, in different ways. I like a whole lot of the environments and monster designs in games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, for instance, and I'm also a fan of anime art styles in general for other reasons (they're cuter and make characters look more appealing to me).

But I think if I'm going to mention anything specifically it should probably be the first Fallout. While some of the animations were kinda crude, I think the general way the game looks and sounds is still fantastic and extremely fitting for the feel it's going for.

[taylorrama]

The Locked Tomb + mewithoutYou pt. 14/17

Lonesome offspring of which still resound With the victimless sins of their authors passed down And the remnants of loathsome, disjointed worlds

Song: August 6th Album: [untitled] e.p.

Maybe it's the fact that August 6th of this year coincided with when I was reading Nona the Ninth, but this song was one of the reasons I started thinking about how mewithoutYou connected to The Locked Tomb. In my mind, this song is the trailer for Nona, even though much of the imagery is rooted in the real world. The main reason is that "August 6th" has this creeping quality to it, starting very quietly and progressing without much of a break until the end of the song. This makes me think of how, as a book, Nona unravels slowly yet has this ticking time bomb with the countdown to the tomb opening. "August 6th" builds up in a similar way.

Aug. 6th, carved in desks with old knives:

Right away, we're starting with an interesting TLT connection because I swear I remember a moment in Gideon the Ninth when they're in that one office/library part of Canaan House and they find artifacts that are very clearly pre-Resurrection and I feel like there was actually something carved into a desk with a knife. Plus, I think I remember a scene like this in Nona, but I might be making that up.

“Back when our common cause was alive And--let’s say--the hyacinth fields were in bloom Children watched as the soldiers marched by All the birds fell like frogs from the sky Prostrate in the streets every crescent moon

We're placed in this scene that, at least according to the Genius notes, is likely World War II, but some of the ideas and images also apply to TLT, specifically Nona the Ninth. Lines 3 and 4 in this segment fit the best–the kids in this book have seen soldiers tons of times, and near the end of the book, all kinds of weird shit falls from the sky.

Lonesome offspring of which still resound With the victimless sins of their authors passed down And the remnants of loathsome, disjointed worlds

These lines may be symbolic in the song on its own, but in a TLT context, they can be quite literal. "Lonesome offspring" could easily describe so many characters in this series, but in sticking with this song applying to Nona, the obvious reference is to Nona's school friends. "Victimless sins" is an interesting and intentionally contradictory image, since a sin must have a victim in order to be called a sin. That said, there are many ways in which we don't see victims in our actions, but they could still be sins anyway.

It seems that the authors of the lonesome offspring passed the victimless sins down to them, which in a TLT context works on so many levels if we take "victimless sins" to be the justification for the atrocities that make this universe function. The Ninth House children are victims of Harrow's existence, but her parents clearly didn't see them that way because they felt justified in using them to create her in the first place. Similarly, we could say that Jod had similar logic in nuking Earth. It's not a sin, not the wrong thing to do, if there are no victims–or rather, if he doesn't perceive that there are victims.

"The remnants of loathsome, disjointed worlds." I mean, is this not what the entire Resurrected universe is? Is this not also the planet Nona lives on? Does Harrow not induce and experience her own disjointed worlds in book 2?

Along the short path round the lily pad pond With off-white deerskin wedding dress on

Look, it's a wedding dress. Kiriona or Alecto, take your pick LOL.

The song begins to take on a sense of urgency as the dynamics increase and the lyrics paint more dramatic images.

And sometimes when it’s quiet my heart feels like Guernica [scenes from old air raid] on screens in blue dusk Perfumed neighborhoods/graveyards the breath feels like Flies in my lungs, voice like ambulance Sirens whose light floods the ground

The chaos of Nona the Ninth happens slowly and then all at once. These lines depict a "blue dusk," likely a bomb but also in Nona we have that blue light in the sky for much of the book. When Nona is on the verge of her third tantrum, and then in the midst of having it, I think disturbing images such as "flies in my lungs" and "voice like ambulance sirens" easily fit what she experiences.

Skyline shifting like clouds Became “airplane descends” [fade to scenes on the ground] Human foreheads all smashed Foreign cars upside down

These lines fit really well with the part of Nona the Ninth where the Empire invasion is happening. Shit's descending from the sky. Blood of Eden is resisting. People are trying to escape.

I stared down a huge insect Bright red-glowing eyes [does it feel wrong to say a thought “metastasized”?] Legs on both highway sides

Sometimes, mewithoutYou writes literary sci-fi. There's a giant insect, probably a praying mantis based on an earlier line I didn't include in this post. Though there isn't a giant insect that's part of the Empire's invasion near the end of Nona the Ninth, there is this huge force that's upturning an already desolate life on this planet. The last two lines in particular have some interesting TLT connections. The "thought 'metastasized'" is easily that entire section when Nona realizes that there's a thought above and a thought below and she has to stay in the middle or else bad things will happen.

After "legs on both highway sides," the song finally takes a proper pause, which to me feels similar to finally getting to the part of Nona when the tomb opens. But the song isn't quite done, telling us that

S a i d i n s e c t w a s m e c h a n i z e d ! ! ! ! ! ! (Said insect was mechanized!)

This cements the sci-fi angle pretty well, and though there aren't actually mechanized insects in TLT, there are plenty of other mechanical things. Emotionally, this part of the song feels like a huge revelation and that's obviously how we feel by the time we reach the end of Nona the Ninth.

--- TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 1; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 2; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 3; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 4; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 5; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 6; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 7; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 8; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 9; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 10; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 11; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 12; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 13; TLT + mewithoutYou pt. 15

#tlt #tlt spoilers #the locked tomb #the locked tomb spoilers #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #mewithoutYou #said insect was mechanized #Youtube

[marshmallowprotection]

That discussion 'bout whether it's Suit or Unknown during V's route is very interesting. I'm pretty sure Cheritz wanted it to be Unknown at first, since this was before any talk about Ray's route, but it certainly does not make sense in the context of the story now lol

It basically comes back to the whole problem with: 'are Another Story and Casual/Deep stories connected?', which, honestly, is just another issue with continuity in mysmes universe... Either way, you have to fill in the blanks yourself, since the canon does not do that for us. Before the existence of Ray's route, it was definitely Unknown. You can look up old fanarts and fics before the release of Ray's route, and people absolutely perceived him as Unknown. He had the same manner of speech as him, he uses the same chatroom username and his voice acting is different from the way Suit talks. But with the release of Ray's route, it created this inconsistency we have now. It does not make sense for it to be Unknown, cause now Suit came into the picture, but it is also quite confusing since (at least in my eyes) he acts way different from Suit. So you have to fill in the blanks yourself. I believe that's partially why some people came to believe that Suit and Unknown are the same person... It's confusing when details like that are changing so drastically. This is not the first time that happened as well: if you try to write up a list of continuity inconsistencies in the overall story, it's going to be long one.

In my opinion, you can go both ways with this. Whatever fits your story better. It is an inconsistency in the writing and you can shape it whatever way you want! Whenever I write something about V's route, I use Unknown, but I certainly have to change up a few things in canon for it to work. Considering what we have now, it makes much more sense for it to be Suit, that's for sure. And I REALLY love how you explained his motivations during those events! But it definitely wasn't like that from the beginning... Being an oldy in the fandom is fun, cause you can remember those things changing quite clearly xD

I think the twins and Rika/V suffered from those inconsistencies the most for sure

Honestly, I don't know, either. That's why I said that it's really up to the player to decide if they feel like it's Unknown or Suit Saeran. I've just got in my head that it won't make sense to me otherwise if I'm not able to piece together everything in a way that makes sense to me personally. I'm a stickler for universe details, and we know that Cheritz can forget things and erase things very easily without any regard to past information. I've been here so long that I've seen so much change in regards to every character, especially Saeran as he grew from a mysterious person into something much much more layered and complex.

I always imagined the bits with “Unknown” in V were meant to be a big part of foreshadowing, and that's because I started thinking about that so much harder after Ray Route came out and I started to note similarities. Well, I felt like they were similarities. With Cheritz record on facts, you're right, it could very well be the implication of Unknown. I like to make things make sense in my head and Cheritz really makes us work for the information that we want to flesh out in the stories we create.

With no context for Suit, you’ll never know it’s him. See, I explain away the difference by saying that because Suit Saeran emerges differently due to the events in V Route, it changes how he reacts to things somewhat. That makes more sense to me! But, that’s because I write connect AS and CS/DP routes and if I don’t do that, I’ll lose my mind over here. Even though, it’s more likely that we should view them as alternate universes to each other and they’re not meant to be something that interlock. 

inconsistencies are everywhere. We, the fans, have to cry to make our own theories and assumptions with the information we have on hand, and then we have to change that and adapt after they say “hehe, actually, this is what really happened.”

#natasha in space #ask #mod kait #character analysis

[adrianodiprato]

+ “To succeed in this ever-changing world, students need to be able to think like entrepreneurs: resourceful, flexible, creative, and global.” ~ Yong Zhao

The Value of an Entrepreneurial Mindset

In the realm of education, we find ourselves at a pivotal juncture, poised to unravel "The Character of Enterprise" that can reshape not only our classrooms in schools and universities across the globe, but society at large. As we explore the dynamic central nervous system driving effective entrepreneurs – their character, we embark on a journey that goes beyond mere thinking—it's about fostering an entrepreneurial mindset as a fundamental way of being and becoming. 

The Call for Transformation: A Dynamic Approach to Education

Education is no longer confined to the traditional paradigms of thinking; it demands a shift toward a more dynamic, innovative approach. As Yong Zhao aptly puts it, "To succeed in this ever-changing world, students need to be able to think like entrepreneurs: resourceful, flexible, creative, and global." 

The current educational landscape calls for learners who not only possess cognitive skills but also embody a set of characteristics that define an entrepreneurial mindset. The need for problem solvers, creators, and individuals who can add value to self (voice), place (agency), and others (advocacy) has never been more urgent. This call for transformation resonates with the imperative of nurturing students who can navigate the complexities of the modern world, thinking beyond conventional boundaries and embracing the entrepreneurial spirit.

The Compelling Reason: A New Social Contract for Learning

Enterprises are the engines of societal evolution, and their success lies in the character of their leaders. Similarly, in education, we must recognise that cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset is not merely a choice—it's an imperative. 

“Entrepreneurial learning… aims to cultivate mindsets and capabilities needed to identify and respond to new opportunities and problems, through creating artefacts for authentic audiences, real-world learning, and iterative experimentation.” Martin Lackéus

Lackéus emphasises that entrepreneurial learning aims to cultivate mindsets and capabilities crucial for identifying and responding to new opportunities. This shift in education represents a new social contract—a commitment to fostering graduates who are not just knowledgeable but equipped with the skills and mindset to navigate a rapidly evolving world.

Call to Action: Lean into the Entrepreneurial Way of Being

To meet the demands of this new era, we must lean into the entrepreneurial way of being. Entrepreneurial-minded learners are those who apply creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, and talents to identify and solve problems. They create products of value, with values, embracing mistakes as essential markers for success. This is not a passive way of thinking; it's an active, transformative approach to learning, leading, living and working. 

Moreover, the 2017 Mitchell Institute Report, "The Paradigm Shifters: Entrepreneurial Learning in Schools,"serves as a beacon, shedding light on the intrinsic value of entrepreneurial learning. The key findings from this comprehensive study illuminate the transformative nature of this approach:

Adaptability: Entrepreneurial learning is inherently adaptive. It thrives through personalised and product-oriented learning, offering flexibility in its pursuit. This adaptability allows entrepreneurial learning to be developed or tailored to fit local contexts, needs, strategic priorities, and different student cohorts.

New Approach to Schooling: The term 'entrepreneurial-minded' signifies not just a mindset but a revolutionary way of approaching schooling and higher education. It introduces a fresh perspective, providing partners and learning communities with a novel framework for grouping skills and capabilities. Many of these capabilities were already advancing in educational organisations, and the entrepreneurial mindset serves as a catalyst for their further development.

Enhancement of Student Capabilities: Personalised and product-oriented learning, inherent in entrepreneurial learning, becomes a catalyst for the development and enhancement of vital student capabilities and mindsets. This transformative approach goes beyond traditional methods, deepening student engagement and preparing them for the challenges of the real world.

Reframing Student-Teacher Relationships: Entrepreneurial learning is a catalyst for reframing student-teacher relationships. While academic mentors continue to play a critical role in accelerating entrepreneurial-mindedness and scaffolding student learning, the dynamics of the relationship shift. Learning is no longer teacher-dependent but teacher-enabled, maximising the development of agency, graduate attributes and dispositions, knowledge, and skills. This reframing provides a greater number of opportunities, relative to student and group starting points, fostering a collaborative and empowering learning environment.

As we lean into the entrepreneurial way of being, we not only embrace a transformative approach to education but also align ourselves with the key findings of the Mitchell Institute Report. Entrepreneurial learning is not just a methodology; it's a paradigm shift that propels us towards a future where adaptability, innovation, and collaborative relationships define the educational landscape. This transformative journey extends beyond the classroom, converging at the intersection of creativity and commerce. It's a space where imaginative thinking converges with practical application, where the entrepreneurial spirit becomes a driving force not only in problem-solving but also in shaping the dynamics of commerce. This is the juncture where learners evolve into not just thinkers but creators, seamlessly blending their imaginative capacities with the practicality demanded by the commercial and societal realms. It's time to not just think entrepreneurially but to embody the entrepreneurial spirit in our way of being and becoming, navigating the evolving landscape where creativity and commerce intersect to redefine the future of education and society.

The Knowledge Architecture: Navigating the Entrepreneurial Journey

At the heart of this transformative journey is the Knowledge Architecture—the central nervous system of entrepreneurial learning. It provides the framework from vision and vocabulary to a taxonomy of ideas, to a roadmap, to becoming the best versions of ourselves. This architecture links various dimensions such as self-management, innovation, communication, and ethics, emphasising a holistic development that goes beyond conventional educational norms.

Recognising Innovation: The Limitless Possibilities Model

An exemplary model of this transformative journey is the Limitless Possibilities initiative, co-designed by my Game Changers co-host Dr Phil Cummins and myself, in partnership with the dynamic team at Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), recognised in the Curriculum Design and Implementation category at the ACER Teacher Awards 2023. This social entrepreneurship model of learning, designed for 103 Catholic Education South Australia schools, empowers students to innovate for a socially just, equitable, and sustainable world. It draws on entrepreneurial education research and employs methodologies such as Explicit Instruction, Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Design Thinking.

Conclusion: Embrace the Way of Being

In conclusion, the character of enterprise in education is not a static concept but a dynamic way of being—a journey of continuous evolution and transformation that is fundamentally about our becoming. It is a call to action, urging educators, learners, and policymakers to embrace this entrepreneurial mindset. As we lean into the thinking, we become architects of change, shaping a future defined by limitless possibilities. This way of being is not merely about thinking but about our becoming—becoming problem solvers, innovators, and creators of value for self, place and the other. The journey is not easy, but it is transformative. It's time to rethink education, to redefine our social contract, and to foster a generation that not only thinks but embodies the entrepreneurial spirit, becoming the architects of their own success, testing what’s possible and contributing to a world of boundless potential.

References

Anderson, M., Hinz, B. and Matus, H. (2017). The Paradigm Shifters: Entrepreneurial Learning in Schools. Research Report, Mitchell Institute Report No. 04/2017. Mitchell Institute, Melbourne. Retrieved on 11 March 2024 via: https://www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/paradigm-shifters-entrepreneurial-learning-in-schools-mitchell-institute.pdf Lackéus, M. (2015). Entrepreneurship in education: What, why, when, how. Entrepreneurship360 Background Paper, Local Economic and Employment Development Division of the OECD. OECD Publishing, Paris. Zhao, Y. (2012). World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students. Corwin Press, London.

Adriano Di Prato is a best-selling author, broadcaster, and the Academic Operations Manager at LCI Melbourne, a progressive art, design + enterprise private institute of higher education.

#permissionistriumph #courageovercomfort #education #becoming #entreprenuership

[ty--luko]

Atla fandom stop making everything about race challenge

#I'm a poc too but damn if it isn't irritating how y'all nitpick every single thing about the series and go 'sEE IT'S RACIST' #as someone with experience with the creative endeavors that come with creating a series I can tell you firsthand #none of the decisions y'all find 'blatantly racist' (which more often than not they're not. they're really not) #were made to purposefully appeal to a 'white' audience. y'all really think the creators would think about that while creating a show #that largely takes inspiration from Asian cultures. girl they wanted to make cool people who control water #and they have dark skin with blue eyes because it looks COOL and it makes sense from a design standpoint. #sure the water tribe having brown eyes would make more sense in real life but here's the thing #it isn't real life. it's fiction. and it was never meant to be the pinnacle of representation #these characters were created to fit in with the universe's context in mind #water tribe people have blue eyes because they have a connection to water. airbenders have grey eyes because they're connected to air #fire nation and earth kingdom are more varied due to size but most people have gold and green eyes respectively because #you guessed it #they match their elements #and also. since when is it racist to take inspiration from other cultures???? #see I'd get it if Bryke parodied them and / or hid their inspirations #but they very openly discuss - and not only that. they embrace - them #they did so much research and spent so much time learning about these cultures not so they could 'rip them off' like so many people claim #but to build a FICTIONAL world with them #how is it different from. say. a manga artist making a series that takes heavy inspiration from cowboy culture #y'all wouldn't even bat an eye because it's (probably) a Japanese person right #even if it was grossly misrepresented #I swear y'all will see a white person do anything and jump at their throat for it #anyway im done ranting #listen. I'm not saying atla is perfect in its portrayal of real life cultures #but at the same time. it doesn't need to be #representation was never the shows's goal and while it is valid to criticize some misses #some of y'all truly do look at every single tiny detail of this show and make a big deal out of it saying it's 'so racist' #when really. it's not. I'm telling you from experience. stop #incoherent screeching #this is gonna make people mad but idec im so tired man

[be-gay-do-heists]

hello yall :) the holy month of elul started last night, which is typically a time for contemplation, so since it is impossible for me to stop thinking about leverage, i decided to write an essay. hope anyone interested in reading it enjoys, and that it makes at least a little sense!! spoilers for leverage redemption

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Leverage, Judaism, and “Doing the Work”: An Essay for Elul

When it comes to Elul and the approaching High Holidays, Leverage might seem like an odd topic to meditate on.

The TNT crime drama that ran from 2008-2012, and which released a new season this summer following its renewal, centers on a group of found-family thieves who help the victims of corporations and oligarchs (sometimes based on real-world examples), using wacky heists and cons to bring down the rich and powerful. In one episode, the team’s clients want to reclaim their father’s prized Glimt piece that had been stolen in the Shoah and never returned, but aside from this and the throwaway lines and jokes standard for most mainstream television, there’s not a ton textually Jewish about Leverage. However, despite this, I have found that the show has strong resonance among Jewish fans, and lots of potential for analysis along Jewish themes. This tends to focus on one character in particular: the group’s brilliant, pop culture-savvy, and personable hacker, Alec Hardison, played by the phenomenally talented Aldis Hodge.

I can’t remember when or where I first encountered a reading of Hardison as Jewish, but not only is this a somewhat popular interpretation, it doesn’t feel like that much of a leap. In the show itself, Hardison has a couple of the aforementioned throwaway lines that potentially point to him being Jewish, even if they’re only in service of that moment’s grift. It’s hard to point to what exactly makes reading Hardison as Jewish feel so natural. My first guess is the easy way Hardison fits into the traditional paradigms of Jewish masculinity explored by scholars such as Daniel Boyarin (2). Most of the time, the hacker is not portrayed as athletic or physical; he is usually the foil to the team’s more physically-adept characters like fighter Eliot, or thief Parker. Indeed, Hardison’s strength is mental, expressed not only through his computer wizardry but his passions for science, technology, music, popular media, as well as his studious research into whatever scenario the group might come up against. In spite of his self-identification as a “geek,” Hardison is nevertheless confident, emotionally sensitive, and secure in his masculinity. I would argue he is representative of the traditional Jewish masculine ideal, originating in the rabbinic period and solidified in medieval Europe, of the dedicated and thoughtful scholar (3). Another reason for popular readings of Hardison as Jewish may be the desire for more representation of Jews of color. Although mainstream American Jewish institutions are beginning to recognize the incredible diversity of Jews in the United States (4), and popular figures such as Tiffany Haddish are amplifying the experiences of non-white Jews, it is still difficult to find Jews of color represented in popular media. For those eager to see this kind of representation, then, interpreting Hardison, a black man who places himself tangential to Jewishness, in this way is a tempting avenue.

Regardless, all of the above remains fan interpretation, and there was little in the text of the show that seriously tied Judaism into Hardison’s identity. At least, until we got this beautiful speech from Hardison in the very first episode of the renewed show, directed at the character of Harry Wilson, a former corporate lawyer looking to atone for the injustice he was partner to throughout his career:

“In the Jewish faith, repentance, redemption, is a process. You can’t make restitution and then promise to change. You have to change first. Do the work, Harry. Then and only then can you begin to ask for forgiveness. [...] So this… this isn’t the win. It’s the start, Harry.”

I was floored to hear this speech, and thrilled that it explained the reboot’s title, Leverage: Redemption. Although not mentioned by its Hebrew name, teshuvah forms the whole basis for the new season. Teshuvah is the concept of repentance or atonement for the sins one has committed. Stemming from the root shuv/shuva, it carries the literal sense of “return.” In a spiritual context, this usually means a return to G-d, of finding one’s way back to holiness and by extension good favor in the eyes of the Divine. But equally important is restoring one’s relationships with fellow humans by repairing any hurt one has caused over the past year. This is of special significance in the holy month of Elul, leading into Rosh haShanah, the Yamim Noraim, and Yom Kippur, but one can undertake a journey of redemption at any point in time. That teshuvah is a journey is a vital message for Harry to hear; one job, one reparative act isn’t enough to overturn years of being on the wrong side of justice, to his chagrin. As the season progresses, we get to watch his path of teshuvah unfold, with all its frustrations and consequences. Harry grows into his role as a fixer, not only someone who can find jobs and marks for the team, but fixes what he has broken or harmed.

So why was Hardison the one to make this speech?

I do maintain that it does provide a stronger textual basis for reading Hardison as Jewish by implication (though the brief on-screen explanation for why he knows about teshuvah, that his foster-parent Nana raised a multi-faith household, is important in its own merit, and meshes well with his character traits of empathy and understanding for diverse experiences). However, beyond this, Hardison isn’t exactly an archetypical model for teshuvah. In the original series, he was the youngest character of the main ensemble, a hacking prodigy in the start of his adult career, with few mistakes or slights against others under his belt. In one flashback we see that his possibly first crime was stealing from the Bank of Iceland to pay off his Nana’s medical bills, and that his other early hacking exploits were in the service of fulfilling personal desires, with only those who could afford to pay the bill as targets. Indeed, in the middle of his speech, Hardison points to Eliot, the character with the most violent and gritty past who views his work with the Leverage team as atonement, for a prime example of ongoing teshuvah. So while no one is perfect and everyone has a reason for doing teshuvah, this question of why Hardison is the one to give this series-defining speech inspired me to look at his character choices and behavior, and see how they resonate with a different but interrelated Jewish principle, that of tikkun olam. 

Tikkun olam is literally translated as “repairing the world,” and can take many different forms, such as protecting the rights of vulnerable people in society, or giving tzedakah (5). In modern times, tikkun olam is often the rallying cry for Jewish social activists, particularly among environmentalists for whom literally restoring the health of the natural world is the key goal. Teshuvah and tikkun olam are intertwined (the former is the latter performed at an interpersonal level) and both hold a sense of fixing or repairing, but tikkun olam really revolves around a person feeling called to address an injustice that they may have not had a personal hand in creating. Hardison’s sense of a universal scale of justice which he has the power to help right on a global level and his newfound drive to do humanitarian work, picked up sometime after the end of the original series, make tikkun olam a central value for his character. This is why we get this nice bit of dialogue from Eliot to Hardison in the second episode of the reboot, when the latter’s outside efforts to organize international aid start distracting him from his work with the team: “Is [humanitarian work] a side gig? In our line of work, you’re one of the best. But in that line of work… you’re the only one, man.” The character who most exemplifies teshuvah reminds Hardison of his amazing ability to effect change for the better on a huge stage, to do some effective tikkun olam. It’s this acknowledgement of where Hardison can do the most good that prompts the character’s absence for the remainder of the episodes released thus far, turning his side gig into his main gig.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see where Hardison’s arc for this season goes. Separated from the rest of the team, the hacker still has remarkable power to change the world, because it is, after all, the “age of the geek.” However, he is still one person. For all that both teshuvah and tikkun olam are individual responsibilities and require individual decision-making and effort, the latter especially relies on collective work to actually make things happen. Hardison leaving is better than trying to do humanitarian work and Leverage at the same time, but there’s only so long he can be the “only one” in the field before burning out. I’m reminded of one of the most famous (for good reason) maxims in Judaism:

It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to neglect it. (6)

Elul is traditionally a time for introspection and heeding the calls to repentance. After a year where it’s never been easier to feel powerless and drained by everything going on around us, I think it’s worth taking the time to examine what kind of work we are capable of in our own lives. Maybe it’s fixing the very recent and tangible hurts we’ve left behind, like Harry. Maybe it’s the little changes for the better that we make every day, motivated by our sense of responsibility, like Eliot. And maybe it’s the grueling challenge of major social change, like Hardison. And if any of this work gets too much, who can we fall back on for support and healing? Determining what needs repair, working on our own scale and where our efforts are most helpful, and thereby contributing to justice in realistic ways means that we can start the new year fresh, having contemplated in holiday fashion how we can be better agents in the world.

Shana tovah u’metukah and ketivah tovah to all (7), and may the work we do in the coming year be for good!

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(1) Disclaimer: everybody’s fandom experiences are different, and this is just what I’ve picked up on in my short time watching and enjoying this show with others.

(2) See, for example, the introduction and first chapter of Boyarin’s book Unheroic Conduct: The Rise of Heterosexuality and the Invention of the Jewish Man (I especially recommend at least this portion if you are interested in queer theory and Judaic studies). There he explores the development of Jewish masculinity in direct opposition to Christian masculine standards.

(3) I might even go so far as to place Hardison well within the Jewish masculine ideal of Edelkayt, gentle and studious nobility (although I would hesitate to call him timid, another trait associated with Edelkayt). Boyarin explains that this scholarly, non-athletic model of man did not carry negative associations in the historical Jewish mindset, but was rather the height of attractiveness (Boyarin, 2, 51).

(4) Jews of color make up 20% of American Jews, according to statistics from Be’chol Lashon, and this number is projected to increase as American demographics continue to change: https://globaljews.org/about/mission/. 

(5) Tzedakah is commonly known as righteous charity. According to traditional authority Maimonides, it should be given anonymously and without embarrassment to the person in need, generous, and designed to help the recipient become self-sufficient.

(6) Rabbi Tarfon, Pirkei Avot, 2:16

(7) “A good and sweet year” and “a good inscription [in the Book of Life]”

#leverage #miko speaks #jewish stuff #jumblr #leverage redemption #spoilers #lr spoilers #leverage redemption spoilers #written for a non leverage audience because i want my rabbi to read it alskdjflaksdjf #elul

[fascinatedhelix]

Binge read Ava’s Demon a couple days ago and have a ton of thoughts on it. Here’s just some general story thoughts and theories (Spoilers Ahead!):

The whole tone of the comic is less... frustrating when one takes into consideration that the original version was made back in 2001, by a depressed 13 year old. Things just come together better with that context in mind; the characters, how they interact with their setting, the construction of the setting itself. It just screams “if people took stories written by kids seriously.” It’s oddly charming, in my opinion.

The setting that TITAN Inc creates is perfect for a YA story, since their indoctrination practices seem to hinge on isolating and disenfranchising children while also placing an ungodly amount of responsibility on them from an early age. Like, Gil was made to talk about his career at age 11. It certainly fits with TITAN’s goals, though it also comes with perhaps the unintended side effect that they probably have a bigger rebellion problem than they show. Adolescents tend to be especially impulsive and prone to acting out when under pressure, and if you give them the ability to actually navigate important technology and resources in your pursuit of quick and easy minions, you’re going to get a lot of amateur hackers, thieves, smugglers, and other minor criminals who probably wouldn’t be doing any of this had they not been forced to make life-changing decisions so early.

It’s really weird that Gil was put through eight years of medical training, just to become a medical janitor. One would think that TITAN Inc wouldn’t want to waste resources on a “failure” if Gil didn’t perform well enough in his evaluations, and would have just flunked him if he didn’t meet their standards. I’m thinking the medical janitor thing might have been a cover for something higher ups didn’t want the lower level administrative staff to know about. Strategos Six did seem to involve a lot more investment into Gil’s future as a follower than one would expect. If Six had a habit of saving kids from the Scavengers, I don’t think they would have been able to recognize Gil as well as they did. I’m thinking they wanted to use him for some sort of project outside of the public eye, like working with the Scavengers or working against Wrathia’s Plan. Six does seem to be familiar enough with Wrathia to recognize her appearance and power, perhaps they wanted to use Gil to counteract that.

The pace, while great for characterization, isn’t all that promising. From what I’ve gathered it’s been going since 2012, which means it’s taken eight or nine years just for the plot to take off the ground. While I can understand side projects and life issues might slow progress down, I can also understand the fandom’s frustration with the pacing of the comic. You know, this sort of issue is why Homestuck’s panels were, for the most part, relatively low effort; a simpler art style and reuse of assets makes a more regular update schedule much more manageable. I appreciate the work that’s being done, of course - the art’s easily the best part of the comic - it’s just that I can see why things would be slow going.

That being said, I do hope that things pick up a little after this point, because I am absolutely itching to see some character development. It’s only really been establishing characters and setting up the beginning of the plot so far, and it’s only been maybe a day or two since the story began, in-universe. I’m hoping that, if Erios joins the “friend” group, they’ll be able to offset the bad vibes of the main cast through their own good ones.

#ava's demon #avas demon

[warsofasoiaf]

Writing Characters With Believable Military PTSD

I typically write these writing and worldbuilding essays from a dispassionate perspective, offering advice and context to prospective writers from as neutral a point of view as I can manage, with the goal being to present specific pieces of information and broader concepts that can hopefully improve writing and build creators’ confidence to bring their projects to fruition, whether that be writing, tabletop gaming, video game programming, or anything that suits their fancy. While writing this essay though, I struggled to maintain that perspective. Certainly, the importance of the topic to me was a factor, but ultimately, I saw impersonality just as a suboptimal presentation method for something so intensely personal. I do maintain some impartiality particularly in places where historical or academic context is called for, but in other respects I’ve opted for a different approach. Ultimately, this essay is a labor of love for me, love for those who suffer from military PTSD, love for those who love those who suffer from it, and love for writers who want to, in the way that they so choose, help those two other groups out. Thus, this is a different type of essay in certain segments than my usual fare; I hope the essay isn’t an unreadable chimera because of it.

This essay focuses on military-related PTSD. While there are some concepts that translate well into PTSD in the civilian sphere, there are unique elements that do not necessarily fit the mold in both directions, so for someone hoping to write a different form of PTSD, I would recommend finding other resources that could better suit your purposes. I also recommend using more than one source just in general, trauma is personal and so multiple sources can help provide a wide range of experiences to draw upon, which should hopefully improve any creative work.

And as a final introductory note, traumatic experiences are deeply personal. If you are using someone you know as a model for your writing, you owe it to that person to communicate exactly what you are doing and to ask their permission every step of the way. I consider it a request out of politeness to implore any author who uses someone else’s experiences to inform their writing in any capacity, but when it comes to the truly negative experiences in someone’s life, this rises higher from request to demand. You will ask someone before taking a negative experience from their own life and placing it into your creative works, and you will not hide anything about it from them. Receiving it is a great sign of trust. The opposite is a travesty, robbing someone of a piece of themselves and placing it upon display as a grotesque exhibit. And if that sounds ghoulish and macabre, it’s because it is, without hyperbole. Don’t do it.

Why Write PTSD?

What is the purpose of including PTSD in a creative work? There have been plenty of art therapy actions taken by those who suffer PTSD to create something from their condition, which can be as profound for those who do not have it as it is therapeutic for those that do, but why would someone include it in their creative works, and why is some no-name guy on the internet writing an essay offering tips as to how to do it better?

Certainly, one key element is that it’s real, and it happens. If art is to reflect upon reality, PTSD suffered by soldiers is one element of that, so art can reflect it, but what specifically about PTSD, as opposed to any other facet of existence? Author preference certainly plays a factor, but why would someone try to include something that is difficult to understand and difficult to portray? While everyone comes to their own reason, I think that a significant number of people are curious about what exactly goes on in the minds of someone suffering through PTSD, and creative works allow them a way to explore it, much the way fiction can explore scenarios and emotions that are either unlikely or unsafe to explore in reality. If that’s the case, then the purpose of this essay is rather simple, to make the PTSD examination more grounded in reality and thus a better reflection of it. But experiences are unique even if discernable patterns emerge, so in that sense, no essay created by an amateur writer with no psychological experience could be an authoritative take on reality, the nature of which would is far beyond the scope of this essay.

For my own part, I think that well-done creative works involving PTSD is meant to break down the isolation that it can cause in its wake. Veterans suffering may feel that they are alone, that their loved ones cannot understand them and the burden of trying to create that would simply push them away; better instead to have the imperfect bonds that they currently have than risk losing them entirely. For those who are on the outside looking in, isolation lurks there as well, a gulf that seems impossible to breach and possibly intrusive to even try. Creative works that depict PTSD can help create a sense that victims aren’t alone, that there are people that understand and can help without demeaning the sense of self-worth. Of course, another element would be to reduce the amount of poorly-done depictions of PTSD. Some creative works use PTSD as a backstory element, relegating a defining and important element of an individual’s life as an aside, or a minor problem that can be resolved with a good hug and a cry or a few nights with the right person. If a well-done creative work can help create a bridge and break down isolation, a poorly-done one can turn victims off, reinforcing the idea that no one understands and worse, no one cares. For others, it gives a completely altered sense of what PTSD is and what they could do to help, keeping them out, confusing them, or other counter-productive actions. In that sense, all the essay is to help build up those who are doing the heavy lifting. I’m not full of so much hubris as to think this is a profound piece of writing that will help others, but if creators are willing to try and do the hard work of building a bridge, I could at least try to help out and provide a wheelbarrow.

An Abbreviated Look At The Many Faces and Names of PTSD Throughout History

PTSD has been observed repeatedly throughout human history, even when it was poorly understood. This means that explorations of PTSD can be written in settings even if they did not have a distinctly modern understanding of neurology, trauma, or related matters. These historical contexts are also useful for worldbuilding a believable response in fictional settings and scenarios that don’t necessarily have a strict analogue in our own history. By providing this historical context, hopefully I can craft a broad-based sense of believable responses to characters with PTSD at a larger level.

In the time of Rome, it was understood by legionnaires that combat was a difficult endeavor, and so troops were typically on the front lines engaged in combat for short periods of time, to be rotated back for rest while others took their place. It was considered ideal, in these situations, to rotate troops that fought together back so that they could rest together. The immediate lesson is obvious, the Romans believed that it was vital for troops to take time to process what they had done and that was best served with quiet periods of rest not just to allow the adrenaline to dissipate (the "combat high"), but a chance for the mind to wrap itself around what the legionnaire had done. The Romans also recognized that camaraderie between fellow soldiers helped soldiers to cope, and this would be a running theme throughout history (and remains as such today). Soldiers were able to empathize with each other, and help each other through times of difficulty. This was not all sanguine, however, Roman legions depended on their strong formations, and a soldier that did not perform their duty could endanger the unit, and so shame in not fulfilling their duty was another means to keep soldiers in line. The idea of not letting down your fellow soldiers is a persistent refrain in coping with the traumas of war, and throughout history this idea has been used for both pleasant and unpleasant means of keeping soldiers in the fight.

In the Middle Ages, Geoffroi de Charny wrote extensively on the difficulties that knights could experience on the campaign trail in his Book of Chivalry. The book highlights the deprivation that knights suffered, from the bad food and poor sleep to the traumatic experience of combat to being away from family and friends to the loss of valued comrades to combat and infection; each of these is understood as a significant stressor that puts great strain on the mental health of soldiers up to today. De Charny recommended focusing on the knightly oaths of service, the needs of the mission of their liege, and the duty of the knight to serve as methods to help bolster the resolve of struggling knights. The book also mentions seeking counseling and guidance from priests or other confidants to help improve their mental health to see their mission through. This wasn’t universal, however. Some severely traumatized individuals were seen as simple cowards, and punished harshly for their perceived cowardice as antithetical to good virtue and to serve as an example.

World War I saw a sharp rise in the reported incidents of military-related PTSD and new understandings and misunderstandings. The rise in the number of soldiers caused a rise in cases of military PTSD, even though the term itself was not known at the time. Especially in the early phases of the war, many soldiers suffering from PTSD were thought to be malingering, pretending to have symptoms to avoid being sent to the front lines. The term “shell shock” was derived because it was believed that the concussive force of artillery bombardment caused brain damage as it rattled the skull or carbon monoxide fumes would damage the brain as they were inhaled, as a means to explain why soldiers could have physical responses such as slurred speech, lack of response to external stimuli, even nigh-on waking catatonia, despite not being hit by rifle rounds or shrapnel. This would later be replaced by the term “battle fatigue” when it became apparent that artillery bombardment was not a predicative indicator. Particularly as manpower shortages became more prevalent, PTSD-sufferers could be sent to firing squads as a means to cow other troops to not abandon their post. Other less fatal methods of shaming could occur, such as the designation “Lack of Moral Fibre,” an official brand of cowardice, as an attempt to shame the members into remembering their duty. As the war developed, and understanding grew, better methods of treatment were made, with rest and comfort provided to slight cases, strict troop rotations observed to rotate men to and from the front lines, and patients not being told that they were being evacuated for nervous breakdown to avoid cementing that idea in their mind. These lessons would continue into World War II, where the term “combat stress reaction” was adopted. While not always strenuously followed, regular rotations were adopted as standard policy. This was still not universal, plenty of units still relied upon bullying members into maintaining their post despite mental trauma.

The American military promotes a culture of competence and ability, particularly for the enlisted ranks, and that lends itself to the soldier viewing themselves in a starkly different fashion than a civilian. Often, a soldier sees the inability to cope with a traumatic experience as a personal failure stemming from the lack of mental fortitude. Owning up to such a lack of capability is tantamount to accepting that they are an inferior soldier, less capable than their fellows. This idea is commonly discussed, and should not be ignored, but it is far from the only reason. The military also possesses a strong culture of fraternity that obligates “Don’t be a fuckup,” is a powerful motivating force, and it leads plenty of members of the military to ignore traumatic experiences out of the perceived need not to put the burden on their squadmates. While most professional militaries stress that seeking mental health for trauma is not considered a sign of weakness, enlisted know that if they receive mental health counseling, it is entirely likely that someone will have to take their place in the meantime. That could potentially mean that another person, particularly in front-line units, are exposed to danger that they would otherwise not be exposed to, potentially exacerbating guilt if said person gets hurt or killed. This is even true in stateside units, plenty of soldiers don’t report for treatment because it would mean dumping work on their fellows, a negative aspect of unit fraternity. Plenty of veterans also simply never are screened for mental health treatment, and usually this lends to a mentality of “well, no one is asking, so I should be fine.” These taken together combine to a heartbreaking reality, oftentimes a modern veteran that seeks help for mental trauma has often coped silently for years, perhaps self-medicating with alcohol or off-label drug usage, and is typically very far along their own path comparatively. Others simply fall through the cracks, not being screened for mental disorders and so do not believe that anything is wrong; after all, if something was wrong, surely the doctors would notice it, right? The current schedule of deployments, which are duration-based and not mission-based, also make it hard for servicemembers to rationalize their experiences and equate them to the mission; there’s no sense of pairing suffering to objectives the way that de Charnay mentioned could help contextualize the deprivation and loss. These sorts of experiences make the soldier feel adrift, and their suffering pointless, which is discouraging on another level. It is one thing to suffer for a cause, it’s another not to know why, amplifying the feelings of powerlessness and furthering the isolation that they feel.

Pen to Page - The Characters and Their Responses

The presentation of PTSD within a character will depend largely on the point-of-view that the author creates. A character that suffers from PTSD depending on the presence of an internal or external point-of-view, will be vastly different experiences on page. Knowing this is essential, as this will determine how the story itself is presenting the disorder. Neither is necessarily more preferable than the other, and is largely a matter of the type of story being told and the personal preference of the author.

Internal perspectives will follow the character’s response from triggering event to immediate response. This allows the author to present a glimpse into what the character is experiencing. In these circumstances, remember that traumatic flashbacks are merely one of many experiences that an average sufferer of PTSD can endure. In a visual medium, flashbacks are time-effective methods to portray a character reliving portions of a traumatic experience, but other forms of media can have other tools. Traumatic flashbacks are not necessarily a direct reliving of an event from start to finish, individuals may instead feel sudden sharp pains of old injuries, be overwhelmed by still images of traumatic scenes or loud traumatic sounds. These can be linked to triggers that bring up the traumatic incident, such as a similar sight, sound, or smell. These moments of linkage are not necessarily experienced linearly or provide a clear sequence of events from start to finish (memory rarely is unless specifically prompted), and it may be to the author’s advantage to not portray them as such in order to communicate the difficulty in mental parsing that the character may be experiencing. Others might be more intrusive, such as violently deranged nightmares that prevent sleep. The author must try to strike a balance between portraying the experience realistically and portraying it logically that audience members can understand. The important thing about these memories is that they are intrusive, unwelcome, and quite stressful, so using techniques that jar the reader, such as the sudden intrusive image of a torn body, a burning vehicle, or another piece of the traumatic incident helps communicate the disorientation. Don't rely simply on shock therapy, it's not enough just to put viscera on the page. Once it is there, the next steps, how the character reacts, is crucial to a believable response.

When the character experiences something that triggers their PTSD, start to describe the stress response, begin rapidly shortening the sentences to simulate the synaptic activity, express the fight-flight-freeze response as the character reacts, using the tools of dramatic action to heighten tension and portraying the experience as something frightful and distinctly undesirable. The triggering incident brings back the fear, such as a pile of rubble on the side of the road being a potential IED location, or a loud firework recalling the initial moments of an enemy ambush. The trauma intrudes, and the character falls deep into the stress response, and now they react. How does this character react? By taking cover? By attacking the aggressor who so reminds them of the face of their enemy? Once the initial event starts, then the character continues to respond. Do they try to get to safety? Secure the area and eliminate the enemy? Eventually, the character likely recognizes their response is inappropriate. It wasn’t a gunshot, it was a car backfiring, the smell of copper isn’t the sight of a blown-apart comrade and the rank odor of blood, it’s just a jug of musty pennies. This fear will lead to control mechanisms where the victim realizes that their response is irrational. Frequently, the fear is still there, and it still struggles with control. This could heighten a feeling a powerlessness in the character as they try and fail to put the fear under control: "Yes, I know this isn’t real and there’s nothing to be afraid of, but I’m still shaking and I am still afraid!" It’s a horrifying logical track, a fear that the victim isn’t even in control of their thoughts - the one place that they should have control - and that they might always be this way. There’s no safety since even their thoughts aren’t safe. Despair might also follow, as the victim frantically asserts to regain control. Usually with time, the fear starts to lessen as the logical centers of the brain regain control, and the fear diminishes. Some times, the victim can't even really recall the exact crippling sense of fear when attempting to recall it, only that they were afraid and that it was deeply scary and awful, but the notion that it happened remains in their mind.

Control mechanisms are also important to developing a believable PTSD victim. Most sufferers dread the PTSD response and so actively avoid objects or situations that could potentially trigger. Someone who may have had to escape from a helicopter falling into the ocean may not like to be immersed in water. Someone who was hit by a hidden IED may swerve to avoid suspicious piles in the road. Someone buried under a collapsing ceiling may become claustrophobic. Thus, many characters with PTSD will be hypervigilant almost to the point of exhaustion, avoiding setting off the undesired response. This hypervigilance is mentally taxing; the character begins to become sluggish mentally as all their energy is squeezed out, leaving them struggling for even the simplest of rational thoughts. This mental fog can be translated onto the page in dramatic effect by adding paragraph length to even simple actions, bringing the reader along into the fog, laboriously seeing the character move to perform simple actions. Then, mix in a loss of a sense of purpose. They’re adrift, not exactly sure what they’re doing and barely aware of what’s happening, although they are thinking and functioning. In the character’s daily life, they are living their life using maximum effort to avoid triggering responses; this is another aspect of control that the character can use as an attempt to claw back some semblance of power in their own lives. Even control methods that aren’t necessarily healthy such as drinking themselves to pass out every night or abusing sleeping pills in an attempt to sleep due to their nightmares, are ways to attempt to regain a sense of normalcy and function. Don’t condescend to these characters and make them pathetic, that’s just another layer of cruelty, but showing the unhealthy coping mechanisms can demonstrate the difficulty that PTSD victims are feeling. Combined with an external perspective, the author can show the damage that these unhealthy actions are doing without casting the character as weak for not taking a different path.

External perspectives focus on the other characters and how they observe and react to the individual in question. Since the internal thought process of the character is not known, sudden reactions to an unknown trigger can be quite jarring for characters unaware, which can mirror real-life experiences that individuals can have with PTSD-sufferers. In these types of stories, the character’s reaction to the victim is paramount. PTSD in real life often evokes feelings of helplessness in loved ones when they simply cannot act to help, can evoke confusion, or anger and resentment. These reactions are powerful emotions with the ability to drive character work, and so external perspectives can be useful for telling a story about what it is like for loved ones who suffer in their own fashion. External perspectives can be used not just in describing triggering episodes, but in exploring how the character established coping mechanisms and how their loved ones react to them. Some mechanisms are distinctly unhealthy, such as alcohol or prescription drug abuse, complete withdrawal, or a refusal to drive vehicles, and these create stress and a feeling of helplessness in characters or can impel them to try and take action. Others can be healthy, and a moment of inspiration and joy for an external perspective could be sharing in that mechanism, demonstrating empathy and understanding which evokes strong pathos, and hopefully to friends of those who suffer from PTSD, a feeling that they too, are not alone.

As the character progresses, successes and failures can often be one of the most realistic and most important things to include within the work, since those consumers who have PTSD will see parts of themselves in the characters, which can build empathy and cut down on the feelings of isolation that many victims of PTSD feel. A character could, over the course of the story, begin weaning themselves off of their control mechanisms, have the feelings of panic subside as their logical sides more quickly assert control, replace unhealthy coping mechanisms with healthier ones, or other elements of character progression and growth. Contrarily, a character making progress could, after experiencing significant but unrelated stressors, backslide either into unhealthy coping mechanisms or be blindsided by another attack. This is a powerful fear for the victim, since it can cause them to think ‘all my progress, all my effort, and I am not free!’ This is often a great fear for PTSD users (people with depression often have the same feeling) that find methods of coping are no longer as effective, and the struggle is perceived as one that they’re ultimately doomed to failure. This feeling of inevitable failure can lead to self-harm and suicide as their avenue of success seems to burn to ash right as it was in their hands. More than one soldier suffering from PTSD has ended up concluding: “Fuck it, I can’t live like this,” as horrible as that is. Don’t be afraid to include setbacks and backsliding, those happen in reality, and can be one of the most isolating fears in their lives; if the goal of portraying PTSD accurately is to help remove that feeling of isolation, then content creators must not avoid these experiences. Success as well as failure are essential to PTSD in characters in stories, these elements moreso than any other, I believe, will transcend the medium and form a connection, fulfilling the objective we set out to include in the beginning paragraphs.

Coming Back to the Beginning

It might be counterintuitive at first glance to say “including military PTSD will probably mean it will be a long journey full of discouraging story beats that might make readers depressed,” because that’s definitely going to discourage some readers to do that. I don’t see it that way, though. The people that want to do it should go in knowing it’s going to be hard, and let that strengthen their resolve, and put the best creation they can forward. The opposite is also true. Not every prospective author has to want to include any number of difficult subjects in their works, and that’s perfectly fine. Content creators must be free to shape the craft that they so desire without the need to be obligated to tackle every difficult issue, and so no content creator should be thought of as lesser or inferior because they opt not to include it in their works. I think that’s honestly stronger than handling an important topic poorly, or even worse, frivolously. Neither should anyone think that a content creator not including PTSD in their works means that they don’t care about those who suffer from it or for those who care about them or who simply don’t care about the subject in general. That’s just a terrible way to treat someone, and in the end, this entire excursion was about the opposite

Ultimately, this essay is a chance not only to help improve creative works involving PTSD, but to reflect on the creative process. Those who still want to proceed, by all means, do so. Hopefully this essay will help you create something that can reach someone. If every piece of work that helps portray PTSD can reach someone somewhere and make things easier, even if ever so little, well then, that’s what it’s really all about.

Hoping everyone has a peaceful Memorial Day. Be good to each to other.

SLAL

#essays on writing and worldbuilding #ptsd

[therealvinelle]

In your meta on Why the Volturi are Necessary, you hypothesize that Aro is lying about humans being a threat to vampires. But how does that square with Maggie being present? She detects lies and compulsively calls them out. It’s a big reason her human family left her behind. (And I think the guide might mention another vampire present with a similar ability.)

So doesn’t that mean that likely either Aro was telling the truth (meaning vampires are more vulnerable than previously thought), or Maggie went against her nature and didn’t call him out (implying Edward also knew and also chose not to call him out)

(Anon is referring to this post.)

My theory on why the Volturi are necessary is based on what vampires are in the Twiverse, how the Volturi function, and the worldbuilding we see.

For me to be wrong, for humans to pose a threat the way Aro wants his audience to believe in Breaking Dawn, vampires have to be significantly weaker and easier to kill than what has been consistently shown throughout the books, or Twilight takes place in a parallel universe where human military technology is vastly more deadly and advanced than it is in ours. We'd be in AU territory.

As it is, Aro's speech getting past Maggie and Edward has an explanation that makes sufficient sense to me.

Edward was never going to be a problem. Anyone can block him, they just need to know how his gift works (sometimes not even that, as there are people who don't even know he has a gift who end up accidentally blocking him). Aro touched Edward earlier that year and knows Edward's gift better than anyone, and he came to that clearing mentally prepared. Aro is visualizing an exponentionally increasing amount of sheep in an ever-expanding field for this trial.

Even if something caught Aro off guard during that trial and a thought he didn't want made itself known, the missile speech was planned. His mind was prepared for that.

Sorry, but Edward's getting blocked.

Maggie is more interesting, but I think this one explains itself as well.

Because what is truth?

Aro says human technology could kill them all. And that's the truth. We have the means to destroy a city, a country, the world at large could become a nuclear wasteland overnight. The threat is real, and should knowledge of vampires get out an interspecies war, or a panic, might erupt, and things could get extremely destructive. Even if some vampires can survive the apocalypse itself, humans won't, and then the surviving vampires starve to death.

Is that the only truth, as in, is it the Volturi raison d'être, no. Aro wouldn't have created the law a thousand years ago if humans with their nukes was truly the reason.

However, it is a factor, and that makes his words the truth.

For that matter, it could very well be Maggie sensed a general dishonesty coming off of him for that speech, but she would expect this. If she doesn't know what Aro is being dishonest about, though, the point is moot.

As it is, Maggie's power appears to be rather black-and-white.

I'll use an example from Breaking Dawn.

(For context, Renesmée just did her show-her-lifestory thing, and "Please?" is her asking him not to murder her entire family.

Aro, on his end, can't guarantee that. He has never encountered a hybrid before, and can't know that Renesmée won't become a problem in the future. But, he is consistently a very polite character, so he's still going to be nice to her. Especially since she is, you know, a child.)

Renesmee relaxed back into my arms, her little face very serious.

“Please?” she asked him.

His smile turned gentle. “Of course I have no desire to harm your loved ones, precious Renesmee.”

Aro’s voice was so comforting and affectionate, it took me in for a second. And then I heard Edward’s teeth grind together and, far behind us, Maggie’s outraged hiss at the lie. (Breaking Dawn, page 442)

Yes, he tells a lie, but Renesmée is also a three month old five-year-old-looking child who's scared for her family. There's this thing called white lies, we tell them to children sometimes to reassure them. And, based on word choice and body language, that's what Aro was trying to do.

It seems to me he couldn't win here. He could of course say "oh I see, this never before seen species that drinks blood can't possibly grow up to be a problem for anybody. I'm not going to investigate this further at all. Toodledoo, fellas" and be celebrated for it, but I for one would not consider him fit to rule. Someone has to make tough choices sometimes and Aro has appointed himself to be that person. If he doesn't want to follow through, he can step down.

Back to what he said to Renesmée, the guy's options here were a) ominous silence, b) brutal honesty, c) ambiguous "I hope I won't have to harm your loved ones" type phrasing, or d) white lie. I repeat that he couldn't win here, because he went with the best option of the four and tried to reassure her, and people started hissing at him. That villain, he was nice to a toddler!

So, yes, Maggie does catch straight lies. Aro knew he was lying, and that meant she did too. Edward knew by extension, for that matter, good for him.

However, Maggie's gift is an ambiguous one, because truth by its very nature is ambiguous. Everything is a lie if you look hard enough into it or get very philosophical about it, and vice versa. The lived human experience is subjective, and that means we can't objectively experience reality. Maggie's gift is a denial of all that, it's an attempt to force the world into boxes of "truth" and "untruth", and that is going to give her a handicap similar to Alice or Edward's, as her gift affects the way she interacts with the world around her to the point where she can't do so normally.

Point being, yes I think Maggie can be lied to.

#maggie #twilight #twilight gifts #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #aro #breaking dawn debacle #edward cullen