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hannieehaee · 6 months

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18 + / mdi

content: boyfriend!mingyu & bf'sbestfriend!wonwoo, smut, afab reader, cucking (idk if this is the right term honestly), penetrative sex, mentions of oral, pov switches to wonwoo's pov like three paragraphs in, this is mostly wonwoo x reader ngl, etc.

part 2

wc: 3343

a/n: this is a continuation to mingyu's part of this reaction !!

masterlist

you'd known wonwoo for a good while now. being mingyu's girlfriend for over a year, you'd grown used to the company of his roommate, who was usually around whenever you'd go visit mingyu at their shared apartment.

it was easy to get along with wonwoo. he was an easy-going guy and also easy on the eyes, and just overall likable. you liked to think that the feeling was mutual, wanting to get along well with mingyu's best friend. you'd occasionally hang out one on one whenever you'd incidentally arrive to mingyu's apartment early, only to be let in by wonwoo. he was a gentleman, so he'd entertain you during mingyu's absence, telling you stories about the boy and at some points discussing shared interests with you.

what you didnt know was that wonwoo did like you. more than you wouldve hoped, actually.

wonwoo had known you for as long as mingyu, having been there when the two of you first met. the three of you had started off as simple acquaintances, up until mingyu decided he just had to have you, thus making you his. wonwoo had been happy for his friend, knowing mingyu to be a hopeless romantic at heart. yes, he admits, he mightve been attracted to you when you first met, but he quickly got over it upon finding out his best friend had a crush on you, even encouraging him to ask you out. having you in his immediate life proved to be interesting. it turned out that you two had a lot in common, with your personalities even aligning perfectly. that mightve explained why he was mingyu's best friend and you his best friend's girlfriend. mingyu clearly had a type.

over time, as wonwoo got to know you better, his long-gone crush seemed to want to make a comeback. what had previously been just physical attraction had turned into something more upon getting to know you. nothing ever happened to trigger his feelings, but there was only so much of your constant proximity that he could handle before his feelings resurfaced. which is where he now found himself. crushing on his best friend's pretty girlfriend, forced to occasionally join in on your dates as the perpetual third wheel.

despite any of his unreasonable emotions, he knew the feeling was not mutual, and more than that, he would never do that to his best friend. so, he did what any reasonable person would do and shoved his feelings deep within him, internally slapping himself any time his head went places it shouldn't. but that could only last so long.

it was a regular day. wonwoo had gone to the company, done his usual idol business and come back, now awaiting mingyu's arrival. except wonwoo was met with your presence instead. wonwoo had been expecting mingyu, remembering that he had told the boy about a movie they should watch together as soon as they had some extra down time. that day being today, now that they were finally back from promotions in japan and could go back to their regular schedules. he opened the door after hearing a few knocks, assuming mingyu mightve misplaced his keys again. except he was not met with his six foot tall friend upon opening the door, but instead you. it had been a while since he'd seen you. hell, it had probably been a while since mingyu had seen you. theyd just been so busy lately. he let you in, muttering a quick 'hello', avoiding eye contact a bit and stepping aside to allow you in. before he could close the door back up, you stopped him.

"oh, wait. gyu's coming up. he got us food for the movie!"

oh. had mingyu asked you to join?

his face mustve told on him, since you spoke up again almost immediately.

"is it okay im here? i can go, i know you guys are tired, i-"

the last thing he wanted you to feel was unwelcome. his stupid crush shouldnt get in the way of what was now a friendship between the two of you.

"no! stay, please. do you guys want privacy? we just came back, you must wa-"

this time you interrupted him. "no, not at all! stay, please. i love hanging out with you, nonu, you know that."

calling him by a cute nickname was not helping this for wonwoo, nor was the pretty smile you were throwing him. but he'd have to sit through an entire movie night like this, he realized.

the following thirty or so minutes went the way you'd imagine. mingyu had arrived soon after, with way too much food for three people and prepared the perfect setting for an enjoyable night between the three. wonwoo could tell his friend was beaming at the thought of finally spending a relaxing night with his two favorite people. this made him feel guilty, but he had to admit, he felt the same giddyness at the concept. in logical fashion, you and mingyu sat next to each other, slightly cuddled up while wonwoo sat on the smaller couch right next to the two of you. the three of you watched the movie for a little while, only ever speaking up every once in a while to comment on the movie. things went like this until mingyu suddenly spoke up, clapping his hands as if he suddenly remembered something.

"won! i almost forgot!", he paused the movie, sitting up from leaning against you, "i told y/n id show her the pictures we took in japan, come here!", his friend seemed so overly excited at the idea, almost vibrating as be waited for wonwoo to come sit next to him.

wonwoo made the mistake of moving his eyes a little to the left while looking at his friend, only to catch your expectant gaze as you also waited for him to close the distance. but it was enough to get him to get up and take a close seat next to mingyu, making the tall man the only separation between you and him.

mingyu had already pulled out his phone, scrolling through his gallery and stopping every few seconds to explain where the picture was, who took it and why they had edited it the way they did. he explained every minor detail while you looked at him, full attention on him. wonwoo liked that about you. it was something you did when speaking to him too. you'd always show full interest, even sharing a passion for photography and editing as he did. there had been occasions in which wonwoo himself had shown you his photography, only to be always met with praise and genuine curiosity at his skill.

they both explained the pictures, with mingyu holding the phone at an angle where both you and wonwoo could see the screen perfectly. mingyu had full control of the phone, not thinking much as he stopped by every single picture and made a few comments, allowing space each time for wonwoo's own commentary and your praise of their skills. it was a heartwarming moment for wonwoo, really. until it turned into a moment that warmed something else in him.

mingyu, in his overexcited state, was clearly not thinking much of it as he swiped picture after picture, not realizing that if he scrolled too far, he'd end up where he was now.

it was a picture of you. a very pretty picture, if wonwoo had anything to say about it. you were laying in what he could only assume to be mingyu's bed, shirt off and very very cute sheer panties covering your lower half. your face wasnt in it, only your lips. but your body was practically on full display. wonwoo had to commend you for your artistic eye. that picture could cause any man to swim across the pacific ocean just to see the contents of it in the flesh. or at least thats how wonwoo felt in that moment. time felt frozen as he stared at the image. silence had filled the room as none of you reacted. until mingyu finally unfroze, locking his phone and throwing it on the table, cursing loudly at his mistake. but the damage had been done.

wonwoo felt ashamed at his current state. he couldnt look up, only staring down at his lap as he thought of the image that was now imprinted in mind. why did he have to see that? his crush on you was already getting out of hand. there was no way be could ever look you in the eye again. but his brain, once more, betrayed him. he looked up slowly, instantly meeting your gaze. you looked as flustered as he felt, eyes widened and cheeks flushed. fuck. your face reminded him of one he had seem before. a few months back when he'd accidentally bumped into you after what he couldve only assumed to be a night well-spent with his best friend, same flushed cheeks and widened eyes, except this time you were missing the disheveled look you had carried that time.

you and wonwoo seemed unable to break eye contact, with both your gazes becoming heavier by the second. what had felt to wonwoo like minutes of agony staring into your eyes were only a few seconds to mingyu, who immediately spoke up after having thrown his phone on the table.

"baby, i'm so fucking sorry, i-" he had turned his body towards you, emphasizing how badly he felt at the position he put you under, but your eyes hadnt left wonwoo's, nor had his left yours.

you interrupted him, only breaking eye contact with wonwoo for a few seconds. "it's okay, gyu," your eyes now facing wonwoo again, "right, nonu?", your voice was sultry, only tightening up his pants even more than the initial shock of the image had.

"y-yeah."

mingyu seemed to catch on quickly after that, almost as if he'd been expecting this. he turned to his friend, still not 100% certain, "wonwoo. are you sure?"

there had been nothing wonwoo had ever been more sure about it. he broke eye contact with you for the first time in the past minute and responded, "yes."

"there's gonna be rules, okay?"

the three of you were now in mingyu's (and practically your) room, still fully clothed but all on the bed, already completely out of breath from the mere thought of what was about to happen. wonwoo felt like an animal. he felt himself have to put physical effort into holding back from jumping you. the way you'd been looking at him for the past while had him going insane, knowing now that the feeling was mutual.

"what are the rules?", wonwoo's eyes were still on you.

"any-" mingyu was about to speak when you interrupted him, still holding onto wonwoo's full attention.

"anything goes, except no marks and you have to be willing to share me. gyu's a bit possessive, right baby?", you stated matter-of-factly, almost in a rehearsed manner.

"wait. you've discussed this before?"

mingyu neared you, beginning to undress you from behind, giving wonwoo the perfect view of your clothing disappearing. 'we have. you're not exactly subtle, hyung.'

what? had you two known about his crush on you this whole time? he was so sure he'd kept it at bay almost expertly. had he just been embarrassing himself this whole time?

"its okay, nonu. we've discussed this. we're okay with it if you are. right, gyu?", you looked over your shoulder at the man who had now removed your shirt and shorts, leaving you in panties and a bra, much to wonwoo's dismay.

"i- are you sure? what does this mean? you-"

"hyung, dont over think it. you want her, dont you? you're my best friend, im willing to share."

well, what kind of fool would argue with that logic?

wonwoo decided to take advantage of the opportunity while it was there, approaching you as mingyu stepped aside, undressing his own self as he watched you and wonwoo.

wonwoo was entirely unsure of himself, not knowing how or where to begin. luckily for him, you seemed to take pity on him, grabbing his arms and placing them on your waist, pulling him closer to you.

"you dont have to be nervous. i want you too," you smiled sweetly at him, lifting his chin so he would look at you.

the proximity made him heat up, almost forgetting his friend, who had now sat down on the bed, perfect angle to watch him and you.

you leaned up slowly, lightly placing your lips on wonwoo's in a sweet peck. wonwoo sighed against your lips at this, letting his shoulders fall from their rigid posture and leaning against you, opening his lips a bit. you took advantage of this, meekly slipping your tongue inside his mouth as he tightened his hands around your waist, allowing his own tongue to play with yours.

kissing you was something he had imagined before; never too vividly out of respect for his best friend, but it was something he had wanted to do, never thinking he'd actually get to.

you and him kissed softly for a while, until you seemed to grow frustrated at the light kisses and began to incite him for more. your kissing became rougher, nibbling at his lower lip and sucking at his tongue, rendering him lightheaded. he moaned against your mouth, beginning to match your pase. he moaned even louder the moment he felt your hands guide his own to your breasts, which were now bare. when had you taken your bra off ..? it didn't matter, really. now he could feel the pebbles on your chest against his palms, pinching at them as you mewled softly into bis mouth. all that could be heard was the smacking of your mouths, along with the soft breaths you kept taking against each other, utterly pleased at the feeling of the softness of the other's lips.

until mingyu interrupted.

suddenly soft moaning could be heard from beside them. wonwoo reluctantly pulled away from you, looking to the side, only to find his best friend with his eyes closed, head thrown back as he had his hand under his boxers, clearly getting off at the sounds of the two of you. you didnt stop kissing wonwoo in the meantime, insistent on licking and biting softly against his neck. the softness of your touches was making wonwoo go insane. he was no longer himself, but more of a shell of what used to be, wanting to give you all control of his pleasure. which he did.

he allowed you to undress him slowly, running your hands slowly up and down his chest, kissing at him every time you uncovered a new bit of skin. you bit and licked at his nipples, making wonwoo discover a sensitive spot he didnt even know about.

he enjoyed your attentiveness, but felt a small tug in the back of his mind at the thought of your boyfriend sitting nearby, simply watching.

"gyu, baby," you finally said after having laid wonwoo down on the bed, sitting on top of him while looking to the side at your boyfriend, "how do you wanna do this?"

wonwoo simply sat there, afraid that if he said anything he'd break the spell. he was willing to take whatever you gave him. he was already addicted to the sight of your bare body on top of him, somehow beating the picture he had seen just twenty minutes ago.

"do whatever you want, baby. have your fun n then ill eat his cum out of you n fill you with mine, sound good?", he slurred, seemingly rubbing at himself at a snail pace in order to savor the sight in front of him.

in any other instance, wonwoo wouldnt have understood why mingyu was getting off at the sight of his best friend and his girlfriend fucking, but it was you. wonwoo would also give anything to see you in the throes of passion from a third person perspective, so he felt no judgement for his friend as he practically tuned him out.

"you heard him, nonu. how do you want me?", you asked sweetly, caressing his skin softly while stopping to rub at his nipples every once in a while.

wonwoo was fucked. he felt the ability to speak leave him completely. he was rendered completely useless, a doll for you to play with however you wanted. but his sight right now was one he wanted to commit to memory, so mustering all his willpower, he lifted his hands and placed them on your hips, pressing you closer against him.

"like this, baby. please," that earned a whine from gyu, who was still self-inflicting the most painful pleasure imaginable by edging himself at the sight of you.

he humphed at wonwoo, "no! get a different pet name. shes my baby."

wonwoo chuckled at this, but nodded over at his friend. "fine. like this, princess. yeah?"

you nodded at wonwoo, quickly adjusting yourself so you could easily slip him inside you, but only after being interrupted by mingyu again, reminding you to slip on a condom, "because you were only his to fuck raw."

"gyu, baby. like this? have a good angle? need me to move?"

"no, baby. you're perfect. now bounce on him for me, yeah? wanna see my pretty girl feel good," all his words were slurred, going on almost ten minutes of watching yours and wonwoo's foreplay.

"'kay baby. are you ready, nonu? wanna feel me?", you leaned down to kiss at him again, seemingly loving the feeling of your lips connecting as much as wonwoo did.

he nodded, felling you up as be awaited the upcoming feeling of your warmth wrapping around him.

your descent drove wonwoo insane. he doesnt think he's ever moaned that loudly before, nor does he think he's ever seen a prettier sight than your blissed out face as you felt him fill you up. the contrast of your movements right now compared to your soft touches earlier was laughable. it seemed like something had possessed you, making you bounce and grind on wonwoo at an animalistic pace, moaning incessantly at the feeling of his cock filling you up.

wonwoo was different from you, as his reaction was just pure bliss from the feeling of you, humping upwards with a lack of rhythm; just animalistic instinct to get himself as deep inside you as possible.

mingyu could be heard moaning from the background. you'd occasionally disconnect your eyes from wonwoo's form to make eyes at your boyfriend, giving him even more material for jacking off.

it went on like this until you began to near your end, which is when wonwoo believes he went truly insane. you began to grind at an angle that would bring gratification to your clit, practically crying on his cock. your hands went up to play with your nipples, stimulating yourself as much as possible. wonwoo wanted nothing more than to make you meet your end, grabbing harsher onto your hips and guiding your movements. he leaned up to kiss and suck at your tits, making you throw your head back and quicken your movements even more. you were in heaven and so was he. mingyu seemed to be too, as when wonwoo peeked a look at him he was practically crosseyed at the sight of you, arched back whining on his friend's cock.

your ends found you almost simultaneously. mingyu had been first, finally allowing himself to reach his high after edging himself for so long. soon followed wonwoo, spilling into the condom, causing you to cum at the sight of his pleasure. it took a bit for all of you to catch your breaths, staying silent for a bit until wonwoo broke the silence.

"shit. please tell me this isnt a one time thing."

you and gyu giggled at each other. wonwoo hoped that was a good sign.

a/n: lol lmk if u want a cont. with gyu's part

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writingwithfolklore · 2 years

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Troubleshooting Your Plot

Plots are such complicated things that often when something doesn’t work, we can tell that it’s falling apart, but we can’t really tell where. I’ve spent many hours picking apart my plots and looking for the loose thread, so here’s some ways I’ve noticed plots most commonly go wrong.

The character transformation isn’t believable

Very likely whenever an arc goes wrong it’s not because of the circumstances the character went through, it’s because the character didn’t have enough agency. If your characters are never forced to make tough decisions, they’re also never forced to change. I’d go back to their goal and motivation and look through your plot to see which ways they are actively choosing it again and again.

2. It feels rushed

Plots that meander or feel rushed are usually not due to the plot itself, but pacing issues within it. Before you touch your outline, look into your scenes and see where you could be adding more description. Are you using all five senses? And if you are, are you getting into your character’s head? Sometimes all a rushed scene needs is a moment of reflection, a little “check-in” with your protagonist.

Look through your work and mark down what the pacing of each scene should be. Fast-paced action scenes should have shorter paragraphs and less reflection than say a deep discussion between two characters.

3. It’s too short!?

When it’s not an issue with pacing the problem might be with the scope. Is the transformation you’re writing large enough for the word count you were expecting? Lord of the Rings couldn’t have been written in a novella, and an episode of Spongebob couldn’t have been turned into a novel. Consider the stakes of your story—if it’s too short, the inciting incident might not have turned the world upside down enough.

4. The character dynamics aren’t coming together

Ah the friends that just don’t seem to want to be friends, the group that’s constantly falling apart, the attractive strangers who stay strangers. Characters are really good at ruining our plans. In cases like these, it often comes back to the goals and motivations of every character involved. When groups don’t come together maybe not all of them have a reason to want to be there—how will it help each one of them achieve their goal?

Good luck!

#writing #writers #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspiration #creative writing #writing community #books #film #filmmaking #screenwriting #novel writing #fanfiction #plot #plot troubleshooting #nanowrimo #nanowrimo prep

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she-posts-nerdy-stuff · 8 months

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Analysing my favourite lines from Six of Crows chapter by chapter: Chapter 3

As before, if there are any famous/popular lines missing it’s not because I don’t like them it’s just because I have nothing more to add to the analyses/ideas already present about them in the fandom. And if there are quotes that I haven’t analysed that’s just because I wanted to include it as a favourite quote but didn’t have anything to say explanation-wise.

This is a long chapter, so I’ll see how this goes and maybe split it into two parts.

“It would have been easy to make peace. Kaz could have told Jesper that he knew he wasn’t dirty, reminded him that he'd trusted him enough to make him his only real second in a fight that could have gone badly wrong tonight."

- this is really important for me because it tells us so much about Kaz and Jesper’s relationship in so few words, as well as telling us about the characters individually as well. Kaz trusts Jesper but he can’t tell him that and keeps him at arms length: we understand that Kaz has intimacy and/or commitment issues in both platonic and romantic relationships (since at this point in time the nature of their relationship hasn’t been explored but is presented as platonic, and Kaz had not been specifically stated to have a romantic interest this early on we as the reader make early assumptions). The specificity of the verb “knew” is SO important to me as well, because we have just seen Kaz have Big Bolliger shot in the stomach on the suspicion he was dirty based on a hunch about him going to a different cafe for breakfast but he ‘knows’ with complete certainty that Jesper is absolutely trustworthy. So within barely a paragraph of Kaz’s first POV chapter we understand that Jesper, even if their relationship is complex or rocky, is incredibly important to him and that he has considerable faith in him. The choice to not “make peace”, however, even though “it would have been easy” tells us that Kaz either feels the active need to keep Jesper at a distance or is incapable of expressing the closeness he feels in their friendship. Obviously later we’re able to learn that these are both true in their own way, but the importance of it in this moment is that we are immediately tuned in to Kaz’s fear of emotional connection and invested in understanding why this is, or exactly what he struggled with. Six of Crows is a novel I’d consider to be well balanced between plot-driven and character-driven, but I definitely think that these opening chapters are very character driven so this kind of set up is what pulls us into the book and makes us desperate to keep reading.

“ ‘Another bribe?’

‘I’m a creature of habit’

‘Lucky for you, I am too’ ”

“If you couldn’t walk out by yourself through Ketterdam after dark, then you might as well hang a sign around your neck that read “soft” and lie down for a beating” - I don’t know that I can coherently explain this I just love it; the worldbuilding??? the start of this brilliant presentation of the city as effectively it’s own character, which is one of my favourite things Bardugo does in her descriptions of Ketterdam?? The character implications about Kaz??? The way it ties into his initial judgements of Wylan!???? Perfection

“He realised he felt… Saints, he almost felt hopeful. Maybe he should see a medik” - I just love this so much, it’s so funny and it’s so quintessentially Kaz, I absolutely adore it

“Usually, he liked the quiet. In fact, he would’ve happily sewn most people’s lips shut” - we should talk about this quote more as a fandom, you know, because it’s brilliant and it’s so funny and again it’s just so brilliantly Kaz in the opening pages of his perspective we get so much information about his worldview and understand him to be quite a humorous character despite the initial appearance of him from Inej’s POV. As the novels go on we see the others notice his jokes more often, but in that introductory chapter it was incredibly important that the reader received the same image of Kaz that the Black Tips did, so now we get to be introduced to the closest thing to a real version of Kaz. I think there’s still a prevalent understanding that we’re seeing a mask, but this feels more real than Dirtyhands does… if that makes sense? I could be rambling about nonsense

"He'd heard other members of the gang say she moved like a cat, but he suspected cats would sit attentively at her feet to learn her methods" - this is just such a brilliant description of what Inej can do, it gives us such a clear image without having to overexplain anything and it also introduces us to this idea of Kaz putting her on a pedestal.

' "And what god do you serve, then?"

"Whichever will grant me good fortune"

"I don't think gods work that way,"

"I don't think I care," '

"He didn't see her go, only sensed her absence" - I can't explain it but something about this is so achingly romantic to me.

"But the fact that she could simply erase herself bothered him. She didn't even have a scent. All people carried scents, and those scents told stories -" - It wasn't until someone asked me to make a post about this quote that I really thought about it and realised why it has always stuck out to me. You can see the post on my page if you're interested, but in essence I think it's really important that Kaz struggles with any sense of permanence, so the idea that the one person he cares about more than anything else in the world could vanish so completely, as though she never even existed in the first place, is genuinely frightening - especially to a boy who several times in these novels fears that he has begun to hallucinate. Kaz seems very aware that he's on the edge of something he identifies as going mad, and the concept of visual and auditory hallucinations - Jordie's voice in his head, the panic at thinking he must have hallucinated when he first sees a Tidemaker walk through a wall, the immediate fear of being attacked by a ghost, etc - is something that constantly chases him. Kaz has also spent the last 8 years of his life living in a world that continued on as though his brother never existed, the salt in the wound being that not even Rollins remembers them, so the awareness of that happening to Inej, someone he has come to care for in a way that is entirely new and incredibly overwhelming for him - "there would be no grand funerals for them, no marble markers to remember their names" "What will you leave behind, but corpses to be burned on the Reaper's Barge?" "Out to the Reaper's Barge for burning, like all paupers go" - is a deeply upsetting. This then becomes a parallel with Kaz specifically noting that he can smell soap on her in the Crooked Kingdom Bathroom Scene; in this moment she us cemented so strongly in view and becomes the tether between Kaz and his sanity by continuing to so obstinately exist in a world that doesn't seem to want her to.

"Ghosts, Kaz thought. A boy's fear, but it came with absolute surety. Jordie had come for his vengeance at last" - oh my goodness there's so much to unpack here. I have talked about this a bit before, I think it was in my (very long) post about the potential for Wylan and Kaz to become each other, but it is SO important to look at this quote and remember that when we first read it we haven't the faintest idea who Jordie is or what happened to him. With the ousting of Big Bolliger and all the talk about your gang being your family and that even if you're a liar and a thief, you don't lie to or steal from your own gang, my initial assumption upon reading this was that Jordie had once been in a gang with Kaz, one of them had betrayed the other, and it had ended with Kaz murdering him. But, of course, this is very far from the truth and this tells us so much heart-breaking information about the fact that Kaz blames himself for what happened to them. He wonders later what might have happened to them if he hadn't insisted they go and find the magician that was the first step leading them to Rollins and to Jordie's death, but we never get anything about Kaz blaming himself quite as outrightly as this, the rest of it is usually just implied. So why show us this now? I would argue because this is how Kaz genuinely feels and in the moment he thinks it he is too terrified, confused, and to some extent concerned for his sanity to push the feeling away. Everything we see beyond this point id the construct that he has convinced himself is how he feels: that it's Rollins' fault. Obviously Rollins is at least partially to blame for Jordie's death, but if I may quote myself from a previous post It's the city that kills him, Rollins is just the weapon it chooses. Jordie even says it himself - "The city's winning now, but you'll see who wins in the end". Kaz's genuine belief is that Jordie's death is his fault, but he is in far too fragile a mental state to cope with that truth (and when I say truth I mean the that it's the truth he believes that, not that it;s the truth it's his fualt because he was jsut a nine-year-old who wanted to see a magician that's a more than innocent act and, again, he was nine) so he instead exists within a façade that he has built for himself - even on top of the one he's built for everyone else. We also see a hatred of the feeling towards blaming Jordie later on in the novels, and this is incredibly important. It's almost as if the idea that it's his fault isn't even the truth, but that's a façade to overcome the ultimate horror of seeing Jordie as accountable for it all - "What do you think my forgiveness looks like Jordie?". But ultimately, this is still the warped view of the world instilled in Kaz and so many of the other citizens of Ketterdam, possibly Kerch as a whole, arguably placing the city and its infrastructure as the ultimate villain rather than the tools of it. (Wherein the tools are Rollins and Van Eck).

"The phantom was upon him, and he felt the sharp jab of a needle in his neck. A ghost with a syringe?" - This is just so funny I love it so much I think I've read SOC and CK near to twenty times each now and this still makes me laugh every damn time.

I'm going to split this into two parts from here because this is the splitting point in the chapter and this is already a pretty long post. Thanks so much for reading this, sorry it's been a while for me to post it. I'm loving this line-by-line analysis series already (I know this is only the second post but I'm still excited) but they do take a long time to put together, particularly because at this time I don't currently have an annotated version of either book. Although I am planning to buy fresh copies for the purposes of annotating them when I get the opportunity, I currently don't have my ideas recorded anywhere except this account so whenever I write a post I'm working entirely from memory beyond the actual quotes themselves (and sometimes including them too haha) or even coming up with new ideas as I write. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions please keep sending them in I know I haven't responded to any for a little while but I love getting them and I am working through my inbox, if a bit slowly :)

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isnt-it-pretty · 1 year

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AU where Cyno's eyesight is actually fucked. I know there are a lot of characters with red eyes in Genshin, but how interesting would it be if Cyno's red eyes caused him problems? I mean, he hangs out in the desert.

The most common cause of red eyes irl is ocular albinism. It causes bad vision, light sensitivity, difficulty with depth perception, etc.

Imagine Cyno struggling in the Akademiya because of his eyesight-- reading is difficult when you can't see the letters, and it wasn't like he had access to glasses in the desert. But what is he supposed to do? People already dislike him for being from the desert; he won't give them another reason to see him as different, so he makes do. Instead, he hunches over books late at night when nobody bothers him.

That's how he met Kaveh—late a night in the library, struggling to find a book high up on the shelves. And Kaveh? Kaveh is nice, friendly, and a few inches taller. It's only natural that he asks if he can help. Nobody ever offers to help Cyno. It becomes a thing. Cyno, quiet and nervous, seeks out Kaveh to ask for help finding books. They start studying together, and sometimes, Cyno asks him to read aloud paragraphs from books and primary sources-- usually handwritten and difficult to read. Most people would think it's because Cyno is stupid, but Kaveh knows that isn't the case. Eventually, he asks in the softest way he can manage, "Cyno, can you see?" And Cyno just shrugs and replies, "sort of." Kaveh reacts better than Cyno expected; he just says, "okay," and they continue studying. It cements Kaveh as one of his best friends and one of the few people who know the truth.

Cyno who gets killer migraines from the light. He blacked out his room with curtains, and sheets hung over the windows, only left during the brightest hours for clases before retreating back. Kaveh brings him food and charms his way into getting some Spantamad student's notes for Cyno, who missed three classes in a row because he couldn't move without vomiting. Sometimes he sits next to him, holds back Cyno's hair or just helps him feel less alone. Brings water bottles, ice packs, medication and peppermint oil; he talks to Amurta students for advice without ever mentioning Cyno's name. (Years later, when Kaveh witnesses Alhaitham's migraines, he slips back into old habits without thinking.)

The only reason he can fight as well as he does is the spirit within him. He lets go, lets it take over and fight for him (Cyno's original model had a blindfold in his burst form! They removed it probably because of clipping issues.) The other half of the time, he operates on instinct alone. When he joins the matra, Taj figures it out quickly. Cyno is a good kid-- smart and strong--, but something isn't quite right about the way he moves in a fight, the way he shies away from doing anything during the brightest hours. It's Taj who finally drags Cyno away to get glasses, and for the first time, Cyno can see leaves on the trees. He can read words on a page without squinting and decoding letter by letter. He can recognize faces by more than their general appearance. It's life-changing. But he can't tell anybody-- being from the desert is bad enough, being visually impaired too? He'll never get anywhere in the matra; they may even kick him out. When he starts working alone, Cyno quickly becomes known for working at night-- to the absolute terror of the scholars he hunts.

Tighnari studies in Amurta. He knows biology, knows how bodies function. Eyes aren't his thing, but it doesn't take long into his friendship with Cyno to figure out that something is wrong. Cyno doesn't read anything-- everything is memorized. So he starts trying to get Cyno to read books and papers. Eventually, he sees Cyno sigh and pull out a pair of glasses.

Upon learning Cyno has migraines, it takes Tighnari 0.02 seconds to put two and two together to get four. Yes, Cyno's migraines are caused by light sensitivity. Do you know what else causes migraines? Eye strain, you big lummox. And that's how he convinced Cyno to wear his glasses more often, or maybe even found some way to have contact lenses made for him (plastic contact lenses weren't invented until the 1930s, but in 1888 we had similar lenses made from glass. Downside? Sand isn't great for contact lenses.) Unsurprisingly, it helps. Tighnari researches and mixes different medicines for Cyno's migraines, makes sure he drinks water and rests his eyes. The biggest help? He finds out how to get tinted lenses to block out the worst of the sun (Cyno with sunglasses.)

Cyno still doesn't wear them while out on assignments because they'll break easily, but he will around the office and at home. He has extra pairs in his office and home, while Tighnari always has an extra pair (or six) in his hut for the next time Cyno inevitably shows up injured and with broken/missing glasses.

The first time Collei sees Cyno in his regular, non-tinted glasses, she is immediately 1000% less intimidated by him. It's hard to be afraid of a 5ft-nothing nerd in glasses, especially when he tells her of his struggle with reading as a child.

HoH Alhaitham and visually impaired Cyno staring each other down in Aaru Village and making Dehya want to rip her hair out.

Is this just an excuse for a visually impaired character? Yes, yes it is. If you're interested in writing visually impaired characters (although not necessarily ocular albinism), this masterpost by mimzy-writing is an amazing resource!

#cyno #cynonari #kaveh #tighnari #sometimes i'm creative #this post isn't as nicely written as some of my other au posts #but that's because I'm exhausted lol #rip #genshin impact #tighcyno #my posts #chronically ill genshin #i mean not REALLY #it's more disability #but fuck it I'm using the same tag #hurting cyno like it's my god given right #blind cyno

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gu1lty-as-sin · 4 months

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juno’s 270 follower celebration

hiii omg this is insane!! i cant believe there are 100 more of you within like a month?? i am so grateful to every one of you, i never thought that people would like me this much?? i hope we all have a wonderful 2024!!

intro post

edit: tysm for the requests everyone!! i love doing them all for you <33 if i don't get to them immediately im very sorry, if you see me online/posting im usually on my phone and i prefer to do the requests on my laptop, so i promise i will get to your request eventually!!!! ily

simulation swarm - ill make you a moodboard (can be based off of you, an emoji, vibe, or anything)

all we know - ill make you a playlist (can be based off of you, an emoji, vibe, or anything)

your best american girl - ill tell you a song, album and artist that reminds me of you

play destroy - ill write a little paragraph on things i associate you with

sadness as a gift - ill make you a small drawing/sketch of a character or person

vampire empire - ill shuffle my music and give you my favourite lyric from that song

lust for life - i design you an outfit using pinterest

lovers rock - i design you a room using pinterest

thats what you get - i guess what you look like based on your vibes

margaret - i give you advice for an issue you have

gibson girl - ill plan my dream holiday id go on with you (mutuals only)

anti-curse - i do a simplified celtic cross tarot reading for you (mutuals only)

17250 - i make you a (relatively small) pinterest board (can be based off of you, an emoji, vibe or anything) (mutuals only)

rules

followers and mutuals only

please send these via an ask!! it makes things easier for me :)

end date is february 29th

as i go back to school early feb it might take a little bit for me to respond, but i will get to your request eventually!!

max of two per ask!! but there’s no limit to how many you can do in total

i might not know the character you want me to draw/make a playlist or moodboard of, in that case ill let you know and you can request something different :)

have fun!! and thank you again for this <333

inspired by @svnflowermoon and @dandelions-fly-in-summer-skies ahaha i basically just stole most of these from you two sorryyy <333

beautiful dividers by @chachachannah and @saradika-graphics

mutuals!! sorry if i missed you :(( lmk you want to be added or removed from this list!! @zzzzzzzzzee @dandelions-fly-in-summer-skies @literatureisdying @tellme-o-muse @recklessandyoung @crowgenius @imswimmingback @strawberryloveyyy @syzygy-yzygy @svnflowermoon @ineedibuprofen @august-taylors-version @a-portal-to-nowhere @qwerty-keysmash @judeisthedude @wastedonthesebutterflies @skeelly @trying-to-be-cool-abt-it @bookscorpion73 @mandythedino @personifiedgoldenretriever @notatypicalhumanatall @isitoversnowtvs @stopurlosingme @evermore-4-life @aaalixaf @evazlana @giveuthemo0n @leaskisses444 @justalunaticfangirl

#juno's 270 celebration #<- everything to do with this celebration will be tagged!!#intro post #<- you can find my intro post here #juno.txt #asks #beautiful mutuals #them tag <33 #anon #tag game #ask bait #spotify #<- nav tags!! check out my intro post to see what they mean :)

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bunnywithablog · 2 months

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fun idea of my interpretation of an animatronic lolbit who's programming is...not quite right. >:) inspiration and voice claim comes from listening to this! i believe the vocals are by theniftytable. :)

requests | rules | masterlist

pairing: FNAF:SL - lolbit x technician!gn!reader - possessive lolbit scenario

warnings: creep ogling reader, stalker-ish lolbit, threats of violence, brief mention of sexual harassment

the security office is filled with the soft hum of electricity, a rhythmic static click sounding every so often as the different monitors flick through the camera feed of the pizzeria. it's uneventful, a regular day. baby is serving ice-cream to the kids, freddy's doing his usual routine with bon, ballora's dancing up on her stage, and technicians are prepping foxy for his show in an hour. a usual workday. the monitors carry on their idle scrolling.

a screen tilted at an angle clicks onto a view of the dining hall, it lingers on the feed longer than the others.

there you are! it's you in the crowd! donned in your circus baby's rental uniform and chatting to a customer.

it looks innocent enough, but something's off...

the camera zooms in, focusing on the scene.

you're smiling and laughing at whatever the man is saying, but the jovial behavior doesn't quite meet your eyes. shoulders tensed and smile strained, hands fiddling together when not gesturing during speech. you're uncomfortable. he's practically leering at you, propped up on his elbows as he leans across the table with a sleazy smirk, something unpleasant behind his stare.

this just won't do.

one by one, the different monitors flick to settle onto the image of your predicament, some displaying it from multiple angles of the dining hall, some from the same. the initial monitor shifts upright with a metallic shuffling noise before just the buzz of electricity can be heard once again in the small room. it feels louder now, deeper. all the different feeds stick to this singular scene playing out.

it drags on for a moment before you look to the side, attention turning away. a co-worker has come to your rescue. the man at the table seemingly a little annoyed, his smile dropping as you briefly converse with them. you nod and say something to your fellow technician before they walk off, turning back to the man to awkwardly excuse yourself.

his smile only returns when you look back to him, but it's less genuine now, nodding as you tell him you have to go. when you take your leave, his lips reform into a lazy smirk, gaze dropping down along your body as you walk off, that look back in his eye again...

disgusting.

several fans kick to life within the different monitors, loud mechanical whirring filling the security office. every single viewpoint on the screens zooms to the max capacity, zooming in on this man, this pest, capturing several still frames of his face. the buzzing rises to an almost soft crackle.

this won't do at all...

some of the displays distort, beginning to glitch.

lolbit pushes themself up out of their seat, cables connecting the monitor that sits atop their shoulders to the rest of the security system moving with them as they stand to their full height. the screen flickers from the camera feed to a terminal window and strings of code immediately run down along it at a rapid pace, stopping occasionally to process before they execute new lines.

a voice hums out pensively through lolbit's voicebox, leaning forward with robotic hands splaying across the top of the desk. their head tilts a little, code pausing after several paragraphs of text.

bingo.

the display once again flickers, this time from the terminal to a simple screen showing a slowly rising percentage. above it, an animated fox bearing a strikingly similar colour palette to the attached animatronic runs between two folder icons on all fours, a small group of papers held in it's mouth.

this should be everything required.

an amused laugh sounds from them, the number just shy of clocking 100%, but the sound of approaching footsteps causes lolbit to stiffen, an exclamation point appearing on their face. in a flash, all the screens cut off from the cameras, instead showing the familiar 'please stand by!' message.

lolbit straightens up from the desk, clearing their throat - despite not having one to clear - through the voicebox as their own monitor reverts to a 2D rendition of the animatronic face model, style reminiscent of the old 'freddy & friends' cartoons.

they hurriedly seat themself back into the office chair as the other monitors end the transmission and click back to their pre-programmed scrolling. adjusting their tie, they put on a smile just as you round your way into the office.

"hey bitty!" a chipper lilt in your tone as you wave over to the animatronic, "how's it going in here?"

"[name], buttercup! you almost gave me a fright!" they perk up at your appearance.

"it's the usual, just soooo boring all by myself!" lolbit dramatically leans back in the chair, holding their hand up to their forehead and another to their chest to sell the performance, "maybe it's an error in my programming! i might just need the best technician in the world to stay and make sure i don't have some kind of bug?"

they peek an eye open at you, drawing displaying a cartoony grin complete with a row of flashy pointed teeth. the sound of your laugh only makes it grow wider, little squiggles of pink appearing on their animated cheeks.

"i'm sure you'll live. just came in to get the chip with funtime foxy's routine." you explain, smiling as you crouch down to rummage through one of the company crates.

the animatronic shifts back upright in the chair, crossing their legs and resting their elbow on the chairs armrest, face taking on a little pout as the corner of the monitor comes to rest in their palm, observing you.

"fine, fineeee." their eyes wander over to the other screens, lingering on one of the hallway cameras as their brows furrow a bit, mouth pulling into a stern line, "but you gotta to promise to come right back after he's all set up, you're my technician, after all!" lolbit bargains, keeping up their usual cheery voice despite their expression, gaze lingering a little longer before trailing back to you. you're still hunched over the crate, humming in deliberation.

"if they don't need me on the floor anymore, then sure. i still need to make sure that your software is taking to the new body well, in any case. aha- there it is!"

you triumphantly pull the case with foxy's different routines out, grinning over your shoulder at lolbit as you shake the little box. they smile back, more at your agreement than your successful find.

"good job, buttercup!" they cheer, robotic hands clapping together, "now run along! the faster you get it done, the faster you can be back here to get all up in my hardware."

you snort out a laugh as you stand, stepping over to flick the top of their monitor as they shoot you another cheesy grin, laughing with you. to be honest, lolbit would much prefer that you stayed, rather than going out and risking running into that creep again. but if you didn't, someone would be bound to come looking for you and drag you off anyway, so this was the best compromise.

"in your dreams, tin can!" you chuckle, giving another wave as you step back out of the office, calling over your shoulder, "see you in a bit!"

lolbit waves you off, bright smile only dropping back to the earlier frown once they're sure your gone, casting a glance back over to the monitor that stayed unchanging from the hallway. a little text popped up in the corner of lolbit's screen, narrowed stare glitching slightly.

'download complete...'

lolbit lingered outside the door to the men's bathroom, several devices in different parts of their body whirring in an attempt to keep them from blowing a circuit in their rage.

they'd kept watch on that hallway camera for a while after seeing the man from earlier heading this way, counting heads, making sure nobody else would be down here when they decided to make their move. with foxy's show starting soon, they doubted the traffic coming down this hall would be bustling for a while anyway...

the door swung open and there he was. it was him.

"what the fu-"

the words were cut short, lolbit slamming their hand against the man's throat

a low growl crackled through their voicebox. they'd planned on just making this a quick chat, at first. give this guy a lecture, throw in a threat or two, then take their leave...

but their emotions were completely overwriting their logic.

he struggled, clawing fruitlessly at the metallic hand holding him steadfast as the much larger animatronic ushered the man back into the vacant bathroom, shoving him up against a wall.

they leaned in, monitor so close to his face he could feel the static buzzing around the screen. sneering up at him, lolbit's usual friendly visage was instead traded out for a hyper-realistic rendition of the 3D head, hollowed out eyes with pinprick pupils boring right into the man's rotten soul, glitches bouncing around the corners of the image.

"think you can just roam around being a fuckin' scumbag and nobody would put you in your place?" they hissed out in a whisper.

their screen flickered to a clip of his gross staring earlier, static warping across it every few seconds, "thought running around being a scumbag wouldn't come with any repercussions? huh?!"

they were practically seeing red...

still whirring, several clicks sounded off inside lolbit, a caution warning popping into their code causing them to reel their anger back in and reluctantly release their iron grip. the man crumpled to the floor in a heap, sputtering and gasping for air as the robot regained their composure, taking a pause.

"now, the way i see it, you only have one choice..." they began slowly, voice warbled as they spoke.

"you're gonna go out there, apologize to anybody you creeped on today, and get the fuck outta here. or, i could take these..."

the video flicks from yours to a different instance with another person, and then another, and another. either other rental company employees or employees of the hosting establishment.

"and i could send them off to your lovely wife!" a woman's ID pops up on screen and his eyes go wide with recognition.

lolbit tuts, shaking their head, "a shame, really, she seems like such a lovely woman, helping out every weekend at the community center. i wonder if she knows about your workplace discrepancies..."

multiple documents of hr write-ups piled up across the screen; misconduct, harassment, inappropriate touching, sexual language... he scrambled up to his feet, desperately lunging forward to grab onto lolbit's shoulders in a panic.

"you- you can't! who... what the fuck are you? why are you doing this??"

the monitor flickered back to the 3D head, irritation clear as they brushed the frenzied man away as if he was little more than just a fly. lolbit swiped imaginary filth off their shoulders and adjusted the purple tie before clasping their hands behind their back, staring down at him.

"just a concerned citizen, nothing more." they replied plainly.

the vile creature even daring to touch them almost made them blow a gasket.

"think carefully before you leave, and don't forget our conditions." lolbit leaned in close, streetview of an idyllic home coming onto the screen, voice distorting with a crackle.

"i'll be watching."

without another word, they straighten up and turn on their heel, exiting the bathroom before any more words - or possible blows - could be exchanged.

barging back into the hall, a worrying rattle arose from within lolbit's torso, 'uh oh, system error!' flashing onto their face. running a quick system diagnostic showed the main cooling unit had given out, several vital components beginning to overheat, the whole ordeal having been too demanding on the new body.

shit...

a small beeping alert began to sound off, body trembling, fingers jerking and visual processor failing, unable to maintain control anymore.

a gasp could be heard off to the left.

shit, shit, shit... they couldn't move.

"lolbit! what're you doing out here?!"

thank the stars! it's you. it's just you...

"bu— -uttercu—..."

your hands were on either side of their head in a flash, turning the monitor in order to read the error details. lolbit couldn't see, but they were sure a worried frown would be pulling down your usual pretty smile.

"central unit overheating..." your voice mumbled, a hand dropping to press against their uncomfortably warm chestplate.

"not good... you should've stayed put if you had a problem instead of coming to find me."

of course that would be the most probable reasoning in your mind. the sweet lolbit would never violate protocol otherwise, right?

"i h— -had t—t— -to."

you hushed them, fishing a walkie talkie from your belt and putting in a request for a trolley to transport the unfortunate robot back to the security room, also inquiring if there were any spare cooling units brought along by any of your colleagues.

signing off after the confirmation that it might be in one of the crates, you brought your attention back to your fidgeting friend, popping open a panel on the monitor's side.

"i'm gonna reboot you into safe mode, okay? don't worry, bitty, i'll get you fixed up in no time." you assured, fiddling with the buttons within.

lolbit didn't doubt your capabilities, you were 'the best technician in the world', after all. you took care of them, and, as programmed, they took care of you. besides, at least now when that weasel would finally show his face again, you'd be waiting right outside and be the first to get your owed apology.

and safe mode or not, lolbit would very much still be watching, security camera in the corner subtly shifting for a better frame right as they clicked off to reboot...

enjoy what i write? consider helping with my transition! 💕

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fnaf sister location #fnaf x reader #fnaf x gn reader #fnaf lolbit x reader #fnaf lolbit x gn reader #lolbit x reader #lolbit x gn reader #lolbit #animatronic lolbit #tv head lolbit #x gn reader #x technician reader #romantic #possessive #stalking mentions #harassment mentions

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awetistic-things · 11 months

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hi! i'm prof dxd autism, and i know you support self dx. i have some struggles understanding it, bc i guess,,, black and white thinking and i just,,, its very hard to make that connection, bc like, i want to support it but like theres also like, bad experiences with people claiming autism to weaponise something or all the news about fakers which might not even be true but like. im at the point where this is my view:

i support self suspecting a diagnosis, but not self diagnosis bc i think there needs to be some degree of seperation. like you can research one condition but have another, so self suspecting and accommodating is a good thing, but self diagnosis isn't because you don't have like, the full picture, and you need someone else to analyze it, so self suspect, not diagnosis. (sorry if not clear im kinda out of words rn)

but i also recognise that that view isn't really correct anymore, but im having trouble changing it so i guess what im asking is do you have any account to follow/things to read to support self diagnosis so i can change my views. totally cool if you dont want to tho. anyway bye! have a nice day. sorry.

hi 👋🏼

i can't find any specific blogs, but i do have a few things to say:

getting out of the black-and-white thinking is difficult, and i appreciate that you're trying to do so

self-diagnosing in general can be life-saving (when done right, which most of the time it pretty much is, regardless of what you see online) whether it comes to autism or breast cancer. so often, people get passed up and can't get what they desperately need due to discrimination within the medical community (and every community) so they have to take matters into their own hands

a lot of the time even when people go to get evaluated for autism, the doctor is the one who says they "suspect" the patient has autism and then don't give a diagnosis at all (happened to me three times before I got officially diagnosed) there are so many autistic people who go to get evaluated and get straight-up turned down right to their face, which usually leads them to self-diagnosing because there’s nobody willing to actually ‘analyze’ them in the first place (/nm, this reads as passive aggressive i think, but that’s not my intention, i promise /gen)

even if you are officially diagnosed there’s no telling that you’ll get any ‘analysis’ information after an evaluation (most of the time it’s just a paragraph or two) which is why self-diagnosing can be so incredible, because that’s when you get to analyze your own behaviors and traits and work through your internalized ableism so that if you do end up getting a diagnosis you’re not blindsided and have (hopefully) already accepted the fact that you are autistic

essentially what i’m trying to say is that so, so, so many psychiatrists and psychologists have internalized (or fully conscious) prejudice which heavily affects their analyzations and makes self-diagnosing so often times necessary

honestly, i think self-diagnosing is the first step in acknowledging and accepting that you’re autistic

i think many autistics who were officially diagnosed and were surprised by the fact that they’re autistic should look at it from a self-diagnosed autistics point-of-view

and by that i mean actually taking the time to forget whatever your doctor said about how you operate and instead analyze your life, because it’s yours, and nobody knows it better than you (especially from a 30 minute evaluation in a converted supply closet)

sorry if any of this came off as aggressive, it’s all genuine and i do very much appreciate you asking me this question and i hope my numerous different answers helped somewhat :)

#autism #autistic #actually autistic #asd #autism spectrum disorder #on the spectrum #self diagnosed autism #self diagnosing #self diagnosed

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hammerhead-jpg · 5 months

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Talking about the balance

Spoilers under the cut!

So I was looking at old theory (?) post I made about the Balance

My prediction was that Elliott, Aaron and Smartass were in some way going to team up with Avior and Starlight to take down close-knit and that Vega and Warden were gonna have something to do with it

I mean it makes sense right? Avior and Starlight escaped the meridian around the same time that Elliott was let out of close-knit and went to Aaron for help.

They were both given the same mission about the Sovereign trying to escape and both have beef with Blake

I ended up being right about Vega and Warden having something to do with it, I mean they still haven't shown up in the story but Vega talks about going after close-knit, so it's very likely their paths were going to cross.

But after the newest Sovereign state video I'm starting to second guess myself?

After what Circinus said about the masses blaming Avior and Starlight for what happened and El'atum and Min'era (or however it's fucking spelled) potentially having sinister intentions and the fact that the news about the Sovereign still haven't broke to the public a year and a half later, to me it's clear that Avior and Starlight are in some way behind project meridian.

I mean, it makes sense right? Avior and Starlight decide not to go public and help the Meridian in the way that El'atum and Min'era wanted, instead it is kept private as a secret with the department. They try to find a way to learn about the meridian with the meridian test, but after a human gets brain fried and a demon just falls through the meridian, they descide that an android could potentially do the experiment correctly. They find a company that is creating a humanoid robot and take over it for the project.

But if they're doing that, who is gonna be helping Elliott?

I guess they can meet, but if they do then Avior could just go to the Government people they're working with just like "hey this demon hating cult kidnapped two people and a demon and have information about the sovereigns" I imagine close-knit would be level to the ground within a blink, but we know that they're still standing a year and a half later

I mean is Vega just going to show up to close-knit, take down the ward to try and break in and then thus helping Scorpius leave and take Sunshine with him? You could say that they escape shortly after the post inversion and all the other time that is left is them trying to figure out how to take down close-knit, maybe even teaming up with William, because it still was never said which demon they got the blood from.

But then the question is why wouldn't they go to the department? Elliott couldn't go to the department because they were overwhelmed with the inversion but surely after a couple of months they would be able to listen to what they have to say? I mean we know the department sucks so it wouldn't be too surprising if Elliott did tell them and they just went "well do you have any proof?" and when tell them to go to the close-knit building they go there and say "do you have people in your basement" and they go "no" and the department is like "ok" and then they go to Elliott and say "well they said they didn't do it"

It wouldn't be the first time in history something like that has happened

I know I just said a couple of paragraphs ago that if Avior told the government people about close-knit they would take care of it but I imagine that the people working with them would be a small super secret part of the department and not the whole department, potentially one that takes shit seriously unlike the peons that we usually see

But yeah I don't know, I'm just word vomiting at this point.

#redacted audio #redacted asmr #redactedverse #redacted the balance #redacted balance #redacted sovereign state #redacted carpe deus

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hobbydrawer · 2 years

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**What did the Scrapped Watchman (Carabineer) and Flame Eater (Mangiafuoco) tell Pinocchio?: The decipher**

Warning: Based on the released demo’s gameplay. Content is subjected to change by Neowiz and Round 8 studio in the final version

Special thanks: To my Twitter fellow @Feeshligulu for agreeing to jump into this rabbit hole with me 👁👁

So in the demo, we noticed that during the boss fights, the 2 bosses, Watchman (which is supposed to look like a Carabineer) and Flame Eater (obviously based on Mangiafuoco), spoke in some rune-like, ineligible language that at once couldn’t be understood by the player.

Me and my fellow Feeshli noticed that in the Director’s cut gameplay footage, Watchman’s dialogue has been turned off but Fuoco’s one wasn’t, so our senses both tingling on something.

1. On what type of encoded language it could be?

Since the game was released in English first, and by suggestion by many people on the Internet that English is the default language for Lies of P, we go ahead and guess that it could be mono-alphabetic substitution, in Latin alphabet.

(Actually we were kinda afraid that this is wrong and in fact, the dialogue was based on French or Korean 😰. Good thing that we are correct, for now.)

My friend, who is an enthusiast in encryption and decryption herself, go ahead and try to count how many times one letter/symbol appears in both the dialogue. Usually we would need like paragraphs to make sure we are onto something but luckily, both Watchman and Fuoco provided us with enough samples to analyze.

2. The method to decipher

What she did is simply counting the times letter/symbol’s appears in the dialogues, then assign them in an order from the “most appearance to least appearance” (with 1 the most amount of appearance to 26 the least amount of appearance).

Then we temporarily have 1 = A, 2 =B, 3 = C, etc. until we assign all the number with an alphabet letter. So we end up with some gibberish at first, like: DEFA OBEDM! (for e.g).

After that, we calculate the frequency of said letters, comparing with English’s alphabet’s frequency and Feeshli did her magic with some softwares specializing in mono-alphabetic substitution, did a few more proofreading and tweaking so that in the end, we have this beautiful alphabet substitution chart:

3. The results

Watchman:

“Are you a child if you are I don’t want to fight” => “Sorry for not being able to protect you”

Fuoco:

“It’s cleansing time” => “The flame embraces everyone so will you”

————————————————————

4. Conclusions and comments

This is based on the limited info we got from the demo gameplay so it maybe incorrect, and that the context of said dialogues are not fully understood and fully provided. Please take this with a grain of salt.

Now this comes some funny questions:

1. How did the Watchman and Fuoco know that P is a puppet, given the exquisitely human-like details P has?

I mean, there is that scene where you gotta lie that you are a “human” so you can gain access into Hotel Krat. The voice on the other side was fooled by Pinocchio’s answer and willingly let our marionette come in.

Then how come these two automatons (especially Fuoco) know just immediately? Does it have something to do with your Humanity points, that by the time Pinocchio got to Hotel Krat, he is ready to bypass as a human already, versus at early game when you can still tell that he is a marionette? Or is it an error within the Hotel system?

2.Pinocchio’s age

Now that Watchman’s saying raised me some concern. Why does it ask P if “are you a child”?

This then goes back to my first concern in how the puppets recognize and distinguish themselves with the human. Given P’s appearance in game, it’s almost impossible to tell that our doll is a doll, if excluded the Legion arm.

So I was wondering if the puppets might be seeing each other (or recognizing) through the Ergo’s flow in the body.

In this sense, not only they can distinguish fellow puppets vs. human, they can also tell the age of the puppets.

If we refer to the original novel, Pinocchio is only a few hours old by the time he sprints out of Geppetto’s house (after kicking the poor old man in the face, snatched his wigs and ridiculed him) and runs into a Carabineer (police). Going by this reference, it is possible that our P is a relatively “young” puppet, probably equal to an infant or a child in the puppet’s world.

TLDR: we decipher some enigmatic quotes from the boss fights, find out what fellow puppets think about P and probably the puppet’s language

#lies of p #pinocchio #theory #btw given what watchman said i was a bit worried #is he talking to himself or to P #because i was afraid he is accusing P for killing some people #and given Pinocchio’s a$$hole personality in the novel i was concerned if this is true in LoP too

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glorified-red · 6 months

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Can you give some examples of show vs tell in your own fics? And do you always have to show?

I'd love to! Writing advice is one of my favorite things to do on here

Whenever it comes to show vs tell, there's always the question of how much is too much of one category, how to balance it properly, etc. When you have an excess of showing, your writing will read like poetry. When you have an excess of telling, your writing will read like scholarship. Both are useful in their own genres but the fun part is figuring out where your style lies within the spectrum.

I find my balance depends on what I aim to do with my scene. Whenever I want to set the vibe or setting, I begin with telling so my readers instantly know what to imagine, but then I dive into the details to really sharpen the image. This is seen best with You Are Loved, Damian Wayne:

Within the first line I tell: "Gotham was particularly gloomy tonight . . . A thunderstorm was brewing in the distance."

But the next paragraph I show evidence of what I just said: "Tonight the clouds were a harsh shade of coal . . . Rain pattered against the window like tiny bullets trying to chip away at the glass."

So these lines happen within the first two paragraphs very close together. The difference lies within implication. Within the "show" category, it's very obvious theres a storm happening but it doesn't explicitly say "theres a storm" like it does within the "tell" category.

I do the opposite whenever I talk about a character's headspace. I like to show evidence of everything to get the readers to speculate or draw conclusions of whats happening to then tell them the reality when the right moment hits. I find this creates tension rather than confusion.

This is also seen within You Are Loved, Damian Wayne:

Showing: "Damian was many things, vigilant was one of them. Yet, he was still as stone, even his fingers laid without so much as a twitch on top of his lap—it was unnerving . . . His katana was missing from his side, that fact alone made your heart sink . . . You had never seen him weaponless before."

So now we know something is wrong but we can't quite figure out what. It builds tension.

Showing: "There was blood soaked into his hands . . . From so close, you could see a streak of blood on his jawline, a tiny handprint that sagged downwards in a jagged line."

It doesn't explicitly say a child died, but it's painfully obvious and now we know why Damian is upset, but again, that lies within implication.

The best advice I was ever given with telling a character's motivations, emotions, actions, etc, is that you should do this through dialogue rather than exposition. It feels more natural this way and feels less "omnipotent narrator" and more like actual storytelling.

So when I tell within this scene, it's within this line: “A child lost their life today because of my own incompetence,” Damian sighed out harshly, “my own stupid mistakes left a family broken and grieving.”

Now everything is crystal clear. We know why Damian is upset (he blames himself for a child's death) and it's done so in a way that drives the scene forward emotionally. We can now dissect his emotions and see how him and the reader interact together within this tense moment.

So how you utilize both is what will determine your tone and your style. Again, they're both useful! Especially when paired together in intentional ways. For creative writing, I usually try to reserve telling for establishing setting intially and dialogue. Most writers and movie scriptwriters will do this a lot with driving plot forward through dialogue.

Just experiment, I know I sound like a broken record, but tbh, it's all about experimentation. I didn't get good at the concept of showing until I wrote Nightmare and my entire goal was to just dive into imagery.

Best advice? Write out a scene where you can't say where you are. If your character is at the beach, don't just say that. Talk about the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, the sand in the shoes, the sun hot against the shoulders. That'll get your brain to start getting used to showing.

#red's writing advice #asks #writing advice #writing tips

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heartcravings · 2 years

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universe by exo — just a long rambling

universe is an extremely beautiful and aesthetically pleasing mv, in an all beige and brown palette, showing us the exo members both in solo shots and all together in a cafe-like room with loads of coffee!!

below i go a little in depth in my own interpretation of the mv, lyrics and supporting myself with [what a shocker!] science!! so grab your ☕️ and let's go ^^

first let's get the science part out of the way:

. colour palette: cosmic latte — cosmic latte is actually the average colour of the universe as seen from the earth through very potent telescopes [1]. it's sort of a warm beige, almost white, and this is also the colour exo chose for the exo-l fandom. it was very smart of exo, since their concept is "guardian aliens from exoplanet", to chose a colour for their fandom based on the actual scientific colour of the universe. since they are "searching the universe" in this song, they kept it all within the same colour palette. #aesthetickings

. "the universe in a cup of coffee" — several researchers have used the cup of coffee (essential in any lab, research facility, university or conference ^^) as a good example to study almost all physical phenomena as well as chemical reactions necessary to describe the universe we live in. the science is the same, wether you are talking about galaxy vortexes or a coffee-milk swirl [2]. neat isn't it? ^^ *warning* skip this paragraph if you only want to know more about exo's universe theory & not the science within a cup of coffee xD a few of the different processes we can study in a single cup of coffee include: 1) the roasting of coffee beans, which occurs through several chemical reactions, contributing with thousands of different types of molecules that give it the characteristic flavour and aroma; 2) the vapour from a hot cup of coffee, from which one can study fluid dynamics, and in particular brownian movement, which is the random movement of particles in a fluid and one of einstein's most note worthy theories. the fact that you can describe the movement of the steam with brownian movement means the steam and the air are made of tiny particles, the atoms. which as we all know are the building blocks of the universe. 3) the mixing of cold milk with hot coffee, which creates those pretty patterns of up moving milk and down moving coffee, is again a good example of fluid dynamics and convection, where the diffusion of two fluids with different temperatures and densities are mixing together. this is the same process that is responsible for the granulated patterns we see in the sun's surface for example. 4) even if the added milk and coffee were both at the same temperature, density and viscosity, the two would eventually mix into a single fluid at the same temperature, which is basically the second law of thermodynamics: the entropy (or disorder) is always increasing. the coffee and milk go from two ordered states into a more disordered/chaotic state, the latte! this is also what is occurring in our universe: after the big bang, as time went by, the universe expanded which lead to it's temperature to get lower. so what once was a very ordered state where all particles and forces were the same, as the temperature dropped it went through symmetry breaks that lead to different particles and forces. eventually that resulted in atoms and molecules and stars and galaxies and us!! *end of the science in a cup of coffee* now for the fun part — exo's universe mv theory:

. in the mv for exo's 'universe' there's a frame where there is just coffee and the tiny bubbles that form on the surface. now tell me they don't resemble the images of stars and galaxies in our night sky?

almost negative images of each other, right? i don't know for sure, of course, but to me this mv is not about coffee: coffee here is the wholeness of everything, it's the universe itself.

. when they show us the members alone they usually are associated with one of the elements necessary to make a coffee: sehun is always shown with a dark almost black background which i associate with the rich deepness of a black coffee. junmyeon is shown with a white sheet flowing around his feet, almost like he is in the milk or is the milk? then they show kyungsoo with fog around him like the steam of a hot coffee? and there's baekhyun alone in a beige floor, and later also jongin, which can be kind of a hint to the cosmic latte that will result from mixing milk and coffee, no?

. there's also images of coffee and milk being blended together, which basically will give the warm beige tone of cosmic latte.

the whole process of making a cup coffee, from the bean grounding to the mixing of milk, sugar or foam in the dark coffee is also shown with all the members involved in one step or the other.

. i think the exos are part of the universe and are apart from this "you" they are searching for in the universe. from the lyrics (the english translation i followed is [here]), i think searching for "you" can mean they are separated from each other and/or from someone else that they are searching for. (exo-ls perhaps??)

. the lyrics basically say that they are flawed individuals and that they recognise they hurt this "you" they are searching for. i think the knots, and the ropes represent that: they are tied up, mangled and can't figure out how to move, how to untie themselves from those dark parts of themselves or those mistakes they made. there's a certain chaos associated with the mangled knots, the pile of chairs, the yellow thread sehun is trying to untie, the scribbles jongdae is doing, the messy jumbled lines on the painting on the wall, the ropes holding jongin down! the exos are always shown alone in these moments, mostly tense and kind of stuck in that physical or metaphysical state.

. there's also black and white moments: an empty exo coffee cup; a pile of ropes; a closing knot on a rope; falling coffee beans; chanyeol taking his sweater off; the jongdae, baekhyun, jongin pile. these are also mostly stuck in place kind of moments, there's a tense energy to them, almost void of hope.

. from the lyrics again, they have happy memories together with this "you" they search, which they cherish and they won't let go of, and those are what they use as fuel to continue searching the whole universe for this "you".

. the mv shows us jongin running and then surrounded by coffee cups, which (besides the irony of him hating coffee xD) is almost like he is tired of searching all these different universes (aka coffees) for this "you" he can't find! at some point the exo's are shown all together but they are stressed, sad and frustrated. they try to make different coffee combinations, with and without milk, sugar, foam, etc... all these coffees/universes, and they can't find what they were searching for!

. eventually they start to recognise everything is tied together: << laughter and tears, scars and healing / questions and answers are all inside of you / you own my world, you're my small universe >>. they show this with those lovely images of them holding hands like they are tied together; baekhyun, jongin and jongdae all leaning on each other; them sharing a coffee and being happy together.

. eventually the tone of the music changes, someone mixed the right amount of milk in the coffee, found the right universe. the song finishes with << i'll search the universe / until I can find you again / i won't even let the smallest memories go / the memories engraved in the seasons / will come back at last, so I will find you / because that is love / because it's love >> which ties beautifully with exo's official slogan "we are one, exo, let's love!" this is the cosmic latte that is the answer to finding this "you" they keep searching for. they know the answer now, the ropes/threads and even the line on the art piece are untied and the exo's are shown together looking at us at last <3

youtube

before i finish this overly long post about coffee, exo and the universe, let me just point that i found it very cute that minseok is the one actually making the coffee for them with the coffee machine! ^^

#exo #universe #universe mv #chanyeol #baekhyun #junmyeon #suho #kyungsoo #d.o.#chen #jongdae #jongin #kai #minseok #xiumin #sehun #sam's exo thoughts #i'm sure there is a lot i missed in this mv but i just love all the parallels it has

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laylameower · 1 year

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My stand on the Transgender Genocide

For the last week, I've been online, and researched, and warned, and read... All about two topics:

Cat Pictures - I just can't live without them.

Genocide - and about this I should continue writing this post. No more cat pics.

What's a genocide?, you may ask. Well, it is not necessarily systematic murder in camps of specific groups. It is any kind of an attempt to remove a group from society. It can be any kind of group:

Individuals of Species, a Sub-Species, or a Race within the Species

Individuals that carry a specific look, gene, or attribute

Believers of an ideology or religion

Basically, any kind of group. And no, it is not necessarily related to genes.

What's the problem with a genocide, then? If genocide means a removal of a certain group from society, what's the problem? If one honestly asks this question, they probably have been brainwashed at least once. And that's a completely different topic. I'll assume (and believe) genocide is bad for the entirety of the post.

What's the danger for us? For us, trans people - or any person - that is a huge danger. Genocide usually continues to murder, and usually doesn't stay restrained to a single group. The Nazis started with killing trans people, too. It means loss of our rights and our ownings - and later, our lives.

I accidentally deleted this paragraph. Oops. I'll rewrite it the best I can remember. I DELETED IT AGAIN I HATE MYSELF.

That won't happen to me. That's what the Jews thought pre-WW2. People really don't like their bubble being poken - the brain tries to protect itself, by the most valid strategy at the time - complete denial. No offense intended.

But the children! There are two responses to this sentence:

Your children will feel much safer being able to express themselves without crappy ideologies restraining them from doing so.

Children growing up in a place where rights are being taken from a group, will know very well not to join nor declare themselves a part of said group. That's just human survival instinct.

I deleted another paragraph accidentally. I hate myself so much. I'll just shorten it from ten sentences to one.

I'll stay and fight! Your choice. I'm a scared piece of crap, so I won't. Heavily unrecommended.

How can I flee? Here's something I wrote about that in a Reddit comment.

The Jews thought the same thing before WW2. They didn't believe the Nazis would murder them. They didn't want to run. Six million of them were wrong.

Run for your life. Now. Take all your assets. Cash only. Take digital stuff, and papers that prove you own something - but they'll be worth something only AFTER the genocide will end, so make sure you have physical valuable stuff. But the country CAN and WILL revoke your ownings. And not in USD - take it in another currency. You don't want your money not to be accepted because of sanctions, or the value of the money to drop because of a war.

You will want to move all the ownings you weren't able to take with you to the ownership of someone you trust, or to another country's banks (recommending the swiss).

Plan ahead. There'll be lots of refugees. The genocide won't stay restricted to only trans people. You will want to have valuable stuff to pay to people for food and a place to live in the country you'll be in. Secure a place to live.

And most importantly: flee. Tell all LGBTQIA+ people. Especially trans people. And don't say "I'm stealth", the government will seize your medical history and find out. The government will track you online. Don't say "it's illegal", because genocide is illegal, and they'll take any step possible to exterminate us.

Flee from the US. It's not about keeping those who will find out they're trans, and don't know yet - they'll grow up with enough internalized transphobia not to dare to say anything to anybody. It's not about a long term plan. This is about IMMEDIATE SURVIVAL.

Take a loan, to afford the tickets and housing in Europe or Canada or whatever place you wanna go to. It'll be invalidated when the law declares us inferior and non-human, when they'll forbid us from having bank accounts.

I'm NOT crazy. I'm Jewish, and German. My great grandfather was smart enough to run away, before he was murdered. His entire family - dead. This is a reboot of my culture and family's most remembered and important event. This, my friends, will be a holocaust.

They'll systematically murder and exterminate us. No remorse. They won't even see us as human beings. Flee the country. Please. Don't let hell collect another six million people.

And no, Hitler didn't go this far. He just said we're inferior, and should be murdered so "natural" selection will do its job. *They* are trying to finish Hitler's job. The monster that systematically murdered people, Jews, people of color, trans people, gays, intersex people, autistic people, and more and more - still has a legacy. We must run, and we must defend ourselves.

Canada seems like the best option - refugee status - but we know not if a genocide will be the only thing to happen. As far as we know, the USA could start WW3. After all, transphobia and racism commonly come together. If the republicans will win the elections - those who stayed are doomed. If the democrats win - it is only a delay, not a win.

Yeah, it's a bit fanatic. But it's written that way to scare people, make them actually think about it. I'm sorry, but I can't put a "read more" bar on mobile - I'll do it when I reach my PC. Thank you for reading this whole thing - and even if you don't agree, please reply!

#trans #transgender #lgbtq #trans genocide #lgbtqplus #nonbinary

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aemiron-main · 1 year

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some important distinctions and me ranting about how people talk about show vs tell with ST but then still turn around and expect to be told everything

the day that people on this website realize that there’s a difference between something being sexual assault or not being sexual assault versus the audience being told whether something is sexual assault or not sexual assault is the day i know peace fr. the fact that something fits the definition of sexual assault does not change based on whether or not the audience is told it fits the definition of sexual assault. there are sexual assault scenes in media where a character will tell the audience “that wasn’t sexual assault,” (told through a conversation with another character, usually not staring directly at the audience and breaking the 4th wall of course), but the audience knows it’s sexual assault based on what we’ve been shown and based on it fulfilling the definitions and criteria of sexual assault. just because the audience is not told something outright does not make it not true. i am strangling “media that spoonfeeds every single detail to their audience by telling them outright like it’s a fucking 6th grader’s first powerpoint presentation and does it not as an intentional artistic choice but because it has no faith in the intelligence of its viewers and doesn’t want to risk any form of subversion or deep themes because it doesn’t want to risk money/viewer ratings” with my bare hands. so many people are used to being told things by media that it becomes the only method of communication from media that they accept- and as a result, when media shows them things instead, they don’t understand, and often, refuse to understand, because it conflicts with the method of communication that they’re used to (being told things).

subtext is a thing. it exists. it’s defined by wikipedia as “any content of a creative work which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author) but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without drawing the attention (or wrath) of censors.”

this is not the same as allegory. the audience not being told something outright is not the same as that thing not occurring. many people believe that these things are the same because like i said, they’re accustomed to media that relies very heavily on “tell,” in a way that doesn’t dare to have any faith in the intelligence of its audience.

allegory is the representation of ideas and themes by characters or figures while subtext is the implicit meaning of a text, often a literary one, or a speech or dialogue. subtext is implicit. allegory involves representation and symbolism. these are not the same.

and if we want to get really technical, allegory is the moral lesson/topic/idea in a media in and of itself, whereas symbolism is a literary device used to deliver that idea by using an item to represent something else. allegory is basically when something didn’t actually happen but we’re meant to apply what did happen to the idea of it happening. text is when you are told outright that something happened. subtext is basically when something still happened but you aren’t told outright- you’re shown.

allegory involves symbolism but it is not the same as symbolism. an allegory often involves metaphors but it is not the same as a metaphor.

a metaphor is a short phrase or paragraph that compares two seemingly unrelated things to make a point, whereas an allegory is a long narrative that uses a seemingly unrelated story to teach a lesson or prove a point. the key difference between metaphor and allegory is length. there are multiple stories within stranger things (will’s story vs henry’s story for example) and each contains metaphors within that story, and then those complete stories in and of themselves are allegories.

again, another way to think of an example of subtext is “show, don't tell,” and unreliable narration. Characters can say anything they want in a story, but the subtext, things like their underlying thoughts, and actions show their true motivations. People will sit here and talk about Will’s unreliable narration in S4 and then act like subtext doesn’t exist regarding other scenes and topics.

also, i’m working on multiple ST-silent hill parallel analyses, but right now, I want to talk briefly about the Silent Hill character Angela Orosco, and how her character is presented in the game as very very obviously having been sexually assaulted, but some fans still wouldn’t recognize this because she never outright said it verbatim (despite coming extremely close to it), to the point where people involved in the game, such as Jeremy Blaustein, had to come out and state it, and were surprised that they had to do so, because they felt that they had shown it so obviously. (source) here’s the main quote from that source regarding this topic:

“This is an easy issue to clear up. I can tell with 100% clarity on the subject that it was always the intention of the creators that Angela's background contained sexual abuse at the hands of her father. In return, she stabbed him to death. That is why she is in Silent Hill. From the very earliest conversations that I was in on (the pre-script writing meeting), the team had the intention of including incest and sexual abuse in one of the character's backgrounds. They wanted, remember, to get at the very heart (or maybe I should say edges) of psychological pain. So we all knew precisely what we wanted with Angela in terms of her dialog on paper and as performed. It is also well reflected in her appearance. We thought about it all the time, in every scene. Just watch the scenes again. She gets physically ill when she thinks about her experience. It seems clearly depicted to me if you know what you are looking for."

great. now think about this quote in the context of will and his experiences and analyzing him/his experiences. quit relying solely on what you’re told. use your brain to interpret what you’re being shown. because, like with angela, it HAS been shown. what is the point of a work of art (which is what both ST and silent hill are) if everything can only be confirmed by outright telling it to you, especially when they’re LITERALLY SHOWING IT TO YOU. it would be one thing if there was no tell AND no show, but to make up for the no tell, we get SHOWN. this isn’t me being annoyed with being disagreeing with my analysis of what’s being shown- this is me being exasperated with people who try and ignore what we’re being shown and the implications of it because they expect to be told everything.

i’m also working on a bigger, less snarky, more helpful post discussing the topic of literary analysis and st that should be up later today, but for now, here you go. if we want to argue about what the definitions of allegory vs subtext vs metaphor are, we could, but i don’t have the time and energy for that, especially not when i’ve taken the time to research my definitions and i’m confident in them.

#stranger things #byler #tagging byler bc i can and bc this is For You #st analysis #em rants #tw sa

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batrachised · 1 year

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Tell me all about your love of L.M. Montgomery!

i could MARRY you for asking me this question

it's honestly difficult to nail it down to one reason--at its heart, I simply love slice of life novels, but if I had to list things I loved about LM Montgomery, it would be (1) a remarkable sense for characterization (2) a sly sense of humor and, (3) an overarching theme of recognizing the beauty in everyday things and everyday living.

Starting with (1) [and yes, I'm blatantly using this as an excuse to write a full essay], we all know Anne and Marilla and Gilbert, but LM Montgomery's ability to create a lived in character within a few sentences is incredible to me. Within a few throwaway words, she'll establish a realistic character with motivations, values, and a back story. She often does this to add perspective to the main character--for example, when Jane from Jane of Lantern Hill travels to meet her father for the first time, her companion thinks how she had never met such a dull child. This gives us insight into Jane, but it also gives us insight into Jane's world and the people who inhabit it. A better example would be one of the statements from Mrs. Lynde or Miss Cornelia--a lot of times, a single line of theirs will sum a drama that, just like with Jane's companion, fleshes out the world that our heroines live in quite effectively. For example, my absolute favorite moment of this is the following line of Miss Cornelia's from Anne's House of Dreams:

"He was one of those wicked, fascinating men. After he got married, he left off being fascinating and just kept on being wicked. "

Within those two sentences, you learn everything you need to know about Fred Proctor and his family. You know what his wife valued, how he romanced his wife, why she married him, and how it ended up. There's also just the general paragraphs that tell anecdotes from the village life. Like in Anne of Ingleside when Anne is hosting a party at Ingleside and poor child Walter doesn't understand:

""Did you hear what happened to Big Jim MacAllister last Saturday night in Milt Cooper's store at the Harbour Head?" asked Mrs. Simon, thinking it time somebody introduced a more cheerful topic than ghosts and jiltings. "He had got into the habit of setting on the stove all summer. But Saturday night was cold and Milt had lit a fire. So when poor Big Jim sat down...well, he scorched his..."

Mrs. Simon would not say what he had scorched but she patted a portion of her anatomy silently.

"His bottom," said Walter gravely, poking his head through the creeper screen. He honestly thought that Mrs. Simon could not remember the right word.

An appalled silence descended on the quilters. Had Walter Blythe been there all the time?"

Even beyond the side characters seeming very real, the main heroines are girls/women who seem like real people to me. LM Montgomery's women are flawed. They get angry, make mistakes, can be flibbertigibbets, brood over silly things, have their head in the clouds, allow themselves to be run over instead of standing up for themselves--but also--and this is what I really love--they grow. This is best seen in Rilla (something I've talked about before), but it also applies writ large. The men are also usually likeable--I say usual because in a few of the lesser known books, they can irritate me (*cough cough teddy and emily*), but Gilbert Blythe is the ideal man, and Barney Snaith is too, and Andrew Stuart is a heartwarmingly loving father. They have flaws too--short in temper and too blunt for example--but once again, it just makes them all the more likeable. Walter Blythe is also a great example here, but that's deserving of its post because his situation is more complex (I will never forget how he wrote that he was glad he would die in WWI because he didn't want to live in the world after the horrors he'd seen).

Lastly, and very importantly--LM Montgomery's characters are different. They're distinct from each other. It's not the same generic woman copy and pasted into different books. Marilla is very different from Anne, who is very different from Jane, who is very different from Rilla. Admittedly, Emily and Anne and I'll just throw Pat in there get to be more similar, but it's not to the point where I'd fault anyone for it. Each of those woman has their own voice, which is just a treasure trove for me.

Okay, (2)-- the sense of humor. The passages I've already shared do an excellent job demonstrating this, but LM Montgomery does a fantastic job of slyly (but usually not meanly!) making fun of people and their quirks. See Jane as she leads the escaped lion through the neighborhood--each of the reactions are hilarious, and also a callback to the earlier point of a well fleshed out character in just a few words. Beyond the amused commentary on human nature, she also just has really funny situations. My favorite short story of hers is where a spinster woman who notoriously hates men and dogs but loves cats, and a man who notoriously hates women and cats but loves dogs have to quarantine together and end up falling in love. It's ridiculous (and to be blunt, definitely sexist in some ways) but hilarious, and it also gave us this amazing quote: "The more I saw of men, the more I liked cats." Back to point 1, I also love how the spinster woman, while extremely practical and sufficient, is terrified of teaching a child Anne Shirley in Sunday School because the questions that child asks! An interesting wrinkle to have a character we're supposed to root for be intimidated by a character we also love.

LM Montgomery poking fun at humans leads me to the last point, (3)--she's not afraid to celebrate the little joys of life. The best example of this is Anne's famous quote about being so happy to live in a world with Octobers in it. It makes her writing warm, and cozy, and more than that--hopeful, even when she deals with darker storylines like WWI. I know LM Montgomery gets accused of being saccharine, and it's fair--she does have long passages describing the glories of sunshine haha--but she doesn't shy away from the darker elements of life. It's only implied in Anne, with her orphan backstory, but it's more explicitly stated in her later books, probably best in Rilla and The Blue Castle. There are characters who were neglected and abused; characters who have sex outside marriage in scandals; characters who are deeply depressed; characters who miss out on their happy ending; characters who are just plain narcissists (looking at you, Jane's Grandmother); characters who have miscarriages; characters who are literally groomed (see Emily and Dean, although LM Montgomery doesn't critically examine it). I don't really give much credence to the claims of being saccharine beyond a few books, because the grittiness is there if you look for it, and often times it's in a form that's all too real to life. Sure, everything gets wrapped up a happily ever after bow at the end the vast majority of the time, but that's just the genre haha. LM Montgomery tells the stories of characters who experience things most of us do in our everyday life, both the joys and sorrows, and it's enough. It doesn't need to be anything more. It recognizes the quiet dignity and joy in everyday living, and I love, love, love when stories do that. It's a refreshing response in a world in which a lot media that can either be boomingly fast paced or boringly cynical.

anyway, thanks again for your question and letting me ramble to my heart's content (you're talking to someone who just wrote a nearly 30k word fanfic based on Jane of Lantern hill), i could literally write a thesis on my love for LM mongtomery lmao

#i need to reread magic for marigold too #also a tangled web #there are so many books lol #lm montgomery #anne of green gables #anne shirley #the blue castle #rilla of ingleside

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hephaestiions · 1 month

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Hello! 18, 24 & 29 :)

thank you for the ask, anon, these were fun!!

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic.

from Every Breath You Take, an earlier cut, when the relationship between harry and draco, in the aftermath of an already failed marriage wasn't total silence, but relentless arguments about nothing. i scrapped it (and then changed the dynamic in general) because the dialogue felt both clunky and chunky, neither of which i try to go for when writing people speak:

“Do you find joy in being this hateful? Did this stupid fucking hold-up— I have a job, Draco, Merlin, what was the goddamn point— at least tell me it made you happy. That all this rotten rubbish I put up with every day is worth something in that twisted little head of yours, that you smile for a second thinking, yeah, I ruined Harry's breakfast, pat on my fucking back." “Fuck you! Happy? Happy, really, Harry? I haven't been happy in years! Not in years! Is that— is that good enough for you? To know I am just as miserable here as you, I get nothing out of any of this—" "Why do it at all, then?" Harry asks, throwing his hands up and spinning on his heel. He goes and rests his head against a pillar in the living room. If he weren't furious, he'd appreciate how ridiculous he looks right now. Muffled into the wall, he says, "If you're so fucking miserable—" "There's one thing," Draco says with a watery laugh that doesn't carry much humour at all. He stalks over to where Harry's standing and tugs on his robes until he's facing Draco and his endless, endless rage, always his rage, never— Jesus. Draco leans in and jabs his pointer finger into Harry's chest. "There's one thing I've been good at all my life, and it's riling you up. You think— what? A marriage fails, and I just— what? Let the opportunity go?"

24. how do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

the short, unhelpful answer is i try to go out and live my life. the slightly longer, still probably unhelpful, but wordier answer is: i go out on the lawns and spend the late afternoon fading into dusk reading books on the grass, i go to town with my friends and enjoy how the world looks when we're all giggling and tipsy, i focus on finishing things i've been procrastinating on, i clean my room and my desk and my wardrobe and i throw out half my things to make space for new ideas, i pick up new hobbies and i hyperfixate on some new fascination and find out everything i can about it, i sit in cafes and public transport and art galleries and take little notes on what people are doing and what they're saying and how they're living their lives, i write bad poetry and laugh about it, i sing terrible songs and laugh about it, i start some embroidery wips and look at them with great affection knowing i'll never finish them. and after months, or maybe even years of not sitting at the keyboard or picking up a pen to do more than write two lines of floating ideas, i think to myself— imagine if that thing was to happen. and imagine if that other thing was to happen right after. imagine, imagine, imagine, and suddenly the imagination can't be contained anymore, spilling out all over my hands.

29. how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

quite difficult if i'm trying to find a title from within the fic— i'm awful with wordplay of the smart & referential kind that makes for good titles. but usually, i have some song on repeat while writing a fic or a poem that comes to me in fragments, and i pick a lyric/line from there and it's the easiest part of the process.

send me some more fic writer asks while i procrastinate on my assignments!

#thoughts on these ones are that to write is to live #and sometimes when you're stuck with writing you have to remind yourself to live #thank you for the ask!#ask games #geets.txt #lovely anon

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