#this is explicitly not the same as D&D settings with this similar vibe

[eighthdoctor]

So, as a fan of Forsaken Sylvanas I've always wondered how you view her more immoral or hypocritical actions. I don't mean the later stuff from when she was Warchief or even necessarily Vanilla WOW.

For me, I always struggled to like Frozen Throne Sylvanas compared to her Reign of Chaos incarnation because Forsaken Sylvanas employed mind control, IE the same slavery forced on her, onto others.

Specifically she had a bunch of different people possessed and used as kamikaze soldiers on Varimathras and then kept the survivors to be used later, IE Mug'thol the Ogre who only broke free thanks to the Crown of Wills which he was later assassinated for.

The act itself just always struck me as incredibly hypocritical given everything. It wasn't killing and then being magically enslaved but it wasn't much better and sort of set the tone for me not being surprised by Sylvanas and the Forsaken being kind of bastards.

That isn't to say I necessarily thought it was a good decision.

Nor is it to say that it couldn't be made into something thematically resonant. The victim perpetuates a similar crime done unto them if perhaps less extreme out of desperate survivalism but has complicated feelings about it, or the like.

But given that didn't happen, well its a lot like how I don't take Bartman's "no guns" stance seriously when his best friend is a cop. The narrative and thematic dysfunction breaks my vibe. But I am curious about your take on all this.

SORRY FOR THE MULTIPLE WEEK DELAY ON THIS I HAD LIFE HAPPEN REPEATEDLY and also wanted to put some thought into this

okay so required reading which will underpin a lot of this:

what is a war crimes on azeroth

how does Sylvanas see her job as the Banshee Queen

what's up with the Maw [ETA: I don't remember why I put this one in...presumably past!me had a reason?]

as per the war crimes post, I am not using any real world examples for my own sanity, and trying to draw real world parallels will get you blocked, because I'm not interested in getting into that cesspit.

anyway so! the question!

context for everyone else: the events in question happened very shortly (months to a year or so, the timeline is SUPER fake) after Sylvanas fought free of Arthas's control, with.......some number of supporters.

the number of Forsaken/free undead here is important. if Sylvanas is commanding a significant army, then she has many viable routes toward keeping her people safe. if she's commanding fifteen soldiers and an undead goat, then almost any action becomes justifiable.

an unexplored angle in the war crimes post because god knows it was long enough already: the goal being fought over.

we find war crimes/atrocities more palatable when they are being used in defense against invasion than when they are used in perpetuation of it. we find them more acceptable if done by the smaller, weaker force fighting for survival.

this isn't a "get out of jail free" card to do whatever the fuck you want. but if there's a limitless army of demons invading my city, a few atrocities to keep them from ending life on the planet sounds like a fair trade.

and then, of course, a huge POINT in the war crimes post is "we don't do these things because we get really upset when they happen to US", so the moment the OTHER side does a war crime it's now fair game for everyone.

which is to say: as of frozen throne, Sylvanas is fighting entirely for survival. there is not an organized force on Azeroth (or even most of the unorganized ones) who wants her & the Forsaken 'alive'. they are everyone's favorite punching bag. everything she does is for sheer survival.

so how many Forsaken are there? good question.

when poking around the wiki it looks like there are two different ways to estimate the size of the Forsaken at this point in time:

from WC3 gameplay

from WoW gameplay & lore (ex, the History of Warcraft fragment Civil War in the Plaguelands)

unfortunately these uh. contradict. the fragment explicitly says she got half the Scourge (well done Sylvanas holy shit), and god knows there's enough Forsaken PCs running around to validate this.

but WC3 gameplay leans very much toward "scrappy band of rebels" imho. the wiki has "With only a handful of ghouls and a few banshee sisters" (here) which is hardly half the Scourge. it looks much more like it's her, the Dark Rangers, a smattering of weirdass things she took with her in the divorce liberated in her escape and...Varimathras. everyone's fave.

let's put those two together.

let's say that Sylvanas did liberate half the Scourge. in particular, given various propensities among Forsaken PCs, she got a disproportionate amount of the recently dead and relatively few of the older abominations.

and when her tens-or-hundreds-of-thousands of undead came to awareness again, realizing who they were, what they had been made to do, the world they were now resident in--

they collapsed.

what if in frozen throne Sylvanas has a city's worth of undead who are collectively unable to defend themselves, unable to do anything, and she's got maybe a thousand who are actually viable fighters, and everyone wants them wiped out.

(the single arguable exception to this, the quel'dorei, are in the middle of whatever the FUCK kael'thas is up to. idk. i've read the relevant pages 10 times and it still makes no sense. he got afflicted with Gotta Carry The Plot disease and everything went to shit from there. point is, they're busy.)

so with that context.

it is, of course, horrible to possess people and use them as sacrificial soldiers. this is a Bad Thing to do etc.

it's also very strategically sound. it allows Sylvanas to hurt the enemy without risking anything. there's no possible drawback here except some squishy ethics, and "doing horrible things in defense of civilians" is, at least, a huge step up from what Arthas made her do.

if Sylvanas had had other options, if there were more functional Forsaken at that point in time, then different story, but WC3 gameplay strongly strongly suggests that no, a very small percentage of those who were going to make classic era Forsaken were actually fighting in frozen throne. how else was she going to protect her people?

but in general, much, much more sympathetic to people doing war crimes if they are horrifically outnumbered and otherwise going to be wiped out. that tends to provoke anyone into atrocities.

I've talked before--I actually talk in the latest chapter--about how Sylvanas is always defending Silvermoon. this is another iteration of that.

it's also VERY early in her....'character arc' might be a bit strong. trajectory. Sylvanas-on-Gor can set the moral limit of "no rape no slavery", because nothing that happens on Gor is going to change the fates of the Forsaken (well...it is, but indirectly). even Sylvanas-as-Warchief can draw that line, because she is Warchief and the Forsaken are considered part of the Horde, not the Horde's cannon fodder.

but the actions in question were done when Sylvanas wasn't in the Horde. before she'd even named the Forsaken.

to sum up:

I don't think it's hugely hypocritical, or rather, it kind of is, but desperate times etc, she was pushed into a corner and tore her way back out again.

Blizzard's failure to follow up on their own themes remains, as always, a problem. but it's not my problem and I'm perfectly happy to grab some themes and run.

I do think torturing/mind controlling Derek was hypocritical, which is why I completely wrote that part out of the fic. boring, Blizzard. and what was the point? far more effective to leave him just as he is and watch Jaina try to find the trap.

#asks for ts #tumblingxelian #the power to manipulate belief #long post for ts #blorbos from my games

[perexcri]

That fic was !!! Wordsmith Perexcri strikes again because you always seem to know how to weave them!!!

(This is Fannon btw)

The imagery of Never Have I Ever on the eve of the Apocalypse—it’s like. I can’t even explain why I think it’s so cool—it’s sort of like almost an anachronism? but instead of something modern in a historical setting, it’s something so so normal when nothing in the world is normal. Idk I just woke up and I have a cold so idk if that made any sense, just know that I enjoy it.

Also, ‘All he knows is, each night, when Will rolls over to the edge of the bed they share and Mike’s eyes bore in to his bedroom wall, they always snag against a bloody, crimson heart on a shield, and he thinks he’d been stupid to ever believe anybody else could know him like Will does.’ BEAUTIFUL SO SO MUCH I am going to have this tattooed on the inside of my eyelids so I can look at it forever.

I hope you are doing very well!

(,,,I told my friends I would try to do this off anon for Once, bc I want to be your friend but,,,,I’m a coward☺️)

Thank you for being such a lovely writer!

!! hello fannon!! i hope you recover from your cold soon!! i am sending you a cup of warm soup to ward the illness away~

(this one got long so i'm gonna put the rest under the cut!!)

i'm so glad you liked it!! honestly i think this fic has become my fav i've written this year, so it brings me joy to see others liking it as well :D

what you're saying makes total sense!! i love when the mundane is contrasted with the horrific, like two teenagers playing never have i ever when they both think they're gonna die the next day. i always find little human moments like that impact me more than, like, an extended action sequence

i didn't explicitly use it as inspiration for this fic, but i do think i drew a little from buffy the vampire slayer (like with most apocalypse byler stuff i've written lol) for that contrast!! that show does such a good job of contrasting the mundane and quiet with the loud and horrific. i did think a little about the very last episode of buffy on the night before the big final battle, and there's this very quiet shot of buffy and spike sharing a bed in her basement,,,that's kinda the vibe i was going for, and i felt happy with how it came out in the actual story :D

AHHHH i love when people point out lines they like!! that's one of my favorites from this one - i remember writing it last night and kinda staring at my screen for a second like "oh. okay. don't know where that came from but i guess we'll roll with it" lol

FANNONNNNNN please please please don't feel like you have to keep using anon!! i would love to be your friend!! honestly a big reason why i post fics or do stuff on tumblr is because i want to talk with other people who are suffering from the same brainrot as me!! i've literally had full-blown conversations in the comments on some of my fics because i've really enjoyed getting to talk to other people (even though my social anxiety makes it very hard sometimes to talk but i'm being so brave about it). and honestly, i think fandom stuff is supposed to feel more like a communal thing?? idk i love responding to comments or getting asks or getting your messages anytime i post something because it makes it feel like i'm interacting with other people who like similar things as me, rather than me just like,,,mindlessly pushing stuff out into the void and never hearing anything back, or something like that. idk if that makes sense, but tl;dr: i would love to be your friend!! (but if you are too anxious about it i totally understand because, again, re: social anxiety)

thank you once again for stopping by fannon!! your words always mean a lot to me, and i hope you get to feeling better soon!! :] 💜💜💜

#ask #fannon

[lepertamar]

i have a question i hope isn’t too prying or weird/ignorant: can you discuss why/what kinds of textual details cause you to interpret holies as jews? obviously i support ‘there’s just a vibe’ as reason enough but i was wondering if there was more you could compile?

i’d loove to~~…….sorry it took me a lot time to get around to this it's just i didn’t know how much background jew stuff i should explain! first I don't think holies are like…..a 1:1 analogy with jews, they don’t work as a like ‘stand-in’, and I don’t think they were intended as such. (most obviously they don’t pass down generationally. they all have a convert-like status!) what I would say is an insane amount of stuff about jews and judaism ime like….applies to or parallels holies/holy-ness as a fictional concept? where relating the two like deepens parts of each other in a sff way.

-so the most distinct(?) thing is how every holy has a manifestation of the same exact soul—G-d’s soul—burned into them (fierce as death, jealous as sheol), and they agree that it's G-d's soul, but the strange way G-d communicates, and everyone's different prices and different ideas and povs as different people inevitably must lead them to disagree on a lot else (insert 4 diff jew jokes here). So, while again not an allegory, so much about judaism applies to prices. A significant part of being a holy seems to be sort of an attention to the patterns that ripple in G-d’s soul — Tamar looking at Safirah’s arm when she first starts studying the holy starts to feel the patterns are telling her something, and when her eyes are burnt out, she sees the patterns in such a way that she starts being able to understand them, while simultaneously they are infinite: there’s the implication that it's a lifelong choice to bind herself to studying these infinite mysteries and layers in her eyes, due to being a member of the People who do this.

this is a strong parallel to how jews relate to torah! (to the centuries of commentary from the talmud and more, to ritual, to ideas about G-d, to being a jew as something very precious but also a harsh steep contract, to their relations to each other through this mycelium network made out of G'dsoul) -- an intense continuous pondering and puzzling and debating with others of our People and wrestling and thereby contributing our particularly jewish thoughts and acts to the world in a way that is contributing our arguments to G-d, as a part of everything we do while living. it parallels holies as a specific subset of the (also very jewish) worldwide covenant of You Lives Will Argue For You. because....judaism, like holies, is kind of a bdsm contract. uh ok i'll put the rest of this under the cut:

-judaism is. so I say this with absolute reverence and seriousness but. judaism is a bdsm-ish private contract/covenant between a people and G-d: if you will be My people, I will be your god. explicitly a self-maintained outgroup and subgroup that has negative interest in the rest of humanity joining it or doing as it does, a collective People with a specific role with regards to G-d. As in: ‘we who wrestle with G-d’. irl, a lot of goyim don’t understand why jews choose to follow a set of rules and take it so seriously if jews don’t think everyone should do it/would be better off doing it. jews say ‘goyim who don’t follow this aren’t doing wrong by not doing it’ and mean this, and it's not cuz goyim aren't capable of morality, it's cuz it’d be like saying another, unbound person should follow the bdsm contract we have with our top — it's about the particularized contract. and in that contract, engaging and wrestling with our private commandedness from G-d and taking it seriously in a way others don't need to is the whole point. 

so—while expressed very differently cuz sehhinah is a magic fantasy, there’s imo a strikingly similar construction for holies — they have made a specific type of contract with G-d, it's a strange minority thing that has no universal applicability, and is morally neutral as a status. there’s a strikingly similar misunderstanding of why holies would burn their eyes out and be stuck with a price set like a fiery seal in their body, when they could just wait to die and go to heaven, not understanding that wrestling with that grip is the whole point. 

The misunderstanding is expressed way less destructively than irl because this is a utopia, but Eliya describes it in a way so utterly divorced from Tamar’s experience that it’s grotesque, Havilah simpers about it in a nonsensical way, Yairen projects a wish of rebirth and salvation on it that is harshly rejected, Tamar herself in the prequel short story is so floored and obsessed when she actually sees one that it overhauls her entire worldview, which hints at how poorly she understood them before. She ponders what kind of a people would burn their tongues out, and why — a familiar refrain for anyone who’s heard jewish converts’ stories. 

and! in a major contrast that actually isolates and elucidates this comparison better, a big difference between the 'contract' with holies and the irl contract with jews is that for holies, there is only one explicit private mitzvah (beyond the global mitzvah of Your Lives Will Argue For You....which is also jewish feeling as fuck lol) that is Commanded to the holies specifically, as an older, private covenant, and unlike the irl jewish mitzvot that enumerate many many good works and virtuous actions, in-universe this holies' mitzvah is almost 100% amoral: you cannot see that which burns the one that sees it, without being burned by seeing it, you must live with this. 

but I like to think the expansion of implications from that may well parallel the expansion of implications that makes up all jewish thought in the real world, because it would make sense for it to! What does holies burning their eyes out to see G-d and all that comes of it Mean as a person or a collective people? what does jews binding themselves to a set of laws and the name We Who Wrestle With G-d and all that comes of it Mean as a person or a collective people? That resonates in parallel. holies can be many things in addition to being holies, much as jews are many things in addition to jews, they can do theurgy just like anyone else can, they can have whatever profession (if the passive prejudice — mostly ableism — of the fictional society allows it) or social role they want. etc. etc. but they are still A People Apart because of this relation with G-d, and they cannot be one of that People without doing the thing that makes them part of that People. Both before and after Tamar sees G-d and blinds herself, she thinks in those terms: ‘to become one of the Holy—‘ and ‘she is one of the Holy now—’ A member of this People.

-also, like irl, this is not the only way to relate to G-d. other humans can pray to and talk to G-d whenever they like and communicate/get information and visions from Them, without actually touching Their soul (so actively wrestling with G-d and being physically injured by it as proof they did so, like Jacob did -- it is not in heaven, it is here inscribed upon me as a jew) and being burnt. I think this is important!!! becuz when I stress jews as a unique type of relation with G-d rather than an exclusive one, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit a lot of jews…don’t do this in an honest way lol. like. i have always believed it IS cognitive dissonance (and against halakha) to say ‘only jews may know G-d (who is the creator and ruler of the universe and the only god)—what? of course there’s nothing special about it.’ (and people do say this.) it’s not having a relation to G-d that makes jews a people apart, it’s the type of relation. it’s very truthful to say jews have a specifically delineated type of relation to and covenant with G-d as a People: described in our Tanakh our thought and history and theology and philosophy, and the shape of the relation, the role the relation plays in their life, is imo more significant than the contents when it comes to fictional parallels (see eg the rabbits of watership down, or vulcans from star trek). It’s like a function in math.

I like this parallel: the point of becoming a holy is more that it is an irrevocable choice you made about who you are and what your people is, specifically in the dimension of yourself-in-relation-to-G-d—where G-d will take on a particular role and enforce certain brutal, merciless conditions on you They don’t take on for others or enforce on others. And your like…responsibility for your choices, they parallel each other in their cores and ends i think.

-the word holy in judaism: the hebrew word for holy doesn’t have quite the same connotations the English does. It comes from the root k-d-sh, which means ‘set apart.’ This is how G-d says it in the Torah, ‘I have set you apart to be Mine....I have sanctified (....holified) you among the nations/set you aside from the nations to be Holy, as I am Holy.’ The sanctum where the ark of the covenant rested where G-d’s fiery presence appears is the Holy of Holies, etc.

-speaking of, the use of fire in judaism as being connected to G-d: G-d appears as fire. G-d comes forth from the ark of the covenant as fire, G-d leads the israelites to Sinai as a pillar of fire, G-d pours down as fire for Elijah. And fire is how sacrifices were made: offerings of animals to G-d were wholly or partially burned away by fire. after Moses begged to see G-d his face blazed forever afterwards and frightened the other people. etc.

-judaism involves legal change and ritual presence and memory, embodying of memory (...‘she did something sacred, and she’s still burning?’) of bodies objects times and acts: commanded for upholding our end of being a jew, in the world, through material reality. in the mythical times of the Tanakh the legal and material law connect often, the distinction between the law of G-d and the nature of G-d can be ambiguous — see perez-Uzzah. in modern times, it is carried out by our law alone. irl the presence of G-d is shown through the ways we the jews acknowledge G-d: the things we wear, the things we eat and don't eat, the ways torah scrolls and other scripture is treated, etc, and the inhabiting and performance of jewishness by a person is ritually animated as part of our being and life on earth, including ‘living while being a jew.’ this is the way we glorify an immaterial G-d in an embodied way in our every movement and act -- in effect, replicating a mundane, immaterial version of the experience of having a price!! in-universe, holies’ every act is done while aware of their active price that obliges them to contend with and argue before G-d, to reach similar constructions of roles/effects. there’s a million of these in irl judaism lol, this is what halakha is, but couple more blatant examples:

-example 1: circumcision as ritual bodily change, with a very old history of insistence upon it, sometimes thought of as barbaric mutilation and the resulting permanent exposure of the glans as lustful and offensive, and in some periods/places practiced only by jews, and leaned into: eg: “During this period in history Jewish circumcision called for the removal of only a part of the prepuce, and some Hellenized Jews attempted to look uncircumcised by stretching the extant parts of their foreskins. This was considered by the Jewish leaders to be a serious problem, and during the second century CE they changed the requirements of Jewish circumcision to call for the complete removal of the foreskin, emphasizing the Jewish view of circumcision as intended to be not just the fulfillment of a Biblical commandment but also an essential and permanent mark of membership in a people.

-example 2: the original way of praying with tefillin is to wear them all day, not just for morning prayer, and are intended to fulfill the Torah’s instructions to maintain a continuous "sign" and "remembrance" (of the Exodus in this case). The effect of both wearing tefillin all day but also taking them off and on makes it a constant reminder (to yourself) and signifier (to others) of your jewishness—the action of remembering to do it and not letting it fade into the background like a circumcised penis can—making it stay active, the way a price would feel. 

-and! by definition tefillin contain torah verses, and there are parallels between torah and prices too—because the torah is the closest thing irl to a manifestation of G-d’s soul. like that’s a very interpretation, but—the ways torah is treated and analogized in judaism (see the way the ark of the covenant is echoed by torah arks in synagogues, talmudic interpretation of the israelites being married to torah at sinai, the reverent treatment of torah scrolls and written names of G-d, mystical ideas of the torah being filled with decipherable secrets), they can work that way. (one of my fave recent descriptions of torah is it ‘shapes supports constrains and eroticizes, like a corset’ :3 as a price does!) the magical insistence on being known truthfully (theurgy, the whole point of the series) makes a big difference from the irl passivity of words on paper that are animated into active demand only by jews’s insistence on it through our culture, but it leads to paralleling roles, but with a ton of like....genuinely speculative ‘what if?’ fantasy stuff. (but! I can also imagine another similarity-opposite loop: elaborate rituals to manage the relentless constant presence of G-d, to enduring it or leaning into it through times where it’s exhausting and overstimulating—but of course this is headcanon!)

-There is no Book in sehhinah: G-d’s commandments and declarations of truths are mostly implicit, and anyone can communicate with G-d — but also holies all have G-d burned into them, as i said up at the top: holies must argue it directly, and, in part, argue this way, whereas other people can sort of be indifferent to it if they so choose. even if they know G-d is studying and learning from them anyway, it’s not a contract for them.

-after all that: both in terms of ‘general cultural vibes and sentiments’ AND ‘general theological concepts’, this: 

Tamar’s smile glows in the light of God’s fire. “Yeah. I saw Them, Elīya. That was me. I saw Them. And I might not know everything about myself—and I know what that knowing looks like, I’ve seen God—but that I’m someone who’s done that? That that’s part of me? Yeah, I’m pretty solid on that part.”

....is one of the most jewish lines i’ve ever read anywhere lol

-speaking of Incredibly jewish lines, from Safirah:

Heaven would not provide enough variety for me. God is a friend and a companion, and I would prefer They stay with me, in my arm, on many travels, to all options I can find after the Resurrection…

(this also implies that 'staying with safirah, in their arm' (like They are now in this life) means that like......it's soul-deep, the reconstitution and reawakening of a holy would retain their price as a part of their soul....)

-more bits: Safira canonically complains that there’s very little understanding of holies among the general population because most holy thought and writings lack basic intros and that this leads to extreme shock and ogling whenever someone encounters one and are smitten crazy in a way they didn’t expect (i.e. Tamar lmao), and is writing a book trying to explain it and dispel some misunderstandings, which is ON THE NOSE Jewish IssuesTM wwwwwfjkhgfedf

-depictions of persecution of holies have (milder) antisemitism parallels: in the past, accusations of vampire-like contamination, degeneracy, being subjected to repression/concealment and/or forced assimilation. In the current time period there’s typical contradictory stereotypes: of being venerated when no one does venerate them, of being powerful when most of them are not powerful. the way being a holy goes hand in hand with general disability (and very specifically, disability is NOT accommodated or normalized in-universe), that, like jews living in cities and societies dominated by non-jews in historical and current times, and like all real disabled people too, hampers their ability to function in society (eg, Tamar has to navigate unmarked buttons and beg for someone abled to offer her a motorcycle ride to Ennuh, there is no braille or transportation for the blind) albeit through a more circuitous route than irl antisemitism.

-unsure how deliberate this is, but tamar in sehhinah has a great deal of parallels with tamar of genesis, the daughter-in-law of judah who disguised herself as a prostitute to trick him into impregnating her, and who exposes his hypocrisies and inadequacies by turning his actions back on him. she also has a good deal of overlap with jacob, the source of the name israel, who flees his brother and homeland with a blessing obtained by trickery, and eventually returns having made a life for himself and after prevailing against the tests of g-d and man, to face his brother's demands.

-and finally well some of it IS in fact just vibes lol. Stuff that’s hard for me to describe why it feels so jewish to me. little things: vague Ruth/Naomi echoes in Tamar/Safirah, the way Tamar’s ‘eh’’s (note: placed at the beginning of her lines, not the end, important distinction!) and shrugs are a (often thought aggravating) jew-y way of speaking. and the way Eliya is surprised that ‘this is the most genuine she’s heard Tamar be’ after the above ‘know what that knowing looks like’ line, when Tamar HAS been utterly genuine the entire time! — just in a brusque, rude, answering questions with questions or ambiguities sort of way, which is also a typically jew thing too, and the way jews get interpreted a lot. Some of it is not even about holies — “your lives will argue for you.” But scenes surrounding holy-stuff are especially like that. the very first scene of Stars That Rise At Dawn, with Tamar motorbiking to the top of a holy mountain in a ritualized way with the desert and the desert city and river below her, and speaking to G-d……it all just feels so SO jewish in a casually unexotic way I’m not sure any other goyische author has hit upon.

--

EDIT even more shit i thought of later, this is already sooooo fucking long but tangentially:

-my previous favorite type of space jew before this series was vulcans from star trek (another example of a construction that is very jewish, but is not a ‘stand-in’, has very different inputs and outputs of content in a sincerely open, speculative fiction way; but the apparatus and shape of the mechanism of doing so is deeply jewish ('how to behave in a logical and informed manner' against the backdrop of 'feverishly instinctive telepathic society'; compare to 'how to acknowledge and understand the implications and entirety of a soul, eg to experience brightness and intensity is to be burned' against the backdrop of 'this world is made from the aggregate accumulation and reactions of souls, though few people understand this on a deep instead of taken for granted level')

-Shir haShirim parallels in tamar’s pov sections and in epigraphs from the pov of other historical holies, even beyond the obvious verse (8:6) i quoted above the cut. also notable because the shir hashirim is strongly convert-coded imo

-Sa-shira's epigraph paralleling (but not quite quoting!) both kaballistic discussions of the nature of G-d, and the traditional bracha format ("Blessed are You the Lord our God, ruler of the universe"/"Greetings to You, beloved of all Holy, emanator and emanation, center and edge of fractaling flame...")

-an interpretation of perfecting-creation (part of tikkun olam) that suits the utopian setting: for the rest of the world there is already the (already very jewish!) construction where anyone can do theurgy that is indelible and unique to them, adding to the world. a more particularized step from that is the holies pulling G-d into active entanglement with this-world people’s this-world lives

-along with the ritualized nature of tamar’s holy-ing in the prologue that i already noted down, she specifically decides to do it now becuz she just turned 17 (age of adulthood in-universe), paralleling bar and bat mitzvahs at 13 as the ritual by which a kid becomes religiously an adult jew, subject to halakha and responsible for their actions and choices....

-i FORGOT about this because even though it’s an extremely close reference, i find it boring LMAO, but Hannuša’s decision to become a holy in order to use G-d’s manifestation to heal sickness is a replication of the Ba’alei Shem (literally “masters of the Name (of G-d)”) from the Pale who practiced shamanism. (This would hit better if this wasn’t an early-20th-century solarpunk society lol)

-stuff about……the Jewish Soul. in dynamic trialogue with the quote i identified as the most jewish thing i’ve ever read, and with the way souls are (ad hoc) defined in sehhinah as (“that which makes you identifiable to yourself”) is this rash of quotes i reblogged in a hyperfixation during the high holidays with family, which is when the moral-neutrality of being a person-who-is-a-jew and my vague chicken-and-egg jealousy of converts both feel most acute LOL!

#sehhinah #girl with burned out and still burning eyes #j #the stars that rise at dawn #prices #long post #going thru those tags on my blog will give you a hundred other posts of me being deranged about this constellation of topics #possibly i should make a post specifically about this overlap though. a dumb tag like ‘jolies’ mayb #remind me to come back to this for a connected but tangential spiel tho #coal sings

[paragonrobits]

gothic fantasy setting with two particular details: firstly, monstrous humanoids (goblins, orcs and more unusual variations, from ogres and giants to sapient undead or constructs) are the default ‘character races’; humans and the other default character types (dwarves, elves, ect.) are distinct minorities that lack much political power, and mostly live as small communities or are otherwise integrated into the broader society

this is not ‘the evil species are in charge’; the above monstrous societies are probably Neutral Good in general, and certainly on a societal level. they are exactly the same as any society where humans are in charge, they just happen to be monstrous or conventionally spooky creatures

the setting has backstory elements that make it so that unusual creatures being treated as people is the default, not an exception. for example, extremely blatant expies of Frankenstein’s Monster and his collective family are an important family in a mountainous city-state. The Monster (or his in-universe analogue) was created as a failed experiment, but instead of becoming consumed with revenge and becoming crueller than their maker, instead took their creator to court on grounds of abandoning a creation, which is a legitimate legal matter here.

the courts ruled that the creature was a legitimate heir, and so the Monster is still a member of the family, and now in good standing, having benefitted from this settings lack of immediate rejection towards blatantly inhuman creatures, since most people are inhuman enough that the Monster does not really stand out. they are now something of an unofficial leader of the family everyone looks up to, even if they’re a bit stand-offish and mostly do their own thing. a bit like Scrooge McDuck but with more body horror. (and slightly less magical vendettas. SLIGHTLY less. this is still a gothic horror scenario.)

#this is explicitly not the same as D&D settings with this similar vibe #this isnt like that one setting with thinly veiled classic movie monsters as rulers #the monsters are indeed the main protagonists and rulers #but they are also fundamentally decent and ordinary people #frankenstein's monster took their creator to court and was deemed correct #so that's the sort of tone you can expect there #the monster is also referred to with neutral pronouns to indicate in story variance #i actually thought of this version of the Creature as being she/her but if you want to do something different #that is fine! #concepts #ideas #queued

[its-me-im-coraline]

NSFW Alphabet // Ethan Torchio

words // 2383

warnings // smut, clearly its nsfw headcannons

pairing // Ethan Torchio x GN!Reader (might be mentions that seem like they are for f reamer but comeon theres lingerie for every body 👁️👄👁️)

author's note // if you want to be on the tag list let me know. an apology to the people on my tag list i think i accidentally have not been tagging you this whole time i am so so so sorry omg

request // yes, it was a reblog i cant find it right now

summary // self explanatory

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Regarding you, Ethan is the king of after care. As rough as he can be in bed, that’s just how sweet he can be once you're done with it. Goes full on dad mode (don’t know how else to explain this). He will have water, painkillers if you’re now in pain, a washcloth to clean you up, new clothes, and of course the cuddles.

“I’m alright, Ethan. I can do it on my own,” you say as Ethan walks to you with the wet cloth ready to clean the mess he made on your body.

“I know you can, amore. I just want to take care of you,” he says as he leaves a kiss on your lips.

I can also see him being the one to make a big fat breakfast the morning after, or at least get up early to pick something up.

Now I also feel that he is in need of some aftercare. It depends on the day really, if he’s had a pretty rough day and all I feel like he’d ask for some backrubs after. In this case he’d fall asleep so quickly like omg. But on the biggest part I see him feeling the need to reassure you that the things he said (i think we already established that this man would call you a slut) are not how he feels about you and will be asking if you feel the same.

“Do you love me?”

“Wha- of course I do, Ethan! Where is this coming from?”

“I don’t know… I guess - I guess I am worried that you don’t after what I said.”

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

When it comes to himself I feel like he really likes his chest and arms. Like I don’t know but I see him really getting off with you pretty much mastubating on his chest. Ya know what I mean? (i think you do you little sluts). He pretty much enjoys anything you do on his chest. I can imagine him looking at the mirror after you two had sex, seeing the cum on his chest along with the marks you have left and just smiling.

“What are you looking at, love?” You ask, seeing as the man is standing in front of the bathroom mirror from your spot on the hotel bed.

“Nothing, just the mess you made.”

“Mhm, and I bet you like it, huh?”

“You have no idea… Hey, are you sure you got tired? Cause I think I can do another round.”

As for his arms, as I said, he simply really enjoys that he can man handle you anytime, get you in any position he likes and feel you scratching them from the pleasure.

When it comes to you, Ethan is an ass guy. Say what you want but the man is an ass guy, end of discussion. He loves anything that involves your but. It does not explicitly have to be something like anal. He simply enjoys seeing your butt and holding it in his hand. It does not matter if it’s big or not, if it has stretch marks or whatever. Wear lingerie that he likes or that itty bitty teeny weeny bikini if you wear them or even some tight pants that make your butt just poìp and he can not contain himself.

I think I have said that to someone here (i think I had sent an ask to zodi @ icouldbeyourputtet) before but I feel like this man is very into spanking, like not even the rough malicious way. but this very wholesome chill way.

You had been talking about it all day, not having had a minute alone with each other for days, you could only dream what you could do that night after everyone left.

A playlist was playing in the background and a cigarette was burning on the ashtray next to your legs, you assuming a similar position, as said cigarette, bent over Ethan’s lap as he caressed your ass cheeks and back, playing around with the lingerie set he had gifted you a while back. (Did I just go to search my fave porn vid, lol exposing myself, and get disappointed because I can’t find it and translate it into fanfiction? yes yes i did, so bare with what i can remember)

“It’s okay, baby, you can take a little more, come on,” he praised, leaving a spank and yet another soft rub on the very red cheek.

He continued, going with the music, a very nice pattern, not very rough spanks but just enough to cause pain, pleasure and redness all over. Accidentally the man landed a few very rough ones causing a gasp and a series of giggles as you practically fell off his lap.

“Ethan, what the hell?” You laughed getting up from the floor and this time sitting on the man’s lap, sharing kisses with him.

“What,” he copied your action and laughed, “it was not intentional. I got carried away by how nice your butt is.”

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He is and is not messy. He will not want the cum to be in every surface possible you know, he will be careful but at the same time this man just loves to see his cum on you, whether it’s your back or your stomach, or in you if you’re ok with it. I bet he has a teeny weeny breeding kink but not necessarily because of the idea of breeding you but rather because he looooves seeing his cum run out of you… I'm not sure if this falls in the breeding kink category but alright

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He likes to fuck you while watching porn.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

I feel like he is pretty experienced. From what they band has said in interviews and stuff, he seems to be getting some pretty often (no one, NO ONE, is surprised at that). He is not acting arrogant tho (not unless that’s the dynamic of the night), he is willing to learn what works for you and you specifically

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

As I said this man is an ass guy so I’d say anything that involves having the view of your ass. Humor me but i think he’d really like 69 with a female/afab partner (don’t know if this works very well with two dick-baring people lol). It has it all, eating you out,

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

I think it can be both with him. He will not exactly try to make jokes but if something like the previously mentioned spanking incident happens it’s def welcome.

Now as a general rule I see him being pretty serious. I will be honest, I’m getting brat tamer vibes from this man so it’s all pretty serious when you really get into it.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Considering he’s an Italian man and if you look at a lot of photos of him he def fit the ‘mediterenean’ man type. I see him just barely grooming. I don’t see him really shaving or whatever but he also wouldn’t want you to choke on pupic hair, he much rathers you choke on his dick

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

It all depends, really. He can be quite intimate with you but it all depends on the moment. There are different occasions for everything. For example, and this is a paradox that I hope I’m explaining well enough to understand, he is not very rough (will not be very aggressive and stuff, like to the extreme those tik tok boys want to pretend they are with their * growling * ew) but he will be rough. intimidating looks, spanking just enough to make you feel pain and redden up your ass cheeks. He’s like that mostly when you are being bratty.

Most of the times, like we’re talkin kind of lazy sex moments, it more wholesome ig, like very intimate and just comfortable and almost comforting. Ok, but like why do i see him having sex and having casual conversation (not the most common, i see this as like lazy day off, having nothing else to do and not being like super horny but being more like h o r n y … am i making sense?)

Setting the scene, you two are at home, both have a day off but it’s kind of raining so any of your plans are ruined. At this point it’s at around 10 am, not early, not late. You have missed each other and both have made it obvious but you are both in a very tired state so you opt for something not too much.

Plain and simple missionary is what goes around this time, Ethan on top just holding your legs around his waist,, going at a pretty medium pace.

“It’s a pity the weather is bad today,” says Ethan staring out the window.

“I know, we were going to go to the beach… I’m bummed about it,” you say, short of breath as the man continues his pace fucking you.

“Mhm, true. But this is better, amore, no? I’ve missed you so much,” he breaths out the last part, moans interrupting his words.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He does that pretty often, especially if you are not around to help. Sometimes it’s because of you that he needs to. I would def see him exchanging naked pics with you and at first he does that to tease you but he ends up teased when he sees a video you sent of you masturbating.

Bets that he’d be taking photos and vids of you fucking on occasion so he goes to these when he misses you on tour.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

As I mentioned previously I see Ethan to be a brat tamer. That I see to be the main kink that kind of works around everything else.

“Can you stop this, slut? It has gotten exhausting. I told you no noise but here you are,” he ordered, looking down at you trembling below his finger tips.

His face was quite stoic, voice never wavering from the strict and cold tone he tended to have when scolding you on the daily. Most times it was leaving a cup out of the sink but this time the scolding came from misbehaving. As if it was not enough that he was punishing you for being a brat and riling him up all morning, now you had to disobey orders. It was getting to him for sure.

“I’m sorry daddy,” you whisper, Ethan seeming satisfied with the response.

“Aw, why so tame puppy, now you decide to be nice?” His tone stayed the same, his words imitating a joke but the whole ordeal was not even close to it.

Now as for other kinks (did I open a site because I could not think? yes, shut up), as a result of being a brat tamer dom there are some few more kinks accompanying specifically that. He is def into bondage, both tying you up but also being tied up on occasion.

“Puppy, I have told you that is not a way to treat me. Untie me,” he says calmly, wrists tied on the headboard of the bed, eyes fixated to you.

“Well, why not? You do it all the time,” you whine, placed on all fours, facing Ethan as you lean towards him on your hands, “I want in on the fun.”

If only he was not tied… Ethan’s mind was already going places, figuring out exactly how he would punish you after you untie him -or after he escapes the restrains, whatever comes first. You knew that, very well - in all honestly that was the plan, that is always the plan.

“Amore, let me go. Let me go and your punishment will be tame,” he voiced looking at you, now positioned on top of his lap, touching yourself right then and there.

“I sense you want to be punished puppy, don't you?” You simply nod your head, eyes closed in pleasure.

“You see, the problem is you will not enjoy what I am thinking.”

“Mhmn.”

“Well, get yourself off now that you can, cause after I get my hands on you… You’re not getting to cum for days, amore.”

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Honestly, anywhere. I can see him having a preference to the luxury of either of your houses or a hotel room but if you push his buttons just right, some restaurant’s bathroom it is.

why can i imagine him having sex at a weeding venue’s bathroom….. omg…..

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Honestly, both. I feel like he would be extremely good at giving it, but would never opposed to receiving

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He’s ok with them but he doesn’t love them, ya know?

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.

Is surely try to do new things but it will always depends on what it is.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Come on. This goes without saying. He is a drummer for a living. He can surely go on for long…

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

I def feel like he has a fair amount of toys. Some for himself, some for you… He looooves using them to punish you.

(small mention to my last fic little puppet)

“Beautiful, puppy! You have been doing so good for us, taking your punishment so well, but we are not done yet.” A buzz sound is what concerned the girl, eyes widening at the toy.

It was a small remote virator, imitating sucking on the clit. The drummer placed the girl over his knees, stuffing the toy between his leg and her clit, shocking the sensitive bud. “I think you can take a few more spanks,” said the man, landing one at the expanse of her thigh, the skin giggling at the contact.

“Damiano, count,” ordered the assertive man, seeing his friend kneel in front of Y/N, kissing her and then doing as he was told.

“I think we were left on twenty-three. Twenty four,” he began, counting all the way to forty before the ordeal was over.

The whole time Y/N was shaking, just about to fall off the edge, asking for permission to cum but her wishes were not granted just yet. She was exhausted, overstimulated, frustrated, and now unable to move on her own. But, oh man did she need more. The two men were more than willing to assist her.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

A ton! It’s his specialty. Maybe one of his most common punishments is edging and teasing. He can drag it on for days

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He is not very loud but is surely encouraging you to be.

tag list: @bieberhoodforever @tabi-toast @ginny-lily @moriro-da-regina @the-killer-queenie @makapaka11 @teenyweenynightghost

#maneskin imagine #maneskin fanfiction #maneskin #måneskin x reader #måneskin imagine #måneskin fanfic #måneskin #ethan torchio imagine #ethan torchio

[astrologyandlife]

the complete guide to astrology - revised

i. introduction

what is astrology? how can we use it to improve our lives? how do we go about studying a seemingly complex subject with such a large body of literature? in this post, i hope to give you guys a solid idea of the basics while providing resources for further reading and learning, curated by yours truly.

to start, astrology is defined as "the divination of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects" (source). its primary use in modern times is as a tool of self-discovery. this is done through a natal chart, which is outlined below.

of course, astrology is used for many other things, ranging from examining relationships, to predicting the outcome of future events, to even locating lost objects. there are many branches of astrology that each have their own set of rules and methods for interpretation of the chart. i will go into more detail about some of these other branches soon. however, all astrology uses the same framework. so what is that?

***before i go further, i want to note that this guide contains a comprehensive resources section, section v, which contains a lot of helpful supplementary information such as cafeastrology's article on understanding the astrological chart wheel, a full glossary of astrological terms, and various subjects not explicitly defined or covered in-depth in this guide like retrograde planets and interceptions.***

now onto the guide! :-)

ii. the framework

perhaps the key piece of astrology is the natal chart:

the natal chart is a visual representation of where the celestial bodies were at the time of birth. it seems complex at first glance, but it is possible to break it down to better understand it. in this section, i will elaborate on four components that come together to form the picture. These are the zodiac signs (inner ring), planets (around the ring), aspects (lines in the middle), and houses (numbers on the outer ring).

zodiac signs

in astrology, the zodiac signs are the most essential, core pieces of the puzzle. this is because they represent traits or energies. they are modes of expression. aries: cardinal + fire, enthusiastic, passionate, impatient, childlike, leader, hotheaded, dynamic, quick to react, competitive, impulsive, direct, outgoing, extroverted, positive. ruled by mars and the first house. taurus: fixed + earth, stubborn, patient, strong-willed, down-to-earth, hard workers, sensual, persevering, materialistic, focused, strong, realistic, enduring, habitual, hard to anger, love of nature. ruled by venus and the second house. gemini: mutable + air, chatty, social butterflies, adaptable, flexible, clever, witty, sarcastic, curious, scattered, lighthearted, changeable, multitaskers, jack-of-all-trades, smart, flighty. ruled by mercury and the third house. cancer: cardinal + water, emotional, sensitive, gentle, intuitive, motherly, moody, defensive, protective, caring, empathetic, imaginative, sentimental, passive, introverted, shy, homebody. ruled by the moon and the fourth house. leo: fixed + fire, confident, dramatic, theatrical, warm, generous, supportive, strong-willed, loyal, honest, authentic, loves pleasure, big personality, self-centered, courageous, magnetic, expressive, assertive. ruled by the sun and the fifth house. virgo: mutable + earth, methodical, serious, perfectionist, critical, practical, detail-oriented, analytical, competent, helpful, enjoys service, reserved, sensible, down-to-earth, intellectual. ruled by mercury and the sixth house. libra: cardinal + air, outgoing, friendly, agreeable, diplomatic, avoids conflict, polite, charming, refined, pacifistic, tolerant, craves connection, indecisive, romantic, artistic, hesitant, fair, good conversationalist, gossip. ruled by venus and the seventh house. scorpio: fixed + water, secretive, possessive, introverted, honest, genuine, intense, independent, lone wolf type, intuitive, analytical, persistent, passionate, ambitious, proud, committed, clever, competitive. ruled by pluto and the eighth house. sagittarius: mutable + fire, optimistic, positive, big picture thinkers, extroverted, jovial, loves adventure, blunt, straightforward, open-minded, future-oriented, faithful, independent, energetic, needs freedom. ruled by jupiter and the ninth house. capricorn: cardinal + earth, serious, disciplined, mature, takes responsibility, hard-working, thoughtful, traditional, dry sense of humor, objective, independent, ambitious, reliable, patient. ruled by saturn and the tenth house. aquarius: fixed + air, progressive, eccentric, independent, needs freedom, detached, intellectual, authentic, accepting, open-minded, non-judgemental, outgoing, determined, humanitarian, future-oriented. ruled by uranus and the eleventh house. pisces: artistic, sensitive, distant look, compassionate, empathetic, escapist, intuitive, heart over head, understanding, introspective, needs alone time, soft-spoken, emotional, imaginative, faithful, romantic, fluid, adaptable. ruled by neptune and the twelfth house.

planets

the planets give direction to the traits expressed by the zodiac signs. this direction comes in the form of facets of our personalities. personal/"inner" planets sun: ego, general personality, vitality, focus, father figure. domicile=leo / detriment=aquarius / exalted=aries / fall=libra moon: emotions, intuitions, gut reactions, instincts, needs, mother figure. domicile=cancer / detriment=capricorn / exalted=taurus / fall=scorpio mercury: communication, mental abilities, information processing. domicile=gemini or virgo / detriment=sagittarius or pisces / exalted=virgo / fall=pisces venus: romance, personal style, love style, attraction, taste. domicile=taurus or libra / detriment=scorpio or aries / exalted=pisces / fall=virgo mars: drive, motivations, anger, physical attraction, physical activity. domicile=aries/ detriment=libra/ exalted=capricorn / fall=cancer

impersonal/"outer" planets jupiter: expansion + growth, talents, opportunities, luck. domicile=sagittarius / detriment=gemini / exalted=cancer / fall=capricorn saturn: fears, where we feel repressed/restricted, where we must learn and become disciplined. domicile=capricorn/ detriment=cancer/ exalted=libra / fall=aries uranus: individuality, eccentric/uniqueness, suddenness, technology. domicile=aquarius / detriment=leo / exalted=scorpio / fall=taurus neptune: confusion, blurred lines, lack of boundaries, deception, sacrifice, dreams. domicile=pisces / detriment=virgo / exalted=cancer / fall=capricorn pluto: transformation, raw power, death, secrets. domicile=scorpio / detriment=taurus / exalted=aquarius / fall=leo

planets in their domicile or exalted sign are said to be strong, while planets in their detriment or fall sign are weak. stronger planets express themselves much more naturally. weaker planets can bring problems into the individual's life, especially if poorly aspected.

aspects

the next step is the aspects, which is the interaction between these facets of our personality and how easily we express them. positive aspects are marked green, negative are marked red. conjunction (0°): the unification of two planets that allows their energies to merge and be expressed as one. square (90°): tension between two planets that creates conflict or patterns of avoidance. opposition (180°): tension between two planets that results in conflict or patterns of projection. quincunx (150°): completely different energies that are unable to be integrated or properly managed. trine (120°): two planets that mesh well together, often manifesting as a talent or skill within the individual. sextile (60°): two planets with energy so similar they are seamlessly and effortlessly expressed together.

houses

finally, the houses represent the stage where all of this expression occurs in our external life. first (ascendant, ASC): first impressions, physical appearance, the vibe we give off, our view/philosophy of life. second: our values, sense of self-worth and confidence, money, physical possessions. third: communication style, early education, siblings, neighbors and neighborhood, thinking patterns, short trips. fourth (imum coeli, IC): home, family, the house, early life + childhood, background, roots, memories, father figure. fifth: self-expression, creativity, hobbies, interests, children, pleasure, short-term relationships. sixth: physical health, daily routine, coworkers, job, pets, service to others. seventh (descendant, DSC): marriage, spouse, long-term relationships, other people. eighth: shared resources, inheritances, death, transformation, crisis, hidden things. ninth: higher education, travel, foreign/distant places, diversity, expansion and growth. tenth (midheaven, MC): career, reputation, online persona, success, goals for the future, mother figure. eleventh: groups and organizations, the wider collective, our friend group, wishes and aspirations. twelfth: losses, grief and sorrow, subconscious or unconscious things, confusion, lack of boundaries, sacrifice.

iii. the interpretation process + notes

to interpret a natal chart, i have a specific process that i utilize. i will outline it in this section, giving notes along the way where i see fit. there are many ways of interpreting charts, however, so use this more as a guide than a hard and fast rule.

✨the process ✨

look at the chart as a whole, taking notice of: a. planets clustered together in one sign/house (note: 3+ planets in a house is called a stellium) b. planets "sitting on/"conjunct the angles (1st, 4th, 7th, or 10th) c. lone planets that are just sitting by themselves d. completely empty houses e. major aspect patterns, such as the t-square, grand trine, etc.

next, look at the sign of the ascendant and determine the chart ruler a. examine the condition of both, such as major aspects (aspects of 5° or less)

check out the sun's sign, house, and major aspects

do the same for the moon, and consider the relationship it has to the sun

next, check out the sign, house, and major aspects of the three other personal planets

look at the three other angles: the IC, DSC, and MC to determine their condition

look at the house and any major aspects to personal planets for the outer planets

find the lord of any empty houses and determine what house it sits in, as well as its condition there

finally, any asteroids or minor bodies of interest a. typically these only influence the individual if they make an aspect to the personal planets or angles, like outer planets

some other things to take into account: which element/planet/sign is dominant in the chart, where the ruler of each house sits, are there planets at 0° or 29°, degree theory, midpoints, and planets in retrograde.

iv. other chart types

so far, i've exclusively been talking about the natal chart. however, there are several chart types with other purposes ranging from examining the compatibility of two people, to predicting what might occur in the year ahead, to even answering questions. i'll give a brief run-down of some of them here:

solar return: a chart drawn for the exact moment the sun returns to the sign and degree it was at when you were born. it is said to represent what will occur in the year ahead.

synastry: this chart examines the relationship between two people by seeing how both of their charts interact with each other. it is a representation of how they affect each other.

composite: like the synastry chart, a composite looks at the relationship between two people. it does this by creating a chart of the midpoints between the placements of their charts. it is a representation of the relationship itself and what it's like.

progressed: a chart that shows how a person's personality and life circumstances change over time, calculated by adding one day to your birthday for every year of your life.

draconic: a chart that supposedly represents your "true nature," which is who you were before your life experiences. it works by setting the north node to aries and adjusting every other placement accordingly.

transit: this is simply a chart of what the sky looks like on any given day. this can be compared to a natal chart to see what influences are acting on an individual or to examine long-term trends.

these are by no means all of the chart types, or even the most important, but they are the most common ones you will see discussed here. furthermore, every chart type uses the same framework and many of the same rules in regards to interpretation, making them extremely valuable tools to have in your toolset!

v. resources

below here is a list of websites, articles, tools, etc. that are extremely helpful for learning astrology. every single resource in this list is 100% approved by me, and i have used or read through all of them myself, many of which i still refer back to now. there are also resources that go more in-depth about some of the topics mentioned in this guide, if you're confused or want to know more. feel free to take a peek!

websites a. https://advanced-astrology.com/ b. http://astrologyking.com/ c. https://astromatrix.org/ d. https://www.astro-seek.com/ e. https://www.alwaysastrology.com/index.html f. http://www.thedarkpixieastrology.com/ g. https://cafeastrology.com/ h. https://www.astrology.com/learn i. https://www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/index.php j. http://www.astrologersforum.com/forum/index.php

calculators a. https://www.astrotheme.com/horoscope_chart_sign_ascendant.php b. https://www.astro.com/cgi/genchart.cgi c. https://astro.cafeastrology.com/natal.php d. https://horoscopes.astro-seek.com/birth-chart-horoscope-online e. https://astro-charts.com/tools/new/birthchart/

blogs a. @astrologymarina b. @astraltwelve c. @astrolovecosmos d. @twelvehousemoon e. @ms-m-astrologer f. @saintzjenx

faq/specific resources/what's on my bookmarks bar a. A glossary of astrology-related terms b. how fast do the planets move through the signs? c. what is degree theory? d. which signs square and oppose each other? e. how do you find your dominant sign/planet/etc? f. astrology 101 by astrologymarina g. what are retrogrades? h. a brief interpretation for every planet in every sign i. a complete ephemeris up to the 22nd century j. what are interceptions? k. what are the 29th and 0 degree? l. how to read the chart wheel?

books a. the only astrology book you'll ever need, joanne martine woolfolk b. chart interpretation handbook, stephen arroyo c. the twelve houses, howard sasportas d. aspects in astrology, sue thompkins e. discover the aspect pattern in your birth chart: a comprehensive guide, glenn mitchell f. the art of forecasting using solar return charts, anthony louis g. the astrology of family dynamics, erin sullivan h. midpoints: identify and integrate midpoints into horoscope synthesis, don mcbroom i. retrograde planets: traversing the inner landscape, erin sullivan

vi. final notes

you did it! this is the end of my revised guide to astrology, and hopefully this has been helpful for you to understand the basic workings of the practice. astrology can be really rewarding and fascinating, and even after eight years i still come across topics that i've never heard about!

as always, my inbox is open for any questions you may have. if anything is unclear or you think of ways to improve this guide, feel free to tell me as well. thanks for sticking with me, folks!

#i did it boys #i revised my guide #astrology #natal chart #other #guide

[locked-behind-the-walls]

Reviews of Some Nova’s Fics

I have been on the (non-fiction) writing kick as of recently, which finally lead to me writing some fic reviews. I've been planning to start writing reviews for B7 fic for a long time, but those plans mostly involved some highbrow "New Wave" gen in the vein of the stories published in The Aquitar Files. Of course, this means that when I did write some reviews, they were about the stories of the classic slashfic author beloved by the fandom. :D

Why Nova? While I like her, she's far from being my favorite B7 author, in slash or in all the fic. I think she's just easy to write about, for me at least - there are a lot of things that I like about her, and a lot of things that frustrate me, and they often are in the same story. Her writing has a lot of clearly discernible patterns and tropes, and I find it much easier to write about them than about the subtleties and nuances of relationships between the characters; I may say that while I like reading both gen and shippy fics of all types, I may tend to write about even the shippy fics in the same way I write about gen. I also probably tend to "accentuate the negative", not because my feelings about this author are mostly negative, but because I find it easier - and more entertaining - to write about the things I dislike than about the things I like.

Let's start? Be warned, those reviews contain spoilers and discussions of heavy subjects. The fics I read and reviewed here: Delinquent, Avon at the Window, Five Easy Pieces and a More Difficult One, Town Mouse, Country Mouse, Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry, Before and After, Why I Can't Stand Vila Restal, Prime Suspect, Time and Fevers, Outlaws and In-Laws.

Delinquent

This was the first Nova's fic that I read and one of my favorite ones so far. It has some problems - while I like good boy/bad boy pairs, I think she sometimes tries too hard to shove Blake and Avon into these roles; the way Avon regains his rebelliousness after getting together with Blake felt too abrupt, almost comically so (I know that Magical Healing Cock is a thing; perhaps we should come up with the B7-specific version, Magical Class-Consciousness Rising Cock); and, of course, "undesirable associates" gets repeated ad nauseum. But I just find the idea of Avon being Blake's childhood hero so adorable, and it's for sure one of the most original takes on "they knew each other pre-canon" trope in this fandom. It's interesting to review it after reading other Nova's fics - now I can clearly discern some tropes and headcanons she used in many other fics, e.g. exploring characters' backstories, accentuated differences in Blake's and Avon's upbringing, love restoring the fighting spirit in characters and so on.

Five Easy Pieces and a More Difficult One

I... frankly don't remember that well the more psychological parts of this one, even though I read it not so long ago. What I remember well is all that sex and the bit with the uprising, which sums up my priorities quite accurately. (The sex was damn good. And so was the uprising.) In my defense I must say that it's one of those "faux-casual sex turns into emotional commitment" fics, so sex and romance are interwoven very closely here, even by the fanfiction standards. It's also quite trope-heavy, going through several slash cliches, and as someone who's not a fan of many slash cliches I can say that it's done in pleasantly non-cringy way (except the first part, which was somewhat cringy. I think nothing can redeem Visiting a Gay Planet and Trying to Fit In for me, except maybe outright parodies).

Town Mouse, Country Mouse

Another story about Blake's and Avon's very different upbringings, the one that probably got the most stylized, most deliberate and most extreme about emphasizing these differences. I found the sordidness too sordid and the cutesiness too cutesy, but it was probably the point.

Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

Oh right. One of my least favorite tropes of all times is using other people as cannon fodder to showcase your Great Romance, and this fic is this trope in spades. Nova clearly likes it - she uses it in several fics, sometimes with several people. That's where we would't agree, I guess. Avon killing himself is another thing which we would't agree on. I get it that Avon have seen (and done) some shit, but the only case in which I can imagine him killing himself is, ironically, if he shared Blake's idealism - it would make such a hellish mix with his personality that it might get just too difficult to bear. This one is not the major point of disagreement and I think can be written convincingly, but here it just comes off as too dramatic. I liked the Vila voice, though, it was pleasant to read and created interesting interplay with the grim backstory and not exactly sunny main story.

Before and After

The only thing I liked about this fic is that Avon got put against the wall for killing Blake. (This review will surely gain me a lot of friends in the fandom.) It was bold and quite cathartic. But of course, here it was because he wanted it - he's too cool to just be shot, apparently. I can also add half a point for the homophobia thing - I don't mind exploring this subject matter in slash, and don't even mind portraying main characters as homophobic, it could be done in an interesting and nuanced manner, but here I felt like it was only somewhat interesting, but mostly felt forced and just made them too unsympathetic. Apart from that, it's just way too similar to Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry, except now Deva is also dragged into the Not As Good As performance.

Avon at the Window

Ouch. I guess we are supposed to read this one in non-quite-serious, kinky way, because otherwise the situation described here becomes just way too appalling and overshadows any enjoyment one could derive from characters getting together. On the other hand, at least here Avon's Horrible Past is not as jarring as in Outlaws and In-Laws, because this fic is much more angstier and here it's more a center of the story. Nova is very unsubtle at laying out the angst here, crude even - and effective, considering that from all her fics, I remember this one the most and it provoked the strongest emotional response. It's a controversial trope, and I'm not a fan of how she engages with it, but in its own way, it worked.

What I dislike, however, is that Blake is basically mischaracterized for the sake of angst. I can see him to be uncomfortable with prostitution, but I can't see him react in such over-the-top judgemental and aggressive manner. I think it would be more realistic - and more interesting - if he tried to be understanding, but was making such poor job of it, being so clearly not okay with the whole situation despite trying to be, and it eventually lead to falling out between them. I believe he at least would bother to learn more about it and would knew how old Avon was at that time! And then I would be able to buy his more bitter and aggressive behavior PGP because well, Avon shot him, he has the right to be upset, and besides he did seem more bitter and aggressive in general in the last episode. As I said, Nova is very unsubtle here and sometimes it hurts the quality of the fic. Also, while treating domes and space stations as ordinary cities under the open sky is a very common trope in Blake's 7 fanfiction, it also one of my least favorite ones and here it's truly egregious in the bits set in the Space City.

The part I liked the most is the one where they are discussing the book about the prostitution. Nova can be very good in sociopolitical stuff, and those ARE the themes where I wouldn't mind her to be unsubtle, but alas, there is too little of it in this fic.

Why I Can't Stand Vila Restal

At this point it started to read like several other fics, some of them Nova's and some of them not. I don't have much to say about this story - it's easy to read and the sex is good, but there is just nothing new about it. Also, Blake is too paternalistic in this one, which can be done well but I just don't dig it, especially in sex scenes.

Prime Suspect

Another fic that I mostly forgot soon after reading. Blake playing detective was fun, and the resolution was deliciously wacky - but what I love about Nova is that she's not afraid of wackiness. Orac bashing is probably the only sort of character bashing I can stand, and no, that's not because it's not alive, it's because it's such an asshole. (I like Orac anyway).

Time and Fevers

Other characters are dragged into Blake's and Avon's love lives to make a point about their love - again! Deva, this time, and Jenna, somewhat, and while I like Blake/Deva, but definitely not like this. At least some time is given to explore their relationship, though not much. I would have preferred if Jenna either got a larger role or wasn't mentioned at all - as it stands now, it's just too creepy. Did she also die? I think we just are not supposed to care. :(

I liked quite a lot of things about this fic. I have a weakness for the washed out, beaten down Blake, and this fic portrays him rather well. Characters are older than usual in this story, and it is also handled well. The theme of love giving you back your mojo is developed better than in Delinquent, even though it involves unfavorable comparisons with other relationship (but not explicitly so, thankfully). The angst is good and not overdramatic, but rather more muted and melancholic, which goes better with Blake's 7 fics. The stuff about sexual histories of the character was, like almost always in Nova's fics, one of the strongest points. However, some bits gave off the vibe that was too romcom-y, especially Dayna and Soolin acting like matchmakers - it's just so not my thing.

Outlaws and In-Laws

One of my favorite Nova's fics and so quintessentially her - very good and hot mess at the same time. It has a lot of themes which I like and most of which Nova generally does well: explorations of characters' pasts and their sexual histories; political themes, including sexual politics; quite a lot of worldbuilding and interesting original characters. That first time is one of my favorite ones, the sex is original, hot and not unrealistic at the same time. Even the cheesier parts didn't feel that bad (or maybe my love of the Gothic genre helped me to get through them). However, the mood of the first and the second part of the fic was just way too different, which again might have been the point, but I don't think that it works that well there. I agree with Aralias' review that Blake is too damn passive in the second part, and this that just felt like him abandoning Avon. I think it contributes to the sudden drop of temperature in the story, figuratively speaking. I also wish we spent more time with Blake's mom - she seemed like a fascinating character, and yet most of her arc was spent on wackiness and being an obstacle.

So, those are my reviews of Nova so far. Maybe I'll write more in the future after reading more fics, or maybe not. Of course, all those fics are also well-written, and easy to read, and have good characterizations, but other people already wrote about it. At this point I can describe Nova as an author who sticks strongly and noticeably to the tropes and headcanons that she likes, and some of them I like too, while others not so much. Her fics also have a lot of mood whiplash, some of which probably wasn't intended as such. I also got the impression that she's better in more lighthearted stories than in straightforward angst.

#blake's 7 #b7 #fanfic authors #fanfic reviews #my reviews #fanfic #b/a #blake/avon #nova

[twitchesandstitches]

Skyrim/General Fantasy OC Ideation: Tamitayo’s Buddies

I’ve mentioned before, I think, that one of my signature OCs (Tamitayo the dark elf/black dragon in a dark elf form) is actually based on the character I played in some of my Skyrim playthroughs that I got particularly attached to; after doing runs as an orc and argonian, my dunmer playthrough got particularly appealing to me because of the narrative resonance of a nord prophecy heroine being one of the dark elves so oppressed and mistreated in Skyrim, and a personality of sorts emerged in my playthroughs as well.

however, while a lot of Tamitayo’s personality and abilities are a direct translation of my time playing in Skyrim, not all of them are. Put simply, I like to do a little bit of everything in Skyrim, from being a combat monster, to a deadly spell apocalypse, to a werewolf/vampire lord hybrid, and do it all REALLY well. an undead summoning, spell-slinging, deadly warrior who excells at pretty much whatever i currently find the most fun to play. while that’s good for gameplay, it translates pretty poorly into a written narrative; a character who is good at everything, while fun in a powergaming way, lacks narrative hooks to really figure them out or come up with ideas for how they typically perform.

So, and I have done some ideas with this in the past that haven’t really gone anywhere, my idea was (and still is) to split up my preferences in gameplay into several characters, with their roots in the Elder Scrolls setting, but designed so that they can be adjusted to fit other settings as needed; D&D, my sci fi fantasy AUs, and whatever else feels right.

In rough order:

Tamitayo: The most established of these characters, she’s a spellsword barbarian type; in TES setting, she’s a dark elf from a fairly obscure sub-culture within Morrowind’s outer reaches and is an outsider to established Imperial culture. Short-spoken, terse and very forbidding in demeanor, she’s explicitly based off Conan the barbarian, both in general personaltiy and her world-weary disdain of the civilized world’s own cruelty. She’s, ironically, a sorceress type: she specializes in destructive combat magic, with some more defensive abilities. Probably makes use of Bound weapons, and mainly uses fire/explosive magic. Likely to wear furred robes and make use of armorskin spells (in the form of magical war paint) as her primary protection, but does make use of her family’s traditional malachite armor in times of great need.

Outside of TES, the assumption is that she is actually a noble black dragon who is mostly confined to the form of a dark elf. This may be a matter of some curse she can only temporarily escape, or a matter of preference. Either way, she’s still the same character (And its just taking the implications of being Dragonborn to its logical conclusion). In D&D proper, she’s most likely a druid or, if that’s not elemental destruction enough, a wizard. She’s compelled to establish a territory and defend it, and thus she’s actually something of a benign warlord; finding chaotic territories, defeating rivals and persuading others to be allies, destroying all malicious threats, and establishing herself as a heroic empress over it all.

As a refresher on her appearance, she’s a very tall dark elf (7ft+) with a fit, fairly defined hourglass body; huge hips, massive breasts, and a fair amount of muscle throughout. Her skin is black (with a bit of a blue tint??) and usually covered in magical war paint. She likes to dye her hair, but the exact shade isn’t defined.

Rogha: Based on my more combat-focused playthrough styles, she’s an orc warrior through and through, with an emphasis on being an extremely skilled craftswoman with a powerful knowledge of enchantment. Very much a strategic planner despite seeming to be a meathead; give her time, and she will WRECK YOUR SHIT with gear designed to exploit your weaknesses. Makes heavy use of electrical magic, necromancy for allies and soldiers (recycling the dead is just common sense, she says). Probably a fairly jolly woman, and very polite. A bit of a stickler for being nice, with a bit of a knight templar-ish view on punishing evil. She’s very community minded, and views smashing bad guys as just another job; think something like Bismuth from SU for inspiration.

Narratively, it may make the most sense for her to mainly focus on having abilities that buff her allies (transforming them, making them bigger/stronger) and functioning a bit as a team support who then wrecks the enemies. a total combat monster, who rages and slaughters everything in her way. As an orc, she adjusts pretty well to pretty much any setting that allows for orcs.

Physically, she’s HUGE; my most muscular and amazonian character, she’s not particularly defined but she is extremely bulky and buff, with arms larger than most people’s torsos. Might have a bit of an old school Gaelic warrior vibe in terms of her design, depending on what cultural associations feel the most right for her. (For example, she’d be of Irish descent in my main AUs.) Mega buff and bigger than the other two here by a wide margin. probably uses a lot of weaponized shields or oversized gunswords that shoot like cannons. (Maybe a wereboar, too?)

Raxlila: A combination of my Argonian character, some more subtle character styles i didn’t actually use but find interesting for narrative ideas, and some vague ideas from WAY back of a dinosaur girl OC. She’s based on some more sneaky skill sets: she’s an alchemist brewing up potions for any conceivable situation, an archer who takes out armored foes from afar (and probably uses crossbows; automatic crossbows and similar weapons, in less TES-canon set ups), makes a lot of use of stealth and acrobatic dodging, and prefers lighter armor. She can makes use of illusion magic (invisiblity, messing with people’s minds), and is also a skilled healer. She’s interested in summoning, but only the theory, and she is also fairly good at using ice magic for combat.

Very fast (Despite her considerable curves, she can get a LOT of velocity in her leaps), she’s a rather indirect and tricksy person; she’s great at fooling people and pulling off diplomacy and schemes in equal turn, and prides herself on walking into pretty much wherever she wants. Tall but not unusually so, she has more crocodilian traits (though she’s more feathery than most argonians, otherwise) and prefers things wet: she’s VERY curvy and thickset, edging a bit towards an overall broad body, though her huge boobs make her look hyper all over.

I have this idea that she doesn’t cast spells; she distills spells in advance as potions, powders and other one-use effects, or works them into special gadgets she can reuse; explosive arrows that create a freezing effect may be a common tool. She’s not making healing potions, but distilled restoration spells. in more sci-fi scenarios, she may be a gadgeteer who specializes in weapon systems, and is generally more about theory; she’s able to do the manual work of putting them together, but it involves a LOT of trial and error, and she works best with people to handle that on her behalf.

#twitchy ideas #twitchy!ocs

[subasekabang]

Ties We Bind (& Break), Chapter 5

Author: composeregg Rating: T Word Count: 15435, Chapter total: 4170 Pairings/Characters: Joshua/Neku, Shiki/Eri, Joshua & Neku & Shiki & Beat & Rhyme & Eri in a queerplatonic poly-pile relationship. Hanekoma, Kariya. Warnings: Includes depression heavily, and mentions of suicide. Summary: One year after the Long Game, a tall boy named Yuuto Kimura, who has messy black hair, glasses, and bright green eyes, stumbles into Neku’s life, and he can’t help but let him get close, letting him join the circle of friends.

One year after the Long Game, Joshua aches to hang out with Neku again, but the restrictions he’s gained for his transgressions are very clear: Yoshiya Kiryu, Composer of Shibuya, is not to interact with Neku Sakuraba.

(But every rule has a loophole.)

Author’s Note: Each chapter is also being added to ao3! Here! (Small delay per chapter).

Featuring autistic/neurodivergent characters, the “Joshua is Neku’s Dead Best Friend” theory, and lots of headcanons abound.

“Where is he?”

Yuuto looks over at Neku from his place sprawled on Neku’s bedroom floor. The declaration makes him raise an eyebrow, and Beat, Shiki, and Rhyme sigh.

Neku is sitting on his bed, flopped over Beat’s lap with a sketchbook in front of him. Rhyme is leaning against its base, and Shiki has staked a claim on the desk chair. Yuuto himself has his back against the wall, laying on his side so he can look at the others. With Neku talking, he sets down his phone.

“Where is who?” he asks.

A sigh escapes him as Neku looks back. “My second week Partner.” Oh. “His name is Joshua, and I haven’t seen him since the last day of my Game.”

“You don’t talk about him much, Neku,” says Shiki, eyebrows scrunched as she looks up from her current sewing project.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “It’s complicated, guys.”

More than you know.

“He did somthin’ to ya, we know that, but you’ve never said what,” Beat chimes in, and oh, they’re prompting Neku. Trying to get the full story out of him.

Neku wavers, fingers tapping at the paper in front of him as indecision flickers across his face. He needs to tell them. Neku can’t keep this bottled up forever, nor can he wait for Josh to emerge.

All it takes is one Imprint. He doesn’t even notice the subtle sway wriggling its way into his head, urging him on, strengthening his impulse to spill the secret.

Tell them. What’s the worst that could happen? They deserve to know, and if Joshua protests, well, you were never told not to tell them.

“Joshua is the Composer, and he shot me. Twice.” The words spill past his lips, tumbling off his tongue, before he slaps a hand over his mouth, eyes widening.

Rhyme gives Yuuto a Look, making sure no one else notices. He shrugs back, sending a thought over to them: He needs to get it out, he’s bottled all this up. There’s nothing against the rules… Explicitly.

“What the fuck?” Shiki is staring at Neku, and Beat is too.

“It’s complicated–”

“Okay but what the actual fuck? He shot you!?” She stands, huffing and pacing the room, running fingers through her hair. “You still want him to show up after he did that to you?”

“Shiki please–”

“I’m wit’ her man, why would you want that?” Beat says, fist clenched.

It should concern Yuuto more, honestly. Rhyme is still glaring at him. Yet, all he can do is frown, and tap a finger to his chin. “I’m sure Neku has his reasons, why don’t we let him speak them?”

Neku shoots him a grateful look as the others quiet down, and Shiki flops back into the chair, keeping her mouth shut but her eyes on Neku, ready to judge if the explanation is satisfactory.

“Joshua is… Complicated.” Neku sighs, sitting up and leaning against the wall, instead of lying on Beat’s lap. It’s no doubt easy to pull away, pull into himself.

“I think he’s a lot like me. Or, before and during the Game he was similar to how I was when you all first met me. Only worse. Depression and loneliness gave him a misanthropic view of the world, and I could feel it.” He runs a hand through his hair. Gelled spikes don’t agree with the treatment, so he switches to twisting the end of one between his fingers.

“I related to him, we had the same sort of humor and outlook, except seeing his helped me re-evaluate my own. It hurt, when I thought he shot me, even though he was an annoying git. It hurt even more, when I thought he got himself Erased to save me, and I thought he hadn’t killed me for that last week.”

Yuuto keeps his expression neutral, a blank sheet of paper. The sacrifice might’ve been over-the-top, it might’ve been what kept Neku from shooting him. Neku knew what it was like to lose him, and he didn’t want to cause himself that pain. Again.

“I dunno…” Neku continues, “I don’t forgive him, but he was my Partner, and you all know what that’s like. He chose me as a Proxy, playing some fucked-up game with the Conductor. At the end…”

“You don’t talk about what happened in that final room,” Rhyme says, moving away from the bed so they can look up at Neku.

“The Conductor got Erased, and he challenged me to a duel. Whoever won got to choose what to do with Shibuya, he wanted to Erase the UG. Even with that motive, even knowing everything he did, I couldn’t pull the trigger. And he shot me. Again.”

A slight tremor runs through Neku’s body. His Music is a cacophony of noise, but Joshua keeps the Noise at bay, even when he looks like Yuuto. There are no tears, but grief wells within Neku.

“If he won, why is Shibuya still standing? Why did any of us get brought back?” Shiki asks.

“Erasing the UG wouldn’t destroy Shibuya,” says Yuuto. “Just the UnderGround, and a shiny new one would grow back. Erasing the UG, however, would Erase the Composer. If the Composer is Erased with no one there to take his spot, no Conductor or person who beat them, then the UG collapses.”

Neku freezes, the guitar strings of his Music snapping as he whips his head toward Yuuto. For a second, he thinks Neku’s caught on, he’s been caught, but… “Oh my god. Did he want to die?”

“I can’t answer that. You did say he seemed depressed, though.” Yuuto doesn’t look up, grabbing a safety pin off his clothes to pick at his nails with.

Of course Neku hadn’t caught him. He shouldn’t even want that. And yet, the idea of Neku piecing together the puzzle fills him with a soft fuzz, warm because it’d mean Neku knew him well enough to see through his disguise.

Maybe if he had all his memories…

But that’s an impossibility.

“Still… I trust him, he and I were Partners. We had a bond.” Neku waves a hand in the air. “The least he could do is meet up with me, because I want an explanation, he owes me one. But no! It’s been two years, and he’s nowhere to be found!”

Silence falls, until: “Maybe he can’t?” Rhyme asks.

Neku’s head snaps to look at them, eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“Maybe… What if there’s rules you don’t know about, and he’s not allowed to see you?” they explain.

Joshua would hug them, if he could, but alas, it would be weird if he did that now, as Yuuto. He’ll send them a thank-you text tonight.

“If there’s a rule against visiting me but not one against shooting me then the rules are messed up. And if there is one, then he’s a hypocrite.”

Yuuto snorts, rolling his eyes. “Fair enough.”

“He still deserves to get punched in the fucking face,” Shiki says. “If I see him, I’ll chuck something at him for you.”

Neku laughs, and oh, no matter how much he gets to hear that nowadays, it still sends a buzz of energy through his stomach. Like being zapped by a lightning bolt psych.

“Well, if you get the chance, go right ahead, but make sure to tell him to stop being a coward, too.”

White light cascades from the rooftop of 104, obscured by the sun. He sits, legs dangling over the edge.

Rhyme climbs the stairs, and pops the door open.

Joshua doesn’t move. His edges are blurred, ink smeared and blended, and they can’t tell where he ends and Shibuya begins. Not RG, maybe not even UG, a frequency buzzing in the back of their head that sends static stabs through their skull.

They shove it to the side, and plop down by him. “So, sitting on the roof, huh? Wistfully staring out at the city?”

He snorts. “You know how it is: doubting life, and death, choices, being the emo seventeen-year-old you never got to be in life. Having a vague existential and moral crisis.”

“Is this… About what Neku said yesterday?”

“He’s right,” Joshua says, light surrounding him starting to dim. The harsh glow fades, and Rhyme can feel him slide down the vibes, into the RG. “I am a hypocrite. He deserves better.”

They headbutt him, leaning against his side. For all that Josh proclaims to be cold and dead, the warmth emanating from him is full of life. Maybe it’s fake, meant to comfort, or habit so he doesn’t alarm any of the group with clammy skin claimed by the grave, but they think it helps his mental state, too.

“He doesn’t want better though, he wants you. Tell me your side of the story.”

He sighs and flops onto his back, staring up at the sky. “He was meant to be my replacement. I wanted to be gone. I’d messed up bad, and he was so much like me, in so much pain, that I thought the Game could make him better, and he could free me from my misery.”

Looking down, the distance to the ground is far, the people below flowing like rivers, intermingling and dispersing. Individuals are lost to the crowd. “There’s more, isn’t there? You fixated on Neku for this, instead of anyone else.”

“Neku deserves to be the first to learn about that reason. Sorry, but it wouldn’t be fair.”

They nod, and swing their feet.

“You shouldn’t be so close to the edge, you know,” he says, and they laugh.

Pulling their legs up, they flop around so their head dangles instead, hair blowing in the wind. “If I fall, you will most certainly catch me.”

A rustle is the only sign they get that he moves, until he sits right on their feet. “And now you won’t fall at all. Beat would skin me if he knew I let you do this.”

“Nah, Neku and I wouldn’t let him.”

“So,” says Shiki, “you like him, don’t you?”

It would be useless to flail his limbs, sputter and deny her words, so instead, Yuuto sighs and nods. “What gave me away?”

She laughs, rolling her eyes. “You’re pining, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes. You sprawl yourself over him whenever he gives you permission, like a cat seeking affection. You’re always staring at him when he isn’t looking!”

A cat seeking affection, he snorts. “I’m just a big, cuddly snow leopard. I’m touchy-feely with all of you, how is it different with him?”

“Even on your bad days, you lean against him. You don’t let anyone else touch you, but he’s always allowed,” she says.

“I guess,” he shrugs, tapping his pencil against the paper in front of him.

Since becoming friends with everyone, his apartment had become lived in. Trinkets and gifts from the past year fill the space. Shiki has given him some plushies, and pillows with pretty designs rest on the couch where she sits. Eri’s gifts are clothes picked from the rack, if it’s not a joint-gift from her and Shiki in the form of clothes they’ve made.

Beat has taken to cooking, and Yuuto keeps his kitchen stocked. In return, he gets good food and a skateboard resting in the entryway closet. Rhyme gives stim toys, from the reversible-sequin snap bracelet to the rainbow tangle.

As for Neku… Art hangs on the once-barren walls. A landscape of Shibuya in watercolor hangs behind the couch, and a portrait of the entire gang is framed and placed near the entrance.

Papers and pencils are scattered everywhere. Neku keeps a case of art supplies here. Everyone has small projects that have taken up residency, and Shiki is working on one of them now. Stitching a snow leopard into existence.

“The thing you’re working on, it’s for Neku, isn’t it?” Shiki asks, breaking the silence.

He nods. “I’m composing. I’ve got most of it down, in fact it’s pretty much finished, but I’m worried… Will he like it?”

She looks over at him, a quick glance before her eyes dart away again. “What? Are you gonna serenade him or something?”

“Yes, actually, I am,” he says, tossing the paper to the side and himself to the floor. It’s pointless to sit on the chair when it impedes his creative flow. “But it’s so impossible to know if he’ll appreciate it. If he’ll understand my reasoning. I don’t even know if I want him to know yet!” he moans, rolling onto his side.

“Then play for me,” she says, like it’s the most simple conclusion in the world. “I can tell you if he’ll like it, at least.”

Yuuto perks up. “You’d be cool with that?” When she nods, he jumps, dashing to his room to retrieve the violin.

She doesn’t see it appear from thin air in his hands, doesn’t see his form flicker ever so slightly. He comes back looking like Yuuto as always.

“Serenade me, music boy.” She stabs the animal in her hand with the needle again, something to fiddle with so she can enjoy the music more, no doubt.

A laugh. He sets up the stand for his music, and positions the violin. “Now, ideally, this is somewhere like, WildKat, and I’m wearing one of your super fancy suits, but we can discuss that later.”

Yuuto raises the bow, and lets the magic happen.

Fast-paced, running through Shibuya streets with the beat, weaving through crowds and ducking into back alleys. It starts soft, then crescendos. He closes his eyes, letting the high notes weave together with the low.

The pulse matches time with the heartbeat of the city, spray paint graffiti hits the wall. The echo of a drum plays through his tune, noticed by its absence. A solo player is not a quartet, is not a band, and he does not have techno parts to add for a violin solo, but he lets the music do the talking.

Imagination weaves through the notes, calling forth the memory of other instruments, adding the illusion of more than there is.

Yuuto steps in time, sways, pacing a fluid circle to match his song. Not his song. Neku’s song, Neku’s Music. Music warped and persuaded into playing on a single violin, playing over the strings to describe him.

Magic is kept to a minimum, he doesn’t call forth the actual sounds, or implant them as more than elusive notes, but it’s impossible to give off the feel he wants without it. Impossible to transcribe the flashes of orange and piercing blue, the splash of color he brings everywhere, the conflicting notes and discord of life.

Joshua does his best, but there’s only so much he can do without dropping his disguise.

The final note draws out as the song comes to a close. The real one plays on elsewhere in the city, but he cannot play his violin all day.

Opening his eyes, he looks to Shiki, finding her staring on with awestruck wide eyes, and a jaw dropped far enough to catch flies. The snow leopard in her lap left abandoned.

He bows with a flourish, before setting his instrument down.

“So, think he’ll like it?” Yuuto asks with a grin that wavers like the final note.

“If he doesn’t fall head-over-heels for you after hearing that, you’re shit outta luck my dude.”

She stays unnoticed, trailing behind Yuuto after the weekly meetup. Shiki doesn’t want to suspect a friend, but he’s suspicious, plain and simple.

Yuuto doesn’t make it to every meeting, which she can understand, but it’s a regular occurrence every few weeks. He’s had lunch with a Reaper, chatting like old friends. He knows too much about the Game, more than any of the Players should know, more than Neku ever learned.

WildKat is the destination, and she hangs back to watch through the windows as Yuuto enters. Standing in the shadow of a nearby building, staying out of sight, she expects to find some shady business going down.

Shiki doesn’t expect him to have a fucking magical girl transformation.

Bathed in a glow of light, his features blur, glaring against the window. As it fades, black hair grows and turns white, his body shrinks, and the glasses he wears are removed. His skin goes pale, and–

She’s seen him before.

She doesn’t need to see the violet eyes or the smirk to know that frame. He’s talking to Mr. Hanekoma, facing away, but the picture rings clear in her brain.

Neku has filled pages upon pages of his sketchbook with that person. She’s seen him in the ink staining paper while he vents far too often.

The bell chimes above her head, and she’s faced with Yuuto again. The last vestiges of creamy light fading from view, dismissed as aftereffects of being in the sun if she didn’t know any better.

“Hey, Shiki, what are you doing here–”

The steel in her eyes leaves no room for him to finish that sentence as she marches over to him, her voice a snake’s hiss. “You have ten seconds to explain to me what the fuck I just saw, starting now.”

He slides off the stool, taking a step back from her pointed finger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He laughs, rubbing his neck.

“Try again. You changed. I saw that. I saw who. Six seconds.”

Yuuto scrambles, holding his hands in the air as he retreats, back to the window. “Okay, okay. It’s. Shit, it’s complicated. Give me a moment.”

She holds up five fingers. In the silence, she ticks it down to four.

“I can’t, okay? I can’t. There’s… A lot. Where do I start?”

“Start with why the fuck you’re hiding your identity from all of us!” He’s down to three fingers now, and as Mr. Hanekoma slips out of the room, she takes note of the steaming cup of coffee on the counter.

“Well,” two fingers. “I wasn’t hiding it from all of you. Rhyme figured it out in a month.” He takes another step back. “I just… I can’t tell Neku who I am, okay?”

“So you’re a liar, then?” One.

“No! Well, yes. It’s complicated, give me some time to–”

Gravel escapes her throat as she huffs, grabbing the cup and throwing it.

The scalding coffee never reaches its target, suspended in midair, lid popped off as some splashes over the edge.

Yuuto’s eyes glow violet.

The glow washes over the rest of his body, and vanishes when he blinks.

Joshua stands in front of her. Coffee hangs between them. His hand is still outstretched.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t walk over there and punch you. Or take a picture and tell Neku.” Her voice is flat, buried deep in the anger boiling in her stomach.

“You can’t tell Neku. If he knows, Yuuto will have to leave without a goodbye,” Joshua says, waving his hand so the coffee settles on the table. “I’d hate to do that to him, but you’d give me no choice.”

“You coward,” she spits, acid burning her tongue. “You’d do that to him? What, can’t face the truth? Can’t face his judgement of you?”

It burns. Fire burns in her, eating away at her stomach as the fumes leave her mouth. She’s biting back the flame, for now.

“It’s beyond my control! Give me a chance to explain, please!” His voice cracks, wavers like a pane of glass balanced on its edge.

“Explain what? How you’re lying to us? How you’re trying to manipulate me, so I don’t tattle? How do you explain shooting someone in the face? How do you fucking explain what you’ve done to Neku? What you’re doing,” she flings her arms wide, “to him!”

Reality splinters.

Time tips on its axis. Cracks run through her body, she vibrates a pitch just out of reach, on a different frequency. Static leaks into the air, humid and heavy. She’s frozen, an ancient crumbling statue ready to collapse, unable to hold back the torrent of power coursing through her.

It wants to escape. She gives it a channel.

Mr. Mew launches himself from her purse at Joshua, who scrambles back, collapsing on a chair as he tries to get away from the stuffed cat. Curses fly from his mouth as the echo of light flies from his fingertips, trying to bat the cat away.

All it takes is one hit and Mr. Mew stills, dropping to the floor like his strings were cut. Shiki stares.

She’d done that. She had made Mr. Mew move in the RG. She’d used a Psych.

Joshua is staring at her, she’s staring at the plushie. Her anger stewing in her stomach is stirred by confusion, cooling for a second to digest this.

Joshua stands, inching closer, but not too close. “You’ve still got your power, but don’t worry. You’re firmly RG right now, WildKat is on a thinner part of the boundary between the planes, and nobody in this group of friends has been left untouched by the UG.” Hesitance is scrawled on his face, and his hands bounce, fingers tapping at his leg.

While it helps her to know she hasn’t flipped to the UG, this draws her attention back to him, and she pierces him with an icy glare. “Don’t test your luck by trying to change the subject. Tell me what you’re trying to accomplish. Or I’ll try doing that again.”

“I want to be friends, is that too much to imagine?” he asks.

“After everything you’ve done? Yes! You’re playing at some kind of game here, and I don’t trust it. I don’t trust you.” She steps forward and picks up Mr. Mew, so he doesn’t go flying off again. She’s ready for some retort, some proof, or a laugh.

She doesn’t expect him to go blank. To shut down. He closes his eyes, and they stay closed for a few seconds. Arms go slack, mouth drops into neutrality.

When he opens his eyes, she takes a step back, because they’re dead.

Yuuto is known for his energy, his laugh, the glint of mischief in his eyes. He doesn’t sit still, he can’t. It only happens when he hits a slump.

Joshua very much resembles that rare Yuuto, cold and tired. Dull violet eyes meet hers for one second, before he glances away. HIs voice has slipped into a monotone as he says, “If that is what you believe, then there is no point in me saying anything right now. If you choose to listen to one thing I have said, let it be the fact that if you tell him, he will lose a friend.”

She must blink, because one second he’s there, and the next he’s gone.

Shiki: ^Rhyme listen trust me.^

^I need you to kick Yuuto from the group.^

^He’s trash we don’t need him around but you’re the one with admin powers in the game chat.^

Rhyme: ^Oh did you find out too?^

Shiki: ^Wait what?^

^You actually know?^

Rhyme: ^Of course. If he told you I do, then yeah, I do.^

Shiki: ^And you’re just???? Letting him stick around? You haven’t said anything!?^

Rhyme: ^I’ve always been able to tell.^

^I still have residual instincts from when I was a Noise.^

^I sensed something off about Neku’s second week Partner when I was Noise, and I remembered that. It felt the same around the Composer. And Yuuto. I put it together and he told me what was up.^

^He can’t mention the whys directly, so he dances around the subject until you figure it out. Hints and clues because I don’t think he’s allowed to say it or anything.^

Shiki: ^He’s been lying to us for a year now! And you heard from Neku what he did!^

Rhyme: ^I’ve gotten to watch him as both Yuuto and Joshua for a year now, though.^

^He’s the same person, always. A different face, a different name, but he’s got the same personality. Just, as Josh, he’s more open and honest.^

^I trust him. He’s helped me work through some of the residual Noise stuff, and he wishes he could tell Neku, tell everyone.^

Shiki: ^Then why DOESN’T he? Why not tell us all? He could’ve told me and Beat way earlier!^

Rhyme: ^The more people who know, the more likely someone will slip up and reveal it to Neku.^

^And besides, he plans on telling everyone after he tells Neku. Once he’s allowed, he will. I’ve seen how it’s eating at him, he wants to, but he can’t right now.^

^So no, I won’t remove him from the group. I don’t think he has many people he can befriend, and we’re some of the few he does. I’m not going to take that away from him. Besides, we’d have to explain it to the others, somehow, and I don’t want to reveal the truth and force him away.^

#TWEWY #The World Ends With You #World Ends With You #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #TWEWY Bang 2018 #submission

[reasonableapproximation]

Copying over a bunch of comments I made on reddit, about Elm.

("Anyone using Elm in production?")

My team is. I have mixed feelings, along the lines of "I'm not a fan, but I wouldn't be surprised if I liked all the other options less". Being able to integrate with Haskell is very nice.

I haven't been looking forward to this release, which removes native modules (i.e. makes it much harder to interop with JavaScript; ports still exist, but they don't compare). It also removes user-defined operators, which I think is a shame.

("What parts of Elm do you like most and less?")

They're not really "parts of Elm", but...

I really like autogenerating the API. If I change my backend types, my frontend won't compile until I change that too. We've had some bugs with this (mostly in Haskell libraries), but for the most part it works fantastically. I just wish Haskell's records were as nice as Elm's.

Oh, and the timetravel debugger is super great. You can step back through the history of your page state and see exactly where things went wrong.

My list of dislikes is longer, but I should clarify that my prior frontend experience was stuck in 2012. And, well, I'm still not entirely convinced that we shouldn't all just go back to JQuery; but I can't compare Elm to any of its actual competitors. Just to my expectations, which may not be realistic.

Most concretely, there's a lot of boilerplate. If I add a new page, or a new widget, I need to edit several different places to tell them about it. There's no way to use Elm widgets like regular HTML ones, so if I have a lot of them there's just line after line of "if a message for widget1 comes through, run the widget1 update function on the widget1 model, and update my own model with the new widget1 model and whatever else it returned. If a message for widget2 comes through, run the widget2 update function..." There's no way to generate a dropdown list from a union type that doesn't involve just listing all elements of the union (and no way for the compiler to verify that you've got them all).

Less concretely, there's something of an all-or-nothing vibe. If you're writing in Elm, then either you use Elm components or you put in a bunch of effort to make it work with Javascript components. And the ecosystem isn't mature enough to reliably have great Elm components[1]. (I don't really blame Elm for this, it was probably unavoidable when writing a new language, but it's a pain.) For a while, we were using style-elements, which does the same thing again, you use components specifically written for style-elements. (You can embed elm components, but it doesn't work very well. I do somewhat blame style-elements for this.)

For the most part, I like elm. But it has enough annoyances that I wish I was using something kind-of-similar, without really knowing if that thing could exist even in theory.

And least concretely, there's also a paternalistic vibe, which I get especially strongly from this new release. Native modules are dangerous, so they're forbidden[2]. (We've been using one for handling XSRF cookies, and we have no clue how we're going to handle that now. Most of our others will just be annoying to lose, we'll rewrite with ports or pure Elm. But "annoying for no good reason" is even more annoying.) Some people wrote silly custom operators, so they got taken away. Deeply-nested records are a bad idea, so nested record updates are left super ugly. I'd like to be treated like an adult.

[1]: And I feel like in Javascript, the equivalent components would be easier to beat with a stick until they work. Elm doesn't really let you do that, once an HTML node has been generated you can't edit it, not even to add event handlers. It either goes on the page or it doesn't. That's good for making things work reliably, but sometimes you just need an ugly hack. This is related to the paternalism thing. (Not that I claim it was a deliberate choice. But I don't imagine that if someone offered a PR to add that ability to Elm, that it would be accepted.)

[2]: Honestly, I think removing native modules is the main reason I wouldn't recommend Elm to someone right now. Elm is young, it doesn't do everything yet; and that's fine, it can't be expected to. But in 0.18 it had an escape hatch, and now it doesn't, and I don't trust it not to need one.

(I just now realised that those footnotes were visible on old reddit and my mobile app, but not new reddit. Wtf, reddit.)

Some things I wish I'd mentioned here: the lack of cookie support, more explicitly than I did. And we haven't done much error handling yet, but it looks like that's going to be boilerplate up the wazoo; I wouldn't be shocked if we need to decorate every single Http requst.

(rtfeldman: "We resolved [XSRF cookies] with a few lines of back-end code - hit me up on Elm Slack and I can talk you through it!")

Thanks, I'll get in touch tomorrow.

Um, but at the risk of sounding churlish - I'll say another thing I don't really like about Elm. I get the distinct impression that a lot of discussion happens on slack instead of in public forums (like reddit or stack overflow), making it somewhat inaccessible. And then a lot of the supplementary material seems to come in the form of videos, which are also somewhat inaccessible.

I assume this works for many people, maybe even better than the forums-and-blog-posts thing that I like. But for me personally, it's just a (minor) barrier.

Still, I do appreciate your offer. If we get something that works, I hope you don't mind if I share it outside of the slack?

Update: so rtfeldman's suggestion is, in a nutshell: follow the OWASP recommendations, and instead of using a double-submit cookie (our current approach), switch to custom request headers. Elm sends content-type automatically with Http.jsonBody, and setting another custom header is also really easy.

It's a good suggestion, and we're checking whether it works with our backend auth libraries. If it does work, it'll have other advantages. I'm grateful to rtfeldman for his time and expertise.

Still, I think it reflects poorly on Elm that we're considering changing our auth mechanism because Elm can't handle cookies (at least not in a way that's at all easy to work with, without a hack that's been taken away).

I just can't get over that cookie thing. I think the reason they're not supported is that Evan decided local storage is better. I do not want Evan to make these kinds of decisions for me.

Like, if I was contemplating picking up Elm, and someone told me it couldn't handle cookies, I wouldn't even bother investigating further. Even if I didn't expect to need cookies, what else is missing?

And as it turns out, cookies are the only thing we've found that we absolutely needed Native modules for. But I still think that's a sane reaction.

("Elm's records seem to just be Haskell records with lenses built in.")

Among other problems, Haskell makes it hard to have multiple record types with the same name, hard to have one record type which is a superset of another, and hard to write functions which accept "any record type with this field". Even accessing them is a pain, you need to import everything.

It's improving, but slowly. Meanwhile, elm records have none of those problems. They're not perfect (I'd love to have shorthand syntax for a general update function), but they're miles ahead of Haskell.

(It's possible that "Haskell with a lens library" compares more favorably, but I haven't tried. My team is making tentative explorations into generic-lens, but that's it.)

In my foray on the Slack, I got nosey and seached to see if there was discussion of my comment. There was only a little. Evan recommended against people engaging with me, which I find a little annoying but I think partly because I get the vibe from that of "dismissing a troll", which is probably unfair of me. There's also a place he could be coming from of "this guy is making valid points, but yeah, Elm isn't doing what he wants and arguing about it won't help".

One thing he did say was like, «I guess that guy didn't find my points about optimising the generated code compelling. [ascii shrug]». I didn't reply on reddit because it wasn't intended for me to see, but my response might be something like:

Well yeah, when you were talking about the generated code you said it was important that there was no Javascript in the ecosystem. I don't want Javascript in the ecosystem, I want Javascript in my own codebase, like it worked in 0.18. Maybe I misinterpreted what you mean by "ecosystem", but to me that means "the packages that get shared and distributed".

Are the new optimisations incompatible with native modules? The thought never occured to me, and your comment doesn't give me a clear answer. I suppose it's possible. (But then how do the whitelisted packages handle it?.)

(Why did the thought never occur to me? Because removing native modules was never, that I saw, justified with "enables optimisations". If that was given as the reason, I would honestly find it significantly less annoying. Because then it feels like you're making difficult tradeoffs, not like you're treating me like a child.)

Still, even in that case I feel like you have a bunch of options other than removing native modules. You can say "native modules or optimization, pick one". You can say "native modules work, but optimization might fuck with them, be careful." (And probably we can find some hacks that make it work fairly reliably.) You can say "native modules work, and here are some ways to get the optimizer not to fuck with them." One of those feels like approximately no dev work, another feels like literally none.

Or maybe those solutions are all DOA, I dunno. I don't even know if there's a problem for them to solve.

#comment archive #programming

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Tangents

Sydney-based quintet Tangents have been playing together since 2010, but 2016’s Stateless LP marked a shift in the band’s method and sound, bringing their improvisational, collaberative playing into the studio to be reconsidered and reconfigured in the moment. This year’s Stents + Arteries EP showed the continued vitality of that approach and teased their new album New Bodies, of which Dusted’s Ian Mathers said their “post-everything mode of working is embracing rather than exclusionary [...] the result creates something intoxicatingly new.” To mark the occasion, all five band members have contributed to our Listed feature, with influences and interests running from U2 to µ-Ziq and back.

SHOEB AHMAD

Tony Conrad & Faust—Outside The Dream Syndicate

Leading up to the New Bodies recording session, I started playing bass guitar at points during our live set and really enjoyed locking into Evan with a singular pulse while the other three could let loose melodically. I wanted to pursue something similar in vibe when recording so that’s what you hear from me on ‘Gone To Ground’.

This album is pretty up there for me - not as ecstatic as LaMonte Young’s “dream music” works that Conrad was part of but also not as freewheeling as the Faust albums before this and definitely darker than both.

I love the myth of Jean-Herve Peron playing the second bass note on “From The Side of Man and Womankind” against Conrad’s wishes and I’d like to say that the loose implied funk of my bass playing is in a tribute to that.

U2—”Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” from Zooropa (1993)

Tangents is pretty left field with our musical aesthetics so this selection could be seen as a complete joke but I’ll own U2’s influence on me as a musician, even if it’s a bit naff to others.

A lot of the processes in place for the making of Zooropa (the album this track is from) remind me of how we like to work in Tangents - Ollie in a pseudo Eno role with his loops and live effects, melodic/harmonic improvisations and rhythm based studio jams - but the thing that resonates most about this song in particular is The Edge’s lullaby-like guitar riff that creates and then sustains the sweet sentimentality throughout. I’d say as much as his “single note through effects” style is basically the seed from where my guitar playing grew from, his fondness to write simple twee melodies on their best songs has influenced me more. I enjoy being able to do something similar to offset the more adventurous elements of our music and I’d say it comes to the fore in New Bodies more than before too.

Oh - did I say I was a sucker for the Wim Wenders video that was intercut with scenes from Wings Of Desire? I be honest, I think U2 may have more to answer for in making me wanna pursue an Art Pop vibe...

PETER HOLLO

µ-Ziq vs The Auteurs—”Lenny Valentino 3″ from The Auteurs vs. μ-Ziq (1994)

If we talk strings in Tangents, we’ll probably be referencing somebody like Godspeed, but as contemporaries I find it hard to describe them as an influential. I love their work but never for a second think of them when I’m playing the cello. So I’m choosing this gorgeous piece of faux-classical string pads with overdriven beats from the maestro Mike Paradinas aka µ-Ziq (it’s got very little to do with the Auteurs), because mid-’90s idm is in my blood, and Mike’s (and Richard D James’) plangent layered strings are always in there when I’m layered cello lines.

Amon Tobin—”One Day In My Garden” from Bricolage (1997)

Ollie & I have many discussions about our love of jungle & drum’n’bass. Ollie’s duo Icarus of course were contemporaries of early Amon Tobin, and a track from their first album appears on his Recorded Livemix album - serious props! Obviously the insanely chopped beats of the junglist pioneers, then Photek & Source Direct et al, contribute to our modus operandi(Photek joke, sorry), as do the more avant-garde sounds from Plug, Aphex, µ-Ziq et al. But Amon Tobin drew from his love of jazz and Brazilian music to create magnificent journeys in each track - the samba gives way to snapping breaks as, presumably, the garden becomes a jungle, and calm is returned by the end. Amon Tobin once regarded himself as a collagist more than a musician, and this collage aspect, albeit drawn from the instrumentalists in the band, is a big part of Tangents’ construction of our music.

EVAN DORRIAN

Arca—Arca

Everything Arca does has been blowing my mind for a while now. The production, rhythms, art, various (high-profile) collaborations, and on this record, his beautiful vocals, are all next level. Funnily/awkwardly enough I first heard Arca because his Soundcloud release (set/mix) Entrañas was reviewed next to our album Stateless by Pitchfork. A real honour to paired up with such a incredible modern artist, even just in web print. Looking forward to hearing more from him.

Scott Walker—Bish Bosch

This was and is a very important record for me, as is all Scott’s stuff from Tiltonwards (and Scott 4). When I first heard it I wasn’t sure how to take it all in and I’ve come to accept that I won’t. It’s a complicated and dark record that has a lot of wit and heart too.

ADRIAN LIM-KLUMPES

Tim Hecker— “I’m Transmitting Tonight” from Radio Amor (2013)

Tracks from New Bodies like ‘Immersion’ and ‘Oort Cloud’ spring from music like that of Tim Hecker. To call this music ‘drone’ or ‘noise’ is to ignore the delicacy of the rhythms of the layers, as well as the jazz-like piano chords that flutter around in his musical stratosphere. ‘I’m Transmitting Tonight’ drifts along but also has a driving momentum, depending on your perspective while listening. Our music too has different angles to approach it. When I produced ‘Immersion’, I enjoyed crafting the stretch, reverb and delay of the piano and guitar, while slamming the cello down an octave so it pensively mumbles below the stacked drum takes. This means you can hear this track almost as jazz, drone or minimal, depending on what your ear is drawn to. ‘Oort Cloud’ has similar cascading piano loops over cello and guitar drowning in sometimes noisy processing, all with an uptempo drum take layered in behind.

Bill Evans—Live in Helsinki 1970

“You use the intellect to take apart the materials, learn to understand them and learn to work with them. It takes years and years of playing so that you develop the facility so that you can forget all of that, and just relax and just play.” - interview during the filming in Helsinki, 1970.

The music of Bill Evans has inspired me for many years. His approach to harmony, melody and interplay is nuanced and emotive, and almost always a sense of calm pervades his music. Playing like Bill Evans, and thinking like him, is a lifelong pursuit. With Tangents, Bill’s philosophy of facility before play is spread across many domains. This includes pianism, a fluid approach to harmony and layering, and even the skills involved to intuit the use of effects pedals and software. The same goes for the others in Tangents - having a meta-consciousness of our band sound while improvising on stage or in the studio is necessary for all of us.

I’d love to see more live concert videos where the artist eloquently discusses musical approaches mid-set.

OLLIE BOWN

This is more of a discussion of records that I dream might be more explicitly inspirational in future Tangents records.

Alice Coltrane—Eternity

The loose funky joyousness that I associate with Coltrane is something I think we've started to explore in Tangents of late, though it is still quite latent. We don't really foreground solos too much though, which is something I like about our sound. I've been digging into her archives a bit lately and reflecting on how hard but rewarding it is to find that playful balance point where everything is poised on the verge of falling apart, as in the jammy madness and rhythmic pushing and pulling of Los Caballos. Many bands do this exquisitely and in one guise or another it's always been a strong interest for me, starting in my work with Icarus. There are moments where I think Tangents take it there, such as in the middle section of Terracotta. I look forward to exploring this more both in live improvisation and in studio post-composition. Then I love the fact that this record drops into a Rite of Spring passage (my favourite passage, seriously funky, excellently done). Also inspiration for future work: I'd love to work with Tangents to explore innovative covers and reinterpretations one day.

Pink Floyd—Wish You Were Here

You can't get more boring than to pick Pink Floyd as an influence. Is anyone still reading? But! Truth told I was having a melancholy moment the other day and I put on Wish You Were Here and for the umpteenth time in my life it just blew me away. Tangents' current work is nowhere near this carefully planned, but I hope we might engage in this kind of strict structuring in a future album. Nevertheless that kind of space and casual smoochy blueseyness is something I think we have explored our own way in tracks like Lake George and Gone To Ground, which I actually think is very Floydy. I love the pace of Shine on You Crazy Diamond, that sax solo bursting out of nowhere is stunning, verging on ironic, but completely loveable. I love how Pink Floyd do suites and guest appearances and carefully work the segues between tracks.

#dusted magazine #listed #tangents #shoeb ahmad #peter hollo #evan dorrian #adrian lim-klumpes #ollie bown #tony conrad #faust #u2 #µ-ziq #the auteurs #amon tobin #arca #scott walker #tim hecker #bill evans #alice coltrane #pink floyd

[brigdh]

Reading Wednesday

The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh. A space opera more concerned with ethics and friendships than battles and politics. The Pride of Chanur is a merchant ship crewed by the Hani, a lion-like species in which the females are in charge of trade and diplomacy while the males stay back home and fight one another for control of powerful households. Captain Pyanfar is on a typical trip, docked at a trading station, when a strange, naked alien that looks like nothing she's ever seen (though readers will quickly recognize it as a human) runs onto her ship. Another species, the Kif, soon demand its return, but Pyanfar refuses, as much because she dislikes the Kif and is happy to annoy them than for any deep reason. That choice lands her and her crew in escalating danger, as the Kif are determined to get the alien back and will declare war to do it and other species are drawn into the conflict. A great deal of the book is about the difficulty of translation; even with long-contacted species like the Kif, the Hani are forced to communicate in short, broken sentences and deal with deep cultural differences. With the humans, they're starting from the ground up, and matters like gestures, clothing, and food are as prone to misunderstandings as language itself. How do you even tell the difference between an sentient alien and an animal, if you have nothing in common? I loved this sociological part of the book. Unfortunately, I didn't like much of the rest of The Pride of Chanur. I didn't connect emotionally with any of the characters, I found the descriptions of space travel deeply confusing, and I have no idea at all how Hani society is supposed to function. For example, it seems like the male fights over households are supposed to be one-on-one, but then we're given a description of a whole crew invading and pillaging an enemy house. Is that illegal? Are there laws regulating these fights? What does a new male leader mean to the daughters and sisters of the former ruler – are they cast out too, or do they just have to obey a new boss? All of this is pretty important to the climax, but I just couldn't figure it out. The Pride of Chanur has its positives, but I don't think I'll be reading the sequels unless someone talks me into it. Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey. The fourth book in The Expanse series, and so inevitably this review will contain spoilers for previous books. After the events of Abaddon's Gate , humanity suddenly has access to thousands of solar systems, most with inhabitable, Earth-like planets. And yet in a very believable, petty example of human nature, we're fighting a war over just one. The Cibola in the title is metaphorical; it's one of the mythical 'cities of gold' the Spanish conquistadors searched and killed for in their early days in the New World. The idea of being beyond the law, of pillaging fortunes from a new land, is a major theme in this book, and Cortez and his methods get name-dropped at least twice. A group of refugees, homeless after Ganymede was torn apart by war, riots, and alien monsters, settle on a planet they name Ilus. At the same time, the UN grants the Royal Charter Energy corporation the exploration and exploitation rights to the same planet, which they've named New Terra. This immediately sets up several consequential questions that no one has the answer to: since the refugees beat RCE to Ilus/New Terra by a year, do they have rights of priority? Does the UN even have the authority to give out contracts over these new planets? Where do Mars and the Outer Planet Alliance stand? Who owns the lithium ore the refugees have already mined and transported into space? And since the rest of humanity is months or even years away from Ilus/New Terra, can anyone stop RCE and the refugees from killing each other before politicians settle the matter? James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are sent in to act as mediators, since a) Holden is, by this point, a popular celebrity, and b) as an Earth native and former OPA operative, he can be seen as neutral. Unfortunately matters quickly grow beyond his ability to control them, particularly when the defense system set up by long-dead aliens wakes up and adds a third front to the killing-everyone campaign. As always in The Expanse series, we have a set of new POVs. Unfortunately this time I didn't like any of them as much as usual. Holden repeats again, and our others are Basia Merton, Elvi Okoye, and Dimitri Havelock. Basia was formerly a minor character in Caliban's War, the father of one of the other kidnapped children. His son died, and in reaction to that Basia has become fiercely, perhaps stupidly, protective of his surviving family. They are some of the refugees, and Basia's grief leads him to make several dangerous choices when confronted by the RCE. He's a sympathetic character, but I just didn't find him as captivating as Avasarala, Bobbie, or Pastor Anna. Havelock was also a minor character before; he was Detective Miller's partner in Leviathan Wakes. Now he's second-in-command of security for the RCE. It's just too bad that his boss is Murtry, a straight-up sociopath who doesn't care how many people he has to kill to give RCE an advantage. Havelock explicitly says that he's overly influenced by the people around him, and so goes along with Murtry's plan for far too long. As a character arc, this did not work for me at all. There is some suspense in waiting to see if Havelock will grow a spine and do the right thing, but it's not nearly as intriguing than if he was genuinely convinced of Murtry's ideas and had to change his mind, or was in some sort of physical danger that prevented him from helping the heroes. Finally, we have Elvi, an exo-zoologist working as part of RCE's science exploration team. More than anyone else, she understands Ilus/New Terra and how very different it is from Earth, despite superficial similarities. She makes several important discoveries that save lives, but she's dangerously naive regarding politics and human relationships. She also falls desperately in love with Holden and begins to act like a besotted teenager; this is believable as a reaction to the stress and life-threatening circumstances she finds herself in – and the narration does make it clear that's what's happening – but it was still somewhat annoying to read. It was hard to take her seriously as a respected professor when she was blushing and stammering over her crush. Overall, I didn't like this book as much as the previous ones in the series. It just wasn't as exciting and the characters weren't as likeable. On the other hand, I did really enjoy the found-family vibes between Holden and his crew: Naomi, Amos, and Alex. (Which reminds me: I forgot to mention the AMAZING scene in Caliban's War where Holden literally proposes marriage to the whole crew. He's half-joking, suggesting it more as a way for them to easily become co-owners of their spaceship than to actually enter into a poly romance, but I still loved it.) We have Amos nearly murdering people when Naomi is taken hostage, Naomi issuing vicious threats when Alex's safety is endangered, and Holden going to new extremes to protect Amos. It's just a whole circle of love and family-of-choice and it is my very favorite trope. I'm totally giving this book an extra star just for that. In general, Cibola Burn is a step down in quality from previous books, but I'll still be reading the sequel. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged by Veronica Peerless. A really excellent how-to guide for houseplants, possibly the best book on the topic I've ever seen. It's split into two halves, with "The Basics" offering general tips and "The Houseplants" giving specific guidance on 119 common species. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant is aimed towards newbies, but it also included tricks that were new to me, such as how to save an overwatered plant by wrapping its soil in newspaper. I particularly liked the troubleshooting offered in "The Houseplants"; it explains, for instance, that yellow leaves on one plant might mean it needs more water, while yellow leaves on another species might indicate that it's getting too much sunlight. It's easy to look up your specific plants and get tips on how to best care for them. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant is available as both an ebook and a physical book, but I'd highly recommend the physical book. It's beautifully laid out, with a collage-like style that mixes photographs and abstract cutouts. A great book for anyone who raises houseplants, 'horticulturally challenged' or not! I read this as an ARC via NetGalley. One Way by S.J. Morden. A sci-fi thriller set in the near future: 2048, to be exact. Mars has been visited, and it's time for humanity to build a permanent base there for the ease of future astronauts. But how to do it? Robots are expensive and prone to breaking down, whereas human labor is even more expensive and when they break down there's likely to be lawsuits from family members. Xenosystems Operations, the company who has contracted with NASA to build the base, hits on the perfect solution: convict labor. After all, it's not like they can escape; they'll be on fucking Mars, and there's not a lot of spare oxygen or rocket ships for them to steal. XO runs a private prison in California (named Panopticon; subtle, Morden), so all they have to do is select a team of seven people with life-sentences who are willing to serve the rest of their time on Mars, give them a few months of training, and send them on a one-way journey – even once the base is built, they'll be a need for maintenance and janitorial services, since astronauts have more important things to do than unclog drains or charge batteries. In exchange, the prisoners get work they can be proud of and a bit more freedom in their daily lives. Frank is our narrator and main character. Sentenced to life for murdering his son's drug dealer, Frank is a former construction worker, an obviously useful background. He and his team of six other prisoners, each with their own specialities (transportation, plumbing, electricity, computers, hydroponics, and a doctor), plus an XO employee to be their guard/boss, quickly find out that XO has cut every possible corner to save money. They have no redundant supplies in case of wear or mishap; broken or missing necessary parts; barely enough food to get them through; problems with producing their own oxygen, water, and power; and not enough training for emergencies. Unsurprisingly, this quickly starts to take its toll, and people die in easily preventable accidents. Except by the third death, Frank suspects that they're not just accidents – someone on the team is deliberately murdering the others. He has no one he trusts, help from Earth is months away, and in the harsh environment of Mars the smallest mistake can kill, so Frank is left to figure out the murderer by himself before he's the next victim. Morden is an excellent writer of tension; there's several wonderfully dramatic scenes involving characters in spacesuits running out of time on their oxygen supplies that were heart-pounding and thrilling. Unfortunately he's not a great author of mysteries. The murderer is SUPER obvious, so much so that it makes Frank look dumb for taking so long to figure it out. At the point where Frank discovers a bunch of empty oxycontin packets around the murderer's bed and still doesn't think it might be him, I had to groan out loud. (Of course, being a drug addict doesn't make one a murderer, except that this is totally the kind of book where it does.) I also had problems with Morden's science writing; I think he expects his average reader to know more about space than I, at least, do. There was a lot of techno-jargon I didn't know, and I never could manage to picture what the base Frank and the others built was supposed to look like. On the other hand, I am highly predisposed to like a book that's this critical of the use of convict labor for corporate profit, and the excerpts scattered throughout of XO's private communications really make it clear how far down the path of evil a bit of greed and pure capitalism can get you. Hooray for a nice dose of contemporary politics in my escapist reading! I do want to note – because I didn't know before reading it – One Way is not a stand-alone. A sequel is due out soon. Nonetheless, One Way ends at a good point, with almost all of the plot threads wrapped up. You won't feel like you've gotten only half of the story if you read this book alone. I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.

[DW link for easier commenting, if you prefer]

#books #book reviews #james s.a. corey #cj cherryh #S. J. Morden #gardening #the expanse

[wifeofbath]

Infinity War Thoughts

Sooo, Infinity War.  Even though I had guessed a lot of the things that would happen (thanks to Linkara’s reviews of Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War), I still wasn’t emotionally prepared.  As Jeeves would say, Infinity War has “the dark inevitability of Greek tragedy.”

 Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers

This movie starts grim, and apart from some well-placed jokes and light-hearted moments, it doesn’t let up.  The destruction of the Asgardians’ refuge ship was chilling.  I was relieved when Thor said that half of his people were killed, so hopefully Valkyrie led those to safety.  Heimdall, oh Heimdall.  I did not expect that we would see his death, but it was great to see him use the last bit of his power to send Hulk to earth.  As for Loki…we all knew it was coming.  Loki’s had the shadow of Thanos’ wrath hanging over him since the first Avengers film.  But I though Proxima Midnight would just stab him with her spear.  No, we had to see Thanos lift him up and crush his neck!  I go back and forth on whether this is the end of Loki.  On the one hand, even though it was short, it was a respectable end to his character arc, and Loki’s death helps drive Thor’s need for vengeance.  On the other, it reminded me a lot of Loki’s death in The Dark World, and the fact that Thanos explicitly said that Loki was really, truly dead almost felt like an acknowledgement that Loki will be back.  From the filming pics for Avengers 4, we know Loki’s going to be in some sort of flashback/time travel scene. However, I feel like this is the end of Hiddles’s Loki, but I bet that we will get kid!Loki in the future.

  And then Thor crawls bleeding to Loki’s body and holds him while he waits to die too while everything burns around them AND THIS IS NOT OKAY!

  I liked Dr. Strange in his own movie, but it was interesting how much he’s changed since then.  He really is the Master of the Mystic Arts now, who’s playing by a whole different set of rules.  It makes sense why he was so determined to protect the Time Stone because once Thanos got that one, it pretty much was game over.

  Bruce, Bruce, poor Bruce!  *wraps Bruce up in a blanket*  He and Hulk were so terrified of Thanos.  Also, it’s interesting that Bruce know that Thanos was behind the attack on New York.  I’m guessing that Loki or the Black Order must have mentioned something during the initial attack on the Asgardians, and Bruce somehow remembered it.  Also, I liked how Bruce was the one to call Steve.

  I will never be over how protective Tony is over Peter.  Loved every moment of their interactions, especially when Dr. Strange looked at them and said, “Is he your ward?”  Speaking of Dr. Strange again, he and Tony had a fascinating dynamic and tension.  A lot of people have commented on their similarities (even calling Dr. Strange Iron Man with magic), but seeing them together really highlighted their differences.  Tony’s ruled by his emotions, while Dr. Strange is coldly logical.

  All of the Black Order was cool, but Ebony Maw was my favorite.  I have a huge weakness for proud, cold intellectual villains.  His telekinetic powers made him even more awesome to watch.

  Wanda and Vision!  They made me melt when Vision kissed her hand.  So tender.  Admittedly, during the fight with Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, I was thinking, “Oh I recognize that spot.  And that one! Oh look St. Gilles!”  It was two romantic couples against each other, although I’ll have to watch the movie again to see if there were any parallels between them.

  When Steve showed up and the Avengers theme played, my theater erupted in applause.

 Peter trying to imitate Thor’s voice was the funniest moment in the movie for me.

 Like with Wanda and Vision, we don’t see the moment Peter and Gamora became a couple.  I got the feeling that had happened sometime between Guardians 2 and this, and kudos to the Russo Brothers because I hadn’t been particularly rooting for Peter/Gamora to happen, but they are surprisingly good at writing gentle, established couple romance.  Of course, both of those couples end tragically, but they were happy while they were together.

  Shall we talk about the parallels between Gamora and Nebula and Loki and Thor?  First, the estranged siblings have some sort of reconciliation.  Then, Thanos brutally tortures Nebula/Thor in front of Gamora/Loki in order for them to give him the Infinity Stones.  Thanos then kills Gamora/Loki, leaving their surviving siblings on a quest for revenge.  Granted, Nebula already sought revenge, but Gamora’s death just added another thing to the pile of Reasons to Kill Thanos.

  I never expected Thor and Rocket to have such a good dynamic as they did. Rocket appreciated Thor’s respect. Their conversation about what Thor has been through was heartrending, and I just wanted to wrap Thor back up in his blanket.  He’s broken, but he has to go on to avenge the deaths of his loved ones.  When Rocket asked what had happened to his best friend, I wondered if Thor was referring to the Warriors Three’s deaths in Ragnarok or Heimdall’s.  Either way, four of Thor’s close friends were stabbed in the heart.

  Speaking of Rocket, I wonder if the Russo Brothers have seen that comic where the Avengers are playing D&D and the Guardians are their characters with Rocket obviously based off Bucky?

Peter Dinklage’s cameo was a great surprise.  Did not know what he was going to be in the movie.

 Peter Starlord and Peter Spiderman’s interactions were great.  “Is [Footloose] still the best movie ever made?”  “It never was.”

  I haven’t said anything about Thanos yet, but it’s hard to say something that everyone hasn’t already.  He definitely lives up to the hype, and his respect for the enemies who put a good fight up against him is very interesting.  For all his cruelty, he has a surprising amount of gentleness, as seen in his scenes with Gamora and Wanda.  He and Kilmonger could definitely sit down and have a talk.  Infinity War definitely is Thanos’s movie, and he rightfully dominates every scene he is in.  He is terrifying, but at the same time, he is a Well-Intentioned Extremist.  Like Marvel’s best villains, his motivations are understandable, but the actions he takes are horrible.

  The battle in Wakanda as they stared at the forces against them and knew they were all going to get killed, but it was worth it to protect Vision and destroy the Mind Stone…major Return of the King vibes.

Like Loki, death has been hovering over Vision since he was created. But it was so much worse than I had expected.  THANOS RIPPED OUT A CHUNK OF HIS FOREHEAD AND VISION’S WHOLE BODY TURNED GRAY AND WANDA SAW THE WHOLE THING POWERLESS TO STOP IT!

  And then Thanos gets the Mind Stone and the bodies just start falling! I wasn’t expecting them to show everyone disappearing, but they did, and it was so brutal!  Bucky’s call for Steve.  Seriously, I expected Steve and Bucky to die together but no YOU SEPARATED THEM!  YOU MONSTERS! And Steve is left holding Bucky’s ashes. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Sam dies! Steve loses both his best friends. Rocket has had to watch Groot die twice! I really didn’t expect them to kill all the Guardians except Rocket.  And T’Challa dies!  Peter I was expecting, but no, they had him cling to Tony terrified as he faded away and Tony is left mourning the kid he was supposed to protect.

 Natasha’s look of shock as she stares at Vision’s body while Steve collapses.  It’s very hard to phase Nat, so seeing her so shaken was chilling.

  All hail Queen Shuri?  I hope she’s still alive.  We didn’t see her dissolve, so unless confirmed otherwise, she’s alive.

  Nice little nod to the comics of Thanos making a scarecrow out of his old armor. 

 Help us, Captain Marvel, you’re our only hope.  

  My favorite thing during the screening was when the line “Thanos will return” appeared on screen, a girl behind me yelled, “Oh fuck you!”

A lot happens in Infinity War and it’s so much to process.  It’ll definitely take another couple of viewings, even though it will rip my heart out every time.

#MCU #spoilers #infinity war spoilers

[twitchesandstitches]

I don't know if i remember correctly, but i think you mentioned that there was some sort of prior faction that went around and re-created many of the races that was killed off during the cataclysm, such as humans. What was that faction called again? Was it the proto-legion or what was it?

This isn’t ringing any bells, tbh? i did some searches but nothing came up on my blog.

I do recall that I mentioned that the Fleet is doing this; for sure, they recreated humans in at least their territories, and regard it as a moral duty to recreate extinct species (by gestating them in their ultra-fertile bodies, obviously; hyper pregnancy IS a main fleet theme!). However, while they’ve been around several hundred years at least, they haven’t been around long enough to be doing that for every relevant group.

For example, while it makes sense for the Coalition to be at least partially derived from some human populations of Fleet origin, it doesn’t make much sense for the Imperial Commonwealth, who have been implied to be a remnant of particularly militaristic human groups, and it feels off for the people of Wakanda and similar places to have the same thing. So it makes more sense for a prior group to have done this.

That said, the Fleet hasn’t always existed in its current form. The Stingers, Fleet and probably a few other groups were originally part of the same nomadic society that eventually split apart and developed into their modern groups. I usually refer to this society as the proto-Fleet, and I did explicitly mention that they were the ones birthing a bunch of lost species after finding the technology to do so, so perhaps that’s what you were thinking of?

If need be, there can be a much older society that existed shortly after the earlier iterations of the cataclysm, that recreated species rendered extinct by that event; since this would be thousands of years in the past, at minimum, that would give thme penty of time to reestablish themselves as at least minor groups, lending itself to the setting.

This society would... probably be a mix of the fantasy vibe of the ‘enlightened council of mages’, ruled by a senate formed by the heads of particularly powerful magical guilds or something, with a strong visual inspiration of the wise and benevolent precursor empire that you get in many fantasies; buildings of living crystals, outfits that superficially resemble robes, cities flowing with magical energy, mighty constructs that act as living construction equipment. Pretty much any species that is usually treated as ‘wise alien civilization’ would have been a part of it. Andalites, vulcans, asari, protheans, and so on.

It almost certainly has faded away by the modern time, but can be used as a source of ruins to explore, such as colossal space habitats that serve the same narrative niche as dungeons in a D&D setting.

#replies #anon replies #crossthicc au #Anonymous

[twitchesandstitches]

Disney Growth AU

One of my holdovers from my old blog was what I called the Disney Growth AU, and I’m bringing it back! Mostly for the odd snippet or story post here or that, and partly as a component in some of my other AUs, since those mentions might not make a whole lot of sense without this AU’s particulars.

And also since it would fill a bit silly reposting older stories or edits of them without giving everyone the background of this AU, and anything i happen to think of. No sense posting stories and just throwing you into it blind, even if you’re familiar with it. It would just feel strange!

The Disney Growth AU is a combination of all the various disney properties (or at least the ones that fit into the Disney animated canon, with the various cartoons as having a more nebulous connection but are present), centering largely around the Disney heroines and major lady characters of their respective franchises and sub-series, with a focus on magically induced transformations and a particular emphasis on hyper curves (gigantic boobs, hips and butt, with variance for individual body types and personality-appropriate looks, and with more monster-y/human divergent form styles) and giantess.

In that later case, the princesses and other heroines are absolutely massive, with none of the usual limits i typically have in my usual AUs or giantess scenarios for the sake of tiny/giant interaction; they are a mile high at minimum when not deliberately suppressing their powers, and when they’re fully powered up, the giant Disney girls can be as big as entire planets, if not solar systems… and even larger than that, with their proportions scaling up to match.

Of note, this AU is broadly split into two continuities of a kind; one where this AU is its own thing and its relation to other fic ideas isn’t important, and one where it is a sub-set of Crossthicc as an important aspect of the multiverse, and the distinction has to do with which aspect I’m playing up.

Both versions heavily emphasize magic, and the basic premise is the same: the heroines, or princesses (whether they are actually royalty or not, such as in the case of Mulan or Moana; the title is a catch-all for ‘important heroine’ as a consequence of their actions) are living embodiments of raw magic, both conduits for the stuff of the soul and transformation, and generating it in the same way that stars create elements and light. This causes them to transform over time, growing bigger and curvier, and eventually take on more individual, inhuman alterations to reflect their raw power and coolness.

Their villains are, of course, around and up to No Good, and in between slice of life shenanigans, pranks, and attempts to simply live their lives while also being benign giant goddesses, they might thwart the plans of their equally gigantic villainesses and foes, who have transformed to become Big and Thicc too, and seek to impose absolute dominance over all existence.

In the former case where its a standalone AU, the setting is more mundane… as much as they CAN be, in the context. They live on a single version of Earth, with a different history to justify how a Powhatan diplomat, ancient Chinese war icon, Germanic fairy tale, and outright mythical figures can all exist at the same time. Effectively, they have been given a Kingdom Hearts style lighter and softer treatment, with ancient countries still existing in the modern day and altering history in subtle ways for this all to make some kind of internal sense. (For instance, modern America may not exist; instead you have the original countries of the First Nations expanded and industrialized and existing as a broad union similar to modern America,) Something similar applies to outright fictional countries or landmasses, with the world altered so that their likely geographic locations makes some kind of sense. Agrabah, for example, is a bit of a tricky case.

In this case, all the princesses are modern women, but have existed in many incarnations throughout history as great peacekeepers, champions of justice, mighty warriors, and paragons of virtue to teach others. In relatively recent times, their actions ensured a massive burst of magic that permanently brought raw, wild and Good magic back to the world, imbuing them all with it and making them living generators of it, awakening new power and making them into new goddesses, with great stature to match. Apart from now being potentially planet-sized and warping local space via their raw power just to fit into the world - packing mountain mass into a very small area - their lives are still mundane, and much of their time is spent adjusting to their new power and finding things to do with it.

Something similar would apply with the villains, most obviously Maleficent and a cadre of other villainesses following her; while not as powerful as the heroines, they are nonetheless massive and powerful goddesses… just not on the same level as the heroines, but they have the benefit of a massive horde of spooky monsters and less imposing foes that are mighty in their collective dangerous-ness.

Periodically, Marvel characters may make appearances (especially the more cosmic ones, such as Thor); assume this is a meeting of the multiverse kind of deal, with the other Earth perhaps being merged into the Disney one and the superheroes making do, with the new supervillains coming into conflict with the villains. Alternatively; emphasizing the Awesome of the heroine and supporting characters to serve roughly the same purpose as having legit superheroes here. For instance, consider Maui as being a Thor analogue by emphasizing his myth-appropriate raw strength and heroic deeds. Guy pulls up oceans during fishing trips!

(That said, the Marvel Growth AU from my old blog is now its entirely own thing, combined with some ideas I have for a DC one as well, as well as BNHA/My Hero Academia, as a cohesive general superhero setting. The tone of Disney Growth AU is more mundane slice of life that just so happens to take place for giant hero ladies dealing with their newfound powers, and just a hint of epic fantasy.)

Generally speaking, i will probably tag fics and thoughts specifically meant for this AU as JUST ‘disney growth AU’, for the sake of simplicity, without additional specifications.

The other version of this AU is explicitly intended to work with Crossthicc, and relies on the multiverse aspect and incorporates more obvious elements from the different versions of the characters in question. In this version, the princesses are explicitly goddesses; not just powerful heroines made mighty, but actual goddesses, and have been for some time.

They are, in-universe, widely worshiped across the multiverse under many different names and culturally relevant touchstones, but when one person pays homage to a raven-haired personification of Good Governance, and another gives their love to a goddess of orphans and adoption, it is still Snow White they worship. Consequently, they are enormously powerful and have a lot of potential domains under their influence, and mostly dwell upon a vast plane of magic that dwells beyond the material realm. This huge coterminous plane is effectively an elemental plane of magic, perhaps the metaphysical engine that keeps the World Tree of the mortal universes going, supporting that delicate soap bubble that is so easy to pop… and constantly on guard from the dreadful things trying to do just that.

It is possible that even this realm is but a reflection of their true divine power, a somewhat accessible an diminished echo of their full nature, but it's so mighty that they cannot properly exist in the mundane plane without wrecking it, instead manifesting as avatars. Depends on the need of the scenario, honestly.

The MILF fleet of crossthicc comes across these goddesses during their travels, earning their favor and interest, and a few of them send mortal avatars to stay with the fleet and experience the mortal universe, far weaker than their true selves but still shockingly powerful, and members of the God Squad that is a club of benign deities that for whatever reason are endorsing the MILF fleet.

Their home planea is much more mythic in tone, with an explicitly magitech vibe; imagine epic D&D style fantasy in an infinite universe of soaring mountains and mighty landscapes, with magically empowered technology serving the role of more mundane technological advances, and magic being absolutely universal. Take your grandest high fantasy ideas, ramp them up a 100 times, and mash them into the tropes of nobility and honor being actual forces of nature, and you have the basic approach! Here, mighty heroes fight grand monsters… and usually it's the goddesses doing this, the mightiest beings in all the cosmos, and fighting manifestations of entropy and cosmic non-existence. Their villains here are embodiments of forces like that, perhaps linked to the mysterious monsters the mortal plane is plagued with.

In this realm, mighty brave warriors ride on fearsome dragons to confront demon kings, mountains get up and walk to wrestle with one another, and the geography of the plane can shift at a moment’s notice when the currents of magic are strong enough. IT is in fact a source of magic, and does not conform to mundane notions of space-time. The plane is infinite, continuing forever, with ever more wild landscapes dissolving into chaotic potential and randomized impossibility as you get from civilization: mountains made of teeth, seas turning into boiling oil and crystalize laughter… and it gets weirder from there.

The goddess-heroines are so powerful that they stabilize this realm with their mere existence, growing more powerful and drinking deeply of the magic they generate and are empowered by, growing stronger still, and in doing so, they also reinforce the mortal realms, which is given life by this plane in some fashion. But the universes of mortals have been badly wounded, and the same applies to the princess’ realms too, and horrors pour out from them, and they must constantly quell those in hope of helping to bring peace, in some fashion, to all realms.

It is also important to note that given the different scale, they are far larger than in my usual giant lady fare; since space is more of a polite suggestion, this causes few problems, and they aren’t just planet sized. They are often universe-sized, if not even bigger, though they can adjust local space to fit them if they please, and even if they don’t, their presence causes no damage if they don’t wish it; their steps could reduce worlds to powder, but not a single living thing will be bothered by them stepping down.

(It is also possible that this realm is a primordial birthplace of souls, or an afterlife; people who perish come here, and after they work through their remaining problems, they pass on to another afterlife and perhaps later reincarnation. IT is the fate of evil beings to be reduced to food for the princesses, becoming monsters to be slain that reflect their evil hearts… or both. Some few mortal villains retain their willpower and become meances the princesses strive to defeat, and these are the villains of Disney canon that otherwise don’t fit the motif for the villainesses. Something similar might apply for the heroes and prince-types, but in terms of heroic spirits or great priests/followers of the goddesses in life. They came to love their goddesses so much, they remain by their sides forevermore. The goddesses themselves, or their bodies, may also constitute an afterlife as well.)

One more note; while this applies to the more mundane AU too, it's more prevalent here: the princesses here aren’t just based on their Disney interpretation but have elements from their other fictional interpretations too. Those who are public domain fairy tail characters, such as Snow White, have attributes from those stories as well as their many different stories incorporated in some fashion. Those who are historical figures will have attributes from real life applied more freely; for instance, in both AUs, Pocahontas is more like her real life analogue (apart from being the same age she is in the movie), down to that not being her actual name. There may also be liberal Fables (the comic series) invoked here, because i just plain like that series.

However, this AU is still intended to be mostly epic fantasy and high adventure, and should have a more or less light tone; thus, exceptionally dark or grim elements (such as those rooted in what may be the Grimm storyteller’s potential issues with women) will be ignored outright, reinterpreted, or applied in-universe as faulty propaganda.

There may also be a lot of mythological elements brought in. For example, the Seven Dwarves of Snow White are her adoptive fathers, in a sense, and are mostly Norse mythology style dwarves (and possibly svartalfar/dark elves, depending on whim), with their disney names, Doc and Sleepy and such, as pet names Snow had for them. For instance, Brok and Sindri are definitely there; Grumpy and Doc, respectively.

Effectively, in whichever AU, all the Disney cartoons are canon, with the ones more akin to Disney’s fairy tale vibes being more closely tied. More gray areas will be subject to weirdness; for instance, the series of Kim Possible might either be as more or less mundane figures in the magical plane of the goddesses, or as characters from a universe of superheroes who happen to have a connection to an appropriate goddess.

#/ #// #/// #//// #///// #Disney Growth AU #AUs #queued #i might also work RWBY in there somehow but idk how yet