zapphine - Tumblr blog

zapphine · 4 months

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my personal top 3 tolkien’s letters:

3. his reply to one sam gamgee who hasn’t read the books yet but his friends told him that sam gamgee is pretty cool so he decided to write a thank you anyways. he also admitted that he is not ready to receive a fanmail from an s. gollum at any time

2. his letter about eucatastrophes that sent me crying in my kitchen for half an hour at 4 am (i don’t normally cry a lot)

1. ‘i consider myself somewhat of an anarchist. i would arrest anyone who uses the term state…’ (unprecise quote)

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zapphine · 2 years

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700 words about 'Encanto'

Couple of months ago I had this topic about Doppelgängers in Encanto in school (‘Doppelgängers and Doubles in Encanto - do some characters reflect each other and how do the do it?’), and I think this is not terrible writing so I’ll post it.

So, I’m not the smart one or anything, but I really like a good challenge, and the topic about Doppelgängers looked exactly like it. At the first glance, I can identify some pairs of characters such as (explanation further):

Mirabel - Bruno

Julieta - Pepa

Felix - Augustin

Luisa - Isa

Isa - Dolores

Isa - Mirabel

Antonio - Mirabel

Abuela - Mirabel

Abuela - Pedro

and Camilo The Shapeshifter as a universal one-size-fits-all Doppelgänger. Hehe.

Mirabel lives in a symmetrical world. The symmetry is built by such pairs as Julieta - Pepa and Felix - Augustin (’two guys fell in love with family Madrigal...’). Each family branch also consists of two children who are older than Mirabel (we don’t count Antonio now at this point). Abuela, also as Mirabel, is the center of the symmetry, but she (Abuela) is also doubled by her late husband Pedro. She carries his love in her heart and her strong aspiration to build a big happy family is the reflection of the tragedy she survived and Pedro didn’t. This trauma obviously made her, and that’s why she was so scared about losing the gift, because of no gift = no safety, no prosperity for Encanto, nothing!

Bruno is the person who makes this world unsymmetrical. He’s ‘the third wheel’ in a big happy family where all people love each other, sing songs, and help other people in Encanto happily ever after. And Mirabel, with her absence of the gift, is not only a center of the symmetry but a problem too. That’s the moment when she pairs with Antonio when he gets his gift. He’s the hope of the family now, his ceremony means will the family Madrigal live or fade. And he gets his gift, with a little help from his beloved cousin. Also in this case we could pair Camilo and Mirabel, ‘cause they’re both 15 and Camilo is barely older than Mirabel, so it was such a shock for the family that Mirabel didn’t get her gift right after Camilo got his. By befriending Bruno and bringing him back to the family, Mirabel creates a new symmetry.

Mirabel and Abuela also are kind of Doppelgängers. Their conflict is the rod of the story. Alma has never hugged Mirabel after her granddaughter didn't receive the gift. Or did she?.. My understanding of the situation is that Mirabel’s gift was also watching out for her family, like Alma’s. Her door wasn’t that door which didn’t work. Her door was the door of Casita. Alma and Mirabel hugging in the grand finale is the core of their family’s future.

Besides that, I think we could pair Isabella and Dolores and Isabella and Luisa. Isabella and Dolores are both 21, but Isa is treated like a princess, the future of the family, a little queen. Dolores is... ‘just Dolores’. Their ways cross when we see Mariano on the horizon. I couldn’t name it a full-fledged conflict of interests because during the story we understand that Isabella doesn’t like Mariano, but it’s still a conflict, heated by the family expectations.

Isabella and Luisa are doubled as lightness and heaviness, like a core metaphor of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Luisa is the person who always carries too much (’give it to your sister, it doesn’t hurt her...’). And Isa, at the first glance, carries nothing, she’s the embodiment of the lightness with flowers everywhere. But watching the story we understand that it’s not true and she has her own heavy burden.

We could also pair Isabella and Mirabel a.k.a. The Hope Of The Family and The Disenchantment. They hate each other ‘cause they both have things which another girl didn’t: Abuela’s validation (Isabella) and freedom (Mirabel). As The Disenchantment Of The Family, she can do whatever she wants - or this is, I guess, what Isa thinks. Only by trying to understand each other, they both can grow.

At this point, I think this is the main statement of my essay. Only by trying to understand each other, the family Madrigal can heal. And the Doppelgängers are an instrument provided by the narrator for the viewer to better understand the story. I could go further on, but it’s already more than 700 words. Hehe. Or not hehe. Hope it was at least a little bit interesting to read! Thank you for coming to my TedTalk!

amd yeah, that was my essay. we have really great English (as foreign language) teacher and the best essay topics!

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zapphine · 2 years

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diabolical

metaphorical

love

being stupid

being loud,

being unloved.

i am so unmatching,

as simple as hatching,

as low as above.

i'm being a riddle,

i'm being - not fiddle, but -

fiddling with words

like with sounds to pair.

and being unable

to call the technician

and ask for repair;

too many 'being', but i,

stupid being,

just wanted a voice.

lured foreign language,

applied as a bandage,

not having a choice.

my simple rhyming is

sign of a signing

a contract with things,

hoping that that Rumi's reed eventually sings

i am so poor and so rich,

so low and above,

finding the perfect sense

of being unloved.

---

Rumi was XIII century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. Once one great lector told me a story about Rumi's reed. Why cane flute sounds so sad? Because there is a sorrow of a whole reeds in it's song.

And it is, obviously, not only about the reeds. More like about a person and a God.

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zapphine · 2 years

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i'm not fine,

but at least, refined.

Something beautiful in my mind -

i'm not done, but already gone -

finding

the one true word

in the fallen leaves

searching

for one true world

to remit the grieves.

i'm the princess of fail and the queen

of mistaken steps,

i don't know how to live,

what to do, to reduce the mess

that i've done when i was, you know, like, already gone.

what i missed when i thought that i

could successfully run.

I'm so sorry, my dear God, for just being me;

i'm so little, so faded, so old that you couldn't see;

i'm the queen of mistaken steps

and the princess of stress.

i don't know what i've ever done

to deserve this mess.

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zapphine · 2 years

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omg i wanna post smth but im shy

wanna some art & poetry?

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zapphine · 2 years

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Wanna find my pack!

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zapphine · 2 years

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“Don’t be the reason someone feels insecure. Be the reason someone feels seen, heard and supported.”

— Cleo Wade

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zapphine · 2 years

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Song-inspired tango pic of Crowley and Aziraphale by the lights

#crowly x aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale #azicrow #azirowley #ineffable husbands #good omens #anthony j crowley #art #fan art #good omens fan art #goodomensfanart #Spotify #hey angel

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zapphine · 3 years

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TERRIBLE SVTFOE HEADCANON

Soooooo listen to this song up here.

It's in russian so i translated some lines for you:

I had a passion for a Book of the Dead,

Now I'm done with it and I burned it away

I wish i would be you; if i could be you, i would become you

It's all for you, my precious flower!

You're the most precious flower in my flower garden,

You're the most precious flower in my flower garden.

And then just look at these pics!!!!!!

Perfect match. Crazy match.

#svtfoe #svtfoe head canons #ludo svtfoe #no one cares for ludo in svtfoe #star vs foe #star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe headcanons #star vs the forces of evil headcanons #crazy svtfoe headcanons #svtfoe ludo #svtfoe book of magic #star's book of magic #Spotify

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zapphine · 3 years

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I had been drawing this very slowly for couple of years... And finally, voilá! Eclipsa's cozy bedroom 🎏

#eclipsa queen of darkness #svtfoe eclipsa #eclipsa svtfoe #eclipsa butterfly #eclipsa fanart #svtfoe #svtfoe fanart #star vs the forces of evil #fanart #art #drawing #eclipsa

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zapphine · 3 years

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I don't want to argue with the main point of this post, but also need to make a remark here. Sometimes an enumeration itself may be a trope. Like a Catalogue of ships in Illiad. You don't need to remember any particular ship, but the Catalogue itself functions as a whole.

I read an article by Umberto Eco ('Hélas!: The Poetics of Excess') about this. Sometimes a huge list of just namings may express exactly what the author wanted to tell. A superfluity. An abundance. So many words, you're drowning in them. François Rabelais did it. Victor Hugo did it. Gogol did it. It sounds now like that line from Mother Mother's song: "...mommy did it, daddy did it (even though I bet they wish they really didn't", haha).

'The poetics of Excess' has its own aesthetic. It needs you to drown in these names. To represent plentifulness and splendor. I kinda like this trope, when it was made deliberately, not as a mistake.

When it comes to impactful description, less is more.

It doesn’t matter if you’re describing a character, a setting, an object, or anything else in your story: long pages and paragraphs of description is not an effective way to actually help the reader visualize the story. Instead, it reads like a shopping list: this room contains 1 chandelier, 2 bookshelves, 4 chairs, 1 table, etc. And a reader can’t memorize all of that, nor do they want to. Once they finish reading that description, the image will instantly fade from their mind.

Instead, opt for 1-3 vivid details–the first things you would notice if you saw a character’s face or stepped into a new room. Then, emphasize those details in relation to the story. Instead of describing the whole layout of the dining room, focus on the elegant golden chandelier. The reader can inform themselves of the fact that, based off the description of the chandelier, the rest of the room is just as fancy. It also is less for the reader to memorize, and it provides a simple callback for them.

This applies to almost all forms of writing, fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose, etc. Don’t test your reader’s memory. Give them a well-described detail and let them fill in the rest.

#Writing tips #writing #writing advice #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writers #writing prompt #my writing #writing tip

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zapphine · 3 years

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Me, writing one (1, uno, un) single post on tumblr:

a hundred browser tabs

google translator to find the words i need right now but don't know them

(and Reverso just to be sure!)

and Grammarly to spellcheck me

one tab for trying to find the English title of That Article I Read Once 'cause i want to refer to it

three tabs for checking historical accuracy

and spellchecking some personal names

two tabs for searching for song lyric i randomly need to quote

(and a translation just to be sure even if i'm already sure...)

ah! now we need to see the music video!

And, after five years of opening new tabs, the post is finally done. Or maybe not! *reading and double-checking for another five years*

#not being a native is hard #foreign languages #language stuff #language memes #learning languages #funny #funny post #humor #language humor

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zapphine · 3 years

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some thoughts about Star vs the... yeah

So, today i wanna talk about some Star vs the forces of evil headcanons i made up. or just thoughts, not even cool conspiracy theories. I don't think this is super original or smth, but i've been rewatching the show and these ideas came up.

First of all. have you ever noticed that Eclipsa (season 3, episode 15) uses all these funny-ish childish mnemonic technics in the archive... exactly like adult Star could do? i'd never noticed that before! but the second time watching the show i knew enough information about plot and characters to pay decent attention to the scene after 'magic exam' with Baby (season 2, episode 16) when Baby tells the High Commission that only Eclipsa was equal to Star in magic powers at the same age. Without that, i don't think i would compare Eclipsa and Star that way. Only in their royal misbehavior maybe, but not their character traits.

But, knowing that after Eclipsa the royal bloodline was halted, it's kinda strange. It would be more smooth if they were related. Without that, it's more like 'oh yeah, girls with ADHS exist'. Well, not the worst plot twist, i guess.

Also, i like so much that Eclipsa is lazy like a cat and she's not ashamed of it! You go girrrrl.~

As for Star, you may hate me, but i think she is obviously stupid, but that's definitely GOOD for her. Actually, i really envy her about that! Her naïveté and her bare stupidity are the reasons why she's so strong, so resourceful. She's, like. Canceled overthinking. She does things, not thinks about them. Like a paradox of Hamlet and Don Quixote (the first one thinks but doesn't do, and the second one does but doesn't think). And she's deeeefinitely not a Hamlet. But this is why she finds resources every time to fix the mess that she made. (Although, having magic and not knowing any single repairing spell? What a shame).

Also, a few words about Jackie Lynn Thomas. She's, like, a perfect crush for everyone. She's cool and dynamic and... cool... and nice... It's hard to not like her. Seeing her was a bittersweet experience for me because you know that feeling? 'I wanna be with her or i wanna be her?' She is P, E, R, F, E, C, T. Perfect. Little Ramona Flowers without trust issues (and seven exes. probably). She is so chill. so relaxed and understanding. Marco is definitely not good enough for her.

But is she really this kind of person? What does she do after school, how does she feel when she messes up? (and don't try to tell me that she never messes things up, everyone does!)

I think she seems to be so perfect because... we don't see exactly who she is? She is depicted so perfect because we see her as Marco sees, and Star sees her also like Merco sees, and actually, you (well, okay, ME) don't need to be sorry that you are not like her. She is not real. She is a perfect crush, but we just don't know who she is outside of that box.

And now some attention to the Glossaryck. Previous time watching the show, i was really creeped out by his transformation into some doggish childish something. But now i think... It's made very clear that he is connected with the Book of spells. And when Star resurrects him, it's only one tiny tiny piece of the book left. So, it's just like only one tiny tiny part of his great powerful mind too! And then it's logical that he behaves so strangely.

And that's pretty much it for today! I'm new to tumblr so i would be glad to any feedback and reaction! See ya~

#svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #star butterfly #princess star butterfly #eclipsa butterfly #eclipsa svtfoe #svtfoe eclipsa #eclipsa queen of darkness #glossaryck #jackie lynn thomas #adhd feels #adhd stuff #is star fandom even alive?

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zapphine · 3 years

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so, i need to warn you right now, honey. i'm a warrior.

years ago i thought that it meant bringing the LIGHT to the hearts of people, to be strong for everyone, to guide others with my experience. oh, so naïve.

today i know (but what could i possibly know if i'm no God?) that being a warrior is, in the first place, fighting your own battles.

And, perhaps, not always winning.

Sometimes crying in the middle of the night counts as being a warrior.

Sometimes going to see a doctor when you really need it counts as being a warrior.

Sometimes not doing anything counts as being a warrior, because you're so doomed, so tired, so craving to fade away and never wake up. My body is gross, my flesh is rotting, but i still wanna see the light.

i live in consistent sorrow about being me, being just who i am. i've wanted so much, and i've had so little. Sometimes being a warrior is a woe because you can't be EVERYWHERE doing EVERYTHING at every moment of time. Oh dear, i crave so much being everyone at each moment of time.

but i am

and i am

just me.

But maybe,

being me also counts as being a warrior.

#Spotify #depression #tired #my writing #writers #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #writing #new here #new to tumblr

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zapphine · 3 years

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“too chaotic to learn grammar”

#writing #foreign languages

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zapphine · 3 years

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hmmmmmm

how people even find friends and followers on this wicked website?!

#new here #new to tumblr #read me

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zapphine · 3 years

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sheesh, im so empty inside chaotic!

(yep, that's definitely me)

i know no one here needs my "history" (or MaYbE tragic backstory?~)

but I'm here to tell it and there is no one to stop me.

welp, I had that studyblr account, plusquamperfox, but after a while i dropped out of the university because of depression so... you can't studyblr without studying, hah? so i dropped out of my studyblr too. and then i tried to do this fancy art blog, but apparently i was too chaotic to be consistent, and i quit tumblr. Btw this second blog was also named zapphine, but now i need to start my life from the blank slate *cinematic sounds*. So i created a new 'zapphine' here and renamed the old one to the 'zapphine is dead'. haha. very clever of me. (i just really needed my original username...). and after that i thought for a while and renamed it again into 'zapphine is not dead'. because im definitely not dead here!

okay now im kinda tired of explaining

hope i'll be back soon! and not in... *counts in humanitarian*... 2 years. yes, i can count to 2! yaaaay

cheers, byeeee

#new to tumblr #new here #welcome post #introduction #intro post #pls someone read me

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