#-archetypical storytelling)

[macbethz]

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Once upon a time

Everyone knows once upon a time, but did you know that countless cultures have their variation of how classic stories begin, and one one from Welsh is, "A long time ago," similar to a few others from other cultures that go, "A long long time ago."

But, some, like Lithuanian go: "Beyond nine seas, beyond nine lagoons," similar to the Czech, "Beyond seven mountain ranges, beyond seven rivers."

These are some variations from Arab texts: This happened or maybe it did not. The time is long past and much is forgot.

There was or there was not—is anything sure or certain but the greatness of Allah?—a king so powerful that man and Djinn bowed before him.

This is how many Hausa tales are begun “A story, a story. Let it go, let it come.”

And of course, we have one that is a combination and modern invention that has become part of media culture and storied greatness: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." <3

These are just some. But it's been among the most wonderful part of my research before I began putting down the first words for Tales of Tremaine. But the art of storytelling is one of the most human things there is. It's central to us, and it has passed long and far by tongue and time over lands and through cultures. Some beginnings are so similar to each other, some not so much.

But then you see the threads between them in the stories, the themes, tropes, archetypes, motifs. But the traditions span the world. They are old. They are cool. And they are beautiful.

And storytelling is one of the gifts that connects us all, like music, and other arts.

[sforzesco]

Is mark Antony the one who kneels or is he the one that people kneel before ?

both? like, he was Caesar’s dog, but he does not kneel before Caesar forever, and the proscriptions were a pretty clear warning light for how things would look under the new regime. Antony didn’t stop there, either: he was gunning for king of the world when he chose Cleopatra.

either way, knees or not, his teeth are sharp, look away from him at your own peril

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

Another reason, among countless, that Jordan Peterson is full of bullshit: Last night I finally cleaned the floor of my apartment after letting it get filthy for a month. I was high as fuck (quelle surprise) and found myself thinking about how JPetes made his name in the mainstream with a book that I gather is about the archetypal Jungian heroism of taking responsibility for one's life through mundane duties like household cleaning. Which is a neat concept, but then JPetes has to ruin it by simplifying widespread archetypal concepts of heroes defeating epic monsters into Masculine Order taming Feminine Chaos. Like no, you dipshit, way to butcher a fucking awesome self-help concept. A hero fighting a dragon shouldn't represent Men taming Women, it should represent Humanity fighting Dirt. And the lance or sword isn't Facts And Logic or phallic dominance, it's a mop which c'mon already kinda feels like a lance when you're thrusting it forward. Jordan, my dude, you could've gotten the other half (approx.) of humanity on board with your analogy, but you had to ruin it with your weird misogyny as usual.

[zara-renata]

Hello, MephistoExpress here Hopefully brought you something interesting 💫

My friend you DID bring me something interesting! One of the things that I enjoy so much about LADS is getting a peek into Chinese culture because until I started playing Chinese-produced games, my cultural knowledge was pathetically limited to European/north American traditions, with only a sprinkling of Japanese tradition because of anime and manga consumption. So learning about this sort of mythology, philosophy, and storytelling tropes is really fun, and when it specifically pertains to our fiance Sylus, hell yes it's interesting!!! Thank you so much for sharing it and allowing me to continue being blissfully ignorant of most of Twitter's bullshit!! So it seems pretty clear that Sylus has cultivated the demon path, and his myth memories are going to be the greatest sacrifice and they're going to break my heart into a million pieces. Wonderful 💗 And I don't know who is straight up calling him a villain, they clearly haven't played the same game we have lmao. THANK YOU for this!!!

[diospirando]

Your neighborhood cryptid dabbles in CYOAs.

[hiimawarish]

Also, after today's episode we're bound to have the godforsaken argument again about whether or not hating Mahito is justified, and I'm gonna give my two cents because I think people forget about this most of the time.

Yes, Mahito is an amazing villain. Yes, his sole purpose is to be disgusting and murdering people, killing Nanami, and everything else he ever did is because of his role as a villain. Yes, you cannot expect a villain to have compassion or make an exception for your favorites.

However, you are also allowed to fucking hate villains because, guess what?, that's also their fucking purpose. People hating a character, even more when it's a villain, doesn't mean that the character is poorly built or that the character in general is just plain bad. As a villain, it just means that he actually played his role well.

So yeah. You don't hate Mahito? Good for you, but let's not berate people who do because it makes no sense.

[honeysweetcorvidae]

hm.

[theadaptableeducator]

Beyond Capitalism: How Joseph Campbell’s Philosophies Can Save Humanity from Colonialism, Nationalism, and Imperialism

Joseph Campbell, renowned for his work in comparative mythology and the monomyth or “hero’s journey,” often emphasized the interconnectedness of human experiences and the profound impact of cultural narratives on societies. Drawing on Campbell’s philosophies, we can explore the interconnectivity and unsustainability of colonialism, nationalism, imperialism, and capitalism, and propose a…

[tmarshconnors]

Mythology: The Stories That Shape Us

Mythology has always fascinated me, serving as a window into the cultures and beliefs of civilizations throughout history. From the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses to the intricate tales of Norse deities, these stories are not merely ancient relics; they hold lessons that resonate with our modern lives.

Mythology explains natural phenomena, human behavior, and moral values through compelling narratives. For instance, the story of Persephone and the changing seasons teaches about life, death, and rebirth, echoing our own experiences of loss and renewal.

As we explore different mythologies, we can gain insight into humanity's universal themes—love, betrayal, courage, and sacrifice—showing us that no matter where we come from, our stories are interconnected.

[braveheartstoryteller]

I've been thinking about archetypes. So tell me:

[mythcreantsblog]

Villains are one of the trickiest character types to write. We want our villains to be larger-than-life, but not absurdly over-the-top. The villain has to threaten the hero, yet neither kill the hero nor get beaten by them before the end. Because villains fulfill these requirements in different ways, we have to change tactics to fit the villain we’re working with.

To help you create a sound strategy for your villains, let’s look at six archetypes for villains and how to make each work.

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

the lunatic villain

gooood morning (afternoon for most)! 🌀 gonna start doing villain archetype posts as i research the best ones to make main characters for my writing!

let’s dive into one of my most favorites—the wildest of villain archetypes: the lunatic. these villains are unpredictable, driven by madness, and often bring a chaotic energy to their stories.

they don’t play by the rules, and their actions can be both terrifying and mesmerizing. it’s their unpredictability that keeps us on the edge of our seats.

what’s fascinating about lunatics is how their madness often hides a deeper truth or trauma. they might see the world in a way that others can’t, making their perspective both unique and frightening.

think about a lunatic villain that really stuck with you. what made them so memorable? was it their erratic behavior, their tragic backstory, or the sheer unpredictability of their actions?

let’s discuss and share our favorite lunatic villains!

[insidetheskinofthesun]

Fandom-related hot take: I think Homestuck is responsible for the plague of Incorrect Quotes accounts.

[reachexceedinggrasp]

It is really weird, as you say, that these sorts of characters (Beasts, grotesques, Byronic heroes, etc.) are so emotionally, aesthetically, narratively potent and draw on a rich literary history, yet they're such a contentious archetype, rarely done well now. I personally ascribe that to an obvious modern shift in the direction of storytelling cynicism (and I think you elsewhere have too, so don't mind me repeating your points back at you), but do you see a way out of it?

It's obviously an issue which goes beyond them (I mean even the central idea of redemption, or a complicated soul, is contentious), and so I imagine that the way out is effectively only possible if there are much more broader shifts in discourse. I think it's probably true that we might've peaked with cynicism now (absurdism seems to be more an idea that's being embraced - much as I don't like that, either, it's a gestural attempt at least).

But to circle back away from that, it's so funny how... if you're sincere and if you care and if you're trying hard, you can trip and fall into a complicated, Beastly character. And then they get mad about it.

Off anon because I figured I may as well hee hee.

It's definitely a weird moment in mass pop culture, because cynicism is so ingrained as the default that there's sometimes a lack of self-awareness about it from the writers who are responsible for the most mercilessly cynical takes. Of course, writing extruded movie product by marketing committee, as a lot of them are, is unlikely to produce different results, but I believe some of these people genuinely aren't cognizant of the worldviews they're putting across in these stories.

Romanticism has been deeply out of fashion for a long time and idealism is never in fashion, so it's not like cynicism itself is new as the dominant attitude, but it seems like that cynicism has become ever more juvenile and shallow. People steeped in it try to write optimism to play to the crowd (because generally people want a happy ending) and it comes off as the bleakest, most hopeless nihilism.

I think real idealism is challenging and the more complex the story becomes, the more challenging it is, so that you encounter more resistance writing idealistic narratives for adults, because it's so demanding when we see what it really looks like. It stops being crowd pleasing when uncompromising principles come up against the audience's desire for revenge, spectacle, machismo, etc. And because compassion and forgiveness have been relegated to media for children, people are wont to dismiss them as childish. Cynicism is still seen as cool and grown up and 'just being realistic' and fosters a vast wasteland of boring, lazy stories with characters you don't care about.

It is funny how people trip into Sad Murder Boys/Beasts/grotesques, but I think it sort of makes sense for the same reason they're such a rare character type despite being intensely impactful every time they happen, the same reason they're contentious: these are inherently romantic archetypes. So if you're trying to write passionately about this dark figure and you want him to be a complex character, so you give him pathos, and you want him to be powerful or intimidating because you're using him as a threat but still have big flaws so he can be defeated by the hero, and you want him to be charismatic to show why people would trust or follow him, and you want him to be attractive so you can have your incel message about male allure being dangerous... oops, you've accidentally created a romantic figure.

People accidentally writing tragic heroes when trying to write villains have already made something way more compelling than what they imagined, but then when they play up the pathos in attempt to emphasise free choice and create a tension where the audience sees a desire for healing from the character, a potential for change, they have inserted the most dynamic drama known to man. The hope this represents is so potent that it's going to alter the entire landscape of the narrative whether you want it to or not.

The possibility of redemption is a fundamentally idealistic concept and once we have our rogue romantic character breaking through stolid predictable archetypes and rigid storytelling, there's equal parts terror and intrigue on the part of the audience that they might be challenged with it. Redemption equals death is so popular because it defangs the challenge, it strips it of cost and consequence, allowing a veneer of optimism and admirable morality without needing to deal with what makes being ethical hard.

I think what we need more than anything else is more deliberate writing. People who actually want to tell a story and have something they want to say. No one is going to write anything legitimately challenging when they've been commissioned to make Captain Bland 11 and the story barely matters to anyone involved in production. It's uncool to care and there's a lack of respect for the audience, so the most you get is more 3edgy4me death and cynicism because these manchildren are convinced that's somehow still subversive despite paragon heroes who always say the day having been extinct for about fifty years.

You won't get brave choices out of the mainstream until someone with huge money decides they want to make them, because the entertainment industry has consolidated into the most risk-averse and cynical possible version of itself. Either something escapes containment and shows how profitable actually following through on romanticism can still be (you'd think this would have happened by now given how many chances have come up), or the current hierarchy crashes and burns and the field opens up to variety again.

[cruelsister-moved2]

usually i kind of hate when a piece of art feels indulgent sorry #earthmoon BUT i hate how often i hear the take that all description in writing needs to serve the Grand Unified Purpose of the work and you can tell its dumb because imagine watching an animated film and saying they shouldnt bother to put any detail in the backgrounds because its not important to the plot or theme 🤔 like it can be one stylistic approach especially in short fiction & can description and details feel pointless and unearned sure but the idea it should only rain if ur character is sad is goofy af and the idea that every element of the world should revolve around ur character and their narrative its giving western individualism