#Balancing the Moon

[coochiequeens]

Ladies today do something just for you or your education.

A Room Of One’s Own Day is a momentous occasion that falls on January 25 each year, and we’re going to help you celebrate. Do you know that the book by Virginia Woolf which was the inspiration behind this holiday is more than 93 years old? A Room Of One’s Own Day celebrates the privacy of having one’s own room and is also symbolic of independence. It also reminds us that it is the privileged who have their own rooms and that we can appreciate and look after what we have. It also reminds us of the ongoing struggle for females to receive an education.

HISTORY OF A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN DAY

Adeline Virginia Woolf, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, was born on March 25, 1882. She was the seventh of eight children born to Julia Prinsep Jackson and Leslie Stephen. Her father is said to have been the one who inspired Woolf to take up writing as a profession.

Woolf began writing in 1900. In 1912, she married Leonard Woolf, and the couple set up the Hogarth Press, which would in the future be the publishing house that released most of Woolf’s works. Her written works are said to be the inspiration behind modern-day feminist movements, and it continues to inspire young women to be independent. Though Woolf has written several masterpieces, her most famous essay is “A Room Of One’s Own” which came out in 1929. It dealt mainly with the lack of freedom of expression of women in those times. It advocated access to education for women. This novel played a key role in inspiring the feminist movements of the 1970s.

Though the exact origins of A Room Of One’s Own Day are not known, this day has been celebrated annually by millions as a day to celebrate independence and self-sustainability. Some might take the day in a literal way and celebrate it by decorating one’s own room or simply enjoying the comfort and privacy of one’s own room. Others might take it figuratively and observe this day by shutting the metaphorical door to things they are no longer interested in and celebrating independence.

HOW TO OBSERVE A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN DAY

Do something creative in your room. Your room is your kingdom. Let out your creative skills and give your new room a new look. Add new furniture. Paint the walls. Make posters. Clean your room. The idea is to renovate your room and take it to the next level.

Share it on social media. Let everyone know that you're celebrating this day. Take pictures of your room after you have refurbished it and post them on social media. This will inspire many others to celebrate this day.

Read a good book about women. Many of the rights and freedoms today’s women enjoy are new. Read a good book about the struggle and the amazing women who led the fight.

5 FACTS ABOUT THE NOVEL “A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN” THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

It was made for Cambridge student societies. Woolf wrote this essay based on two papers she read for two student societies in Cambridge.

Judith was a fictional character. Woolf invented the fictional character of Judith as the sister of William Shakespeare.

It had lesbianism. One section of the book deals with a fictional female writer's relationship with another woman.

It faced criticism. The book was criticized for the sensitive content and also because many women felt that women of color faced greater prejudice and discrimination, which was not covered in the novel.

It was adapted into plays“Balancing the Moon” (2011) was one of the many plays adapted from this novel.

WHY A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN DAY IS IMPORTANT

It allows us to appreciate the freedom of having our own room. Having a room of our own is a luxury that we often take for granted. Many people in this world either don’t have a roof over their heads or are sharing a house with others. This day allows us to appreciate the luxury of having our own rooms.

It is symbolic of independence. A Room of One's Own Day is symbolic of standing on our own and being independent. This day figuratively reminds us to have our rooms, that is, to be self-sufficient and not be dependent on others.

It reminds us to close the doors to things that are detrimental to our well-being. A Room of One's Own Day is a reminder that we need to close the door to people, and also things, that are toxic and hinder our growth and success. It is a day to be introspective and clear out the junk from your metaphorical “room”.

[carpethedamndiemdejavu]

[crabsnpersimmons]

This one goes out to all the slow burn enjoyers, the dense Y/Ns, and the soft robo jesters that suffer in silence!

Inspired by @bamsara's “Solar Lunacy” fic.

If you feel like reading my ramblings and want to experience more heartbreak for fictional jester blorbos, check under the cut where I detail all the planning behind the frames!

so i heard this song for the first time in a while and the opening lyrics immediately made me think of moon, so i was daydreaming some scenes and then i decided to thumbnail some ideas:

and it all went downhill from there as everything became a metaphor and a parallel to each other, which i will now go into detail on!

you thought the animatic itself was sad?

*writing muse laughs maniacally* IT'S ALL A METAPHOR

Frame 1. "turn down the lights" We start with a back view on Moon. The lights are out, the Moon is out, but we do not see his face. The music and the greyscale atmosphere are enough to establish the weight of the moment and the weight on Moon’s mind.

Frame 2. "turn down the bed" We cut to a shot of Moon's body, kneeling on the ground of the daycare, like a padded cell. Moon’s hands are twitching with the effects of the glitch, with purple sparks coming from his hands. We still do not see his face.

Frame 3. "turn down these voices inside my head" Cut to an extreme close up on the dark half of Moon’s face. Now we see his face, but only a portion of it. His left eye is wide open, red and glitching out. The voices in his head can refer to the glitch but also his repressed feelings. Or maybe it could be Sun's voice in their shared headspace.

Frame 4. "lay down with me" Y/N's hand enters the frame from the upper right corner, lowering down to meet Moon where he kneels on the ground. Only a corner of Moon's face appears on the bottom left corner of the frame, his starry nightcap beginning to cover his glitched left eye.

Frame 5. "tell me no lies" An full shot of Moon on the floor and Y/N standing in front of him with their hand stretched towards him. A light spills out from behind Y/N, creating a boundary between them.

Now we see more of Moon. It is only when Y/N enters the frame—enters his world—that Moon’s body is shown in its entirely. When Y/N is here, he is no longer fragmented. He is whole.

Frame 6. "just hold me close" pspspspsps Playfully, Moon extends his own hand, beckoning Y/N to come closer, to join him. His right hand crossed over his body as he uses the playful gesture to hide his true feelings—to put distance between him and Y/N. His hat continues to cover his glitching left eye. He doesn’t want to worry Y/N.

Frame 7. "don't patronize" In response, Y/N’s hand pats Moon on the head, returning his playfulness. Moon looks surprised by the action. Moon, notably, does not lower his hand—perhaps he has forgotten it or perhaps his invitation is still open.

Frames 8-9. "don't patronize me" Moon rotates his faceplate so Y/N’s hand is touching the side of his faceplate, a more intimate gesture than a head pat. However, his hat is in the way. At this angle, his starry nightcap fully covers his glitchy eye and the dark side of his face, hiding his defect and acting as a veil between him and Y/N. A self-imposed boundary. So close, yet thinly separated. It's better this way. It's safer this way.

The lyrics are broken up by Y/N's arm, both to illustrate how the song is sung ("patronize" is drawn out and "me" is briefly added in before the chorus starts) but also to show how Y/N interrupts Moon's resolve, highlighting the irony between the visuals and the lyrics. Demanding not to be patronized, yet Moon happily accepts this play at intimacy. Don't patronize me, I am weak for it.

This is also the only instance where the red light of Moon's eyes glow and tint the surfaces around it. Visually, it makes it look like Moon is blushing (heavily inspired by @restinsodaroni's art). But also, in this moment of honesty, Moon's intrinsic light spills out, colouring the greyscale world. In this brief moment of honesty, Moon touches the world with his own colours, his own light.

(and this is also where i forgot to clean up the shading on Y/N's arm, but it's okay it doesn't need to be perfect it simply needs to be. And Moon will still love Y/N even if they are a continuity error.)

Frame 10. "'cause I can't make you love me if you don't" A parallel to a frame 4, Y/N retrieves their hand away and immediately Moon is reduced to the corner of his faceplate in the frame. Only now his glitched eye is fully covered by his hat.

The lyrics here (and in the next frame) in particular grow lighter to emphasize Moon's diminishing resolve and agency.

From here on out, the lyrics here are broken up, carrying on this theme of fragmentation. Y/N is pulling away, Moon is breaking up, the words are breaking up. Everything is coming apart.

Frame 11. "you can't make your heart feel something it won't" Y/N turns to leave. The lyrics, broken up as before, highlight the irony of the situation. Y/N, a human, can’t feel something they simply don’t feel. Whereas, Moon, the machine, feels something his code never intended him to feel.

Frame 12. "here in the dark in these final hours" Another full shot that parallels frame 5, as Y/N steps towards the light and Moon leans forward into the space Y/N once occupied. Y/N is leaving—that which makes him whole is leaving. And he is only capable of making it to the boundary where the light cuts into the darkness. The "final hours" suggest it might be the end of Y/N’s shift, or perhaps this scene takes place right before the glitch takes over—the final hours that Y/N has with the true Moon. Either way, time is running out—and only Moon knows it.

There is a contrasting display of body language here. Moon is on the floor leaning towards Y/N with his hand still left out. Whereas Y/N is turned away, walking away, and has already slipped their hand away and into their pocket. Y/N is closed off while Moon is limply open. Y/N is actively moving while Moon is on the floor, waiting, hoping, for that which he lacks the agency to reach for himself.

Frame 13. "I will lay down my heart" A close up on Moon’s hand, rising up again, perhaps to beckon Y/N back once more. This is a slight parallel to Y/N's hand reaching out to Moon. While Y/N can freely reach out and touch Moon, Moon cannot. He can't enter the light and more importantly he can't risk potentially harming his relationship with Y/N—be it through the glitch or by his feelings. He can only lay down his heart—put aside his feelings or hope that someone will pick up his pieces and make him whole.

Frame 14. "and I'll feel the power" Still on a close up on Moon’s hand, now clenched in slightly. This initially was going to have the glitch effects. However, I felt it more meaningful for it to be left without. Leave it up for interpretation why Moon pauses his hand. What is the power that he alone feels and stays his hand?

Frame 15. "but you won't, no, you won't" A parallel to frame 1, a view of on Moon's back with his hand stretched out towards the light, and Y/N walking into the light spilling through the open daycare door.

The placement of the lyrics suggest two different “you won’t”—Y/N who won’t realize Moon’s feelings, and Moon who won’t dare speak them into reality.

Another note on the parallel to frame 1, this time we also see Y/N's back, but it is notably different from our view of Moon's back. With Moon, we literally see inside him through the hole for his loop. However, Y/N is shrouded in shadow, just a solid, obscure silhouette against the bright light of a world Moon—and Sun for that matter—are closed off from. We don’t see into Y/N, just as the Daycare Attendant doesn't have any vantage point of Y/N's life beyond their time at the PizzaPlex. (The unfortunate reality of a being a character made for the purpose of being a vessel for the reader.)

Frame 16. "'cause I can't make you love me" We finally cut to face Moon head-on, frozen in place with his hand stretched out, unable to cross the boundary into the light. His eyes have gone dark. Where we began by seeing bits and parts of Moon, and never seeing his full face—now we, the viewer, see the full Moon, open and vulnerable—unbeknownst to Y/N.

Frame 17. "if you don't" But in the dark, behind closed doors, there is no one to perceive him—no one to receive him. The light dwindles as the daycare doors are closed. Moon stays frozen where he kneels. It is no longer the glitch that plagues him, but a far deeper dread.

But a lone streak of light peaks through the gap in the daycare doors. Perhaps that is just enough. A silver lining. A frail hope. A single, ethereal thread out of darkness and into light.

Thanks for reading and watching!

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled fun and games shortly!

[epicfroggz]

this is them to me fr

[coyoteclan]

I'm a little late to the party but man. What a cool cat huh

@fallenclan's Lee as a (not so quick) warm-up :)

[punksocks]

I’ve been on a crazy journey of self discovery this year and I’m about to say the most Capricorn thing I can say- I’ve learned that if folks aren’t on your level you don’t have to make yourself smaller to match them you can just keep it stepping and the Divine will match you up with the right folks at the right time

[lotus-pear]

being a knkdz shipper means initially latching onto them bc of their sun and moon dynamic with dazai as the sun and kunikida as the moon only to realize later on that it's actually the opposite

[loudclan-clangen]

Thinking abt how the kits would have absolutely zero grasp on the concept of mortality and death and how they'd be really confused on why their parents are upset and where Mothtree wen't :^)

Hi friend, I don’t want to be like a major downer but… Rosehipkit is VERY sick. She and Dogwood, more than any other kits, absolutely understand the concept of mortality and death in a way that they should not have to.

[ressioo]

Women!!

Redrew that one thing of sliver, refreshed her design. And ofc did some other doodles

Sliver and her two wives. Truly wonderful how crossovers means there can be two whole moons

[lil-lemon-snails]

MY BELOVED BOY 😭☀️ There's so much more where this came from.... (the brain rot is real)

[caitlynmeow]

I know it was yesterday but happy birthday to my precious baby boo I love you so much my Cassandra 😘

[apollosbisexualass]

Just thinking how much it would suck for Lucretia when she was making the Bureau of Balance all static, if the Void Fish decided that that shit was cool and that everyone ought to know about it and just broad casted it all across the universe

[thesorceresstemple]

By Cho Giseok for Revue Magazine

[carpethedamndiemdejavu]

[sketchy-tour]

Updates on me! Still doing alright and still trying to figure out a new tablet I'd like. Haven't even found time to doodle much between all the running around I'm doing but still! I'll hopefully be able to draw again soon! Here, have a recent messy trad doodle I did for someone!

Also been going golfing! Okay maybe I'm not the one golfing, but im keeping scores while driving the golf cart! Definitely super good at score keeping and don't get distracted at all!

[railway-lands]

i did some draaawiingggg