#I try to make sure that you can actually feel the progression and evolution of Clan Culture

[bonefall]

Considering the "march of technology" in Clan culture and the span of time between Thunder and, say, Briarlight -- is Briarlights mobility device more advanced than we give it credit for or is Thunder's prosthetic, like, incredibly simplistic? Literally a leg-shaped stick? Or is the progression of accessability options over time less of an upward trend? Would knowledge wax and wane depending on the era and how tolerant Clan culture is of the disabled at the time?

Did advanced techniques like weaving, leathermaking, or cooking exist back in BB!DOTC or are they developed over the following decades?

They developed over the ensuring decades, but cooking and leatherwork both come from Tribe culture! When the Sundrown Patrol shacks back up with them in TNP, many generations later, they are actually going to find that Tribal leatherwork is more advanced than Clan leatherworking, and they also cook their food

(Crowfoot smugly glances at Squirrelpaw like "look it's that thing you don't do, wormbelly")

Park Cats don't make tools like this, by the way. They had no need or desire. Before the destruction of the Park, the humans provided everything in terms of trash cans, kibble handouts, so on. Individual groups would fight for landmarks, but resources were more based around food and recreation, not crafting reagents.

There's a point where Thunder Storm ends up making friends with River Ripple, not knowing he's a prince or even speaking the same language, just because he hands him a hot, roasted mouse.

The leg prosthetic is basically a leg-shaped stick with "good leather" by the standards of the time, strapped to his nub. I drew him once without the prosthetic, if you want to see what he's got. There's a teeeeeny weenie bit of leg below the knee.

But anyway yes knowledge waxes and wanes. Wildfur's mobility device was super unique and built on BloodClan contribution, Littlecloud and Cinderpelt had a little adventure going to Chelford for ideas. Briarlight's is SHOCKINGLY advanced and a testament to Jessie's genius, but built on what Cinder and Little had already invented.

[sharpth1ng]

As someone who has TRIED to write longfic for a while, I find outlining and sticking to it so fucking hard?! Like I never know what I'm doing at all. And I wanted to ask how do you do it??? Like what's your process if you have one or just whatever tips you have, because I feel like the pacing and plot/character evolution in your fics is so good? Idek dude I'm desperate this is so hard 😭😭 but I really wanna do it so. Help please

Honestly this is the first long fic I’ve managed to write, it’s something I’ve struggled with a lot as well. I guess I have a couple tips, but it’s by no means expert advice. It’s also possible some of this is too basic, idk, but I’ll do my best to be helpful.

Outlining and thinking into the future is really important but I’d actually recommend you give yourself a little flexibility to change things as well. I like to have my end point set- that means I know how characters start out and how they change through the course of the fic. After that I basically just have to get from point A to point B by figuring out what events happen to change the characters over the course of the plot.

In Debaser the start point is a closeted, self-denying Billy and a Stu that’s not yet completely sure of his place in Billy’s orbit. At the end we have a Billy who is still closeted but admits his sexuality to himself and has fallen in love with Stu, and we have an equally but more openly in love Stu who is also significantly more confident (if also severely injured).

It helps to have a solid midpoint as well, this is basic plot structure stuff. You need the characters to face a challenge and overcome it, and for Debaser this is Maureen’s death. It’s their first murder but it also marks the beginning of a significant change in their relationship. Before Maureen their behaviour has been almost justifiably kinky to Billy. He can tell himself that he’s only getting off on causing Stu pain, but kissing him crosses a line, and then there’s everything that happens at Christmas and it just continues from there.

As I’m writing this stuff I try to be mindful that I’m creating a sense of escalation- the characters are making progress or regressing, but either of way the stakes are getting higher. Scream lends itself well to that, so I got lucky.

It also helps that I’m sort writing a book slasher, at least later in the fic. It means I can make use of those tropes, so I have something to lean on. I’d recommend figuring out some tropes that you like from the genre you’re working in, and put your own spin on them or find a way to subvert them.

I often work through this kind of planning with more of a visual map, then this eventually gets turned into bullet point summaries of each chapter. When I actually go to write the chapter a lot of the time I realize some of those planned plot points don’t quite work or don’t feel in character, and in those cases I often change those details. If it works better for the story I’m telling then it’s good to go off-script a little. There are usually some major events that I won’t change, but most things are fair game.

Finally, I’d recommend writing ahead. It’s really benefited me to know what’s happening in the next few chapters before I edit for publishing. That way I can add in or change any details that no longer work with what’s coming up in the future.

I hope some of this makes sense (and is helpful) but like you’re right, it is hard. It’s such a scary process honestly and that’s part of why Wave of Mutilation is taking me so much time. But yeah I think it’s normal for it to feel kind of awful to do this kind of thing. Truly the only thing i hate more than writing is not writing.

I wish you the fucking best with whatever you’re working on!

[barid-bel-medar]

I’ve been squeezing up brains to find Bakugou actual plot relevance… there’s so little that he may perfectly be absent. At least in the early stages. In the late late stages there’s some but for then the divergence may have fixed up.

Anyway, i kind of found a couple and here are as aks:

Will Kamimari and Mina be affected in their academic progress by Bakugou not being there tutoring them?

Aizawa showed a huge bias towards Bakugou since the beginning. Is there any other student occupying that spot? Is he still salty about the top scorer being rejected for the new rule? Given Izuku early progress in handling OFA, is he less biased against him?

Thank you for giving me brainrot with your story. I kind of started a pilot fic with this trope thanks yo you!

Yeah it was the realization I had a number of months back that you can pull Bakugou out of basically all the early plotlines and it doesn't really effect things (hence FtE's entire existence). Even in context of the training camp attack they could have just as easily made a different student a target, like Izuku or Shouto. In contrast if Izuku isn't there, things change dramatically (which yes obviously he's the protagonist so that should be the case), including for Bakugou's own character evolution. If he succeeds when Izuku does not, his worst traits would have definitely gotten amplified and problems would have spiraled.

Like if Izuku wasn't at UA I think it's perfectly reasonable to write it that Bakugou wouldn't make it to graduation. He'd either get himself killed or expelled.

But to answer your other questions!

No, because I feel they would have found other students to help tutor them even if he wasn't there. It's just in-series it's a good means of explaining him succeeding in making friends/a social group that isn't followers ala Aldera.

There's presently not entirely a student holding that role though I would describe Aizawa as being grudgingly fond of Izuku and Neito despite himself. He actually wasn't really too salty over Bakugou's failure because he did get the point the Commission was making and it wasn't that unreasonable. His salt more related to him feeling Izuku got too many rescue points than anything else. I will say that in context of that, Izuku *wasn't* entirely wrong to suspect there was some fuckery going on with his practical score because Nedzu did want to make sure he got in and his rescuing of Uraraka made for the opening he needed. To some extent though it is also a different form of red flag the rescue points only since it does raise questions of potential martyrdom issues/lack of care of Izuku's own life versus the person he's trying to save.

Yeah Izuku's sense of heroism is utterly disconnected from Bakugou when it comes down to it. Even in the case of Bakugou his own desire to be a hero is disconnected from Izuku's existence, there's other issues specifically there (like the seriously concerning detail of how many of Endeavor's more toxic trait he happens to have when he's a kid; at least with Endeavor it's pretty clear those issues were more ones that started when he was older)

[girlycinephile]

What if Amy Rose had her own spin off??

With the release of Princess Peach: Showtime has got me thinking…imagine if we had gotten that similar experience for our fav pink hedgehog Amy Rose? Sure, you could make the argument that due to the bad reception of Shadow The Hedgehog (2005) when it was released indicated that Sega was not going to make any more sonic spin off games in the future (though I will defend that game for the entirety of my living existence because I whole heartedly loved it) but theoretically it could be a great concept to bring back because you could do so much with each character.

But in this case, I want to talk about the many ways of what I personally think could work if Amy had a spin off game.

1. Good Character Writing

Over the course of the Sonic franchise, there have been many interpretations of Amy some range from very bad to very good if you know what I’m talking about. If you want an in depth discussion of Amy’s evolution throughout the years read @ratrrriot post they do a great job of explaining it better than I ever could. But basically in short terms: showcase her love and compassion but is a fierce determined hero and willing to stand up for the people whom she cares about but retain both her bad qualities such as her stubbornness and so it would make feel more grounded and like a real person.

2. An Open World Format

Sonic Frontiers was a definite refresher for the format of Sonic games. The open world really helped how the open world is a great fit for Sonic games show casing how alive the star fall islands were and immersive gameplay experience can be. I know some people were mixed on that aspect but personally it was a welcome addition that helped with the story. In my mind, Amy would be going on her adventure led by her tarot cards as well as expanding her horizons and come across this magical and unknown land associated with love and kindness (one of Amy’s defining traits). The land would like some fantasy/ fairy tale inspired world with each level being more beautiful than the last and in a sense still being rooted into Sonic’s world with creative lore but with a girly twist on it one of the many things that definitely defines who Amy is and that some of the locations/ levels within the game could be off real life places or folklore.

3. Story

Sonic Frontiers and to an extent The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog were praised for being the first Sonic games in years to have a good story probably since Sonic and the Black Knight. Definitely can work if they have good writers. Amy would be in the game for obvious but maybe two or three more friends along for the ride too but having them be in the story instead of them just being in the background like Cream, Blaze and Silver or something? Have them develop into by Amy had impacted them in so many ways and how they want to return the offer. Explain how the fantasy world in the game came to be, the culture of it and their way of living, sacred treasures they may hold to keep the world in balance. Introduce characters from the fantasy world so you would feel more invested into the journey and having one of the inhabitants be the main antagonist an trusted ally to the team.

3. Costume Upgrades

Amy has had some very cute outfits upgrades most notably in Sonic Dash or Sonic Forces Speed Battle but you would have to unlock the outfits doing certain tasks or completing each level zones in the game that also help progress the narrative feeling as that they are essential. Again it doesn’t have to be the case but it would be a cool feature to have be put in the game as well as her friends getting costume upgrades too.

Again, this isn’t trying to force the game if it would happen. It’s just me ranting some of my ideas if an Amy Rose spin off game were to actually happen but I doubt it’ll be the case any time soon.

My Synopsis of names of the world in the game, the levels/ zones it can contain and what it would look like;

Location of the Story: The Petula Isles

Levels/ Zones:

Valley of Love:

Dreamy Skyline:

Crittered Cove:

Wintered Wonderland:

Jubokko Forest:

Crystal Caves:

Link to @ratrrriot’s post on Amy’s Evolution:

[o-craven-canto]

Upon being tagged by @wellmetmat; thanks for thinking of me! I hope you'll pardon me if I don't tag anyone additional just yet.

1. What virtue do you most often see in other people that you feel comparatively deficient in?

First of all, self-confidence, absolutely. I think the shame centers in my brain are accidentally wired to fire at ten times the expected intensity. A minuscule rebuke can make my whole day worse, however objective I try to be about it, and more often than not I feel just barely tolerated by the people around me, even though I'm fairly sure that that is not actually the case. The #1 advice I get from my coworkers is "you need to get better at self-promotion".

Close second, constancy. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff in my backlog (or maybe you would, it's probably not all that extraordinary an amount). At the very least I should be doing more work on my main long-term creative projects: my future-history novel, and my Ea worldbuilding, both of which are years behind schedule. Though in my defense I'm also doing a PhD, which I'm also somewhat behind with but not ruinously so, so there's that.

2. Show us an object in your daily life that you have an emotional attachment to - tell us a little bit about it if you want! (a favourite mug perhaps? socks with a cute pattern? dealers choice)

Well. I have here this old wallet in blue denim-like cloth, which has absolutely nothing distinctive or particularly endearing, but I've had it since I was in middle school or about there, so. Had it pickpocketed a couple years ago, and I mourned the wallet a lot more than the money, but the thief had at least the decency of leaving it where it would be soon found, with all documents in order, which I guess was nice of them. (They must have had a nasty surprise when they realized the wallet's impressive thickness was almost entirely old receipts and train tickets I hadn't gotten around to throwing away yet).

3. If you could choose, what level of fame would you want? How many people would you want to recognise you?

Hmm, probably some mild subsubcultural level. The point where two blogs can exchange a few posts discussing my work, or where a few people may comment under a story "this reminds me of Concavenator's style". Anything above that would probably take too much attention end energy, and those grapes look sour anyway. This is probably not outside my grasp, especially if I make some progress on that "constancy" thing.

4. Where do you feel language is least adequate to capture, communicate, or express your experience?

You could argue that this question is, by definition, impossible to answer! But to actually try, I do have some extremely strong feelings about biological life, evolution, extinction, and deep time, which I've tried to express in various ways over the years, never quite to my satisfaction. Actually, I've never seen anyone express them satisfactorily yet. I guess it's kind of a mystical thing. You look at mountains and you see them swell and warp under the strain of a continent crawling north. These words I've just written are not adequate. It will sound like a weird niche interest but it's genuinely a major part of what I see when I look around.

5. If you had to come up with a question with the following criteria:

a) it should disuade knee-jerk reaction answers (i.e. it shouldn't be something people are likely to have spent a lot of time considering before)

b) it shouldn't be too specialised (the audience should be general, don't ask about people's top 3 byzantine spice merchants opperating between 754AD-816AD)

c) it shouldn't be needlessly emotionally charged or divisive

d) it should be a question you expect people to have lots of varied opinions about

What would your question be?

Hmm. How about this: if for the rest of your life hereon you could only communicate directly with X people, what would be the smallest value for X for which you'd be satisfied?

[creature-wizard]

I told my big sister about leaving a New Age group because I could no longer excuse its bigotry, and she said I should have stayed on to try to help "reform" it into something more progressive. Please elaborate on why that is a terrible, terrible idea.

Sure, no problem!

So let's pretend for the moment that New Age actually could be reformed, and that pseudoscience and chauvinism aren't baked into its very foundations. Even if it could be reformed, you might not have all the skills or emotional resilience that you'd need to get anywhere with it. It's okay to admit that you just aren't prepared or equipped to deal with a problem.

Also, you are just one person, and New Age is so full of people with their heads shoved completely up their asses that you'd likely burn yourself out very quickly without accomplishing anything. There's just no arguing with people who think Graham Hancock and their own personal gnosis about the Lemurian-Atlantean hyperwar are more valid than actual scientific research. It would be a poor use of your time.

Now let's examine the reasons New Age simply cannot be reformed.

First of all, it proposes that the world cannot and will not get better unless more and more people are converted to New Age. In fact, New Age even goes so far to say that the conversion is an inevitable part of Earth's evolution, sort of like a spiritual Manifest Destiny. The endgame is the eradication of all other religions, which is genocide. To admit this is wrong and that other people should generally be left to their current religions would be to admit that New Age is wrong. You wouldn't really be a New Ager anymore if you stopped believing in this.

Secondly, no amount of assuming that you understand other people's spiritual traditions better than they do can ever be progressive. The whole perennialist "we're all just seeking unity with the Divine Source, so our religions are actually the same at their core" sentiment is spiritual colonialism. It ignores and flattens the (often extreme) differences between religious traditions for the sake of assimilating everyone into a sort of bland post-Christian universalism. To admit that this isn't actually desirable would be to reject the assertion that New Age a superior religion, and thereby reject the idea that converting people to it is a necessary step in making social and economic progress. Again, you're not really a New Ager anymore once you do this.

Many New Agers feel quite certain that New Age must be an overall positive thing because it speaks to their compassionate and idealistic sides. However, you can be compassionate and idealistic in many religions, including ones that don't push eugenics and colonialism. Whatever genuinely positive things are enshrined in New Age, they also exist elsewhere, and you're probably going to have a much more fulfilling experience if you seek out these other communities. There are so many alternatives with so much to offer, and I hope your sister can come to recognize that.

[trans-leek-cookie]

Thinking about geto because I want to pour milk on him and throw him against the wall. Imo his beliefs are inconsistent and self serving (which makes sense because he developed said beliefs at age 16/17 while his mental health was at an all time low). Because while he seems to have the primary motive of "only sorcerers = no curses" taking into account how he treats Maki, who has no cursed energy, it shows that the "no curses" thing isnt the main focus- bc while he decided on tbe "forced evolution" thing, theoretically he should not be Opposed to ppl w heavenly restriction bc. They still fuckin. Don't contribute to curses from what I can tell. Also heavenly restriction is pretty obviously something that is punished by uh. Is it just the Zenin's who have it. Anyway they hated Maki and they Hated Toji so he clearly isn't standing for "oppressed sorcerers" bc if so Maki should be like. The kind of person he wants to help more, as someone who would be oppressed by ppl who aren't sorcerers as well as the powerful clans.

Anyway. While getting rid of curses is for sure part of his motivation, as well as helping sorcerers (see Nanako and Mimiko) id honestly argue that his main problem that lead to him spiraling was. How do I put this. Being knocked off a pedestal

Because he was one of 3 people given the ranking of "Special Grade", and he and satoru are grouped as "the strongest". And consider that satoru comes from a powerful clan and literally has some weird omniscience and invincibility shit going on so that's a whole fucking. That's gotta be a wild ego boost, especially for someone who comes from a family of ppl who aren't sorcerers. Like you spend all this time being a fuckin weirdo and then someone finds you and it turns out you're actually incredibly special and strong, given the same rank as a fucking God Child? You're gonna have some wild self perceptions after that

Anyway then you get to watch your invincible friend get stabbed, watch the girl you became friends with and feel shitty about kinda ruining the life of get shot, and get your whole shit rocked by some guy who can't even use the magic power bullshit you have. (Though he's got a whole physical thing going on because of the trade off)

Also writing all of this out actually makes me understand the Cult Leader progression more, like besides the fact they killed ur friend and you want em dead. You're probably struggling with your ego (especially since your weird God like friend got a whole power boost from the situation) so you create a fucking eugenicist cult where you can consistently prove your superiority to yourself (surrounding yourself with people who will agree with everything you say).

Anyway in a similar vein I wholely believe in "a loving father is not inherently a good father" Suguru + Nanako & Mimiko dynamic

Final thought is roughly I feel like looking at Suguru thru the lense of "this character had a level of privilege that they felt they truly deserved, and after experiencing events that are genuinely traumatic and horrific for any person, they develop reactionary beliefs to try and regain a sense of superiority and control" rather than "oppressed minority who killed oppressors and wants to do eugenics"

[verflares]

hey!!!! i LOVE your totk fic and adore the way you write and was genuinely curious as to what your writing process is like?? i’m still trying to get to grips with writing but im stuck in the endless loop of editing while i write so i end up never finishing anything 😭😭

hello!! first of all, thank you so much! i get so ^_^ whenever someone tells me they enjoy my work, words can't express how much i appreciate it now, as to answer your question, i would say.... chaotic LMAO. it's a little difficult to put it into words, especially to describe it because like... how You do things feels natural, right? but umm... i usually have an idea of what i Want to happen in the chapter planned out before i start writing, so i'll divide it into chunks. i'll usually put a little synopsis of the scene in each to help both guide my direction and remind me of what i'm doing as i write. as someone who actually also prefers to edit as i write, i feel it's been a good method in making sure i don't get overwhelmed! especially if i'm having a slow or bad writing day. as for getting out of editing loops, my usual go-to is to just... leave it and move on. i'll do this either by putting a little comment next to it (something like, a very loose reminder or even an idea of how i want the paragraph or interaction to play out), or jumping ahead to a different part of the chapter entirely and chipping away at that instead. here's a little example (from a snippet of the next chapter i'm still working on lol):

by the time i come back to what was giving me trouble, i usually realise it's fine the way i left it, or writing ahead has given me some new ideas of how to pad it out properly! i feel what's most important and encouraging for me, personally, is Progress - and that can be non-linear, too! as long as i've chipped away at the chapter in some form or other, i feel happy.

this is what i mean by chaotic, because it's a bit... all over the place LOL. i also don't do first drafts for example 💀 (but this is also because editing as you go makes it mostly non-essential imo) but i dunno! everyone's creative process is different, and if you find yourself struggling with something, it may just be good to either step back or just chip away at something else for awhile! you may be surprised at what your brain will come up with in the meantime

finally, if i could offer one more piece of writing advice, it's Reading. read, read, read! whether it be fanfiction or published works, nothing - and i mean nothing - will help you more than reading. exposure to other people's styles, their prose, will genuinely help you so much in your approach to your own work, and even ideas for what you're struggling with! and i obviously don't mean plagiarism or anything like that either of course. i just mean that considering what you Enjoyed about that creator's work will help you develop your own, and in the process, creating your unique style and process. it's the same for art and music - the creative process, especially if you're still getting used to a hobby, is filled with evolution and finding out what you enjoy about it. try things out! see what works for you! have fun with it, and remember that you are creating for Yourself most of all. (reggie fils amie voice) because if its not fun, why bother

[veronika-tserber]

🌸A New Beginning🌸

If we were in a romantic relationship, now it'd be the right time to ask me the legendary "What are we?" question. I've been on and off with the blog, trying things out, disappearing, and reappearing again. It's time to elucidate the situation. (guess how much I wanted to use that word!)

First of all, happy New Moon in Taurus! ♉ It's a beautiful one, and I posted about it on Medium, so check that out if you're interested! 🌸Okay, it's a little late, but in my defense...time doesn't exist! 🤣

Folks, during the past few months, I've become utterly and irrevocably OBSESSED with DEGREES! I am dying to show you their magic and how they can bring any chart placement to life - be it natal, composite, progressed, etc...Versatility to the max! Degrees offer us mesmerizing insights and clues, and I genuinely believe that is the future of Astrology! There is no place for cut-and-dry explanations anymore. Perhaps that's why Tarot channels on Youtube have been BLOWING UP for the past few years. Human brains and souls are suckers for a good story!

I've also come to realize that I desperately need your help! I have 59+ drafts on Tumblr and more rotting in my brain. Help. Me. Out. There is so much I could write about that it becomes overwhelming to even begin (not to mention I'm 99% sure I have undiagnosed ADHD hehe). I believe most of it stems from the fact that:

👉🏻 I don't know who I am writing to, a.k.a I don't know much about you!

👉🏻 I am not sure if my posts are helpful or relevant to you at the time I'm posting them;

👉🏻 I just want to connect with you on a more personal level!

What to do, then?!

Well, a few months ago, I did 11 donation readings for some Tumblr folks and followers. It seems like they were helpful or at least interesting for most of them. It also made me feel pretty good! So, why not try it again?

Actually, I want to do similar readings on a regular basis but in a smaller format, and with loyal Tumblr users/followers. I want us to explore different placements and astrological phenomena, together! More polls, games, and stuff like that. I want to take care of my community and feel cared for by it, regardless of its size (hey, 850+ people are kind of a lot for my asocial arse!)

So, what would you say about exploring some progressed chart magic? I just checked out the symbols & gene key of my progressed Sun the other day, and it's a huge reason why I'm writing this post right now! Progressed charts are a great way to track our growth and evolution over time, and they can really put things in perspective for us. It's about acknowledging the season of life we are in and making the most of that energy.

So, what do you say? If you are interested in a progressed Sun DEGREE analysis, read my Masterpost and especially the "Ask Box" section before you pop in!

Write me your birth details in a similar fashion: "Born on 11th of March 1995, at 7:40 am in Berlin, Germany" OR if you know how to check out your Progressed Sun (that would be awesome), write it like this: "Sun in Aquarius at 14 degrees 36'. The minutes are important! :)

Available Slots: 3

Check back to see when the slots have been claimed (for now).

I'm looking forward to connecting with y'all! 🤍

- Foxbørn

ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ 1

ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢꜱ

ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴜʏ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴄᴏꜰꜰᴇᴇ?

[cleekleequlee]

Courses I'd like to teach

A recent realization from reading Deleuze is the value of the virtual (vs. the actual) on its own. If dreams, inspirations and passions are not evaluated against the golden rule of actualization but as "a nice thing to have existed", so many things will be worth doing.

Along this line, I've been thinking (dreaming) of a question: what are the courses I would like to teach in the future? This not to say I'm ready to teach them, but a time stamp of the things that inspires me and make me curious. So far I thought of:

Creative Academic Writing

I'm still very much in love with Tim Ingold's writing as affective text. Although not as literate in reading literature (I envy my boys so much for their education nowadays), I always love to read all sorts of books on writing (lol). Yesterday I flipped through Lauren Fournier's book on autotheory, and thinking of citation as part of the narrative opens up so many possibilities.

It's funny that humanities are openning up to new forms of writing, while design self-censor for ligitimacy as science. A quick search shows that this term "Creative Academic Writing" is already out there. Definitely something I would like to explore more

Philosophy and design, or philosophy of design

I'm envious of the small group of people in organizational studies who are into philosophy and found each other as a group. People like Robert Chia, Chris Steyaert and Daniel Hjorth and Robin Bolt are the reason why I feel the organizational studies/enterpreneurship studies are not boring (the latter two wrote a book using Romanticism literature as a basis of their "seduction and play" model of entrepreneurship!)

On the other hand, it seems the philosophy that is driving design is pretty much random, determined by a few people who stumbled by design and decided to stay. The impression of Tony Fry talking about Heidegger is so deep and dominating. On the other hand anthropologist picked up design as some hope, but does it help them to break from structualism on the theory level? I'm surprised I haven't encountered any design theorist talking seriously about design, Deleuze and process philosophy (I"m sure they touched on Bergson for being "creative", but on process and duration as being? Please suggest if you know).

6 years after I came to design, the question of "what is design" finally morphed into "how do we understand design? what is the philosophy behind?" Some progress I guess..

Hong Kong and ecomodernism design, or The Political Economy of Chinese Contemporary Design

Well... these topics are tricky... but just thinking from the angle of talking about something not universal but local, relevant here and now. There is always the material/embodied aspects of ideology, and these aspects are perfect bridges to talk to "normal people" who are not so acquainted with theory. My eyes are still not so well trained, but that's something to work on!

Entrepreneuring your life

Since I read so much about the unconventional understanding of entrepreneurship, and really think it should be a way of living rather than making money, I think this can be a poststructuralism 101 course. Also trying to think out of the box of faculty of design...

Co-becoming

Co-becoming, co-evolution, correspondance... so many terms, but what are they really about? What are the mechanisms? Where to work on apart from lip service? I'll probably also sneakily blend in some content about embodiment, eco psychology and care...

---

Looking back at these "virtual" titles, they seem to tell something about the inspiration of my thesis. Dreams tell things, even day-dreams can be good material for psychoanalysis :)

What are your dream courses to teach?

Photo credit: M.C. Escher

[bluekat12345]

Pokemon Scarlet DLC: Indigo Disk review

(This will contain spoilers for Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet. Do Not Read if you don't want to be spoiled.)

This was epic! This was worth the wait, and it was amazing!

First off, Blueberry Academy looked great, I loved the uniforms we get, winter being my favorite, and all the Pokémon that was there, totally nostalgia! I really liked the way the school was designed, though I'm not sure if having a dorm room was really necessary, but i do appreciate having. While it looks like the one in Paldea, I do like the blue colors, since blue is my favorite color.

Though the battles were crazy tough, even my team of level 100 pokemon struggled and fainted. I don't understand why all the battles needed to be double battles. I know the school is really focused on battling, but surely more single battles wouldn't hurt.

Speaking of pokemon, the Pokémon you can get were amazing. I saw so many of my favorite pokemon from previous games here. While I didn't use the Pokémon much during the storyline, I did catch some, and even managed to train some to win in the Academy Ace Tournament. I was super happy to see the Alolan pokemon here! Haven't gotten any starters, but I'm not really focusing too much on those. While I'm still not sure about Archaludon, I found myself impressed with Hydrapple, I'm glad Dripplin got another evolution, makes me want to get one myself.

I also liked the characters. The BB Elite Four were great, but Drayton, I have mixed feelings about him, since I get what he was trying to do, but I felt like he didn't need to rub in Kieran's loss when the guy was already down. I was happy to see Carmine, certainly a better attitude than when we first met her and she seems like she's genuinely trying to help her brother and be a better sister to him. And of course Kieran, he is completely different than he was in the Teal Mask, but I still liked him. And like Carmine, I was actually worried about him and that grew as the story progressed. I actually felt bad beating him as BB League Champion. And when we went to Area Zero, I felt bad when Terapagos was about to go to me. I was actually a bit disappointed when even after he caught it, we still had to be the ones to keep it, but I'm glad he didn't mind that time. I hope to see the two siblings again soon. And Briar, I knew she was too obsessed with confirming Heath's findings in Area Zero, but I'm genuinely surprised she wasn't a surprised villain, especially how she was encouraging Kieran to catch and use Terapagos. Bit disappointed to be wrong about that, but I'll survive.

And of course, the storyline was amazing. I love how it picks up from where Teal Mask left off, with Kieran obsessed with getting stronger and Carmine wanting us to help us. I felt that was really well handled, especially with how things between us and Kieran would seem to get worse before finally getting better. The DLC handled our relationships quite well. However, I felt the actually Indigo Disk wasn't as focused on as the actually Teal mask was in its DLC. Like, the Teal Mask was more connected to Ogrepon while I felt the Indigo Disk had very little to do with Terapagos, aside from giving us access to the deeper levels of Area Zero to find it. Plus, the way we get the Disk was a bit anticlimactic to me, since Geeta just gives it to us, I was hoping the Inidigo Disk would be more a part of Terapagos or its backstop, but nope. Still, seeing more of Area Zero was beautiful and I want to explore more of it.

I honestly don't really have much to say about the club room or those BBQs. I'll do them if I'm bored, but I'm not too invested. It's cool to be able to change our throwing style, though.

Overall, this was amazing and worth the wait. Can't wait to explore more of Blueberry Academy.

[doubleddenden]

Yall wanna see some cringe?

I decided to try creating pokemon variants or similar that one might find in my home state of Ms. I'm still working on more but it's a fun thought and doodle experiment

Blurb under cut. Please try not to take it all too seriously lol, this was just for funsies.

I'm also indulging my younger self. See a long, long time ago when I was a kid, I used to see my home as a place you could easily find pokemon around the corner. Tauros in the fields, Noctowl in the trees, the wasps were angry Beedrill, you get the idea

It was magical, a time before greed and capitalism caused rushed and unfinished games with questionable decisions by game freak higher ups. A time where I could just kinda look at the tall grass or the woods and see pokemon just living naturally without feeling a ton of responsibility or guilt for existing.

Recently I've decided to try exploring that AU, where states and such have their own dexes. Obviously some would overlap, like I'm very sure the Gulf Coast would have very similar dexes, but my idea would be that could start out with different starters that have different variant evolutions- and heck, you could even cross state borders to get theirs if that's what you wanted.

But for now, without getting way too deep, I decided to make variants based on critters that either exist here or have some sort of cultural tie in.

Let's go:

Typhlosion, Fire/Ground, low temp fires but also used for welding and construction, trusted with kids because they don't tend to start fires they don't quickly put out. The original line is already kinda mixed of badgers, weasels, moles, etc, but I think there's plenty of those here, and if nothing else Cyndaquil IS the fire mouse pokemon, and by God we got mice. Favoritism put it here admittedly since Cyndaquil was my very first pokemon in the games, and I'd want the same irl.

Blastoise, Water/Rock, basically more of a mobile tank people ride on. Uses the bubbles around its legs as wheels. Based on box turtles that live here

Chesnaught, Grass/Steel, based on various loggers and blue collar workers from here, helps with those sort of jobs and is pretty intelligent. It can form shields or slice up trees easily with its arm saws.

Yanma, Bug/Flying, based on dragonflies I see around the house

Yanmega, Bug/Steel, evolves while knowing Steel Wing. Tends to eat rusted metal from old farms and junk yards, very quick

Salandit, Ice/Electric, based on blue tailed skinks I see around my house often

Freezard, Ice/Electric, evolves from male ms Salandit. They take things by force if they want and their tails can be used as whips. Usually the females keep them in line though.

Corvilich, Flying/Rock- actually a cross over from a fan region I dabble in during my spare time. Lots of crows and corvids here, so naturally I think they'd be here too. Evolves from Corvisquire. They fight each other over nice bones and are great fliers, and are very intelligent, may or may not have good and bad omens associated

Miltank, Water/Normal, based on cows I see often taking dips in local ponds. Ms is a very farm heavy state, so I could see us having our own moomoo milk market. The arms and legs act like floaties.

Dragonite, Dragon/Fairy, evolves from Dragonair with high friendship. I wanted a psuedo legend, and then I found out Ms has its own dragon stories (even a town). I also thought it'd be neat to make a friend you'd maybe see in a forest, so I also added butterfly elements to it from the Great Purple Hairstreak.

I'm still making more, I'm progressing and getting a little better as I go, but I don't wanna get too crazy making a bunch. I'm thinking maybe about the same amount as Legends Arceus introduced. I do want to try making a full, balanced team, though, so I'll probably make more for that. So far though I could see myself with Typhlosion, Corvilich, Freezard, and Dragonite. Looking for a water type and maybe a doggo.

[official-lixy]

It frustrates me how much of a branding problem a lot of leftist ideas have. Phrases like "defund the police" or "prison abolition" are guaranteed to cause pushback, because conservatives and right wingers aren't sitting down and actually educating themselves on what buzzphrases like "defund the police" actually mean. They see "defund the police" and whether through actual or feigned ignorance, paint a picture of out-of-touch leftists arguing for something stupid or unreasonable and completely ignoring the facts and evidence supporting these ideas; centrists and liberals will um and ah about how its unfeasible or too radical without actually engaging with the topic at the level it needs to be understood. And I don't even necessarily know there's anything anyone can do about that. What else are people supposed to say?

The left has a brand issue where the problems of the world are complicated and nuanced, and the solutions the left pose are often just as complicated and nuanced in return while the right gets to sit back and make broad, simple and easily understandable statements. "Build a wall" isn't any more complicated than it sounds when you boil it down. "Tough on crime" is just that. Sure there are some nuances, but can anyone seriously say they were swayed by either of those until they dug deeper and saw what they really meant? No. You get the complete picture from those simple phrases. Something like "defund the police" though? If you're not already engaged in the discourse, what are you meant to make of that? If you have the right education or experiences or background you can absolutely get what thats meant to mean, but if you're a white, middle class, middle aged democrat whose biggest concern is about your safety or your property? Looking at it at the surface you might be reticent, or scandalised by the idea. And again, I don't really know what you can say to change that without having to sit down and explain the theory and policy something like that actually entails.

It just feels like the right is so much more united. They can rally behind the simplest phrases and talking points because they have a shared understanding of what their aims are. Resist change, establish supremacy, maintain control, exercise power. They're not picky. On the other side, the left has to be talked around to agreeing on what we should be doing, where our focus should be, who should be taking responsibility. We can't agree on anything. And in a vacuum removed from actual politics and reality, I think that's a good thing. We're engaged with the topics, we're debating, researching, talking about things. But when we're trying to enact change and solve problems its like we can't stop tripping over each other.

And if frustrates me. Because its a fundamental part of being progressive. Change and evolution and thinking about things are part of that. I don't know what we can do about it

[nono-bunny]

I'm pretty sure what Mai gives the Kiryuus to keep them warm are actually scarves rather than blankets given that they wear them around their necks- unless they're just being like, really weird and no one bothered to correct them lmao

The gif you attached here is probably straight up my favorite shot in the franchise so far, it was BEAUTIFUL!!

I know Kaoru and Michiru come back at the end of the season (and apparently appear in Otona which is cool!), somehow, but I got very attached to them and I'm really sad that very soon they're likely just gonna be missing for like twenty episodes. They're the natural evolution of Kiriya in all aspects, and as much as it is a rehashing of the same thing they did with him it still works just as well- even better, actually, because being given more time with them than we got with Kiriya really helped establish their connection to the world at large rather than just to (one of) the cures. Also, I can just tell that when the show was airing there were absolutely girls that found themselves relating to them the most- their alien, fish out of water vibes aren't too dissimilar from how being in school can feel like sometimes, and I'm glad that the show made it a point to have others acknowledge that they're weird, but still just as worthy of and as friends.

This episode did a subtle thing I really liked, which was refer to off-screen events in a way that fleshes out the daily life of these girls more than what we get to see. Specifically, apparently Michiru went out of her way to tutor Saki- we never see that happening, it isn't actually relevant, but knowing that even when we don't see them the Kiryuu sisters keep getting more attached to the cures and to their new lives on the Land of Greenery feels important. Ironically enough, initially I thought Michiru would be the one to get attached quickly, but she hasn't really had the equivalent personal progress to Kaoru, so this kinda felt like a way to balance things out a bit without "wasting time" on a Michiru focused episode- personally I wouldn't have complained about more Kiryuu episodes lol, I doubt anyone would but tbf they probably wanted to get to the next general soon because we already kinda get how things are gonna end with the Kiryuus. This also reaffirms that these two do indeed act independently sometimes- we just don't get to see it because we basically only see the days where attacks happen lol

I'm genuinely a really big fan of how they portray the different strengths of Saki and Mai. In the Kiryuus' first episode when they got into the fight with Hitomi and the cures split up to try and smooth things over, both of them achieved their goal through their different methods- Saki used her endless positivity and optimism to cheer up Hitomi, and Mai used mostly pathos to convey to the Kiryuus why they hurt Hitomi. This episode on the other hand once again showed Saki's tendency to see the best in everyone and make friends out of them which really impacts the Kiryuus, with Mai who is the more observant and cautious of the two realizing that something's wrong before Saki's naivety can hurt her too much. Idk how much sense I'm making with this, but my point is that I really enjoy the balance these two have in regards to how they approach things.

Also, hurray to Kazuya for always being charming and sweet and rarely disruptive to the overall narrative- he's fr such an improvement over Fujipi, and I was glad to see him appear for a bit this episode. Saki's "call me ____" recurring gag is cringy and funny in all the right ways, and it's definitely more easily digestible than Nagisa becoming basically incapable of speech next to her crush every time. Idk if the one sided crush works better this season because the object of affection is more interesting or if because they just got better at balancing the focus and magnitude given to it, but if future seasons have more romance, I hope they keep it up and don't slide backwards haha

Precure Day 119

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 21 - “Shine in the Night Sky! Starlight Friends” Date watched: 6 May 2019 Original air date: 2 July 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/M57LaTA Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I think I’ll try defying gravity

Keep reading

[bts-weverse-trans]

210104 Weverse Magazine ‘Be’ Comeback Interview - Suga

SUGA “I'm grateful that there are still unvisited areas in the world of music” BTS BE comeback interview 2021.01.04

SUGA has this way of talking passionately with a deadpan look on his face. Full of passion about his life and music.

How is your shoulder? SUGA: Good. I think it’ll get even better once I take off this brace. Apparently, it takes several months for a full recovery, but I'm trying to get better as fast as possible.

How does it feel like to have resolved a problem that has distressed you for long? SUGA: First of all, I'm glad. The pain is one thing, but when my shoulders got worse, I couldn't even raise my arms. But when I heard that this might recur when getting the surgery at a young age, I waited for the right time and had decided to get it done early next year regardless of the COVID-19 situation. I had planned to get the surgery after the year-end stages, but I got it done this year (2020) because my doctors advised me to start preparing early for next year’s promotions and activities.

How does it feel like watching the other members doing promotions? SUGA: I can't say it feels great. I could see the emptiness because we've been together as a group of seven for so long. Not necessarily because I'm not there but because something that should be there is missing?

Is that what made you join the promotion as much as possible? You shot lots of video footage in advance and you even appeared in the Mnet “2020 MAMA” through VR. SUGA: Fake SUGA (Laughs). There’s this 3D studio where we shot it. I shot, scanned, and acted there, but couldn't see the actual result at the studio. I thought a sense of displacement was unavoidable, and that was exactly the case. (Laughs) I acted normal because it would have been aired anyway even if I hadn’t had the surgery, but it seems a lot because it’s aired after the surgery.

You must feel restricted not being able to go on stage. SUGA: The thing is, it's only been a month after I got surgery, but my absence on stage is so apparent. But my doctors keep telling me that I shouldn't be impatient and in fact, many athletes get a resurgery when they return to the field without proper rehabilitation. So I'm working on trying to care less. For the first two weeks after surgery, I felt so frustrated that I tried out new things. I even watched movies I didn't watch.

What movies did you watch? SUGA: I watched ‘Samjin Company English Class’ as it happened to be on IPTV, and now I have ‘Tenet’ on my list. ‘Parasite’ was the last movie I saw at a cinema. As the social distancing measures became stricter, I haven’t been going outside, except going to the hospital. I even eat at home. I'm also watching a lot of TV nowadays. Watching music shows like ‘Sing Again’, ‘Folk Us’, and ‘Show Me The Money 9’ made me think of what I should do in the upcoming days.

Could you elaborate on that? SUGA: A lot of candidates on ‘Sing Again’ are very talented but hadn't had the opportunity, and on ‘Folk Us’, I noticed that many took their own guitars on stage. I started playing the guitar lately and I'm having this urge to broaden my scope of music. And since my interest in the music industry in the U.S. grew, I'm getting prepared, studying English and all.

What fueled your interest? SUGA: In some ways it’s the most commercially developed market. You could lose the industry attention in a flash if it's not feasible. So in this system, you would try everything and that would be an efficient way. I want to do music for a long time, and to this end, I always want to learn more about the global music industry because I want to do music that’s loved not only in Korea, but also in the U.S., Japan and Europe.

Speaking of which, it seems BE was influenced from music of the past rather than today's trends. SUGA: I especially like impromptu music. I love the songs that were made in one take instead of being recorded several times. In this era of crossover genres, the desire to do better in music is growing inside me.

As the genres become more blended, the melody you use must be more important. Does starting to play the guitar affect your composing in any way? SUGA: I always liked using guitar sounds. And I have always liked the Eagles. If you play the guitar, it’s way easier to write songs because you can carry it along wherever you go, pluck on the strings to create melody lines. Keyboards are difficult to carry around. (Laughs) I usually work on my laptop but I had this thought that I definitely needed an instrument. It accelerates my work and improves my understanding of chords.

It makes me think you could intuitively make melodies. SUGA: It’s easier to write a song because you can intuitively make a progression and try many different things. During my work on ‘Eight’, IU had recorded and sent me a song from her phone. At the time I couldn’t play the guitar, so we tried to make sure we’re working on the same page when keeping track of each other's progress. That made me feel the need to learn an instrument.

This is actually before you started playing the guitar, but I found ‘Telepathy’ in BE very interesting. The varying melodic progressions between hooks for each member made me wonder if you wrote the melody intuitively for each part. SUGA: I tried writing a melody for the first time this year (2020), and as I started knowing the fun of music, it opened a lot of new doors for me. So it was kind of easy working on it. I just played a beat and wrote from the beginning until the end. Done. I wrote it in just 30 minutes. The song almost wrote itself. The trends of pop and hip-hop these days cross boundaries between vocals and rap. I like this trend.

When I listen to your singing, it feels like you’re hitting the beats rather than singing along the notes. So I thought perhaps you're singing as if you're rapping. SUGA: When you're rapping, you just think of the rhythm, so it’s like simply putting on a melody to a rhythm. To define which comes first, I think melody adds to it while writing the rap.

In ‘Life Goes On’, the lyrics ‘Thankfully between you and me, nothing’s changed’ are somewhere in between. It's not rap but it’d be mundane to say it's a mere melody. SUGA: There are obviously songs where the rap needs to be highlighted. For example, in ‘Dis-ease’ or ‘Ugh!’, you have to be good at rap. But in songs that should be easy to listen to, impressive raps are not always the way to go. Sometimes, you want smooth transitions without obstacles.

In that sense, the rap flow of ‘Blue & Grey’ was impressive. Rather than a dramatic effect that emphasizes each part, you extended the rap just as much as the slowing beat. SUGA: To be honest, this beat is difficult to rap to. The beginning of the song only has a guitar line, which made it even more difficult. I participated when we wrote lyrics for ‘Blue & Grey’ and I've always wanted to work on a song like this. It was because verse 1 talks about the theme of the song.

It seems you achieved almost everything that you wanted in BE. SUGA: I think it took less than a week to make my part in the album. After having written one or two melodies for ‘Life Goes On’, I wrote a version complete with rap, and liked it that I even worked on a separate arrangement and lyrics. Rather than pondering over the ways that might work, I choose to simply play the music and write.

Many creators are unsure even after they’ve produced good work. How do you get the conviction to release your work? SUGA: Many musicians are unsure whether they should release their music or not. It was the same for me, but the thing is, you’ll never release anything if you nitpick everything. For example, if we release 10 songs, we have a chance to unveil them in concerts or fan events. And sometimes, as we listen to the song, we think, ‘Why does this part that had bothered me no longer bother me?’ Some things might feel awkward at some point, but in time, it no longer feels awkward. Even I forget about it. So it's more efficient to fine tune, looking at the big picture, rather than thinking too much about the details. On top of that, during promotions, I don’t have the time to pick tracks that others have sent for 10 hours. It would be a success for all of us if each of us play and write a melody in their own time and collaborate with others on the details. So the way of songwriting has evolved in many aspects.

What motivated such evolution? SUGA: I think it evolved naturally. I've changed in personality this year (2020), as well as in terms of my interpretation and attitude toward life to the extent that I almost thought I've been rehearsing. How would it feel like if there were no stage to go to or anyone looking out for me? This thought made me realize the value of these things.

In ‘Dis-ease’, you sing ‘I don’t know if it’s the world that's sick’. Was it this lifestyle that changed your thoughts about your work? SUGA: Yes. When I was young, I had embraced the belief that ‘It must be my fault’, but as I got older, I realized that this is not always true. Most of what I had thought was my fault was in fact, not my fault. On the other hand, there are things that I did well and times I had been lucky.

‘I NEED U’ came out during a time when you were still thinking, “It must be me”. After the members put on a stage with ‘I NEED U’ in KBS' ‘Song Festival’, you wrote on Weverse, “It’s the same as five years ago.” How would you compare with back then? (This interview was held on December 19, 2020.) SUGA: We've matured quite a bit. And our stage performances have become more natural. I still like ‘I NEED U’. Just listening to the beat makes me sentimental, and above all, the song came out nicely. So as I was watching this and that when I stumbled across old videos. Watching them made me think that we haven’t changed much.

In what aspect haven't you changed much? SUGA: Before the social distancing measures got stricter, I talked with the photographer for BE, whom I had met four years ago. The photographer was surprised that we hadn’t changed much after all the success, even though he had assumed we’d be very different.

I'm amazed personally. I’ve had the chance to meet the members before your debut, but from your way of talking with members or others, it seems you haven't changed. SUGA: I think it's because we don’t give it a big deal about success. For example, it's incredible to be ranked first on the Billboards, but there’s also this sense of, “Okay, and?”

Even the Grammys? (Laughs) SUGA: When we got nominated for the Grammy Awards, we thought, ‘Is this real?’ (Laughs) Of course we were delighted, but it didn’t make us think, ‘We're singers nominated for the Grammy.’ If you're nominated, you're nominated, and if you get the award, you get the award. You don't get shaken by that. I know it's a great award and would be so grateful if we receive it, but we know that nothing is possible without the tremendous support of our fans. What’s more important is that the fans are more flattered than us when we receive a great award. So everyone's rejoicing, but it’s like, ‘Let's do what we have to do.’ We've been training ourselves to keep finding our places, so no one remains overexcited.

In ‘Fly To My Room’, there are lyrics that say, ‘This room is too small to contain my dream’, and ‘Sometimes this room becomes an emotional trash can, but it embraces me.’ I had this feeling that the room had been such a place and that you were accepting that you have changed. Then the essence must have remained the same. SUGA: It wasn’t easy to accept that we eventually change. But I think it's a good thing that we changed. What we did back then was possible only at that time, and we could change because of the things we had accomplished.

Then, what new things are you dreaming about? SUGA: I'm eager to continue doing music. Since all performances were canceled due to COVID-19, I had a chance to talk to so many musicians in Korea. I talked with legendary singers as well as people who are my contemporaries. Talking with them once again made me realize that I love music so much. Because music is my profession, I can’t imagine myself not doing it. I'm grateful that there are still unvisited areas in the world of music.

What kind of music do you think you’ll be engaged in in the future? SUGA: I was greatly motivated when I saw the concert of Na Hoon-a last Chuseok . I wondered how many musicians would actually be able perform and write music for so long like he has. At that moment, it occurred to be that ‘I want to be like him’. He has passion and desire, and most of all, he is a superstar. A few years ago, I took my parents to a Na Hoon-a concert, and when they watched the performance last Chuseok, they said it was way less impressive to see him perform through the TV. (Laughs)

That must explain your interest in a broader spectrum of music from instruments to composing and musical genres. Because you want to be doing this for a long time. SUGA: My goal is to continue doing music in any shape or form. In that sense, I have this great respect toward Cho Yong-pil. He takes the best sound there is and reinterprets it into his own. I think that’s something I want to emulate and keep changing and evolving so that I can continue doing music for decades to come.

The lyrics ‘Thankfully between you and me nothing’s changed’ must sound more meaningful for the fans because they will be listening to your music for a long time. SUGA: A month and a half in the current times must seem like a lifetime for the fans when we're far apart. I feel the same. But I think that's proof that we worked hard for the past seven years and that the fans have been passionately reaching out to us. I'm striving to get to them as fast as I can, and I'm eager to go on stage. I'm going through this because I want to be better on stage in a better condition, so don't be sad, and please hang in there a little longer.

Trans © Weverse

[serpenteve]

what did alina starkov want, anyway?

People have been arguing for ages about the ending of Ruin & Rising. One faction says Alina losing her powers was misogynistic and needlessly cruel while the other says the ending is fitting because Alina always wanted to live an ordinary life with Mal.

I would argue the problem lies with Alina's mess of a character arc.

For the majority of S&B and the first half of S&S, Alina is a very passive character who wants nothing more than to run away with Mal. Though they changed it in the show, it was originally Mal who wanted to go after the stag and who wanted Alina to have the stag's amplifier because he thought it would give them a fighting chance against the Darkling. In S&S, Alina is terrified of taking a second amplifier because it goes against all the Grisha theory she knows, echoing the arc words of the trilogy: What is infinite? The universe and the greed of men.

It is only when Alina takes the second amplifier that she's allowed to grow a backbone. This is truly a bizarre writing choice because it all but forces the narrative to frame every active step Alina takes to forward the plot and her own character arc---whether that's deciding to rebuild the Second Army, or form a political alliance with Nikolai, or search for the third amplifier, or simply stand up for herself against bullies---as being manifestations of her creeping villainy.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there is her Muggle boyfriend who is there to remind us that this is not who she is, that Morozova's amplifiers are corrupting her, that he wants her to go back to the girl she was when she was more passive, vulnerable, and dependent on him.

Surely, there is a line between the heroine learning to trust herself and gaining confidence in her abilities versus the heroine giving in to corruption and becoming more power-hungry and evil? However, the narrative does not distinguish between these two very different arcs. Consequently, the reader is left in a bizarre place where we cannot watch Alina's character arc grow from passivity to maturity without being reminded of how ~evil~ she is becoming, despite there being very little textual evidence to back this up. We also grow to resent Mal because instead of him being a supportive boyfriend who is trying to help Alina navigate her own character arc, he is holding her back from her potential---not just in her powers but also in her personal autonomy.

At the same time, there are sprinklings of Alina's call to her dark side through the Darkling's offer of a throne. Ignoring how sincere his words may or may not be, Alina still feels tempted to join him and frequently thinks about the truth of his words---that she is no ordinary Grisha, that is useless to fight what she is, that she is capable of more than an ordinary mortal life, that he is the only one who can understand the eternity before her. Because readers expect to see a character arc where Alina grows from a scared passive girl to a strong independent woman, we grow to associate her longing for power as a natural evolution of her character development. However, the narrative wants you to believe Alina's development is not a natural progression of her character but rather a corruption due to her greed from the influence of Morozova's amplifiers.

Bardugo completely fails to set up an alternate character arc for Alina where she may grow in power and strength as a character, but does not become evil along the way. Her heroine's arc is completely strangled by the moral panic of the narrative. This is doubly emphasized by the plot: in order for Alina to defeat the Darkling, she must seek out the amplifiers out of necessity. This is framed as greed. In order for Alina to triumph, she must use all three amplifiers, but when she does, she is punished by the plot. But what other choice did the heroine have? It is not like there was some non-evil alternative for Alina to embrace and she deliberately chose the path of most greed. She is not punished for her actions like her male counterparts who seek power. In fact, you could argue, she can't be punished for her actions because her actions are not coming from a place of choice.

At the end of R&R, Alina is stripped of her powers and lives an ordinary life with Mal. As this is the epilogue, one must assume Bardugo meant for Alina's character arc to end in this way. Her character arc is meant to be a cautionary tale against the evils of seeking too much power. This moral aesop falls flat for a number of reasons:

"Power corrupts" is a popular moral message that it's gotten fairly cliche at this point

It's also so heavy-handed, I don't blame readers for expecting it to be subverted because of how much we were hit over the head with it

The strangely gendered way this moral lesson is delivered raises some eyebrows. Are male characters who are actually power-hungry such as Nikolai, the Apparat, and the Darkling not subject to the same punishments the narrative deals out to Alina?

Most importantly, this aesop clashes with Alina's character

In order for this greed corruption arc to make sense, the heroine really should have been an entirely different character who starts off the series with ambition and a need for power. We needed a heroine like Jude Duarte, Kestrel Trajan, or Aelin Galathynius. Someone who is already established as being capable, ambitious, and ruthless. Granted, I still think this would be a shit character arc because of the long history in which female power is demonized, but at least the arc would make sense for the character in the tradition of tragedies.

However, because Alina starts off the series as being insecure and not yet accepting of herself, we expect to see a character arc where she becomes more confident, emotionally mature, and maybe even a little ruthless. We don't expect her to suddenly become corrupted by greed (a character trait she never had to begin with, especially when she would rather run away and hide with Mal than deal with a geopolitical situation) and get punished for being "too ambitious".

To add to this confusing mess of an arc, Alina suppressing her powers leads to her being weak, fatigued, and malnourished. So she must use her powers in order to be healthy, but using her powers is what directly contributes to the rest of her character arc. The heroine cannot win.

In conclusion, Bardugo wrote a book where a naive scared girl gets manipulated into wearing an evil MacGuffin that turns her "greedy" and then gets punished for it, even though the plot offered her no alternative. Alina never wanted power but because a positive character arc meant a complete descent into villainy, we are left with a regressed version of the character by the end of R&R and a whole bunch of readers left scratching their heads about what the hell we are supposed to take away from this mess of a story.

TL;DR: Alina's character arc does not match who she is as a character. She was given an arc that is usually reserved for anti-heroines and tragic heroes with fatal flaws.