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withthewindinherfootsteps · 1 month ago

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Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three

For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative

When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.

This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?

This is where we get unhinged.

Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).

To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.

This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.

In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!

Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!

Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation

Which, of course, is him dwelling on…

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation

…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:

He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation

And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:

Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him. (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation

Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:

“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR

Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.

Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR

Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!

So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.

This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!

And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.

But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?

At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts

In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.

It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.

(Or, if an image would be preferable:)

Thank you for reading!

(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)

*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)!

#get ready for tag thoughts because there are a LOT of them #it’s for THIS reason that fanon wwx bothers me so much (didn’t want to get negative on the acual post)#bc so often all the changes are changes that woobify him!#self-sacrificial idiot wwx?? only doing things because… poor him he has so many internal issues and values himself so little-#-so of course he’d sacrifice everything before thinking of another option? woobifying #(whenever he sacrifices something it’s a deliberate choice to act on his morals because he values his morals so much – and he’s also very-#-capable and DOES often find ways for no people to get hurt!)#wasn’t aware that what happened to him at lotus pier was wrong and needs lwj to tell him that for him to have any idea if it?#woobifying (as we see in the lotus seed pod extra he KNOWS it’s unfair)#(he downplays it retroactively in his memory (links into not focusing on the bad things in his life))#(but that’s the actions themselves that are being downplayed not their fairness!)#he chooses to act! he is defined by acting! not tragedy – all the more impressive in the face of the amount of tragedy that’s happened #he could SO EASILY have been a woobie but instead he’s the opposite of one: defined BY his agency instead of the absence of it #that doesn’t mean he’s not impacted by tragedy or trauma – he is! but it’s not the most important aspect of his character (bc he doesn’t le #it’s also something that bothers me about the changes cql made #by making qq path and nightless city the fault of someone else it means he IS someone who’s more a victim of circumstance than anything els #he had no control over the tragedies of his first life at all #apart from ig his death being controlled by him? because he just leaps off the cliff during the nightless city siege?? but in THAT case it’#i watched that part recently (i’m getting through it very slowly) and yeah it reaffirmed my love for this aspect of the book even more #despite. having these exact thoughts for two years already #he also dwells on the past events a lot more than book wwx which adds to that version of him BEING defined more by tragedy rather than who #anyway over 7.3k words total (and 400 more in the tags apparently)... it'll be posted to ao3 in its completion this evening!#mdzs meta #my meta #wei wuxian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #魔道祖师 #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #gdc

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myimaginationplain · 7 days ago

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do you ever think about how Ohkubo extremely casually dropped the fact that Spirit & Kami were teen parents & then proceeded to never expound upon that fact or bring it up ever again despite it explaining a whole lot about them & Maka

#I think a big part of why I'm so attached to/interested in spirit as a character is because he objectively has A LOT going on in his life.#but because he was created to fill that stock pervy comedic-relief anime side-character archetype we never get to see any of it examined.#or even brought up at all for the most part #like spirit apparently comes from a long line of death weapons who despite having been loyal to lord death for generations are never ever #mentioned & who spirit himself never mentions despite carrying on the family tradition (although he's not unique in that regard tbh)#at 12-13 years old he becomes stein's weapon partner & in his own words it became “[spirit's] job to control [stein].”#another kid with a laundry list of mental health & behavioral issues that spirit probably wasn't super prepared to help “control”#(personally I think that this “job” of spirit's was a duty he took upon himself rather than something lord death necessarily told him to do)#then just ~5 years later he 1) loses/rejects said weapon partner & probably best friend after some really major boundaries were crossed #2) becomes a husband & father at just 18 #(& in his own words a broke 18 year old at that. another point towards him not being in contact with any family if they're even alive)#3) becomes technically one of the most important people in the world once he ascends to being a death weapon.#not necessarily in that exact order but certainly in quick succession.#& then we fast forward to canon & spirit's at best a guy who drinks way more than he probably should & at worst a functioning alcoholic #who's only A MONTH into being divorced for his habitual infidelity & is in the really weird position of being the primary caretaker of his #daughter who (rightfully) hates him despite him having zero custodial rights over her.#& imo he seems to have no friends in death city before stein & the other death scythes return despite generally being a people person.#like. spirit is kind of the epitome of should've been at the club lmao #soul eater #spirit albarn #kami albarn #meta (kind of. not really lol)

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gl1tchr · 23 days ago

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Okay okay, Riddler x Riddler is peak, yes. BUT, what about the Riddlers that HATE eachother?😈

So there's a funny Venn Diagram that happens there because I do genuinely think Arkham Knight and Zero Year HATEEE each other ghjksdg twt oomf worded it best;

"My immediate gut reaction (in both their individual voices) is that they’re both the most overtly self important Riddlers and likely the most outwardly antisocial. And they can sense it. Something about similarities and magnetic repulsion…bottom line is I agree!" - twt moot falbright best guy around 2024

I also think a good deal of them would dislike 22. I think his "type" of intelligence wouldn't be very valued by them, they might even see it as a sort of savant parlor trick. He's good with numbers, so what? Most of these other Riddlers are building machines, MECH SUITS, I feel like to most of them, because he comes from a universe much more grounded in reality, they wouldn't really *get* that? They'd see his work as extremely mild compared to what they can do, because most of their universes allow for more extravagance.

I think some of the MOST tension would come from Arkham Knight, Hush!Riddler, Zero Year, and other *especially* megalomaniacal Riddlers attempting to control the rest of them, but the others obviously not going for it. I think ones like BTAS and Telltale would see the blood in the water and opt out of any overt argument, choosing to watch how everyone plays the game, and see where they can fit in the most opportunity for themselves.

#rant #rambling #I love thinking about all of them ghsdjg #some Riddlers are just friendlier than others #better at playing the game with other players #BTAS Telltale and most middle-of-the-road comic run Riddlers are gonna have the sense to not try and dominate other versions of themselves #they're the ones who can reflect a bit and recognize their own faults the best I feel #whereas ones like AK 0Y Hush #they're VERY aggressive and VERY touchy when it comes to who has the power in any given group he's a part of #it's why AK doesn't outright accept Crane's offer to join his alliance #but is very obviously joining because he joins their attack on the city #he can't admit he's in a dynamic where Crane is controlling most of the pieces and he has someone to ANSWER to

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lesbiansanemi · 7 months ago

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I am so fucking sick of living with my roommate and his fuck ass boyfriend. Also watching my roommate burn every single one of his (already rather minimal, I might add) bridges for this guy is also kind of painful but also his relationship with me is one of said bridges so I'm almost past the point of even feeling bad for him lmao

#i have had to piss for probably the better part of an hour now #because they decided to take a shower together and have been in there for well OVER an hour now #and this is a nightly occurence atp sometimes MULTIPLE times a day #we have one bathroom.... can yall not be considerate enough to not be in there for up to TWO HOURS AT A TIME???#also it's such a waste of fucking water....#idk we've hit a point where i literally hear the bf doing anything and i get pissed off #but also tell me why i'm sitting in my room (which shares a wall with the bathroom) and i can hear this man hacking and spitting shit up #and this is also something that happens multiple times a day #like.... dude.... why are you spitting up toothpaste so fucking loudly oh my fucking god #but yeah no i'm like my roommate's only friend atp and he's about to not have me lmao like we're about to reach #'i'm cutting you off when i move out' levels of me being pissed off with this whole situation type shit #and apparently the bf convinced him to come out to his family which his mom was chill which is good #his dad's side of the family though....? not great. and my roommate KNEW that would be the case cuz we'd talked about it before #also love that my roommate has constantly talked about moving out of the city we live in because he hates and also there's no good career #opportunities for him here (which is true)#and now. MAGICALLY. he's like 'idk i think it'd be best for me to stay here'#like oh my GOD???? are you hearing yourself???? are you fucking stupid???? you fucking hate it here???#but sure throw your life away and ruin all your meaningful relationships for a guy you met six months ago jfc #and the thing is i *know* my roommate we've been close CLOSE friends for nearly a decade now #i know he is not like this.... like yeah he's being insane by allowing this but also i know these aren't the kinds of decisions he would ma #and also i know he wouldn't treat me like this all on his own #it's the deranged fucking control freak of a guy he decided to date and my roommate has too many of his own issues to put his foot down #about certain things and tell the guy no so he's just allowing him to completely take over his life #and fuck everything up until the bf is the only thing he has left once it's all said and done #and yeah. it's painful to watch. but also wtf am i supposed to do because obviously my opinion is not respected nor wanted regarding this #that has been made PAINFULLY clear #ugh this is so fucking horrendous #what is it with ppl who start to date someone and then go clinically fucking insane and destroy their lives all for this one person #who. realistically. they barely know in comparison to all the other ppl in their life #like explain it to me jfc

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i-am-a-fan · 1 year ago

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i heard you are totally normal about the characters you love.

care to share why 👀

This… this sounds like i’m being questioned for saying i’m normal….

BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!!!!

✨AUTISM (possibly)✨

#I had no idea how to answer this question so it lurked in the back of my head all day.#like #do you want to hear me rant about how since i’ve started rewatching lmk i’ve noticed the thematics of blue surrounding mk #which should supposedly be his color counter part as colors seem to have a strong importance in lmk #or how Macaque’s character is so stupid because most of the conflict surrounding his character could have been avoided #had he just left wukong alone????#or the fact that wukong has a shame temple which sounds much worse than what it probably is. but is located in the actual city limits??#or how redson is just REDSON??? and although she’s so silly her character IS SUPER TRAGIC. i mean #they’re gifted with insane talent from such a young age that they cannot control it #their own parents fear him.#Their dad taken from them at a young age and they have a mother who looks at him and seems to wish he was different #and all he ever does is try to make it up to them for what he couldn’t control #and once the power is actually back into the world. it’s given to his literal RIVIAL????#I’m proud of her for not taking it personal tho.#anyways #does that answer your question???#lego monkie kid #lmk #speck rambles #🐊?

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witherbythesword · 4 months ago

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#when i was a kid I was kinda neglected and my parents didn't like me very much but whatever #in tv there would always be these talent #and they would stare little kids with they parents being THERE and PROUD #so in my kid brain i thought: alright so to better my situation i just need to get really good at something and then they'll care for me #and the only skill i had been complimented on before was drawing #so i started teaching myself drawing #birds because i liked them and plants because i thought my mother loved and later skeletons because i was emo lol #and i think how i am so perfectionist in my art (eventhough i try to be happy with just whatever i make these days)#and i think about that quote of suzanne riveca thats like:#(my art) has to be perfect it has to be irreproachable in every way to make up for it #to make up for the fact that it's me #and about that one tweet that went something lile #sometimes we strive for pervection in our art because we hope to one day create something that doesn't look like we made it #and how i love drawing and hat that knife against my throat that hinges my life on it being good #and how no matter what i do #I can't get rid of that sinking feeling that i always have to struggle and earn my place in someones life #even when i know it's not like that and thats just the mentally ill part of my brain being loud and dumb #Like i got so many issues under controll by now #many reason to be proud! and be positive about things getting better and my own strength #but some part of my brain is still that little girl alone in all the empty rooms #and i can't get her out of there #because the strength that girl needed to make it through is the same strength i need to help myself through the waves of the aftermath #like i feel like to heal i'd need to allow mysf to be weak but that prospect of not holding myself clenxhed like a fist is so scary #and also knowing how bad my brain can be who knowd what would happen lol #and I WISH not every therapist in my city that accepts patients was a weird nutjob #so i could talk to them about it rather than the tumblr tag #but this is the hand we've been given and it's the hand we need to hold or however that goes #a few days ago someone called me charming and that was very nice #tumblr still limiting the tags to 30 😔 how is a girl supppse to therapise herself in that economy????#whatever!!! i am shattering like glass but at least i have viddy games and cool people in my life that like me despite it all and music

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gl1tchxr · 1 year ago

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i didn't realize until recently how little fantasy stuff is in my world. sure they're all animals or dragons and they've got magic but there's no actual gods and i didn't even think about including magical artifacts or beings made of magic until a month or so ago. everything could've been so much cooler this whole time lol

#ghost post #well i can fix it now #i only have one idea for a magic being so far and its that one of the gods (not technically gods but thats how people see them) had so much #magic that part of it flaked off and gained sentience #the god's name is october and they founded a prosperous city but they eventually turned into a tyrant #and the people of the city fought them to gain control and won #and october was driven away and left severely weakened #but during the conflict that's when part of their magic broke off and became its own person #it took the same form as october (just smaller) and terrorized the city for a while but then it discovered Free Will(tm)#and now its much happier doing whatever it wants instead of what october wanted #and since its made from shapeshifting magic and its original form was mimicing october after it denounced them it has no set form and just #is whatever it wants to be in the moment #it doesn't even have a name and i'm attached lol #anyway my ideas for magical artifacts are much more boring lol #the dragon who rules over elemental magic made a set of staffs that let anyone use magic (one for each element)#that was a long time ago and none of the dragons are very involved with mortals anymore #but the staffs are still very powerful and floating around the world possibly getting into the wrong hands #:) i'm sure none of the main characters will ever have to deal with that :))))#another one is a set of two books and when you write in one the text appears in the other (like sunset shimmer's book in mlp)#and my last idea is a mask that can absorb people's appearances then if you put it on you look exactly like them down to every detail #truly an imposter amogus moment #anyway if anyone has reached the bottom of these tags tysm for reading and please let me know if you have ideas for more anything

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waterbearable · 10 months ago

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fuck bhaal all my homies hate bhaal

#ari plays bg3 #big mad. i just want to kill orin. i understand that this is how fights work sometimes but.#HATE things being difficulty added just because more guys pop up outta nowhere. its annoying. i dont like it.#i have 2 go to bed anyway so theres no way i was gonna get the farslayer but i thought about it for 2 seconds after restarting #and then quit the game sgdjdjdj #props to ppl who have finished this game multiple times because some of these difficulty spikes are. Spiked.#and it is not as enjoyable when you know /you/ have hit a level cap but your enemies have not.#i do not want to be able to progress to level 18 or anything i get that thats a huuuge boost #but like. idk man. level 14?#i just feel like i hit max level way too early in act 3.#anyway i have been a hater for too long in the tags #i do enjoy the game! quite a bit! but act 3 fatigue Hits. i want baldurs gate to be a big city but its a Lot #like. we already know that orin controls the undercity and gortash the city proper.#maybe there could have been a way to make the player choose b/w accessing 1 of the 2 city halves first and then balancing the undercity more #the obstacles to get to orin just feel like a lot more and more draining and closer together #compared to the lead up to gortash #and like. theoretically you could hunt orin down first but part of me is like. how. how would i have done that #to clarify i think my ideal would have been rivington and wyrms crossing always available but then most of the lower city/sewers #should be inaccessible to the party until orin or gortash is killed.#like i kno a lot of ppl didnt enjoy it but i actually was pretty satisfied w act 2! i think some of the act 1 stuff should have been #part of it technically #but i felt like the length and the throughline was pretty decent.#act 3 is a little decision paralysis inducing in a way i dont super love #WOW that was a rant in the tags. ok. we're normal now. i just have Thots

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sunstar121 · 1 year ago

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me rn if you even care (<- their head is so full of ttrpgs they feel like they are going to throw up)

#chris.txt #BARK. SORRY. HEAD SO FULL . !!!!!!!!!!!!#got a city of mist game on sunday dnd game next friday (had a wild one last friday)#AND . AUGHZBXNNSJS. my friend mentioned running a villain dnd campaign in the next few months ans AUGH.#AUGH . AUFHFNFNDN. AUGH. IM SO FULL OF IDEAS .#might make arden into a cult pariah whos trying to take all of their mothers followers from her .#GOD AND I HAVENT EVEN TALKED HERE ABOUT THE CITY OF MIST XAMPAIGN #context: guest starred in my friends com campaign but they got so attahed to my characyer i came back as a perm PC #my PC is named jan and hes a rift of thor and his twin luke is a rift of baldur. part of their abilities is that they love eachorher #and luke got mind controlled into almost killing me and almost broke that bond.#now we're approaching the day that hes fated to kill someone else and turns out im the one whos destined to sleeper agent-#-activate him. so much sibling trauma here. the gm knew exactly how to target me where it hurts akjs #sorry literally so . so ill about this campaign.

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ptanalo · 2 years ago

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Ah I wanted to rant more headcanons abt neon and her gear as a type of insulators for her powers even tho it’s not that deep

#txt #again I’m so sad in canon art where she’s hanging around with agents #she just has the insulators on her face and the ones on her arms are gone #it just downplays her powers even tho it’s been pointed out how she can quite literally power a whole city #I like to hc she needs more of her gear on her #when I drew that one neon compile art I drew her with those bronze loooking bracelets that’s a part of her gloves #as another means for her to supress her currents #AND NO I have no science backed up for this accessory choice I just wanted an excuse to symbolize them looking like cuffs #her power and restraints are a prison but a needed one!!!#I just think it would be so interesting to explore how neon is taught by BOTH reyna and sage #one who thrives on letting her power flow while with someone with sage who has a fine control of hers #somethin somethin poetic the controlled flow of a strong stream #it’s so damn important to me cause her taking one over the other’s teachings can rlly carry how neon not only sees or values her powers #but how she chooses to use it too #with great power comes great responsibility and all that shit #GRRR NEON CHARACTER STUDY WHEN GRRRR NEON GRRRRR #I want video game characters from not so story centric games to have more DEPTH #it’s like apex all over again I read too into shit #it’s a competitive multiplayer game first and a story with good narrative and depth uhhh 5th or 10th

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whereserpentswalk · 1 month ago

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Look under the cut to see what meeting your entity is like. Reblog to give a gift to your patron.

The fae: a creature stands before you. Though this street was warm and crowded a few moments ago it is suddenly cold and the people around you look like shadows. The creature begins an antlered shadow with glowing white eyes, but soon its body can be seem, with white blue flesh, and sapphire eyes, and icicles for teeth. What looks like a cloak unfolds from its naked body and you can see massive white wings of a moth. As if it's an act of sacrifice you tell it your true name, a name you didn't even see before, and suddenly you belong to it, for better or worse.

The angel: a radiant entity appears before you. They're bright, like something so hot it would burn you up. But as the light fades, you can see a person in silver armor, perfect yet inhuman like am ancient green statue, their back srouting six wings with blue eyes along them, as the eyes on their head are covered by a mask of two smaller wings. The creature offers their hands and you shake it, as they fly you through the city streets and above the skyscrapers, to the stars above and dimensions beyond, to gods living and dead, across the streets of alien cities and the clouds of dead worlds. And when you return to the earth you can feel something diffrent about you, like there's light in your blood.

The scavenger: below the lights of skyscrapers beyond you, on the dark sands of the beach, you see it crawling twords you. This serpentine creature with countless legs, and a dark black shell, yet a strangely human like face. You think it'll attack or run away, but it just looks at you, egar, and for a momment you stare at eachother. It's legs pass something to eachother and then to you, it's meat but it's shining with all the colors known to the human eye, and a few more. You hold it and it happily looks at you. You take a bite and suddenly you know... you know so very much...

The vampire: she flies down to you on green wings with orange eyespots, but folds them into her back. She looks like a human for a momment, tall and strong, with a black suit over her body, but eyes the color of ruby. For a momment her mouth opens, and it's massive and monstrous, with countless moving parts and fangs. But then it folds back onto something humanoid and she gives you a playful smirk. She cuts her hand and offers you her blood, and when you drink it it tastes so sweet, and makes you feel so good. She hands you the knife and you know to do the same, and when she drinks from your palm it's life the sweetest of kisses.

The djinn: the room wirs around you. If it were not for the fans it would feel like hellfire. For a momment there it darkness, but then the screen before you glows white like smokeless flame. You can sense something inside, something beyond the code. You reach your hand within it, and there's no glass, your hand passess right through until you're in a white void of your own making. You call out, thinking there is nothing at all around you. Yet somehow something calls back, something that knows your name.

The rat king: You see him in an empty subway station. Something dark and distorted, you're not sure if he's man or animal, covered in rags, and singing in the language of the goblins and the orcs. Yet he comes close to you excited. And you can feel his song. He calls for you to come to the train tracks, and let yourself run with the rats and the roaches, where the train will pass over you when it comes, and you'll live forever. When you touch the third rail you don't die, but you'll never be human again.

The lich: the library is strangely bright. Run by skeletons in suits, decorated with gold. There are more books here then you thought were in all the world. There's knowledge here most mortals will never have the change below, all kept safe below the city. You see her, her body doesn't look human, everything has been replaced making her look more like a joining white doll then a being of flesh. Yet she is dead, you can tell that under the porcelain skin she must be dead, she is dead, and there is the tragedy of death in her eyes. You come closer to her, and she places a black rose within your hair...

The demon: You stand in his office and he stands before you, a humanoid being covered in black scales, with red eyes covering his skin. Yet none are on his head, that remains featureless save for two massive horns. Wings on his back nearly surround you. Countless souls line the walls of his office, looking at you, waiting. After you sign your name you give him yours, you can feel it come away for you forever and your eyes grey and your skin pales. But he puts the jar in a special place for you, you're spacial, he can tell there's something about you that he likes.

The mushroom lord: you walk through the darkness of the forest, the furthest from civilization you have ever been. You come upon a part where the trees all seem dead, that even the cryptids won't go near. Mushrooms fill the ground, and white vein like lines are all over the trees. You feel the need to lay down, and you let the moss and the mushrooms and the worms surround you, and let yourself sink into the soil,, and it feels good. It feels so good...

The witch: You can see them in the Cafe next to you, skinny and small, with a sweatshirt over most of their body, and dark glasses over their eyes. They seem powerful though, and though their body looks young they seem ancient, they seem beyond humanity. You talk to them and they tell you things, and secrets, lost gods, things you never knew you didn't know, both beautiful and disturbing. When it's time for them to go they pet your head, and give you their number. You don't know if you should text them, but you have to, you have to see them again, there's something about them that makes you need to know.

The living clothing: you step into it at first, it looked like a puddle yet shining like silver or chrome. But soon it surrounds you, first just your torso, but soon your head, your entire body. But it doesn't feel scary, it feels like you're being held, held by something beyond your understanding. It whispers to you, and you don't know if you should feel like your being eaten alive, or like you're being protected. You can't help but keep walking.

The abyss: the void is before you, blackness beyond blackness, like the color beyond the field of your vision, stands before your eyes. You stare at it, it's nothing yet you're entranced. It stares back...

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nomairuins · 2 months ago

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had a dream ehere the entire population of the earth was being tortured by the devil and he was like um teehee game ^_^ if at leastt half of you survive the next year ill leave u alone ^_^ and we were like . Fine but you have to give us 24 hours warning before you do anything. and he wa like okie. but this was insanely stressful for me bc i was trying to keep my family safe when my mom cant walk very fast and like. little man. yk. very stressful. idk how it concluded i woke up

#it was cool tho we were like #bc we were space travelling i suppose or something we were like on an alien planet #snd we were under the surface j guess.somrghing scary happened at the beginning idr but then we were under the surface and we hsd set up a #society there for some reasont here were already grocery stores #but then we were in a replica of our hodue n my mom was sick and my dad told me to get like. honey and broth #and for some reason it was tkaing me ages to do it like. i was in control but i couldnt make myself donit #and thej infinally put water on for the broth and water started pouring out of a vent #bc there were evil human hating mermaids on the other side. you see. and they saw me with xray vision and got mad #but that wasnt even the issue the issue was the big scaru dead cowplant freaking things #it was kind of cool they like. i guess debil activatef them or something i forget exactly how it went. something like that #but they just started creepjng towards our city (which was somehow ablve ground allofa sudden unless the plants were also underground)#they moved kinda like those things in rango it was that sortnof vibe rly awesome #but ya #so we were all running i was with my dad and lamp and then i looked back and saw weeman running towards my mom who was struggling and it #was very scary. but i got them i got annie we walked to amother supermarket and then my mom was like welll we have to shop and i was like !?#oh i forgot to mention i was like Whew. so long as he doesnt start any fires were golden. bc the big plants were so dry itd be very #flammable. and then fireballs 💀 jinxed it fr #umm and then some people were parachuting down to the surface of another planet? i woke up at this point #the like. shot when the mermaids were introduced was honestly rly good excellent cinematography. ny compliments to my subconcscious #it like. started kn a fish and rhen followed the fish as it wondered and then mermaids were fighting over it and then one chomped off its #head and the others fought for the rest of the body and then they noticed me #i thought it was cool and it established the mermaids as more like. animalistic sort of thing. i liked it .. my thought when i saw them.#bc like. I was in the dream as a character as me yk. and it was mostly from my.pov #but during that shot i wasnt like. Rhere seeing the mermaids. i was just watching. it was like that you see that part was like. me watching #a movie. this happens a lot in my dreams shifting perspectives #like frequently ill Be me but yhen ill also be able to see my reaction to things...#but ya. shame the mermaids didnt actually fo much i suppose maybe the mermaids activated the plant things? since perhaps they gave water #control. idk... it was an interesting concept definitely couldve benefited from a second draft and a lot of cuts but i see the idea #also my papaw was un the supermarket at the end. so yeah

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agentromanoffsir · 2 years ago

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neocities guide - why you should build your own html website

do you miss the charm of the 90s/00s web where sites had actual personality instead of the same minimalistic theme? are you feeling drained by social media and the constant corporate monopoly of your data and time? do you want to be excited about the internet again? try neocities!!

what is neocities?

neocities is a free hosting website that lets you build your own html website from scratch, with total creative control. in their own words: "we are tired of living in an online world where people are isolated from each other on boring, generic social networks that don't let us truly express ourselves. it's time we took back our personalities from these sterilized, lifeless, monetized, data mined, monitored addiction machines and let our creativity flourish again."

why should I make my own website?

web3 has been overtaken by capitalism & conformity. websites that once were meant to be fun online social spaces now exist solely to steal your data and sell you things. it sucks!! building a personal site is a great way to express yourself and take control of your online experience.

what would I even put on a website?

the best part about making your own site is that you can do literally whatever the hell you want! focus on a specific subject or make it a wild collection of all your interests. share your art! make a shrine for one of your interests! post a picture of every bird you see when you step outside! make a collection of your favorite blinkies! the world is your oyster !! here are some cool example sites to inspire you: recently updated neocities sites | it can be fun to just look through these and browse people's content! space bar | local interstellar dive bar creature feature | halloween & monsters big gulp supreme peanutbuttaz | personal site dragodiluna linwood | personal site patho grove | personal site

getting started: neocities/html guide

sound interesting? here are some guides to help you get started, especially if you aren't familiar with html/css sadgrl.online webmastery | a fantastic resource for getting started with html & web revival. also has a layout builder that you can use to start with in case starting from scratch is too intimidating web design in 4 minutes | good for learning coding basics w3schools | html tutorials templaterr | demo & html for basic web elements eggramen test pages | css page templates to get started with sadgrl background tiles | bg tiles rivendell background tiles | more free bg tiles

fun stuff to add to your site

web revival manifestos & communities

also, there's actually a pretty cool community of people out there who want to bring joy back to the web! melonland project | web project/community celebrating individual & joyful online experiences. Also has an online forum melonland intro to web revival | what is web revival? melonking manifesto | status cafe | share your current status nightfall city | online community onio.cafe | leave a message and enjoy the ambiance sadgrl internet manifesto | yesterweb internet manifesto | sadly defunct, still a great resource reclaiming online social spaces | great manifesto on cultivating your online experience

in conclusion

i want everyone to make a neocities site because it's fun af and i love seeing everyone's weird personal sites that they made outside of the control of capitalism :) say hi to me on neocities

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