#all my instruments art second languages etc.

[outletcrash]

Ive wanted to learn 3D animation since 2020. Every few months since then I will download blender, immediately get frustrated to the point of tears and then delete it off my computer.

THIS IS THE LEAST INTUITIVE PROGRAM I HAVE EVER USED.

The SIMPLEST actions require ten "beginner tutorial" videos that all suck blenders cock silly ("oh its such a 'GREAT BEGINNER PROGRAM' with 'A FEW LEARNING CURVES'")

You wanna fucking change the size of the cube? Well first you need to press eight keys at once (russian keyboard), send a handwritten letter in crows blood, move battleship to D3, scrungle your splingo, changes settings to beebo, find a setting in the fucking LABYRINTH of windows, and now hold down ten more keys but oops! you forgot the order. TRY AGAIN.

AND EVERY 3D ANIMATION ARTIST SAYS THIS IS THE BEST BEGINNER PROGRAM. STOCKHOLM FUCKING SYNDROME I GUESS. ALTERNATIVES? NOPE!

I am not a person that struggles with difficult concepts. I love challenges. I do not love getting a splitting migraine from crying over this GODFORSAKEN SHITFACED LOUSY INCOHERENT NIGHTMARE PROGRAM.

HOLD DOWN THE SCROLL WHEEL+SHIFT TO PAN??? THANK YOU COCKSUCKER I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT. I WILL HOLD YOUR FACE DOWN IN AN INDUSTRIAL PAPER SHREDDER.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Alla Nazimova (A Doll's House, Camille, Salomé)—She was a proud lesbian, she was a director, she was artsy and experimental, she was instrumental in the rise to fame of Rudolph Valentino, she had the worlds biggest strap on energy

Xia Meng, also known as Hsia Moog or Miranda Yang (Sunrise, Bride Hunter)—For those who are familiar with Hong Kong's early cinema, Xia Meng is THE leading woman of an era, the earliest "silver-screen goddess", "The Great Beauty" and "Audrey Hepburn of the East". Xia Meng starred in 38 films in her 17-year career, and famously had rarely any flops, from her first film at the age of 18 to her last at the age of 35. She was a rare all-round actress in Mandarin-language films, acting, singing, and dancing with an enchanting ease in films of diverse genres, from contemporary drama to period operas. She was regarded as the "crown princess" among the "Three Princesses of the Great Wall", the iconic leading stars of the Great Wall Movie Enterprises, which was Hong Kong's leading left-wing studio in the 1950s-60s. At the time, Hong Kong cinema had only just taken off, but Xia Meng's influence had already spread out to China, Singapore, etc. Overseas Chinese-language magazines and newspapers often featured her on their covers. The famous HK wuxia novelist Jin Yong had such a huge crush on her that he made up a whole fake identity as a nobody-screenwriter to join the Great Wall studio just so he can write scripts for her. He famously said, "No one has really seen how beautiful Xi Shi (one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China) is, I think she should be just like Xia Meng to live up to her name." In 1980, she returned to the HK film industry by forming the Bluebird Movie Enterprises. As a producer with a heart for the community, she wanted to make a film on the Vietnam War and the many Vietnam War refugees migrating to Hong Kong. She approached director Ann Hui and produced the debut film Boat People (1982), a globally successful movie and landmark feature for Hong Kong New Wave, which won several awards including the best picture and best director in the second Hong Kong Film Award. Years later, Ann Hui looked back on her collaboration with Xia Meng, "I'm very grateful to her for allowing me to make what is probably the best film I've ever made in my life."

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Alla Nazimova:

HOT as hell. GAY as hell. TALENTED as hell. Producer, director, writer, actress. A silent era superstar who is credited with having coined the term "sewing circle" as a code-word for gatherings of lesbian and bisexual women. Has been called "the founding mother of Sapphic Hollywood" and was the owner/operator of the Garden of Alla Hotel in West Hollywood, which she bought in 1919 and sold in 1928 after deciding she wanted to go back to Broadway. In addition to starring opposite Valentino in Camille, she also had an affair with BOTH of his wives (Jean Acker and Natacha Rambova). In her day, she was one of the most influential women in the business.

"Nazimova was primarily a star during the silent film era, and her career in film started when she was almost forty. She was openly bisexual, and was engaged in two lavender marriages during her life while she carried on relationships with women (including at least one, and possibly two, of Rudolph Valentino's wives). She was brilliant and an autodidact - when she first moved to the United States from Ukraine, she spoke no English, but taught herself "in about five months" and went on to work as a screenwriter (among other things). Her predilections lay in art film, and she's credited with starring in / producing / directing one of the first American art films, the adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play Salome (1923). She has an elegant and commanding presence in all of her films, and is an absolute sensation to watch in motion."

Gif link, another gif link

A great actress who also produced a great deal of her films, Nazimova is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. She was also bi and coined the phrase "sewing circle" for sapphic celebrities.

Xia Meng:

[icarusredwings]

Finding home Au things that are canon (because I said so, and it's MY au so I can do whatever I want. Send me headcanons, and I'll approve them)

Gambit just got back from the void so he's just now meeting everyone. He looks a little different from how they remember since their gambit really was never a full team mate and rather then just some guy that helped Logan a couple of times. This being said hes meeting Rouge as a 35 year old linguistics teacher for a bunch of brats, flirting with her in the halls, trying to impress her all the time, etc. He wanted to have a cool class like how to use a Bo staff or tutor energy weilding kids but instead got stuck with sex ed. Because of this, he now makes a ton of jokes to Rouge about it (she's across the hall) but actually is really excited to start his cooking elective class this coming fall when he's considered a real team member.

Ororos heals click in the hall like they did when you were a kid and you could tell the principal is coming. She's almost always with a tea or a coffee, walkie talkie and keys jingling. She's very sweet but kids shit their pants if sent to Mrs. Munroes office, meanwhile Mr. Summers office is a nothing, just a lecture and a slap on the wrist. Aint no one actually scared of lasik because they know thw worst theyll get is community work for a couple of weeks but they ligit cry the second theyre sent to munroe's (especially if they know theyre guilty of a big prank or something)

The school gives out free hygiene products and depending on what you need you can special request it.

If students get too angry they are sent to Piotr's art room for art therapy. He surprisingly is very artistic and chill.

Forges shop class is working on a car with no weight limit and that can handle their heavy hitters (Colossus and Wolverine) both in the same car (most bust) as well as a car made from plastic recycling. They're working on it. Its only blown up once!!

Gambit makes breakfast for the staff and some students of they beg enough. He keeps bringing Rouge the first cup of coffee from the pot and has made her pancakes shaped like hearts multiple times. Watching her stab them and smother them make him... giggle helplessly.

Gambit🤝Watching their love intrests viscously stab and rip apart their meals with a boner wishing it was them🤝Wade

He's very respectful towards her, though and sometimes is a bit (COUGH a lot COUGH) of a kiss ass.

Hank's students have blown up the lab at least 4 times by now. One of those times was Wades fault for touching stuff he wasn't supposed to.

Kurt is very glad that Wade has taken over his Duel weaponry/swordsman class, so now he has time to start working out a pitch for a world's religion class+ sunday school. He still runs a fencing club, though.

Peter (quicksilver) has tried so many different positions, including music teacher of all different instruments. Now he just kinda lounges around in the game room and speed cleans the mansion after each day in like 2 minutes flat. Imagine being paid a full salary just for 2 minutes of work? And you get to live somewhere for free and play games all day? Fuck yeah.

Positions I've been thinking about:

Beast (Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy) is the Vice-Principal, so he does orientation. He has multiple science classes, including biophysics, and has electives in philosophy and poetry.

Colossus (Piotr Rasputin) is an art teacher and handles art therapy

Gambit (Remy LeBeau) runs a sex-ed class and is hoping to soon get approved to run a cooking class next semester.

Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) has a fencing elective as well as a religion class, sunday school, and sometimes helps Morph with drama/theater. (Ex duel weaponry instructor)

Rogue (Anna Marie) is a Linguistics teacher who drabbles in social science. “Diction and Linguistics, with Professor Rogue” She can teach just about any language, but russian/german/ french/ spanish and Japanese are her main ones. She's who you go to if you dont understand English and need help. Almost all foreign students have her.

Cyclops (Scott Summers) is the headmaster. He has classes in Geometry, has an elective for leadership and communications (PFFT) as well as being the schools mobility/disability specialist. He, of course, specializes more with children who have trouble with their eyesight.

Storm (Ororo Munroe) is the Headmistress. She has an Environmental Science and Political Science class as well as a multi cultural elective.

Shadowcat (Katherine "Kitty" Pryde) has a comp-sci class and runs an ethics class.

“Ethics 101: Forgetting Everything You Ever Learned From Emma Frost, with Professor Pryde.”

Wolverine (Logan Howlett) is a(n occasional hand to hand combat/ martial arts) PE instructor. (Ex History teacher)

Jubilee is the schools event organizer, event coordinator, event manager, and more broadly, event professional, the ‘hip’ school counselor. "Activities Director & Counselor"

Morph is the director of drama acting and disguises (duh)

Laura is a graduating student In training under the Wolverine (Gabby is a student and is too young to be an understudy)

Yukio graduating student In training Under Storm or Rouge (I can't decide)

Negasonic teenage warhead (Ellie) graduating student In training under Jean Grey.

Mr. Wade Wilson (Deadpool) Is in training under Colossus. Duel weaponry/ swordsman tactics class instructor (plus whatever Logan's doing, he's very nosey and WILL cause issues if bored)

Jean Grey is an english teacher, has a class on psychology, and drabbles in physics.

Ice man (Bobby) is the school financal advisor/accountant and runs a business elective class.

Forge is a Shop teacher.

Quicksilver (Peter maximoff) Janitor, housekeeping, music teacher, replaced original Logan as PE teacher for a while, target practice, teaches fast kids how to avoid running into walls, always in the game room, stock/ errand boy, gets bored super quickly, sports instructor, Read almost all the books in the library, likes swimming, mainly just lays around waiting for something fun to do, his father causes trouble sometimes which he thinks is entertaining but also hella embaressing.

I'm unfortunately left without a history teacher, so shoot me any ideas :)

[shewreckz]

Hey your art is pretty whimsical and radical my gender non specific broseph, per chance would thou be able to enlighten us on how you draw such bodacious fine art? Like how you draw bodies and fave and what have thee. (Fr tho your art really cool and I'd like to see how you make it)

okay i have whipped up a quick little visual of my thought process while drawing!! it might not be the best cause im not the greatest at teaching but if anyones curious ^_^

first lets start with how i draw bodies

a lot of people like to do the "skeleton" method which is where you draw lines and circles to plan out where the limbs should be. honestly i really dislike doing that because i like to always have volume and shape in mind when drawing bodies, but if it works for you thats great.

instead i separate the body into different pieces, kinda like an articulated doll. i think it helps visualize all the moving parts in a 3d space and makes posing and perspective a lot easier. i can also always add the detailed anatomy on top of this basic model like you see on the left. its always important to work from simple -> complex. drawing a pose while being too worried on anatomy will really hinder your drawing process.

to improve doing this it really just takes practice and observation. i could be here all day talking about proportions, and how many heads high a person is, and each specific muscle group, but i reccomend you go and watch videos and study professional artists on your own. as someone who has been drawing and studying these things for so long, i barely think about how many heads high a person is when im drawing a body. its kind of like learning how to play and instrument or driving a car. it becomes second nature eventually, but you have to apply those skills and work through that period of time where youre still trying to program it into your brain.

after you get a hang of the basics you can take this basic model and draw all types of body shapes with it. i say its always important to play around with making your body types diverse. its not only fun to do but helps make all the characters you draw unique and recognizable. (dont be like vivziepop).

dynamic posing can be the hardest thing to master for a lot of people. the best way to learn how to pose is to not think about it too much and just doing it. for example in my figure drawing class we had to sketch out gesture drawings from a picture in 15 seconds. excercises like that help a ton in making you feel more comfortable when drawing from a reference. you should definitely reference a LOT when it comes to poses, it helps build this visual database so that eventually you can get to the point where you can just draw accurate and dynamic poses from memory. after getting to this point eventually you kind of start thinking of your canvas as this tangible 3d space and considering your characters in 3d space helps make the poses feel a lot more realistic and interesting.

ok now a quick little tour into how i draw different faces yaaaayy!!!1!1!1

main thing with my art is that i LOVEEE drawing dynamic face shapes i think its so important to avoid drawing the same slim faces over and over. shape language plays a big role into this. like for example the face on the middle is more square, the one on the left is more oval and the one on the right is more circle. shape language helps communicate so much about your character without even saying a word about them and just helps differentiate people from a glance.

facial features also play a huge role into making your faces different. these are all drawn from the same exact face shape but look like entirely different characters by adding variety in the features. different noses, eye shapes, lips, etc. can make such a huge difference

i think before any of that its important to learn the anatomy of the face though. again im not gonna go into how many eyes wide a face it or how far the nose is from the mouth but like its always important to learn the fundamentals before stylizing stuff. again the face is a 3d space and if you dont consider your face a 3d plane the features will kind of just look like theyre floating on your characters face like soup...theres a lot of great resources and tutorials online take advantage of those!!! and reference from artists you like too it helps a ton.

and then you mix that all together and Boom you have cool and interesting faces. you will best that same face syndrome in no time if you take my advice Trust...

anyways yeah thats the soda design philosophy hit that like button if you liked it or douse me with tomatoes and kick me off the stage if you think i give bad advice ill leave the decision up to you

[yohohonabottle]

Paragon lore, according to Finch (me)

And some lore for the Paragon hero tier within the Self aware!AFKJ premise (The Sun and Moon is a really good starting point, in case you haven't see it. Never-ending as the seas is good too.)

P 1 stage: can feel vaguely Player's emotions.

P 2 stage : Can feel Player's emotions as though their own more strongly, and sense the Player's presence. (Regardless if said 'Sun' is logged off, logged in-game, nearby or away from the device used to play AFKJ.)

P 3 stage: Now the character can not only feel the Sun's emotions much more like their own, the Player's presence...But also hear the Sun's voice but physically and in their mind.

P 4 stage: Last Paragon stage is full attunement: All previous stage effects, plus the ability to temporarily borrow the Sun's powers. (And the Moon's, if the Sun has a Moon.) Every 'kit' or powers that can be borrowed depend on that Esperia (account)'s Player(s) or ''Suns'' as referred to for simplicity. And their respective Oc's - Moon(s). In this case I'm looking at Rila/Finch and Pirin as they are my account's Sun and Moon.

----------------

And well...Poor Valen will be the first to reach Paragon. And be advanced to later stages. As such, upon reaching last stage of Paragon-- he'll be able to weave narratives into physical manifestation (writing) and trap enemies into...anything he can get his hands on to draw. Canvas, a brick, a roof tile, piece of paper/wood, etc. Plus make creations that come alive similar to Albedo that he can command.

And just over all make things--

-> Creation both through art and writing, with Language and a bit of Luck on the side, lesser known aspects (Rila's abilities) And also -> Destruction, like who he can 'Destroy' a trapped foe through altering them in his 'drawing' or literally destroy that enemy by erasing them...like a sketch/pencil drawing. -> Mild reality manipulation through writing, since lore literally = 'rules', time and reality in fictional worlds. [!] But Valen isn't the Director of Esperia, neither are the Sun and Moon. So he can't permanently and fully mess with reality.. but can still do considerable damage.

And Pirin's ''kit'' revolves around song/dance/folklore/luck/fate + Truth. (And lesser known such as War and what comes with it--Combat, Loss, Death.)

So when Valen attunes to him, he'll gain sharp clarity of mind and the uncanny strong intuition that's like an acute lie-detector. -> Phraesto can puff all the smoke/illusions he wants, but Val won't fall for any of it. He knows it's an illusion/deceit/manipulation. Also the luck aspect comes in the form of being able to sense when his own, or that of others, will be good or bad. (It's very vague, but there.) -> And like a Kuker, his presence will ward off evil spirits. (Think of Chongyun and his Yang energy.) Because what those fiends will be hearing, is chimes of bells as loud as Dulingr's but constant, and experience nightmares. (See Pirin's ways of dishing retribution in the next post linked back to this sentence) But to everyone else those invisible bells are nonexistent. Even to Val himself. He just walks into a fight, and the Hypofiends instantly nope out.

You know the best part of having his Dove's powers?

He can sing so well, that literal sirens will get jealous or mesmerized. (And their singing will sound like crowing compared to his.) Plus he'll suddenly be a wicked good dancer, able to grasp rhythm and footwork -no matter how complex and intricate- with ease. It just.. innately clicks in his head now, while having the Moon's abilities. Ludovic can legit hand him a music sheet, ask him to play the piano or ANY instrument (violin, lyre, harp, flute, panpipe) and Valen will get that song right like he's some genius maestro/composer who's done it all his life. Practiced for years and years on end nonstop like a 'madman' devoted to his artful craft, honing it every single second of his life, every breath he draws. ...And then the Moon's ''buffs'' wear off and all that goes bye-bye.

Same goes for any of the other Paragons- Soren and Sinbad. ..Just imagine Soren who can't draw well or sing for shit, even if his life literally depends on it.....Suddenly becomes master painter/singer/musician/dancer.

That would be funny and mind-boggling. And Bear-boy's on a roll--The muse is there, the knowledge (innate, artist intuition), the skill, the drive-- creating masterpieces that hit as hard as Ludovic's....then it wears off and he's left with toddler-level of chicken scratches again.

(Lumont's art will look like toddler scribbles and smears, they already do when looking at Ludovic's art. But Soren, with Rila's (The Sun) abilities? He's suddenly on the same level of the Earl.

Or Sinbad singing like a nightingale, a truly dulcet tone even the divine can praise. Play his flute even better, or any instrument, and he's like Orpheus- Weaving such music and song, that even wild beasts stop/come to listen raptly. (Harak included. That shark will be standing/sitting still quietly and listen, forgetting entirely about his hunger/gluttony.)

That it can heal the most ailed, the pains of men and beasts, no matter how tormenting. Regardless if it's the spirit, soul, heart, mind or body.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Drawbacks of the Sun and Moon's powers/ Detrimental effects

Honestly as good as it is to have the Moon and Sun's abilities (Either one or both)... there's a draw-back that can get costly if the Paragon(s) doesn't let go/holds on for too long or gets greedy with it. Same for the Sun's ''kit''.

(The Sun -Creation/Destruction + Language is less known or that Luck overlaps with the Moon.): -Crippling perfectionism, -self-doubt or overthinking (too much analyzing and splitting hairs) -and indecisiveness, -language 'warps' to gibberish to their ears/stops making sense. -The drawings may turn against that Paragon, or weaken and waver. Half-finished. -Uncertainty, the grip on reality is slipping and their head is stuck in the clouds (day-dreaming/dreaming) surrounded by what-if's both positive and negative. -Viscerally vivid images in their mind's eye.

(The Moon's - Song/Dance/Folklore/Music/Truth/Luck):

-The clarity of mind is... working too good. Their rationality is high...but their emotional intelligence/empathy gets slowly lowered until they become cold/aloof/desensitized. ''Emotionless''/''Soulless''. Like how Pirin steeled himself and locked away his own emotions upon fighting with his brainwashed and grown up younger twin brother and sister. (Second lifecycle, he was Andrius or 'Andy' for short, eldest of three. Alexander was the youngest of the trio.)

So that Paragon(s) become coldblooded, merciless. All that Paragon cares about, is the truth. Doesn't matter if it hurts and how much it hurts, if it's good or bad.

Basically an Arlecchino/Raiden Shogun/Ei situation in a way.

-Bloodlust can gradually flare, and allies can get in the line of fire. (Less known/noticed part of the Moon --War.)

-Too calm. Eerily, hauntingly so. Nothing can rattle them or touch their soul/heart. That Paragon literally can loose someone dear and 'not care'. Not even a tear down their cheek. Hell! Let's use Valen as example: He can loose Fay somehow and seemingly not care. Or be the one to end her life somehow/see her fall/ mercy-kill, etc. and same thing. Like he's gone ice-coldly numb.

You may notice Rila and Pirin/Stranja have this opposite dynamic -- |> Rila is Life in her 'kit' duality besides the other main aspects like language; And in her ways of behaving-- Jovial, chaotic, inconsiderate, senseless, dynamic, full of potential and offers such to others both through lending her powers (letting them be grasped without question, limit or condition).. as well as giving opportunities and take them without conscious intent.

(Think of how a tide can bring in stuff on the beach but also kill what's on that shore)

|> Pirin is Death. (War, combat, Loss. Besides the whole music/folklore and luck thing.) Serene, tranquil, neutral in attitude and quiet. Neither actively seeks to take someone's life, nor will shy away from doing so if it comes down to it one way or another. ...Yet can be violent, sharp and sudden, torturous. (Like how some deaths, ways of dying are.)

...Funny enough Pirin is 'Life' in duality of personality. Ruthless/Benevolent - Gentle, loving and peaceful/Cruel, monstrous (in his anger).

[changelingsandothernonsense]

🎮, 🎻, 💯, and ❤️ for josh!! 👀

��� VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc's favorite hobbies? (Outside of drinking and fucking) Josh's main hobby is tinkering. Mostly he messes about with Dwemer Artifacts trying to get them to work. He's pretty close to getting that DWIFI up and running...or at least he thinks he is. He's certain he's getting close. Any century now! He also doodles...like a lot. Mostly things he sees or shit he finds funny. He's able to draw quite well but will just default to stick figures if it's aimless scribbling. He's also very into cyphers, code breaking and languages. All his journals and letters are written in at least three layers of code. Tends to stem his paranoia. 🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)? No, he's not really all that musically gifted but he does insist on trying to get cred by learning the lute. He can play one song...and he's terrible at it. 💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know. Hmmm a lot of stuff about him is found in my art but - - Josh wears a prosthesis that he created himself out of dwemer scrap on his right foot. Corprus took his first and second toes (along with half his right pectoral and nipple) so he experiences balance issues if he's not using it. - He's almost completely deaf in his left ear due to a head injury that never healed right. - Josh spent 33 years in prison. Most of that time he was clasped in magicka-draining irons. It's affected his stores of magicka as a result and whilst he has a lot of raw power, he lacks any real reserves. He gets magicka drain quite frequently as a result. Josh has developed an overreliance on restorative potions to compensate. ❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

Josh kinda verges on sociopathy at times so-

He's persistent. If he wants to get something done he won't stop until he's through.

Despite what he tells himself he does actually care. A hell of a lot. He spends a lot of time ridding Tamriel of smuggling rings because (and he says it stems from selfishness) he doesn't want what happened to him to happen to anyone ever again.

He's a hell of a lot of fun at parties, provided he's not too plastered.

[zoofles]

Hello. :) 1-3, because I believe that to be a fun sort of deal to answer for most, as well as 13. Feel free to skip over any. -Hibiscus F.

Helloooo!!!! Jonnik is too scared to answer so he’s ruled out n Sameen refuses to answer himself so I’ll be talking for her 👍

1. Which headmates are the iconic couple

This has to go to Jin and Benji they are so iconic even if Jin terrorises everyone -Bibi

SAMEMER AND TAPEWORMS -Rhys

The tapeworms thing is a very weird inside joke that Sameen is NOT happy abt SGJJF -Bibi

(I apparently need to make it clear that Sameen has NevER had tapeworms 😭-Bibi)

2. Which headmates are the unlikely couple

At first glance I’d say Jonnik and Banjoh but they actually make perfect sense if u know them… Rhys and Jannis however make no sense no matter what DHKHSH -Bibi

Hmmm :^) not too sure… -Jannis

💕🌷ohhh, anyone with Meenie. I always assume someone is either an idiot or has no self preservation when dating her.💕🌷-Cerise

I second Tulip, anyone with Doll. Big red flag to me, I always know something is up. -Banjoh

Wait now I know. Bias and Sybill. I really wasn’t expecting a best-friendship between those two… -Jannis (😭not sure I’d call it best friends but ok -Bibi)

I DONT HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY -Rhys

3. Which headmates were enemies at first and now best friends and/or a couple

Rhys and jannis 👍-Bibi

Big Fella and Rhys. -Banjoh

💕🌷Banjoh and Jannis🌷💕-Cerise (she got a funny look)

13. What headmate has a skill that the body doesn't usually, but when they front the body gets it (or almost gets it)?

Everyone. It’s freaky. Almost all have accents, Banjoh is the only one who can mask as me. Jonnik is very good with medical stuff and animals/plants (I’m meh!)! Banjoh has a craaaaazy different pain tolerance (mine is good but his is better). Sameen is freaky good with spiritual things and can see spirits/auras etc (I’m ok but I have zero control and get scared easy). Jannis is very good at one-glancing someone and knowing exactly if they’re good or not vibe wise (I’m not). Cerise is great with clothing repair (but I suck at it). I could be struggling with my computer or phone and freaking out and sybill will front and fix it in a couple minutes (one time a few seconds) which is always cool..plus whenever they help me make music it always sounds soooo much better. Oh and Banjoh can do piercings. + anyone who draws has very different art styles and preferences

When it comes to languages it’s a bit more tricky. Like fr example Rhys knows mandarin (don’t ask) but when he speaks while fronting it’s broken or just missing, same with others and languages. Certain Physical skills also get tangled like playing instruments??? —Bibi ,•}

Thx for askinnnnnn

[themichaelvan]

tagged by @changingcore / 15 questions for 15 mutuals (oh fuck do i even have that many)

are you named after anyone? - birth name, nope. does it count if i got my chosen name from a fictional character??

when was the last time you cried? - this morning!! nothing 2 be concerned about i got woken up by the fire alarm (also nothing to be concerned about it just needs the battery replaced) and was so tired & upset i started crying, which happens. more often than i would like. hm. maybe i named myself after the wrong afton kid

do you have kids? - nope!! i do like interacting with them though but only like 3 max at a time JFJRJFNG

do you use sarcasm a lot? - irl yes, online only sparingly. & i make it very exaggerated not usually deadpanned or anything so people can Tell (which of course nobody needs except for Me but i digress)

what sports do you play/have played? - did soccer when i was a little kid (Hated It), was on a swim team for a while, and did marching band for the longest (which is my favorite and yes it counts as a sport and you cannot say it doesn't until you've been in marching band. cunt)

what's the first thing you notice about other people? - typically clothes and then hair! i have a relatively mild (but still pretty bad compared to ppl without it) case of face-blindness, and i CANNOT tell people apart by their faces at all unless they have smth like a bunch of facial piercings or a scar or smth Noticable so i tend to look at other things first.

eye colour? - ??? hazel-brown ??? no idea tbh but at least partially brown

scary movies or happy endings? - HAPPY ENDINGS. i am soso scared of scary movies i will gladly watch the little prince for the 60th time. Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives / Nobody Dies is one of my favorite tags on ao3.

any special talents? - ? What does this mean. i guess proofreading/editing?? i have always LOVED doing it and i just. naturally keep track of all the Language Rules and enjoy using them. the autism kicking in i suppose. and yes it does count as a special talent actually you would not BELIEVE how many candies i got in 5th grade from ppl bribing me to read over their essays.

where were you born? - arizona/usa. same town as my mom actually (despite her moving like 7 times in between her birth and mine)

what are your hobbies? - listen to music and pace around my room until i pass out. and painting, writing, drawing, various other arts n crafts, guitar, percussion when i have the chance (rn i only have a practice pad :|), and mobile games of heavily varying quality.

do you have any pets? - not atm but i used to have two cats (both still alive just in different household) that i still consider my little kitties :] i have 150+ pictures of them on my phone if you ever need cats i Got you

how tall are you? - 5'11" now!!! was hovering around 5'7"-8" for the longest time but i recently had a growth spurt and now im only the SECOND shortest in my family (out of six)

favourite subject in school? - by the material probably math! it is sometimes difficult for me to get a concept but once i do it's Easy. i also do have an advantage (parent has math degree and is good at explaining) but i try and make up for it by helping everyone else as much as i can jfjdndjf. by the Class def band/music class if that counts. both of my music teachers have been both very scary yet very nice to me and i loved their classes so so much and i extremely enjoy playing instruments with other people (when they behave)

dream job? - sorting pokemon cards in a comfortable chair as a day job with a 4 day workweek, being a freelance renowned fiction editor on my own time, with occasional music-related gigs (tutoring, repairing stuff, playing in concerts, etc). i give you no shit if i could do that for the rest of my life and get paid well enough to live on my own or with roommates i like, have a cat, and have enough time and energy to homecook a meal 3-4 nights a week i would be so happy. that's all i want in life. "oh you would get bored doing the same thing day in day out" no i wouldn't "how" autism.

tags: @irradiatedblood @schmope-is-dead @sapphireclaw @bmo-2143 @pokette @soldiertransgender @astral--horrorshow @catnerdenby @unrestrainedbalderdash @buggiboo @lunar-anomaly @altruisticmystik @syntacticerrortxt @catlokis-blog @rosesareredjaybirdsareblue . okay. okay i think that's 15. im pretty sure. jegus.

[abbyindenhaag]

Arts and Architecture

On Wednesday morning we visited the Museum of Sydney, a small building on the site of the original governor’s house that taught us a lot about the city’s origins. Much of it echoes Euro-Indigenous conflicts with which I was already familiar, but it was interesting to learn about specifics. The first governor, Arthur Phillip, showed a somewhat admirable inclination to learn about the indigenous peoples’ perspectives, but when they (the Gadigal people) decided they wanted little to do with the English and started avoiding them, Phillip decided to implement his initiative by kidnapping two men and holding them hostage in his house while trying to get them to interpret their language and culture. And then he was shocked when one of the hostages, Bennelong, who had been charming and cooperative, escaped as soon as they removed the shackle from his leg. (Pikachu face) who could have predicted?! For Bart the history provoked questions of what the most ethical version of first contact would have looked like, given that leaving the first Australians in isolation would have left them without the benefits of trade, but also that it might be impossible to ethically organize trade arrangements with a people that had completely different concepts of ownership, territory, institutions in general, etc. And that’s also setting aside the whole inevitable devastation of smallpox thing. Should the British have just established a barricade around the entire island to prevent any European from bringing the disease? What a different world that would have been.

Another part of the museum had an exhibition of artwork supported by the Coomaditchie center, which was a center for Indigenous culture established during the (relatively late) efforts at Indigenous policy reform in the 1960s. I really enjoyed these artworks in particular:

First painting: Black Swan, by Allison Day

Second painting: Our Fish II, by Allison Day and Dereke Brown

The dots and lines style is so cool, and I love the earth-toned color palettes.

Our next cultural experience, in some ways at the opposite end of the establishment spectrum, was an evening at the Sydney Opera House. We went to a performance of “great opera hits”, which was not necessarily the first choice for either of us but was better than all the alternative performances that were on (a Cinderella opera and a Beatles tribute show………. Oof.) There were a couple of arias we really enjoyed — the Habanera from Carmen, which also features (instrumentally) in Up, and E lucevan le stelle from Tosca, which had really beautiful imagery in addition to the lovely voice of the tenor who sang it. I also enjoyed the “Flower Duet”. But overall, I think most opera is not for me — some combination of what feels like a lack of momentum in the music, plus I find the high dramatic soprano notes kind of uncomfortable to listen to. But! I expanded my cultural touchpoints, and I also got to be inside the Opera House, which was super cool.

To be honest, my first impression walking into the building, which you do from the ground floor level, was: this feels like the DC metro. Lots of concrete, maybe some uplighting. But you go upstairs into the area around the concert hall, and it becomes incredibly airy. This was extra special in the gloaming just before sunset.

Two obligatory “we’re alive and really here and not kidnapped” photos in front of the view follow:

On Thursday morning we visited the White Rabbit gallery, a free museum of contemporary Chinese art. Also very small, it was the right size for an hourlong visit. Many of the art pieces did not speak to me, but there was one that delighted us both and, according to Bart, made the whole trip worth it on its own. Big words. Let me explain.

You take an elevator to the 3rd floor and step out into a room full of trash cans. Comme ca:

Actually, their lids were closed when we arrived. The docent says to you: “We’re almost ready to have them play automatically.” You think: oh, must be pretty fiddly that they are still working on whatever it is, but I suppose we’ll get to see it happen manually. Then she says: “The performance is about to begin.”

The trash can lids all open up and you can hear an orchestra tuning up. There’s one instrument per trash can. The lids close. After a moment, they open again, and you hear the opening notes of Beethoven’s 5th. Dah dah dah DAHH. Oh. Wow.

After the performance, the lids close. We have to let the trash cans rest for two minutes, but then we can wander through them and open each lid at will. When you open it, you hear the particular instrument assigned to the can as they play through the piece again — clarinet, violin, cello, oboe, bass. Trumpets, too, if you’re lucky. There was a map to show you which instrument was where, which allowed me to find the one (!) viola. It was so fun to walk through and feel like you were enabling the performance by letting an instrument’s voice be heard. Also, what a great piece.

Bart and I had only two constructive suggestions (ha, arrogant, I know). First, we thought it would be cool in the automated performance part for each lid to open only when the instrument was playing. Second, Bart thought it would be fun in the interactive portion for the viewers to modulate the volume with how far open the lid was. But overall, a total delight. (And it checked Bart’s box for unexpected good music, which is all he really wants in a vacation. Oh, and good tea, but we got that at the tearoom downstairs.) The artist’s name was Shyu Ruey-Shiann, I think, and the orchestra was the Taiwanese symphony orchestra, again, I think, because unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the wall label.

The other piece I liked in the museum was an autobiographical series by Yu Hong, which depicted a number of self-portraits at different ages reflecting the artist’s growth in parallel with the tectonic changes in China over her lifetime. This is the closing pair of paintings:

We walked back through a fun university-ish neighborhood — look at the greenery!

and we saw this fun street sculpture:

And that was another day and a half in Sydney. This afternoon (in about 10 minutes) we are heading out to the zoo with friends who are also in town for the wedding. I am a little concerned it will be somewhat depressing, as my last zoo visit was, but you can’t go to Australia and *not* see a koala or a kangaroo, so here we go!

[directingscreenandstagepx7401]

Week 4 - Write up on activities

Vocal warm-up

First chunk of the warm-up required us to repeat after Bell. I enjoyed this section of the warm-up because the lines we repeat are quite long, twisted and fun or challenging to say, which creates a sense of play as well as getting our vocals ready and making us feel that we can overcome any mistakes in rehearsal.

I did feel the chunks of each line given to us to repeat were too big, and so difficult to repeat, especially for those who didn't have English as their first language. I've done similar exercises before where the leader would start quite slow and break it up a lot more, then pick up the pace gradually and saying more and more of the line. This helps performers to pick up the rhythm to begin with and get into a flow.

For the second chunk, we stood in a circle and moved as far back as possible, so that we were all practically at the walls. We then had to determine the person who was as far from us as possible and "send them a note." This could be at any pitch and be said in any way, the idea was to make that note stretch and reach the farthest place from us in the room. This was fun to play around with as Bell guided us to do low notes, high notes, to just test ourselves and what we can do. This task felt like it was an opening up, to each other and to ourselves. It was also fun. It helped us to consider dynamics, volume, tempo. It also built a bond as we would applaud each other after if somebody was holding a particularly long note.

Physical warm-up

"Form banana, form, form banana. Peel banana, peel, peel banana. Go bananas, go, go bananas." Did the same thing with walls. Very physical exercise that allows you to just run around and go a little nuts.

It's a good exercise as it introduces play into the space. Also because it's a little silly, it helps to create ensemble and bond because you are laughing together. From previous readings (mostly from week 3 - belief and truth) there's been mentions of holding onto a childish nature, because this helps us to believe what we are acting (the same way that children play make-believe and truly believe it.) It's an access in to that childish mindset. It's also a great way to leave whatever baggage you may have from the day outside the door.

Art gallery

Treated the space we were in as an art gallery. We'd queue up outside and each time we went in we'd have to go in as either "intellectual," "emotional" or "physical" based on Stanislavsky's ideas. Each time that we did, we had to take note of how it impacted our physicality and our interaction with the environment.

This exercise was great for: making actor's aware of their bodies, their own toolkit, bodies as instrument, stillness vs physicality, how you perform something intellectual and something emotional etc. Also good for becoming aware of themselves and their environment, specifically the ways that their characters may come out.

Would be awesome to do this exercise in a completed, detailed set (for example in a Punchdrunk setting.)

The exercise also allowed for a unique experience for everybody in the space, which is important because not every performer will connect with every asset in your toolkit and so where you can, having broadness in your exercises will allow actors to find their own access points and their own ways to what you are trying to achieve. Focus without limitation.

It definitely allows for possibilities.

Circles of attention

Began with reading a specific scene with a partner. We were told to keep a line in mind from that reading, from that scene. Although it was never mentioned again, it stayed with me through the entire circles of attention exercise and informed the way I performed, which was really interesting.

During circles of attention, we'd do the usual thing of paying attention to breathing, breathing in the body, the four walls around the body and the space outside the four walls. One of my initial reservations about this exercise when we first did it was how open the idea of the space outside the four walls is, however Becky took time to contextualise it this time, telling us we could play around with it and limit ourselves. This helped me to remain within a certain boundary and stay grounded.

Getting us to feel what was in our body was also really clever - since we've done a lot of reading about actors bringing what's going on in their physical bodies into their performances on the day, I paid attention to sensations in my body such as neck pains and then brought that into what we did next.

We then had to think about what character we were in the reading of a specific scene and stand up as that character. My neck pains then informed how that character stands. That was thrilling as a performer, it felt freeing.

After that, we had to walk around the space using that body/stance. Becky did inform us that we can redo it and start again if it doesn't feel right, which was nice because I didn't love how I first stood or walked. In fact, when we were told to think of the character and stand on the character I felt a little put on the spot, because I felt like my mind had gone elsewhere before that. A little more time to really merge my mind with the character before standing would have been helpful, I think.

As we were then walking around, Becky asked us to become mindful of our previous scene partner as we moved around the space. Not necessarily looking at them or finding them, just being aware. This really created a sense of peripheral, which we've been playing around with in other exercises. I think it's an excellent way to raise awareness and trust within the ensemble, to create an energetic connection. Also creates awareness of the space!

She stopped and started us a couple of times, reminding us to be mindful of our partner and to stay close. She then got us to stop and face them from where we were. We were allowed to either step forward or back, or stay in the same place based on how we felt. This created a real intensity of emotion and suddenly a sense of our relationship was being created just from looking. My partner and I discussed afterwards and spoke about how we both felt compelled to move close to each other and wanted to, but were too hesitant and shy to actually take that step, worried that the other character did not want to. There was a massive sadness and anger between us. My line from the initial scene reading kept playing in my mind: "I don't want it."

This was exciting as a performer, and I think it constructed a real sense of what my character and that person's character's relationship felt like without analysing it from the play itself and then trying to bring that analysis in. I also experienced this feeling from week 3 during Mark's warm up, where we built a relationship with the house from August: Osage County and then connected with another person in the space and took steps forward/backwards.

I think these exercises do a brilliant job at giving performers access to the emotions, interrelationships, complexities and dynamics of their characters and the ensemble characters before getting to work on the play and relieves a certain pressure, whilst also creating an access point.

BONUS: Asked Becky a question

Have actors read the text by the point in which she is doing exercises with her ensemble that do not introduce the play?

By this point they would have done a table reading, she'd get each actor to simply read until they were bored and then the next person would read.

[adamnablelittledevil]

@judasiscariotbf: "i unfortunately cannot contribuite on the demi lovato front & ive never heard of faouzia </3 perhaps you could enlighten me?"

YES, I CAN! :)

Faouzia: She's from Morocco, but was raised in Canada. She is able to speak and sing in four languages: Arabic (her native language), English, French and Chinese. She plays at least 7 instruments: piano, keyboards, violin, guitar, electric guitar and others which I unfortunately can't remember the name (can anyone help? thanks). She's written of all her songs and even songs for other musicians. She's produced some of them and has created the concepts and stories of her music videos as well. She does a lot of Arabic trills on her songs like you rarely see in music, specially from the West. Her style has the best of both words, a lot of Arabic influence, but also pop, soul, r&b, urban, indie and folk music. Her melodies are my favorite, she knows how to create melodies like you rarely see. She's also always making ad-libs between a line or another, she always fills the space with something, to the point her own voice sounds like part of the instrumental and you don't feel that much of a difference when she sings without a band. She also always changes the song for the better live, she comes up with even harder notes and ad-libs every time. Every performance is fresh and different. You'll watch 30 performances of the same song and every single one is distinct, unique and with its own improvisation. Somehow she always finds a way to reinvent her tracks, to the point they sound brand new and you never grow sick of them. She has emotional, fun and inspiring songs and she's never let the industry tell her to behave, dress etc. She shows you can empower women while also sticking to your own values.

Demi: They're a singer, songwriter and director. Demi has written almost all of their songs and directed multiple music videos. They're brave and not afraid to be brutally honest about their experiences. They have written and sung about depression, eating disorders, addiction, overdose, familial abandonment, sexual abuse, grooming, bipolar disorder, borderline disorder, gender and sexuality. They're an extremely versatile musician and have proved to be able to sing everything: pop, r&b, urban, soul, Motown, gospel, country, pop rock, Latin pop, EDM and more. They also play the piano, keyboards, guitar, electric guitar, drums and if I remember correctly, the bass as well. And Demi is a non-binary, pansexual, ADHD and disabled (they lost their peripheral vision because of the overdose and can't drive anymore) artist too.

Also, two things that they both have in common are that, first of all, they're powerhouse vocalists. And second, they both pour all of their heart, mind, body, soul, blood, sweat and tears to their songs and live performances. They have these tracks and performances that are incredibly earnest, emotional, intense and cathartic where they leave it all on stage. They're able to be battling tears or even be straight-up crying and still give you goosebumps. I love their upbeat and fun songs, but that's my favorite part of their art. Imagine IWTV as music. Or stuff on the same level of Cancer and Desert Song (two of my favorite MCR songs) or the Helena outtake. It's just as perfect.

Videos I'd recommend:

omg yayyy fellow mcr as well as iwtv fan 🫶🫶🫶 armand is bullets louis is tbp claudia is danger days (honorary mention to revenge for the southern gothic Vibes as well)

YES! Tbh, there's a good number of us out there, it is a bit harder to find the intersection of IWTV and my other two faves: Faouzia and Demi Lovato.

Anyway, I HEAR YOU, but let me present a different concept for a second:

Bullets: Louis (peak depression)

Revenge: Claudia (explosive anger and dark goth aesthetics)

The Black Parade: Lestat (flamboyant gay theatrics)

Danger Days: Armand (autistic colorful bliss)

[drarreckyninja]

PROFESSOR: *Johnny, define a machine.”

JOHNNY: “A machine is anything that reduces human effort. [...] Anything that simplifies work, or saves time, is a machine. It's a warm day, press a button, get a blast of air - the fan... A machine! Speak to a friend miles away. The telephone... A machine! Compute millions in seconds. The calculator... A machine! We're surrounded by machines. From a pen's nib to a pants' zip - all machines.” (Mimes zipping and unzipping pants) “Up and down in a second. Up, down, up, down…”

(Students laugh)

Professor: (Throws chalk nib at JOHNNY’s head) “What is the definition?”

JOHNNY: “...I-I just gave it to you, sir.”

PROFESSOR: “You’ll write this in the exam?” (Mimes zipping and unzipping pants) “Up, down, up, down, up down. Idiot! Anyone else? Yes?”

JACK: “Sir, machines are any combination of bodies so connected that their relative motions are constrained, and by which means, force and motion may be transmitted and modified as a screw and its nut, or a lever arranged to turn about a fulcrum or a pulley about its pivot, etc., especially a construction is more or less complex consisting of a combination of moving parts, or simple mechanical elements, as wheels, levers, cams etc.”

PROFESSOR: “Wonderful. Perfect. Please sit down. Thank you.”

JOHNNY: “But sir, I said the same thing, just in simple language.”

PROFESSOR: “If you prefer simple language, join an Arts and Commerce college.”

JOHNNY: “But sir, one must get the meaning, too. What’s the point of blindly cramming a textbook definition -”

PROFESSOR: “You think you’re smarter than the book? Write the textbook definition, mister, if you want to pass.”

JOHNNY: “But there are other books - “

PROFESSOR: “Get out!”

JOHNNY: “But sir - why?”

PROFESSOR: “In simple language: out! Idiot.”

(JOHNNY stands and leaves the class of silent students. Halfway out the classroom, he turns around and begins walking back to his seat.)

PROFESSOR: “Why are you back?”

JOHNNY: “I forgot something.”

PROFESSOR: “What?”

JOHNNY: “Instruments that record, analyze, summarize, organize, debate and explain information; that are illustrative, non-illustrative, hard-bound, paperback, jacketed, non jacketed, with foreword, introduction, table of contents, and index; that are intended for the enlightenment, understanding, enrichment, enhancement and education of the human brain through the sensory route of vision… sometimes touch.”

PROFESSOR: “What?”

JOHNNY: “Books, sir. I forgot my books.”

[mimicofmodes]

“The Ladies Waldegrave” by Joshua Reynolds, 1780 (NGS NG2171)

I’ve complained before about two very big pet peeves of mine - corset stuff and Regency women being dressed in 1770s-1780s clothes - but one that may dwarf them because of how frequently it comes up in historical and fantasy fiction is the oppression of embroidery.

That’s probably putting it a bit too strongly. It’s more like ... the annoyance of embroidery. Every character worth reading about knows instinctively that sewing is a) boring, b) difficult, c) mindless, and d) pointless. The author doesn’t have to say anything more than “Belinda threw down her needlework and looked out the window, sighing,” to signal that this is an independent woman whose values align with the modern reader, who’s probably not really understood by her mother or mother figure, and who probably will find an extraordinary man to “match” her rather than settling for someone ordinary. To look at an example from fantasy, GRRM uses embroidery in the very beginning of A Game of Thrones to show that the Stark sister who dislikes it is sympathetic and interesting, while the Stark sister who is competent at it is boring and conventional and obviously not deserving of a PoV (until later books, when her attention gets turned to higher matters); further into the book, of course, the pro-needlework sister proves to be weak-willed and naïve.

Rozsika Parker, in the groundbreaking 1996 work The Subversive Stitch, noted that “embroidery has become indelibly associated with stereotypes of femininity,” which is the core of the issue. "Instead embroidery and a stereotype of femininity have become collapsed into one another, characterised as mindless, decorative and delicate; like the icing on the cake, good to look at, adding taste and status, but devoid of significant content.” 

Parker also points out that the stereotype isn’t just one that was invented in the present day by feminists who hated the idea of being forced to do a certain craft. “The association between women and embroidery, craft and femininity, has meant that writers concerned with the status of women have often turned their attention towards this tangled, puzzling relationship. Feminists who have scorned embroidery tend to blame it for whatever constraint on women's lives they are committed to combat. Thus, for example, eighteenth-century critical commentators held embroidery responsible for the ill health which was claimed as evidence of women's natural weakness and inferiority.”

There are two basic problems I have with the trope, beyond the issue of it being incredibly cliché:

First: needlework was not just busywork

A big part of what drives the stereotype is the impression that what women were embroidering was either a sampler:

sampler embroidered by Jane Wilson, 14, in 1791 (MMA 2010.47)

or a picture:

unfinished embroidery of David and Abigail, British, 1640s-50s (MMA 64.101.1325)

That is, something meant to hang on the wall for no real purpose.

These are forms of schoolwork, basically. Samplers were made by young girls up to their early teens, and needlework pictures were usually something done while at school or under a governess as a showpiece of what was being learned - not just the stitching itself, but also often watercolors (which could be worked into the design), artistic sensibility, and the literature, history, or art that might be alluded to. And many needlework pictures made in schools were also done as mourning pieces, sometimes blank, for future use, and sometimes to commemorate a recent death in the family. A lot of them are awkward, clearly just done to pass the class, but others are really artwork.

Many schools for middle- and upper-class girls taught the making of these objects (and other “ornamental” subjects) alongside a more rigorous curriculum - geography, Latin, chemistry, etc. At some, sewing was also always accompanied by serious reading and discussion. (And it would often be done while someone read aloud or made conversation later in life, too.)

Once done with their education, women generally didn’t bother with purely decorative work. Some things that fabric could be embroidered for included:

Jackets 

Bed coverings and bedcurtains

Collars and undersleeves 

Pelerines 

Neck handkerchiefs and sleeve ruffles 

Screens

Upholstery

Handkerchiefs

Purses, wallets, and reticules

Boxes

Book covers

Plus other articles of clothing like waistcoats, caps, slippers, gown hems, chemises, etc. Women’s magazines of the nineteenth century often gave patterns and alphabets for personal use.

(Not to mention late nineteenth century female artists who worked in embroidery, but that’s something else.)

You could purchase all of these pre-embroidered, but many, many women chose to do it themselves. There are a number of reasons why: maybe they wanted something to do, maybe they felt like they should be doing needlework for moral/gender reasons, maybe they couldn’t afford to buy anything - and maybe they enjoyed it or wanted to give something they made to a person they loved. That firescreen above was embroidered by Marie Antoinette, someone who had any number of other activities to choose from. It’s no different than people today who like to knit their own hats and gloves or bake their own bread, except that it was way more mainstream.

embroidery patterns from Ackermann’s Repository in 1827 - they could be used on dresses, collars, handkerchiefs, etc.

Second: needlework wasn’t the only “useless” thing women were expected to do

Ignoring the bulk of point one for now and the value of embroidery - I mentioned “ornamental subjects” above. As many people know, young women of the upper and middle classes were expected to be “accomplished” in order to be seen as marriageable. This could include skills like embroidery, drawing, painting, singing, playing the piano (as well as other instruments, like the harp or the mandolin), speaking French (if not also Italian and/or German), as well as broader knowledge and abilities like being well-versed in music, literature, and poetry, dancing and walking gracefully, writing good letters in an elegant hand, and being able to read out loud expressively and smoothly.

This wasn’t a checklist. As the famous discussion in Pride and Prejudice shows, individuals could have different views on what actually made a woman accomplished:

“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners! And so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.”

“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”

“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”

“Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”

“Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished.”

“Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley.

“Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.”

“Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.”

“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved.”

“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

Mr. Bingley feels that a woman is accomplished if she has the ability to do a number of different arts and crafts. Miss Bingley feels (or says she feels) that it goes beyond specific skills and into branches of artistic attainment, plus broader personal qualities that could be imparted by well-bred governesses or mothers. And Mr. Darcy, of course, agrees with that but adds an academic angle as well.

But what ties all of these accomplishments together is their lack of value on the labor market. A woman could earn a living with any one accomplishment, if she worked hard enough at it to become a professional, but young ladies weren’t supposed to be professional-level good because they by definition weren’t going to earn a living. All together, they trained a woman for the social and domestic role of a married woman of the upper middle or upper class, or, if she couldn’t get married, a governess or teacher who would share her accomplishments with the next generation.

(To be fair, almost none of the trappings of an upper-middle/upper class male education had anything to do with the kind of career training that college frequently is today, either. Men were educated to know the cultural touchpoints of their class and fit in with their peers.)

There are reasons that an individual person/character might specifically object to embroidery, but it was far from the only “useless” thing that an unconventional heroine would be required to do against her inclination by her conventional mother/grandmother/aunt/chaperone. Embroidery stands out to modern audiences because most of the other accomplishments are now valued as gender-neutral arts and skills.

“The Embroidery Frame”, by Mathilde Weil, ca. 1900 (LOC 98501309)

So, some thoughts for writers of historical fiction (or fantasy that’s supposed to be just like the 19th/18th/17th/etc century):

- If your heroine doesn’t like embroidery, she probably doesn’t like a number of other things she’s expected to do. Don’t pull out embroidery as either more expected or more onerous than them. Does she hate to sit still? I’d imagine she also dislikes drawing and practicing the piano. Would she prefer to do academic subjects? She probably also resents learning French instead of Latin, and music and dancing. Does she hate enforced femininity? Then she’d most likely have a problem with all of the accomplishments.

- If your heroine just and specifically doesn’t like embroidery, try to show in the narrative that that’s not because it’s objectively bad, and only able to be liked by the boring. Have another sympathetic character do it while talking to the heroine. Note that the hero carries a flame-stitched wallet that’s his sister’s work. Emphasize the heroine’s emotional connection to her deceased or absent mother through her affection for clothing or upholstery that her mother embroidered - or through a mourning picture commemorating her. There are all kinds of things you can do to show that it’s a personal preference rather than a stupid craft that doesn’t take talent and skill!

mourning picture for Daniel Goodman, probably embroidered by a Miss Goodman, 1803 (MMA 56.66)

[toss-a-coin-to-your-bard]

orchid, abelia, sage, aloe vera, please and thank you :)

Hi yes hello Poe! See when you asked me these questions, I had to ponder them and now you got a whole lot of words to read through hihi

ily loads

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

Tracy Chapmans Fast Car is a masterpiece of combining storytelling and melody with the instruments. It's timeless in the emotions it evokes and conveys and one of my favorite objective perfect songs atm. Jolene and Bohemian Rhapsody are top tier also.

But personally a song also needs to punch me in the heart, free my emotions in a way they can rearrange themselves anew. AURORA has three songs that gut punch me in the tear-jerker way atm.

There's the Mahogany Session of Boy In The Grass that I cannot listen to often because the background of the song makes it so much more emotional.

The second is a live version of Through The Eyes Of A Child which is the most bittersweet thing. I will tear up every time.

The third one is a live version of Murder Song she sang at 19(?)yo and is hauntingly beautiful

My subjective answer today will be It Happened Quiet by AURORA

And probably those two tomorrow

abelia ⇢ do you have a particular piece of jewelry you always wear or can’t part with?

I have started to wear a plain silver ring on my pinky and a slim silver chain (that once was a necklace to hand trinkets on I reckon?) on my wrist but not always.

My late great grandmother (mother of my late grandmother) gifted me a necklace and matching cuff bracelet she probably got on one her trips to the US (visiting her firstborn daughter in Phoenix, AZ) and my mum thinks it's probably a Native American work because of the art on the necklace. As my great grandma usually gave me money this is the only jewelry I refuse to part with even tho I have never worn it.

sage ⇢ what ‘medium’ of art (poetry, music, fiction, paintings, statues etc.) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is?

Poetry and music play a big part in my life. Of all the music that I adore the most loved is always also poetry, just given a melodious form. Rilke is my absolut favorite poem writer (Hesse a close second). I will get emotional over his poems and only indulge in reading his poems sometimes.

When im emotionally unwell you will see it in my nonexistent music listening habits, when im really excited about something I cannot stop the weirdest songs from getting stuck in my head and when im especially happy I hum happily while doing other things. I played the alto saxophone for half of my childhood/teenage years and even tho it lays dormant atm this is a passion that gives my life zest and has shaped me.

Its a special treat for me to get to see paintings and statues in museums (my mum once gifted me with a trip to the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam for my birthday and it was such a well-thought-out gift! I loved it.) I always get inspired by and filled with the biggest emotions when I can see the world through other people's eyes and their creative lense.

But.

Books are my not-so-secret passion since I learned how to read (and even before). I've learned many a life lesson from books and later fics gave me the language and right pointers on how to think about my own queerness. In some ways, literature saved my life. I will forever be grateful. In ten years this answer could as well lean more toward music but rn? Books.

(tao is not forgotten. I love them. It's kinda scary how much of myself I can see in them. I will definitely come back them)

aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

Having someone who I can be my favorite self around/with - possibly even living with them?

Waking up to laughter and soft smiles.

Having a garden, a dog, friends who live nearby so I can make dinner and cakes for them whenever.

My sorrows being outweighed by the daily, small happy memories that make life so precious.

[rollercoasterwords]

I love the new chapter! Your writing is amazing:)

Do you have any writing tips you use that you’d be willing to pass on?

hi this response is v delayed so the ch is no longer new but thank you!! 💕

i wish i had more/better writing tips but i feel like a lot of my writing process is largely intuitive and isn't coming so much from me like...thinking through "oh x works really well and y doesn't work well" yknow? that being said, there are 2 things i can think of that have sort of been helpful realizations for me over the past year or two (these will probably sound very generic and are most likely things that thousands of other people have already said, but for me personally they were both just driven home recently so bear with me lol)

1 - no writing is bad writing!!

i know this is so cliché but like...i personally am a big perfectionist and sometimes i'll give up on a project if i feel like i can't get it just right, so i think it took me a while to accept the fact that literally everything i've written (including the embarrassing fanfiction from high school and the god-awful self-insert oc stories from middle school) has contributed to getting to the point i'm at now, where i'm pretty confident in my ability as a writer :) writing is a skill just like playing an instrument or learning a language; you have to practice to get better, and any time spent writing is practice and is helping like...build creative muscle or whatever. i have years and years of bad writing squirrelled away on flash drives and old word docs and dusty corners of the internet, and most of it makes me cringe to look back on, but none of the time spent writing shitty stories was time wasted because i had fun doing it and it ultimately helped me improve! so rather than focusing on perfection in writing or worrying about making sure it's good, i think it's honestly more important to just focus on enjoying the process :) which leads me to my second point...

2 - write stories that you want to read!!

again, this might seem obvious and self explanatory, but i feel like especially with social media and influencer culture and the late capitalist hellscape we're all descending into there's this mentality that you need an audience to validate the things you're creating, like art and literature should only exist to be consumed. and i think this mentality is damaging for a lot of reasons, but the one i'll focus on right now is that i think it's incredibly easy to get burnt out when you're creating for other people.

like, ok. i feel like i've had the greatest personal growth with my own writing over the past year and a half, and it started because i was just like "fuck it i want to read the captive prince series from laurent's perspective," and so i wrote it. and part of me was like - oh, this isn't real writing because i'm just rewriting a book series, i'm not coming up with a plot or making up my own characters, etc etc. but the thing is i had tried to write original novels in the past and had always just hit a plateau partway through, so even though part of me was like oh there's no purpose to this, it's not like it's something i'll ever be able to publish--it was just fun! like i was just genuinely having a good time! and it ended up being really good writing practice, because i got to just focus on this in-depth character study + also prove to myself that i could sit down and churn out a book-length work of fiction, even if i was following someone else's plot.

and so then i sort of got out of my own head about like...only ever writing with the ultimate goal of publication in mind, and started focusing more on just writing for fun. and that led to atyd - sirius's pov, which sort of exploded, and then i found myself starting to get bogged down again in focusing on like -- oh, how many people have read this chapter, how many people have commented, what good things are people saying, what bad things are people saying, etc etc. and i started to get in my own head again about the fact that i was rewriting a story, the kind of impostor syndrome mentality of like "well this isn't real writing because it's not 100% original" etc etc etc. and so any time i started worrying about how my writing was being ~consumed by an audience~ i had to like check myself and take a step back and remind myself that at the end of the day, i was writing for me, because it was a story that i wanted to have and to read and while it was amazing and so so special to have so many people invested in the project, it was never really about providing a story for an audience--that was just a happy side effect and not something that i could sustainably centre my writing process around.

and again, even though i was following someone else's plot and building on an already-existing world and characters, sirius's pov helped me grow so much as a writer and also gave me the confidence to feel like i could actually, feasibly write a novel on my own, which is genuinely something that i never knew whether i'd be capable of because i struggled so much in the past. but now i'm essentially writing my own book with this dorlene fic, and i don't think that's something i'd have been capable of a year ago!

anyway, all that is to say -- don't worry about whether your writing is "serious" or publishable or something that will appeal to a broad audience, and try not to measure the worth of your writing based on other people. write a story that you want to read, because the best way to avoid burnout is to make sure that you're having fun writing! like even when i need a break from actually writing my current fic, i'll still find myself thinking about future scenes i want to write + daydreaming + planning it out in my head because it's a story i want to read, and that's what gets me excited to continue writing it! it's really fun to share your writing with an audience and it's so so so amazing to hear that your work resonates with people (seriously, cannot emphasize enough how much i appreciate those of u who send messages like this + leave comments + kudos + all that 💕), but for me the biggest breakthrough i had with my writing was realizing that my most important reader is myself (as cheesy as that is) 🕺 💞

[mielesis]

Hiya! Uhm so I believe Apollo is reaching out to me however he is the first ever deity to really reach out with me and I’m not sure where I should start or do and I was wondering if you had any tips or ideas?

[English is not my first language, I am a self-taught person, please understand this goes with my greatest effort from the bottom of my heart and will probably spend hours writing this very carefully for you, thank you <3]

Hi dear, of course, I will be pleased to help you

“I believe Apollo is reaching out to me”

I am deeply happy to hear that, I bet he is -for sure- trying to reach out to you and -I must say- it is truly wonderful to start recieving signs from deities, specially from Apollo as the first deity since he’s really sweet and caring for his children. 

“I’m not sure where I should start or do and I was wondering if you had any tips or ideas?” Of course, it is always a pleasure to help. 

So let’s start with the basics: 

Research ! I recommend you to research about him as much as you can (e.g stories, domains, symbols, offerings, etc.) with that done, it will be easier for you to spot more signs. Research sometimes is the best way to connect with a deity and also that allows you to let them know you are interested in them as well. 

Whenever you feel ready for the next step, I suggest you to tell him properly that you accept him in your life, this can be done by making a playlist, writing, playing an instrument, drawing, etc in his honor (e.g if you chose a playlist, set the intention that the playlist itself is going to be in Apollo’s honor, made with particular songs that reminded you of him or his energy only), I consider that it is important to present yourself as well ! he presented himself to you but you haven´t yet so you can talk to him mentally or out loud (or even when doing something in his honor) and tell him your name and about what you like to do, how you felt with the signs, etc. In my opinion that is a wonderful activity to do. 

Again, only when you feel ready and sure about it, you can begin to create his altar (it can be physical or digital, don´t worry) and it is not necessary to be aesthetically pleasing or buy super expensive things because your altar will be the place where you will leave offerings to Apollo, sincere offerings coming from the bottom of your heart (e.g play a song from spotify that reminded you of him, a flower you picked up from the park, a drawing you made thinking of him, etc.) Therefore every altar is unique, we all make the devotional acts we feel good with and we know that will connect us with Apollo in some way or another. In the case you don’t know where to start with the physical altar, I suggest you to choose a place you feel good with and clean it physically and spiritually, I always tend to choose the north but you can choose any other direction. After you have that done, you can place a table or use a desk, a box, whatever you want or already have that you can use. Choose the things you would like to fill your altar with, (e.g a yellow candle, statue/pictures of Apollo, an offering bowl or anything that could complete the same function, sun/lyre/sunflower imagery, etc.) and then you will be filling it with more offerings such as poetry, drawings, music pieces, medicinal plants, etc. because Apollo usually make his children re-connect with art, joy and self-care, medicine principally. 

About the devotional acts you can do for him, I will leave you a list:

- Say goodmorning/goodnight to him

- Sunflowers

- Bay leaves

- Humming/ singing a song you like (it doesn´t matter if you don´t sing on tune, he will be happy with you performing in his honor)

- Writing poetry or spoken word 

- Playing an instrument 

- Reading his myths to him

- Take care of yourself !! he loves when his children take their medicines or care about their health in general

- Take a walk under the sun

- Talk about him

- Make him a playlist

- Bake some lemon/orange/honey cookies

- Apples

- Honey

- Sun water

- Olive oil

- Lyre/archery imagery

- A swan decoration

- Donate to local artists

- Take a mini first aid kit with you

- Listen music you love next to his altar

- Dance in his honor !! (again, it doesn´t matter if you don´t know how to dance, just move, jump, move your hands, whatever you feel comfortable with but - feel the music, free your body- he will love that !!

- Leave him some sunstones and crystals related to him

- Read about him, research about him, talk about him, he loves when his children give him attention hehe

- Give him chocolate (other devotees agree he likes it)

- Hydratate yourself !!

- Always treat yourself with kindness

Now it´s time to list the ways deities can use to communicate with us:

- Thoughts, sometimes deities will reply to you through your own mind as crazy as it sounds !! you only have to trust your intuition as well

- Dreams, if you dream about Apollo or any symbol related to him, a message or something you feel it was from him, believe in it !!

- Meditations, some deities use meditation to communicate with us, as well as in dreams, they send us images, symbols, words, etc.

- Pendulum (I personally don´t practice it yet) but you can search here on tumblr

- Tarot, same as the pendulum, sorry I can´t provide you properly information about this one

- Candles flames, this was the second connection I had with him and how he told me to take care about my lungs, it is really easy to learn but also have to believe in your own intuition !!

- Animals/symbols/songs/etc, sometimes Apollo connects with his children through animals or songs, he usually sends crows

- Emotions, in my personal experience I had something called “emotional numbness”, I couldn´t feel any joy nor sadness, I was like a robot but since I connected with Apollo (and also did my shadow work !!) I feel happiness in everything, I go out and feel deeply happy under the sun, I re-connected with art and even overcomed my major depressive episode, so yes, Apollo is really caring and sweet with his children

- People, sometimes deities connect with us through other people, specially healing people, happy people, etc or even a stranger who feels the necessity to give or tell us something that can be considered as a message from Apollo

I think I wrote everything I wanted you to know !!

I hope this was helpful to you and as a final advice: do as you feel like it, everyone is unique and will recieve unique signs, at unique times. I wish you the best in this new journey !! and I’d for sure love to have an update from you ! 

With lots of love,

Miel <3