#also god i have to draw art for epic: the musical at some point cause my friend got me into that this week ans GOD. OBSESSED.

[astadras]

dont have anything to post and dont have any time to draw something atm so enjoy some mha art from *checks notes* j u n e ohthatsunfortunate

[thenamessparkplug]

[kyrieren]

Doumeki's irezumi

Irezumi (入れ墨, lit. 'inserting ink') is the Japanese word for tattoo, and is used in English to refer to a distinctive style of Japanese tattooing.

In chapter 53, Doumeki's back tattoo is revealed to be a "celestial maiden". Typically, irezumi incorporates motifs such as dragons, Buddhas, samurai, koi fish, and more, each carrying specific cultural and symbolic meanings referred to as wabori (和彫り). Intrigued by Doumeki's tattoo, I went asking if Doumeki’s tattoo is identified as any wabori and received responses suggesting it could represent either Nuwa (女媧) or Benzaiten (弁才天), given the details of snake and the stone in the goddess’ hands. After some research, Nuwa (女媧) seems to be more aligned with the story than Benzaiten (弁才天). However, I still present both of them and their possible interpretations in the story.

I. Nuwa (女媧)

Nüwa, is a mother goddess, cultural heroine in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humanity from clay by the river bank and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. Let’s focus on the myth of “repairing the Pillar of Heaven”.

The world of the first beings was very different from ours now. The earth was just in its infancy and was only separated from the sky by four very large pillars. One day, Gonggong (龔工), the god of water, and the god of fire, Zhurong (祝融) became locked in a massive battle that would determine the ruler of heaven. Gonggong, who was motivated by evil, ultimately lost the fight and crashed his head against Buzhou mountain—one of the four pillars holding up the heavens. The earth began to tremble and the pillar collapsed and ripped a hole in the sky. At this point, the earth was completely in tatters from Zhurong and Gonggong’s epic battle. Fires had scorched the earth, water was pouring incessantly from the hole in the sky. The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian (司馬遷), recorded the following account of Nüwa’s heroic deed: “Hereupon Nüwa melted stones of the five colours to repair the heavens, and cut off the feet of the tortoise to set upright the four extremities of the earth. Gathering the ashes of reeds she stopped the flooding waters, and thus rescued the land.” From that moment on, the water in the heavenly palace no longer cascades on earth to cause harm to the people.

In mythology, Nuwa played a crucial role in repairing the sky hole and preventing heavenly water from pouring onto the earth. As rain – the water from the sky, the befallen suffering, is one of the main themes of Saezuru, the parallel is pretty evident. Given Doumeki’s persistence to stay in the yakuza world and his decision to have a wabori that big on his back, he is doing everything he can to manifest his devotion to stay on Yashiro’s side, end his suffering and protect him from any potential harms, even though up to the newest developments of the story, it doesn’t seem likely at all. They’re both confused and hurting each other.

II. Benzaiten (弁才天)

Benzaiten ( 弁才天 ) is the “goddess of eloquence" who originated mainly from the Hindu Indian Saraswati, goddess of speech, the arts, and learning. While Benzaiten retains many of the Indic attributes of Saraswati (as patron of music, the arts, eloquence, knowledge), she also has many unique aspects, roles and functions which never applied to the Indian goddess. As such, Benzaiten is now also associated with dragons, snakes, local Japanese deities, wealth, fortune, protection from disease and danger, and the protection of the state. Benzaiten is depicted in a number of ways in Japanese art, one of which is her portrait wielding a sword and a wish-granting jewel (cintāmaṇi). Eloquence and wish-granting? I haven’t been able to draw the parallel to Saezuru yet.

So I’d stick to the interpretation that Doumeki’s tattoo is Nuwa.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Uh, hey, I dont know what the fuck possessed me to do this since usually I’m stupidly socially anxious and overthinky and oversharey to a severe degree about messages but hey, it’s fucking midnight and I just spent the last 30 minutes cleaning while listening to dopamine music so maybe I’m high (no I’m not, I’m joking to clarify) but whatever the hell, here I am I guess, I apologize if I come off as unhinged or strange or anything like that (like very much so; I think a good visual representation of how I’d feel if I unintentionally came off that way is a video of a Japanese apology Olympics. If you don’t know what that is, just search it up, it’s quite funny but also I am as sorry as those people are). Anyways,

First things first, just gotta say this, your stuff is fucking epic, drawings, presumably writings as well (I have yet to buckle down and make my adhd mind focus and read but I’ve read a few snippets and they’re epic. I think that’s the word, vocab is not a part of the midnight brain I guess), all of it is the absolute shit. Unrelated somewhat, I hope to also learn drawing (I have no clue if that’s necessary context AT ALL, but you draw cool and the whole “draw the freak shit you wanna see in the world” resonated with me lol)

Anyways, the actual reason is because of essentially just a story I experienced (dur) shortly after discovering your blog some time ago (I’m this person for context:https://www.tumblr.com/idkanonymystuff/764430703294300160/hey-hello-i-am-completely-new-here-but-i-just or @idkanonymystuff with the chainsaw dog pochita image; I’m clarifying because I can’t tell if I got my own name right lol) that I think is just kinda funny. It’s not really that long but (starting a new chunk for readability)

Basically, shortly after that post (for a timeframe), I went to an appointment and I don’t know what happened, I think I spaced out, but I was asked a question and without really thinking, I responded “vivisection”. I think the question had something to do with how my brain thinks things (it was awhile ago shut up) or some sort of “how does that make you feel” type question, I really don’t know, but the exact question that I answered, well, vivisection with made it essentially sound like I was saying I like doing that in my free mind time or something.

Like I swear it went like they asked the question and then this essentially:

*Question*

Me, absent-mindedly: Vivisection

Them: what?

My parent (who’s also present): What?

Me, after processing it: …wait-

Que ensuing confusion and then back to regular

I don’t think I explained it right or did it justice (it was very simple, just a misspoken word so I think it’s fine??), but god damn it was awkward but now I just think it’s funny that at that point my mind was still invested with those thoughts at the time (as in it was just rotating it on the back burner throughout the appointment if that makes any damn sense). Pretty sure it went right back to it after a minute or two after lol

But yeah, just thought I’d maybe share that little experience of when past me was so enamored/invested in reading stories about vivisection it scrounged from your blog and looking at other (granted, unrelated) whump art and just the general content of your blog that it just did that without thinking. And to me, that seems like a big compliment, having someone be the cause of work getting stuck in my head that much (?) so, uh yeah

Hope this isn’t strange, me sharing this, I just thought you’d maybe find it funny (and if not, feel free to dump this) and also, again, midnight impulse so yeah. I don’t know what I’m doing, don’t hold me responsible (joking)

ANYWAYS, I hope you have a good day/night, are taking care of yourself, staying hydrated, continuing to do whatever the fuck you do with undying passion, and that my little story wasn’t annoying or anything like that and that you have a happy new year when it comes (or whatever you celebrate. Apparently it’s also national hangover day but I don’t know if you drink so probably not that one) :)

-idk (this is just my tag. Probably not gonna see much of it though since, again, social anxiety and I am mostly a lurker. Not you, literally my brain sees social interaction as a tiger about to maul me with judgement lol. Speaking of which, probably overthinking this right now…okay shut up me-)

AHHHHHH thank you so much!! I'm glad you appreciate my work and that it resonates with you so strongly 🥰🥰

The vivisection thing is so funny and I personally enjoy how common of a term it is within this community and how absolutely wild it is to just about everyone else. I'm definitely right there with you rotating things in my brain in public skdhdjdk it makes waiting in lines and stuff easier 😂😂

It's great that you want to learn drawing! I'm self taught, so I know from experience it can be really daunting to get started and sometimes really frustrating as you figure out your own style and process, but it's so so worth it. Plus, as you said, it enables you to make the freak shit you wanna see in a whole new medium :D! It's very exciting and I wish you all the luck and motivation and inspiration

Thank you again and I hope you have a great day 🥰♥️

[specsforwoo]

Son of Morpheus | Demigod!Lee Jeno

Parent Deity: Morpheus (God of Dreams and Human Dreamers)

Allegiance: Hypnos

This boy loves to sleep

Like LOVES to sleep

He could be found sleeping anywhere

High key his mom found him sleeping on the kitchen floor one day

And ever since he was little

He was able to remember his dreams with intense detail

His family just thought it was a 4 year old’s imagination running wild

Until the night terrors started

He was tormented with them

They started around the time he was 7

They still happen today, just much less in frequency

But when he was younger

They were really bad

Like he would wake up screaming and crying

And it took ages for him to calm down

It got to the point that his mom was considering taking him to a child psychiatrist

He found a way to calm himself though

He began drawing out scenes from his dreams

No matter what they are

Light and airy or nightmarish

It helped him cope in a way

Life continued on

And he started opening up to his mom about his dreams

He talked about a young man with tan skin and dark curly hair

And wings of a white warblers

He told stories of epic battles

Of courtrooms filled with music and sleeping bodies

Of sleepless nights talking with a man sitting on the moon

Jeno couldn’t tell if he was scared of the man or not

As he entered middle school

He started being able to interpret his dreams

Other’s dreams too

He kept it a secret though

It terrified him

He learned to accept this too

As he did everything else

But then he learned he could predict others dreams

And it scared the shit out of him

He told his best friend, Jaemin first

Jaemin just gave him this knowing look and took him to his mom

His mom sat him down

And for the first time in his 14 years of life

His mother pulled out a photo of his father

And he was shocked

It was the curly haired man that he saw every night in his dreams

Sitting there next to his mother in a cafe in Greece

He was fucking confused

Like really fucking confused

Until it clicked

That was his dad

His dad had wings of a garbler

HIS DAD HAS WINGS OF A GARBLER

Am I going to grow wings too!?!?!?!?!?!?

No, you idiot. Jaemin

I’m not?

No, you have to earn them. Also Jaemin

So that night he was lying in bed

Questioning whether or not he wanted to fall asleep

Knowing he would have to confront his father there

But a cloud with a dreamcatcher with dew drops hanging from the strings shrouded with a calming silver light appeared above his head

And he fell asleep instantaneously

His father was sitting there

Talking with the man who embodied the moon

The man that he didn’t recognize made a comment and vanished after he caught sight of him

His father turned around. It was like he hadn’t aged a day since the photo see saw

Do you know who I am?

Uhhhhh. A dude with white warbler wings??? That haunts my dreams every night. Who also happens to be my father?

He didn’t mean to sound as sarcastic as it came out

Yes, that is all true, though I don’t ‘haunt’ you. But, do you know who I am?

No

He sat him down in the dark pavilion, explaining about the gods and goddess, the war and everything in between, even how he was born.

Do I like…. Have half-siblings??

No, but Jaemin is your cousin. His father smiled

After that, the dream faded off and he was peaceful for the rest of the night

Waking up, Jaemin was passed out on the couch in the living room

Picking up the nearest thing (a remote) he threw it at the boy on the couch, causing him to wake up

WHY IN OLYMPUS DID YOU NEVER TELL ME WE ARE TECHNICALLY COUSINS????

Not my place?

Anyways start packing, Mom said I can take you to camp with me this year :)

Yes, Jaemin calls Jeno’s mom his mom

And so he went to camp with Jaemin that year

It was nothing like what Jaemin described

It was WAY cooler

On the first day people were milling around everywhere

Jaemin led him over to a couple older kids with badges around their necks

Hey Jaemin!

Jaemin introduced them as Johnny and Ten, both sons of wind gods, both camp leaders who were helping all of the new kids get around and find their cabins

They’ll take care of you, I have to go find her.

Jaemin basically dumped Jeno on their shoulders so he could go find his girlfriend smh

Jaemin told us you were Morpheus’ kid, we were thinking about putting you in the Crios cabin? Does that sound okay? We would put you with Jaemin but he said you should get to know other campers your first year here. The shorter one spoke up

The taller one, Jaemin introduced him as Johnny, pulled out a gold coin, flicking it into the air while muttering something, and a wavering rainbow appeared in front of them

Put me through to Taeil and soon the rainbow was showing an older boy as well with a red undercut over some astrology papers

The rainbow??? Was facetime???

Ten obviously saw the shock on poor Jeno’s face, carefully explaining what an Iris message was and how to do it

After that he settled into demigod life pretty quickly

Jaemin introduced him to all of his friends, the Dream team, even some older campers who he was close with

He even liked the Crios cabin so much that he decided to stay there past the first year. The Morpheus cabin was lonely and Jaemin always had his girlfriend over trying to get her to sleep

The night terrors slowly subsided and soon his dreams were more peaceful than anything else

But one time he dreamt about a girl, right around his age, running into camp, a dark aura surrounding her but obvious scared

It wasn’t the dark aura that worried him, Kun and Jaehyun both had a dark aura, both sons of gods related to death

But her aura was different, it was mixed with madness, it was close to driving her insane

Even though it was only a dream, he couldn’t shake it off

He asked everyone that he knew, especially Jaemin, he found out a while ago that he was the one who founded the camp, what the aura could be and no one knew

He also started watching the border of camp everyday

Not stalking it or anything, just glancing over whenever he had a chance

A couple weeks past and Jeno was convinced that it was just a really weird dream

But then you actually showed up

Same way that it happened in the dream

You ran into the borders of camp like you were out of your mind, you were paranoid, no one could even touch you, not even Sicheng

When Jeno had heard what happened, he ran down to the pavilion

There you were, on the ground, covering your ears, eyes wide open, terrified to shut them, and shaking in fear

Once he had pushed his way through the crowd, he placed his hand over your eyes and shortly, you had fallen asleep

After that, Sicheng had moved you to the infirmary with Jeno’s and Johnny’s help

He found that you were severely dehydrated, and even he couldn’t describe the aura around you. It wasn’t that of Kun or Jaehyun’s but it was definitely similar

You were were in and out of consciousness for about 3 days and when everything finally settled down, a raven with a snake in its mouth appeared over your head

It was symbols that no one had seen or heard of, not even Jaemin or Taeyong

The boys spent the next couple of days researching who the symbols could belong to, and eventually they found it: Melinoe

Goddess of ghosts and spiritual passage who brought mortals nightmares that drove them insane

That would explain the way you were when you first came into camp

After that, Jeno stayed by your side every step of your recovery

He also helped you to manage the nightmares and control your powers

He had been there before, dreams were a tricky subject and nightmares made it even more complicated

But slowly you got the hang of it

And slowly Jeno started to have a crush on you, and slowly it turned into more

When he finally asked you out, you were ecstatic, it would be a lie to say that you hadn’t developed feelings for Jeno since coming to camp

And when camp closed for the summer- except for the few that stayed, he found out that you were attending the same university

He had been studying astrology while you were in the art department, soon, everyone in campus and camp knew who the two of you were

Y’all were inseparable

The Dreamies even accepted you into their group

(Jisung is your favorite don’t tell Jeno)

You eventually ended up moving in with Jaehyun

He had become like your older brother at camp

When Jeno wasn’t able to help you learn about your powers, Jaehyun was there to help

He even got his mom to visit personally and talk to you about your own mom and what he role was, and most importantly, that she wasn’t a bad person

Jaehyun knew the pain that you dealt with having a parent being a literal embodiment of death

And soon enough, it was even like Jeno had moved in with Jaehyun with how much he was at the apartment

Jaehyun was okay with it as long as he didn’t wake up in the middle of the night :)

[phantomofthepairofdice]

A Hidden Life: Review

Note: this is a piece written for a class upon the film’s release that has been edited and repurposed.

A Hidden Life had its local premiere at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival on Friday November 15, 2019. Clocking in at just under three hours, it is an epic, esoteric, and devastatingly beautiful piece of work. It is also a bit of a return to form for writer/director Terrence Malick who spent the last few years in a very productive but divisive period in his career telling stories in modern settings. The film tells the true story of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter (August Diehl) and his family as he refuses to swear loyalty to Hitler and serve in his army. Malick’s penchant for voiceover is mostly used in letters sent between Franz and his wife Franziska (played with boundless wells of empathy by Valerie Pachner) during his imprisonment. Featuring small, but effective performances by Bruno Ganz, Michael Nyqvist, Jürgen Prochnow, Franz Rogowski, and Matthias Schoenaerts, the emotions of the film are brought to light with great effect. It is a marvelous work that displays Malick’s affinity for tortured men finding a place in the universe alongside nature under god. It is a poetic, sweeping, and moody film that ebbs and flows through time while never losing sight of the value of family, love, and kindness. It is a film that feels prescient to the current moment of political upheaval, while never crassly grafting modern sentiment onto its narrative.

Terrence Malick is a filmmaker whose career is remarkably enigmatic. After arriving in 1973 with Badlands, he premiered Days of Heaven in 1978. Then he disappeared, only to re-emerge twenty years later with 1998’s The Thin Red Line. Another seven years passed until 2005 which saw the release of The New World. Then, in 2011, there was an unprecedented shift for Malick after the release of his Palme d’Or winning The Tree of Life. It launched a period of intense creativity for the director that spawned four narrative films, a documentary, and two short films in the span of just six years. This increase in productivity also gave the world his three most divisive films: To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, and Song to Song. These three movies are wholly modern, eschewing the historical backdrop that leant itself so well to Malick’s depictions of earthly divinity and spirituality. While some people embraced his new approach of montage and leaning more toward loose, unstructured expression, almost everyone was taken back by his attempt to find the beauty in a modern world that has so little of that left. There is no denying how strange it is to see a Malick film that has a scene at a Sonic drive thru. Yet, A Hidden Life feels like a perfect synthesis of a film like The Thin Red Line and Tree of Life. There is history, war, and men reckoning with their place amidst it all being told in Malick’s recent style.

A Hidden Life opens with text explaining the true story behind the film and the mandatory oath of loyalty to Hitler that that soldiers had to swear upon being drafted. Then, in a shockingly new technique for Malick, the film uses footage from Triumph of the Will. These scenes highlight the beautiful presentation of evil in Riefenstahl’s film; it is an interesting counterpoint to the film that follows. Where Triumph of the Will uses jaw-dropping filmmaking to highlight a single man being worshipped in an urban setting, A Hidden Life is about a farmer in nature who refuses to submit and follow any one thing but God. Malick is a master of capturing organic awe. Teamed up with cinematographer Jörg Widmer, he has perfected his distillation of tactile sensation. In Malick’s hands, the earth breathes. The grass dances to music of the wind. Dirt and mud are a communion between man and nature. In his best work, the juxtaposition of war or conflict alongside this immaculate magnificence of the world begs certain questions. How can something so evil and vicious exist in a place so heavenly? Do we deserve to be condemned for destroying this loveliness? A Hidden Life focuses on truly exploring these dilemmas through a combination of abstraction and narrative.

The film is shot on wide angle lenses that emphasize the scope of the world in which it takes place. This choice draws attention to the massive blue skies and the rolling hills, but when Franz is in prison, it almost feels like a taunt. There is so much empty space in the frame focused on concrete or bars that was once inhabited by other people or natural objects. One shot, used twice in the film to great effect, is a swooping crane tracking shot of Franz riding into town on a motorcycle. It first appears as Franziska recounts how the two met and later, after his death, as a memory of purity and love that she can fall back on. Another particularly interesting choice with the camera is when it switches to first person point of view. The intense subjectivity of being placed in Franz’s mind only comes twice: when he is being beaten by a prison guard and as he slowly walks to the place of his death. The beating is particularly interesting because the shot holds for longer than would be expected and it forces the viewer to beg for the violence to stop. It is also noteworthy that the film is shot on digital which allows Widmer and Malick to capture images in natural light, even in very dark places. It feels like a great example of how this film blends his classic style with the more elements he picked up in recent years.

Alongside the gigantic scope of the film are smaller character moments that stand out just as much. The film’s central martyr, Franz, is shown multiple times throughout the film doing tiny acts of kindness that bolster his mission to be in harmony with the world around him. During a transfer between prisons, Franz, in handcuffs and uniform helps an elderly woman bring her luggage down from a high rack on a train. Later as he leaves a store, a soldier knocks over an umbrella leaning against a wall before he takes a few steps back and sets it upright. These tiny moments speak volumes to his consideration and reinforce why he so strongly resists the mandated oath to subservience. He will not serve a cause that takes human lives, destroys homes, and sacrifices men for native expansion.

As the credits began to roll on A Hidden Life, I was shaken. For the next ten minutes or so there was an enormous lump in my throat that threatened to break the dam of emotional fortitude and let tears loose by just recalling moments within the film. I found it to be profoundly touching and inspiringly lyrical in its execution. Though I hesitate to use and expression that tends to lean more toward hackneyed cliché, I found A Hidden Life to be an experience rather than merely a film. It paints with a broad brush on a massive canvas in the hopes to reveal universal truths rather than specific reckonings. Certain scenes do occasionally feel repetitive and I am not certain that the choice to use English as the primary language with bits of German thrown in primarily by Nazis was the right one, but these feel like minor quibbles that easily overlooked when appraising a project so massive and noble in its intent. Currently, our world is primed for a movie about what protest and freedom of mind look like under an oppressive regime. Family, faith, and love are not more important than they were previously, but they certainly feel like their significance is in short supply. Malick and his collaborators have given us a film that embraces these ideas; so long as you are willing to embrace the film itself, there is a great power to be witnessed. As the world becomes more barbed and dejecting, I was truly comforted by the film and its effect of slowing down to appreciate what truly matters. Towards the movie’s closing moments, a young man, about to executed, is given a paper and a pen. First, he pauses, then turns toward Franz and asks, ��What do I write?” This question is massive; loaded with the implications of countless other questions. Where do I start? What words can define a life? Will anything be good enough? Who do I address this to? What do I write? For three hours, this film put me closer to potentially having an answer to that existential query.

A Hidden Life is now streaming on HBO Max.

[twitchesandstitches]

In the continuity of the crossovers, ficlets, original stuff and various AUs I like to write, I have an idea for the overall cosmology it takes place in. This is the multiverse, comprising the worlds characters might travel in and stranger realms from which magic and eldritch beings might originate, as well as many unique realms of no particular astral alignment but might make good plot hooks, brief adventures or sources of antagonists or treasures, or even answers relevant to a given story.

This cosmology is very much a work in progress and heavily inspired by a mess of different series - primarily the Great Wheel of 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons as seen in Planescape: Torment, aspects of 4th Edition D&D, whatever was going on in Exalted, and whatever else feels like an appropriate addition. Consequently any of this might change later on, and I welcome suggestions.

A few ground rules for how things work, on the scale of the regular universes the characters know. These are places that aren’t so different from the world we know.

On the current scene of things, the multiverse - and thus the casts - has only recently recovered from a catastrophic incident that occured about a thousand years ago, with brief flare ups resulting in further damage a little less than a hundred years ago. This has left many universes collapsed, arun with terrible monsters and destroyed civilizations; warbands of hopeful conquerors run rampant, and newly established societies struggle to gain a foothold, while roaming bands of nomads move from world to world. However, things are not all doom and gloom, as society is making a comeback and people are recovering, now exploring the ruins of the past to piece together what happened and restore lost technologies and arts.

The multiverse itself is still wounded; demons, cosmic horrors, world-eating abominations and mysterious entities of all kinds regularly invade the material realms and make a real nuisance of themselves.

The general tone is similar to Space Opera settings, with a dash of epic fantasy overlaid with sci fi aesthetics; grand and, well, operatic adventures in space, flying from planet to planet, battling with wicked warlords who command whole systems and entreating with ancient empires and vast galactic councils that all beings have a voice in. Battles and wars are fought with laser swords, rocket hammers and energy shields, with firearms shooting stuff like lightning, mini-rockets and chainsaw-grains instead of bullets. Power armor and mini mecha are ubiquitous among the more powerful factions, tending towards ‘mechanical exoskeletons’ in design.

Visually, as far as the stuff relevant to our characters is, the look is a little bit of a combination of post-cyberpunk space travel, with a hint of modern Mass Effect-style shininess, and a heavy dose of scavengerpunk. Spaceships are big, bulky, round and scarred by the ages. People wear leathers, hexagon-toned bodysuits, bulky spacesuit/exoskeletons, or whatever rags they can stitch together into something cool. (If you’ve ever seen Eclipse Phase artwork, you might get an idea.) Technology generally looks bulky, powerful and comically oversized for whatever it’s purpose is; evidently miniaturization was not in fashion before the big breakdown of things. Things mostly look like grand and glorious works of quasi-magical wonder, but worn down by the ages and scavenged, pasted back together and holding on with tape.

This is not universal, however. Certainly some newfound place of philosophy and enlightenment might harken to buildings of crystal spires that act as vast computers, the people wearing elegant lengths of cloth fashioned into togas and robes. The marauding warband trying to annoy them with loud music might wear bulky armor bolted together and painted red (BECAUSE IT GOES FASTER). And RIGHT NEXT to that, is a cyberpunk corporation world of gloomy spires, neon lights, and a lot of slots to plug your stuff into your body.

The overall technology level and series tone can be described as Warhammer 40k IF Mass Effect’s Paragon tone modified the setting to be less grimdark and stabby. (Alternatively, it USED to be super grimdark but the near destruction of all reality made things calm down a lot. All the people responsible for bad stuff got killed and the societies that enabled them were no longer relevant.) Minus the most destructive weaponry and world-buster bombs, barring caches of weaponry or automated factories that pragmatic factions or overeager warlords would just LOVE to have.

This translates roughly to a very high tech setting prior to the big catastrophe; technology capabilities are usually pretty good (to the point that space travel is pretty common for regular folks and not a national effort), but the most powerful and game-breaking things are the stuff of old civilizations, and are bitterly fought for and studied. Massive war ships that can destroy whole civilizations or legendary mech suits are irreplaceable and unique, because no one knows how they work or how to make more of them, due to the surrounding sciences no longer existing.

Modding. This refers to the use of biological alterations (mods, or biomods for more formal stuff), as well as slang for minor aesthetic alterations, and full on reshaping of someone’s body. This is EXTREMELY common in this setting, not just to enable hyper curves, gigantic sizes or other appropriate changes, but for more practical purposes. Someone might make themselves huge and with powerful muscles to be a better fighter, for instance, or alter their brain for greater thinking. Hyper fertility for one-woman population booms is also quite popular, linked to mega-curve changes. Often these alterations are NOT subtle in the slightest, and will show dramatic changes; how kink-related those might be is situational.

Modding also refers to cybernetics. In keeping with the aesthetics, these cybernetics might be polished or elegant, but they are rarely subtle. People don’t have tiny chips in their brains, they have huge bulky thinking engines fused to their brains in perfect harmony. Robot prosthetic limbs are massive, bulky and shimmering masses of machinery. Even synthetic muscle tissue WILL be pretty dang obvious, whether it be glowy, replace weaker organic muscles, or just be huge. Finally, cybernetics has no inherently negative effect just because it isn’t ‘natural’. Neither is sitting at a table looking at a phone or computer, but there you are! Any complications are strictly health-related, rather than innate or spiritual.

Now, to explain the fantasy-ish elements.

There are gods, and angels, and demons, and other beings. They exist far out in the multiverse, far from mortal dealings, and mostly they do their own thing. The affairs of mortals is not their main concern, but they do take an interest in us. Gods and similar beings take on different forms based on the cultures revering them, and they might be shaped by mortal belief, but there is a notable distinction between gods MADE from mortal belief, and those who exist apart from mortal relevance.

Magic is a thing. Specifically it follows the model of magic as just a thing that almost everyone can do, but it takes skill and training to do impressive stuff with it. An example: plenty of people have enough ability to, say, boost their skills to superhuman levels briefly or have great control over their body’s growth, but not everyone can throw a fireball. Typically people draw magical energy and shape it into various effects - perhaps forging it into one of a kind relics for ‘super science’ gadgetry - or more standard fantasy sorcery, with a hint of sci fi rationale to it. It can be understood and is rarely persecuted, and underlies a lot of the technological abilities in the setting. There is a distinction between arcane energy in its many forms, which is just the background essence of the cosmos, and divine magic, which is the raw power of genuine gods or spiritual powers, descending onto mortal believers and champions and empowering them.

Magic is hugely differentiated across the cosmos, and even in specific universes. It is heavily informed by culture and personal experience, and magic is more or less a power caused by emotion and perspective bleeding into the fabric of reality, backed up by energy and force of willpower, and shaping it. (Thus, magic is related to the soul; all beings that have souls can use magic, and using magic means you HAVE a soul.) In some places, you might have people who inherit influence over an element that their people are culturally tied to. In another, it might be a matter of academic study with little personal relevance. HAving them MEET can result in some interesting consequences for their abilities.

A soul, for that note, is the consequence of sapience and also sentience; self-awareness combined with the ability to say to the universe ‘I AM’. Clones, robots, self-aware golems, and every conceivable artificial being has as much of a soul as a naturally born human. They are people, and if it can ask ‘Do I have a soul’, then they do.

Many standards of sci fi, and indeed many archaic concepts (berserkers, knights, plate armor, weaponry of all sort and many varieties of ancient armor) are still quite present. However they are rendered with a sci fi aesthetic. Instead of knights, you have monastic orders of power armored warriors that rule as lords over regions. Instead of berserkers, you have ferocious warriors who have modded themselves

Some tech and sci fi thoughts:

As mentioned above, warfare is more similar to older forms of combat in the romantic tradition rather than modern notions of military action. This is partly because I find realistic warfare to be rather boring to really handle on its own. On a practical level, its harder to do it; one can’t just bomb your enemies into submission when targeting systems are difficult to figure out and you’re not really sure how they work except in the most arcane terms. (And they might be magical and can argue with you.) Modern military action CAN still happen, it’s just not an immediate option most of the time. Tanks, speedy jet-bikes, big time charges ad people gazing in awe as giant robots march into the field like living gods is definitely a feature here. Again, think of Warhammer 40k-style battles. Mechanized stuff is still relevant, as well. It is likely also televised and made into entertainment… which is super messed up.

Technology levels vary… a lot. In general it can be assumed that your standard space faring faction, band or society can produce their own spacecraft without relying on treasure troves of ancient relics or treasure hunts to find intact ships; this also implies intact understanding of relevant scientific fields. Thing might get iffier with things like energy-based weapons, advanced personal shields, or something, but they are still reasonably common. It’s usually a local question whether that means that such things can be made cheaply, or if there is a very large pre-collapse cache of them.

Magic involved with technology is very, very common. Cosmic internet that manifests as interconnected chains of psychic energy between populations, bizarre creations that only function because of their magical nature, the use of mental powers to safely navigate through mysterious realms or send telepathic messages to a distant world; all of these are reasonably common. Many groups may replace advanced scientific know-how with magical experimentation entirely, causing a great deal of diversity in individual tool use and fashions.

On that note: faster-than-light travel. It is a thing in universe (how else would you go from world to world to have fun adventures?) but it’s not easy. It is not simple and it can be very, very dangerous. There are a few different methods; phasing into other realms of existence to ignore the speed of light, as that rule won’t apply, is a common one, but this runs the risk of attracting the attention of potentially malicious cosmic horrors, and surging people up with magic, for all kinds of weird transformations. There is also the use of ancient artifacts that transport ships from one point to another, or complicated warp drives that do stuff to gravity at the cost of enormous fuel requirements. In general, this stuff can’t be weaponized, and its most common that public transit between the stars involves the cosmic equivalent of buses; people pack their ships into really large barges and go along for the ride, saving on costs.

Alien life. It’s there! It’s a big deal! And most of it doesn’t look like us, SERIOUSLY GUYS I HATE THE RUBBER FOREHEAD HUMAN TROPE SO MUCH IT CAN BURN IN A DITCH. Think in terms of Mass Effect or Animorphs alien designs for how distinct they can get. Alien races that are canonically similar to humans will likely either be reimagined as being derived from humanity or redesigned into something more appropriate to their homeworld or, if artificial, the circumstances of their creation.

Feel free to ask me about other stuff you might want to know, or should take into consideration for world building!

[floraone]

1, 19

Yay!! Hellloooooo love ♡♡♡

1. Where do I typically get my ideas.

It’s the one thing I don’t struggle with at all: ideas. I have them. I may not always know how to all fit them it place, but I do have ideas, and love to share them. They come from anywhere really; discussions, classes, movies that excited me OR annoyed me and made me rumminate my thoughts on its what-ifs… Like, if I take Yugen for an example it obviously was playing with the theme of “what was missing in canon that I want to add, and what do I want to keep.” So I started chucking everything I found either problematic OR so perfect I couldn’t really add to it, and then I still had room to play with every headcanon I ever had or assimilated via fandom. Second in came the current political climate. I wrote a story where the world is being saved from hate itself - so I was allowed to factor in what I found is going horribly in the world as of now. It made writing it more impactful to myself.Then the details; what are they doing, what are they talking about - this draws heavily from my own experience. And while it is VERY important me that I don’t write “myself” but stay in character, it’s always easy to imagine what they would do in my place, and branch off from there. So, anything gets recycled that I experience, I mostly even don’t notice it - I read a LOT, daily. Anything from the daily online newspaper fix and other fanfiction to science fiction and lots and lots of non-fiction. I go through books like other people go through… I don’t even know. My apartment is a library. I have custom made selfmade shelfs to fit them all, even when I DO throw stuff out regularly that wasn’t a 100% to my taste. And added to that - I WATCH a lot. Mostly series that I watch together with my husband, and documentaries on anything cool. Add to that my experiences as a regular jane and a rather specific education, and I can honestly say that some or most of my ideas are probably a jumbled mess of inspiration drawn from any of these outlets without me even really realising it.

Most important, though: I KEEP all my ideas. I write lists on my phone memo pad, and if they come up elsewhere on the internet as I talk to people and bounce ideas around (brainstorming or simply being asked specifics about my plot is also SO helpful to me personally, especially to fit all my ideas into the right places), for instance, I will make screenshots. And if I talk to friends and colleagues I am known to whip out my phone as well- people are never offended when I tell them I need a minute to write down what we just talked about cause it’s so impactful to me that I don’t want to forget about it. Ideas are fleeting, and however we think we will definitely remember this stroke of genius (however idiotic it turns out to be in the end), it’ll definitely be gone if I don’t preserve it.

Now, what I’m definitely lacking tho is the TIME to put all these ideas into action. I currently have a “master-list” of fic ideas where I collect a sort of database for ideas for fics. Some of those are little more than prompts, others have 20 page scripts already. It currently spans 22 fic ideas, and most of these will most likely never see the light of day. I simply don’t have that kind of time and sadly I do need to go and earn a living, lol.

19. What’s my best advice for writing action scenes.

Again with the word “advice” - I don’t feel like this is an area where anyone can or should give “advice” - writing is highly individual, and what works for me doesn’t neccessarily have to work for anyone else. So, again, here’s simply my personal opinion and experience on what worked out for me.

Action scenes are maybe THE most difficult thing to write imo. Especially in an overall romance genre where people are here for the relationships and characters and not so much for the action. Which means, for me, that the action scenes need to be on point, and not too long, but even more impactful. So, these are steps I follow in my head, more or less consciously.

1) Cinematographic imagery. I like to go at these scenes from a ‘what would this LOOK LIKE" angle. These are superheroes, so, I go big. Energy pulses that push them soaring through skies, shattering glass, cement and asphalt breaking apart, buildings tumbling. Especially with using Rei, I tend to go big on the fire descriptions. The fire needs to cackle and crack and lick, objects she sets it to go ablaze, she can fire it like wildfire and occationally things explode. Which brings me to point two.

2. The stakes are high, the effects are big, so it wouldn’t be realistic if there weren’t injuries and casualties involved. I’m very much against glorifying violence, so it’s very important to me to also point out the costs. And those costs tend to be very graphic in my writing. Huge bloody gashes, skin sizzling away under acid, bone showing through burned and mangled skin. Which is why, when I use a big and giant epic battle scene, the aftermath will always be painful and bloody. Who turns to violence pays a price, even if it wasn’t their choice and it was always in defence. So any huge battle will always include injuries on ALL the parties. And they stick around in their healing phases in follow up scenes if they were gigantic. Even if it’s just in flinches and a hissed breath through clenched teeth as they have to move around the healing residues of it. Though luckily, Manga!Mamoru has healing powers, of course. (Tho I try use that sparsely, of course. The guy is no god. He has his limits.)

3. I tend to use a very fast paced language in action scenes. Short sentences. TRYING to refrain from my kilometer long, relative clause heavy comma sentences. Action scenes are a very reactive, sudden thing. Things happen fast and they need to react fast. No time to think or plan and just to act, and the language should reflect that. Both the aspect that describes what is actually happening and the emotive reactions to it. Which brings me to point four.

4. They are fucking scared. Even if they manage to swallow that fear and let instinct take over to go badass, underneath, I try to never forget that these are teenagers fighting monsters, risking their lifes. There will be adrenaline, and panic, and no room for very much rational thought. It all happens too fast and they are going on fight or flight auto-pilot. And this will at least partly be the case however routine or everyday the encounter has become. There will always be that moment where they could have misstepped and died a bloody death in someone’s fangs or tentacles.

Brings me to five:5. Creative monsters. In Ikigai especially I tried to write monsters that I find interresting. I used pop-culture references by using Godzilla and Mothra-like enemies, monsters from Video-games, and sometimes some from canon that I found especially interresting to tie back to canon. By using monsters that I liked, I knew what they could do. And I had fun while writing it.

6. I choose fighting styles. Usagi gets Jujutsu from me, sometimes even Aikido elements. A fighting style that uses speed instead of strength, that needs to be clever to use their opponent’s strength against them. And then I watch Youtube tutorials on these styles’ basic moves. Plus, these tutorial instructions come with very useful vocabulary for how to implement these moves into writing!And then sometimes, like in Yugen, I move from combat to magic. I had a very fun time turning those twirly 90s dance sequences into powerful fighting in Yugen. Making something so obviously “girly” the biggest asset in a battle, the biggest weapon, more powerful than any martial arts move I could give them. Girl power and all.

And, last,7. I get myself in the mood. I listen to very fast paced dramatic, epic music. Mostly the score from action movies even (like, I find the wonder woman theme song from the new films to work like MAGIC) and imagine my fast paced action sequences to it. Go through them in my head one by one. And then put that song on repeat as I write. It helps me write clipped and fast-paced, and keeps me in the dramatic tone.

So there, three cents on action ♡ Would be curious to know what YOU think works best!

[bestmusicreviews]

Spookshow Inc. - Visions of the Blinded World pt. I & II

Spookshow Inc. - Visions of the Blinded World pt. I & II |self-released, 2018| 5/5 Electronic/rock/metal Part 1: 1. New World Crash, 2. Scary Dream, 3. Falling Down pt. 2, 4. Game of Delusions, 5. Requiem For a Vision, 6. Seven Trumpets, 7. Dead Shot Baby feat. Subliminal Mentality, 8. Lizard Eyes, 9. My Secret Plan feat. Matangi Shakti, 10. Cyberage, 11. Map Of The World, 12. Other Side Of Time Part 2: 13. Virtual Insanity, 14. Devil's Triangle, 15. Mindgame feat. XRC, 16. Little Pill feat. Subliminal Mentality, 17. Blackbird from Karachi feat. D. Tschirner, 18. Prison Planet, 19. Falling Down pt. 1, 20. Cold Frantic Boy, 21. Match of the Century / A. Crowley vs. A. Einstein, 22. Underworld feat. Kissing in Graveyards, 23. Midnight Tango, 24. Follow Me, 25. Battle for Babylon feat. R. Carey Spookshow Inc.'s newest album tracklist impressively counts up to a total of 25 industrial and electronic songs, with some familiar titles included. The mighty set created by Lucky Spook (the band's founder, based in Norway) includes "Falling Down pt. 2" which was developed further into a brand new track (a pre-sequel if you will). In addition, the new front cover definitely draws attention since it's a thought-provoking, surreal art piece in sepia. "Virtual Insanity" offers a lot of craziness. It merges the density of guitar riffs supported by fast-paced beats with aggressively expressed lyrics. The dynamics slow down at some point to avoid an overload of sounds, but then the wild sonic ride returns. Similarly, "Mindgame" offers exotic tunes in the beginning, but then an intriguing industrial rock vibe comes in. The tempo is slow but highly pitched soloing guitars contrast with low beats and make the whole into a delicious listening experience. "Little Pill" talks about a fantasized psychedelic experience caused by taking a drug delivered by a dealer. The initial dialogue to the story was recorded in collaboration with Subliminal Mentality, an American musician. It's delivered through a comedy or even a cartoon concept – a guy receives a pill, feels something is not right but takes it anyway, then is off tripping into a dreamland. The track soon evolves into an angry, metal, and serious composition which gives an impression of being inspired by early albums of Marilyn Manson. Despite its soothing intro, "Blackbird from Karachi" evolves into a lively, dynamic track, driven by its repetitive guitar riff. Two vocals placed in fitting places help the whole composition flow very smoothly. The beat is later replaced by bells, chants, and esoteric moods. These are then followed by a completely opposite, dynamic vibe. It turns out in the end that the composition is cleverly split into four major arrangements without any in-between breaks. According to Lucky Spook, the track is inspired and dedicated to Shantaram, the book written by Gregory David Roberts. "Devil's Triangle" is kept in a similar atmosphere, but rooted in a purely rock-metal vibe, and enriched with matching vocals. The composition is well designed to hold all accompanied arrangements tightly within. As mentioned in the beginning, "Falling Down pt. 1" is a sister track to "Falling Down pt. II" which was featured on the first part of the album, and again takes a listener on the mystical journey of out of body (OBE, near death) experience. It's a very trippy track with steady, bouncing dynamics - at once intriguing with its variety of electronic sounds and whispered vocals in vein of The Young Gods' music, then suddenly aggressive, guitar driven with screamed vocals. A must-have song from this release! Pay attention to "Match of the Century Aleister Crowley vs. Albert Einstein" which begins with the tiny sound of a music box and creepy, whispering vocals. How awesome would it be to see the two famous characters play chess together? Every piece could represent an argument of a different nature – science against esotericism. Who wins? Could the two men find a common, agreeable ground for their thoughts? Musically, there's a repetitive guitar riff involved with many background sounds and interlaced with vocals. These continue throughout the entire song with breaks for a catchy chorus. When it comes to "Underworld feat. Kissing in Graveyards", its mostly electronic yet guitar-driven vibe is accented with a broad selection of vocals. Kissing in Graveyards' lead singer Rylan Chaos brings her Lilith-like artistic personality here while Soltex (the other moniker of Lucky Spook) represents provocative masculine energy. When Rylan's voice is the bait, then Soltex's is the whip. The result is a musical dialogue not too far from an argument between two 'possessed' souls, rather than two talented musicians. "Midnight Tango" utilizes a very famous arrangement borrowed from "Riders of the Storm" by The Doors. Similarly to the source track, "Midnight Tango" also allows the mind to tune in and relax, to flow together with arrangements and the mood. Spookshow Inc. however added drum'n'bass beats which couldn't have been used by musicians in the 60s and which make the song sound fresh. In terms of composition, "Follow me" sounds quite complex and consists of a few differently sounding parts yet they easily make for a perfect whole. Exotic music opens the track, followed by chunky, repetitive guitar riffs and whispered vocals. The Middle Eastern sounds return to be replaced with a black-metallish cannonade of sounds and dominating vocals. The atmosphere gets more tense and anxious towards the end of the track. Probably the biggest jewel on the album,"Battle For Babylon", is a cinematic song supported by an epic atmosphere. Middle Eastern tunes are mixed with metal soloing here. The composition is well thought and gradually builds up. The rhythm is slow and verses become memorable after just a moment of listening. It is a fully orchestrated track accompanied by many different yet matching sounds which show up in the background and make the composition even more interesting. The vocals are definitely fitting the rest of the track (and they are performed by R. Carey aka Fiery Jack, a singer from New Zealand). The album clearly shows lots of hard work and deeply developed ideas that went into making it. The release comes with amazing audio quality, showcasing mastering and production skills as well. It's obvious that Lucky Spook listens to a lot of music, and is able to catch the best of the best musical ideas without copying them directly, to later enhance them with his own arrangements. If you buy this album, you'll get a complete package of music, high audio quality, and profound sonic ideas to recommend to your like-minded mates. (Reviewer: Katarzyna 'Draconina' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Industrial Rock & Metal Encyclopedia, December 3rd, 2018. Proofreading: Mike 'Vesper' Dziewoński)

Spookshow inc. Visions of the blinded world (pt.I,II) by Spookshow inc.

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