#also the horse... the imagery of the horse... so much i could say but others have said better

[kockatriceking]

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

[maplewozapi]

I should have known if I brought up wc I’d have to talk about. But it includes of a lot of issues with feral/furry designs that use feathers in hair. I don’t necessarily know why the conversation only started and stayed in the wc fandom when horse/wolf/lion feral fandoms are still doing the same thing.

Now having feathers in the design isn’t a racial attack first thing off because there’s a lot of context around what feather’s are used, the shape, and where they are placed. If the look is anything like "rave Coachella looking tribal fantasy feathers and beads" it’s probably insensitive. I’m not to sure why it has to be feathers, I honestly think the wc fandom are holding themselves back when it comes to forwarding designs in a unique way. Tail feathers are also left out in this conversation as well, one or two feathers or feathers in the shape of a birds tail are fine but bunched together feathers are leaning to close to how we have our horses wear feathers. This is in the context of the design already looking like a "medicine cat" already its bad. it’s like those yt girls wear feather head bands but animal addition.

I’ve talked about this before but silhouettes are so important, like Native American stereotypes are on the global scale you cannot escape this silhouette you just have to avoid it. There’s no "but it’s in so many other cultures" no it’s not it’s totally unique to our people that’s why people flock to it because it’s so "mysterious, sacred" whatever their weird twisted up reason is. There’s so many unique ways to break this silhouette you just gotta be more creative. And I feel like instead of being more creative and coming up with totally different ideas it’s just easier to lean on these visual native stereotypes to get across "wild mythical nature fantasy"

I could get into the horse fandom and the weird situations they’re doing over there but that’s another crazy thing. I should say because someone will ask, ostrich feathers on like show horses or knights or puss in boots style is fine not the same thing (breaking the silhouette) they’re not related.

And it comes down to understanding what you are drawing and where this imagery comes from, I’m not gonna get my feelings hurt because of your design but I’ll question why are you drawing stuff like that. You cant remove that cultural/stereotypical imagery, and if you don’t care about it then you don’t care about the history or how it looks on your character and art.

I made it this far on the internet but if you want to be conscious about these things good on yea it doesn’t take much☺️👍

Edit: can’t believe I gotta say this but yes other cultures utilize feathers, if people are using feathers that are used in their culture then don’t harass them. That’s weird have some common sense. Ostrich feathers, peacock feathers it’s actually so interesting how native birds to an area affect the culture there.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

The Hedge Knight graphic novel - could it work as a roadmap for HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?

So, per reports, HBO's Dunk & Egg show is going to be 6 episodes. I've seen several people saying that's too long, it should be 4 episodes at most, a 2 hour movie at most, there will be too much filler, blah blah blah. Well let me tell you, that's not true!

In 2003, The Hedge Knight was adapted as a 6 issue comic book (later collected as a graphic novel), and I think its script, each issue ending in a cliffhanger or dun-dun-dunnn moment, would work perfectly for the show, and is very probably how they'll do it.

Potential spoilers under the cut, but first - is this not perfect casting and costuming? It so is.

Like I said, I think each issue could be the plot of each episode. So I'm just going to summarize these issues, I hope you've read the GN or the novella. (If not, go read it, go read all of Dunk & Egg, it's so good.)

#1 - Dunk buries Ser Arlan, decides to go to Ashford for the tourney, meets Egg and a weird drunk guy at an inn on the way, gets to Ashford, sets up camp in the forest (bathes naked in a stream), goes to the tourney field and sees Tanselle performing her puppet show, gets measured for armor he can't quite afford, gets back to his camp to find the weird little bald kid making dinner.

#2 - Dunk agrees Egg can be his squire, that night he sees the falling star, next morning goes to Ashford castle and gets told he needs to prove he's a knight to enter the tourney (or that Arlan was, since he says Arlan knighted him), meets Aerion (badly) but also the Kingsguard, sells his horse for armor money, talks to Tanselle and meets the Fossoways, then meets up with the young Dondarrion lord whose dad Arlan worked for and relates the House Dondarrion origin story (imagine them telling that via puppet imagery, ooh), gets told "yeah knowing that is no proof you're a knight, sucks to be you".

#3 - Dunk goes back to the castle, stumbles into Baelor and Maekar arguing about M's missing kids, Baelor remembers his epic joust with Arlan so yay Dunk can be in the tourney, Dunk and Egg talk to Tanselle about painting him a shield, they watch the opening of the tourney (lots of jousting and pageantry including Lyonel "the Laughing Storm" Baratheon), and the first day ends after Aerion deliberately kills that horse.

#4 - Dunk argues with Egg over how much of a douche Aerion is, more flirting with Tanselle, gossip with Raymun Fossoway about the Targaryens, Egg runs in to say Aerion's hurting Tanselle, Dunk beats up Aerion and almost gets murdered by Aerion's goons, Egg reveals himself to save Dunk, Dunk in prison, talks to Egg and Baelor, Baelor tells him he can be mutilated for striking a prince or ask for trial by combat, so "how good a knight are you, truly?"

#5 - Aerion says sure, trial by combat, but only a trial of seven, Dunk has to find 6 guys, talks to Raymun and Steffon Fossoway, Daeron apologizes and tells Dunk his dragon dream, shield reveal, next morning the smallfolk are all "a knight who remembered his vows", various guys show up to help Dunk and Raymun gets knighted, but Steffon Fossoway goes to Aerion's side so they're still missing a guy, "are there no true knights among you?", wait is that Valarr??? no it's Baelor in Valarr's armor omg

#6 - The trial of seven. You know how this ends. 😭 Then talking to Maekar, and Dunk and Egg ride off into the sunset together.

I hope that's convincing enough for the doubters! I can see a few points where something might be shifted from the end of one to the beginning of the other -- but on the whole I think the comic is an excellent roadmap for the show, and I hope this is the way they lay it out. Also ftr, the Sworn Sword graphic novel was also originally 6 issues so possibly season 2 ditto (unless they add an episode for the in between THK-TSS Dorne and Oldtown adventures that didn't actually appear in the novellas, idk). But the Mystery Knight was only released as one book, so who knows, they might go for more episodes when they get to that season.

Also, re taking inspiration from the comic, I really hope they adapt the Kingsguards' gold codpieces. Just because.

[lafayette-paw-arts]

Ok Real Question.

What is with all the circus imagery in Hell? Like Lucifer is obviously a ringleader, and when he's singing with Charlie the background is that of a circus tent (along with a spotlight on her at one point) But there's so many other things!

So there's the obvious ones of the lions and the elephants on the fireplace. Lions and elephants being staples of animals you'd expect to see in a circus.

There is also ringmaster canes above the fireplace. Probably a reference to Lucifer himself, but it still counts as circus imagery.

We've got horses and lions on the walls. Horses also being staples for circus's.

The obvious circus tents on the doors and windows.

With these ones I recognize it's probably a reference to Lucifer, but snake charmers are a thing in a circus too, so it's still on theme, and a sign that says tickets.

Then we get to Lucifer related shit. In this shot along there's circus tent imagery as well as a circus elephant teapot.

We've got a circus tent, then puppets.

A knife thrower board. (See the circled knives)

More circus tent backgrounds from Luci.

And even a spotlight on Charlie during this leap. That pose also seems pretty circus-like in and of itself.

We also have the line "When I tried this all before" from Lucifer.

So my theory/question is, did Lucifer maybe have a circus instead of a hotel when he was trying the same thing? I think yes, and I think even the sins were involved in his attempt at what Charlie is doing now. Let's just look at Helluva Boss.

First things first, circus shit seems to be completely ingrained in hell.

We've literally seen that clowns are so popular that they are basically celebrities, so much so that there's whole competitions that are widely popular to see who the next big clown will be.

Then we have the sins themselves. We've only seen 3 so far (not counting Lucifer if he is the sin of pride)

First we have mr clown himself, Mammon. He's obviously a clown and runs all the clown competitions and clown related shit.

Then we have Bee, let's be honest she's probably supposed to be a beast tamer given her domain seems to be over the hellhounds.

But she could just be a "food stall person" because she's handing out snacks, including the signature of her song, cotton candy, a circus staple.

Now here comes the harder part... Ozzie.

There's no absolutely clear answer as to what he could probably be, I could make many jokes that he's supposed to be the contortionist (which would still work)

We do see silks above his bed, so he could also be a performer who uses aerial silks.

But honestly, I think he's a fire breather, we see flames are a part of his skill set.

And we literally see him blowing fire onto the stick for Fizz to use in his performance. (So he still fits into the theory)

Unfortunately we haven't seen any other sins (again I'm not counting Lucifer for this) So I don't know how they would fit into the theory here.

But I am firmly in the belief that Lucifer did in fact try redemption shit before but with a circus instead of a hotel and the sins helping him, and that would be why circus shit is so ingrained in Hell and why there's circus imagery fucking everywhere. (Tho it is more obvious in Helluva boss)

Thank you for coming to my ted talk XD. I'm glad you stuck around to the end of my little theory here. If anyone has anything they'd want to add or discuss feel free to leave a comment!

[heartofwritiing]

What am I supposed to do, if theres no you?

paring: wilbur soot x fem!reader

authors note: I was listening to soon you’ll get better by taylor swift. I couldn’t get the imagery of this song out of my head and I needed to write some sort of vent. also inspired by a fic that @starsyoubreaklikesugardust wrote called whats it like on the other side of us that utterly destroyed me and I needed a happier version... This is super self-indulgent as hell but I hope you guys like it!

warnings: angst, mentions of an illness, hospitals, heavy topics, mentions of death, reader doesn’t have a specific illness, fluff, hurt comfort, me not knowing about medical terms or hospitals so excuse me lol, unedited!

The hospital bed feels warmer when Wilbur lies beside you, the only sound in the small room is the beeping of the machine monitoring your vitals.

On most days, everything is fine. However, when he's around, it's easy to forget the inevitable fate that awaits.

When he has to leave, he goes home to sleep in an empty bed and never does sleep. In those moments of solitude, he cries until he can't anymore. He tries to distract himself by painting the kitchen yellow, fixing up the garden, going to the studio to record, and hanging out with friends. But he feels guilty he’s not beside you.

The next time you see him he looks horrible. Like he got hit by a bus and you’re wondering if you should be the one in here or him. Wilbur Voice horse, circles under his eyes and red you know is from his tears. That’s when you pull him by the arm so he can curl up next to you so he can finally get some rest.

Stoking your fingers through his hair as he snores softly into your collarbone. You think about how Wilbur would ever function without you. How is he gonna take care of himself -when-if you are gone one day. That pit is building in your stomach along with the small lump in your throat. The burning of your eyes as you silently cry while you hold him close to your body.

Because that was what your life was full of, what ifs, whens, uncertainty, and dread. He didn’t deserve that. The arguments you used to get into when you first got sick. Begging him to leave you because you knew, in the long run, this wouldn’t work out. You could spend the rest of your life in and out of hospitals while he wasted away with you.

Wilbur swore repeatedly up and down that he would never leave you. No matter how much you tried to drive him away or how hard matters got.

Wilbur was constantly worried about your well-being, but he held onto hope that you would recover. This was especially true after the first time he brought you home.

You were happy to leave the uncomfortable hospital bed and small room reeking of antiseptic. You slow danced with him in the living room to Elton John playing from his phone speaker, listened to him write new songs, and slept in because you missed waking up in your shared bed. You felt like your old self again and he loved seeing you that way.

When things got worse again, the bright light in your eyes would soon fade, like water extinguishing a flame, as you had to leave your home and return to that sterile, white-washed room.

When you are back in that hospital bed, with the scratchy sheets and the fluorescent lights that hurt your eyes you’re back to being a shell of a human. The depression hits you harder and Wilbur does all he can to help. make you as comfterble as possible despite the weight of the situation.

You know he’s only trying to provide solstice. The small room fills with his soft voice as he reads your favorite stories. Telling you bad jokes he’s heard from Tommy that get you to at least crack a smile. He feels proud he was the one to grant you some form of happiness.

-

His hand holds your shaking, cold one as the IV pumps treatment into your veins. He leans over in his chair to be closer to you, lips against your knuckles. Your eyes meet in a longing stare that says 'I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.' You gently squeeze his hand.

“Wil?” You asked hoarsely.

“Yes, darling?” His voice is intimate, making you feel like there are people around even though it's just the two of you. The nickname always makes your tummy flutter with delight.

You want to capture the way he looks at you in a picture. He tentatively waits for your next words, his doe eyes filled with concern. You clear your throat and exhale softly.

“I was thinking... maybe we should find a house in the country,” you say. Wilbur remains silent. "Somewhere quiet, with big fields where we can see the sky, and watch the sunset on the porch."

You've mentioned how you'd love to live out in the country. A cottage large enough for you both to have separate areas. A streaming room for him, and a bedroom and den for you to store all your books and painting supplies.

A place where you can finally be free from confinement. Despite Wilbur's jokes about you being an old soul, you were in touch with life through knitting, painting, reading, and walks. That's what he wanted to give you again.

Your voice is quieter now, creating a moment just for you. The heaviness in your voice made your eyes well up. You could feel his thumb caressing your knuckles. Like a silent ‘take your time’. Your throat closes up as you keep talking. Your breath is shaking, primarily due to the cold temperature of the room and the medicine making you feel woozy. But you and Wilbur knew it was the emotional weight you tried to carry with your words.

Somewhere we can grow old together.

The sentence sits heavily in your mind. You'd like to say it to him. You wanted to share it with him so badly, but it felt painful to have cross your mind.

Wilbur already knows by the look in your eyes. He leans over you, lovingly presses a kiss to your forehead, and wipes away a single tear before it can roll down your cheek. Slowly he moves down, then presses another kiss to the tip of your nose.

“Whatever you want, my love.” he squeezes your hand back.

-

Wilbur spent weeks searching through countless home-selling websites for your dream house, but none were to his liking or within your budget. A month later, while sitting uncomfortably in a hospital chair with his long legs curled up to his chest, he scrolled through his phone and stumbled upon a house that seemed too good to be true.

He scheduled numerous appointments to see the house, ensuring everything was in order before making a final decision. Moving his belongings with the help of friends and bandmates was hectic.

He spent weeks preparing for your homecoming, buying new furniture, and arranging your books to your liking, making everything perfect only then he would finally surprise you.

He's there to take you to his car the day you leave the hospital. He takes care of you in the passenger seat, buckling you in and ensuring you're ready to leave before setting off.

As Wilbur drives past your shared apartment, soft indie tunes play through the car's speakers, and you lean back against the headrest, watching the scenery pass by. You realize you passed the turn to your house and Wilbur's hand takes yours.

Wilbur turns to you with a mischievous glint in his eyes and says, "We're not going home just yet." A faint smile is on his lips as if he's hiding something from you. He then drives in a different direction, and you can't help but feel excited about what he has planned.

"Where are we going?" you ask. As you speak, he can hear your worry.

"If I told you that, it would ruin the surprise," he says.

He knows you're antsy in your seat but it'll be worth it. After driving through winding roads and trees, he pulls up to a house with an arched doorway and slanted roof, almost like the one you dreamed of growing up.

Wilbur turns off the ignition, rushes to your side, opens the car door, and with a grin offers his hand to help you out. Wilbur leads you to the front door, unlocks it with a small key, and picks you up to carry you over the threshold.

"Welcome home darling," he says.

You are led through the house, to the hallway to the cozy living room. taking everything in slowly.

The soft pillows on the sofa, your paintings on the walls, your books on the shelf, and Wilbur's record player and vinyl set up. His acoustic guitar set against the wall caused your eyes to well up.

"Wilbur," you began, but tears rolled down your face as the emotions overwhelmed you. Why was he going through all this trouble for a silly dream?

Wilbur frowned as he tried to place you on the recliner, but you clung to him, so he sat down with you in his lap. Speaking softly into your ear with tender words to calm you.

You drew away from him, noticing the worry in his gaze as you locked eyes with Wilbur, he searched your expression frantically, attempting to figure out the cause of your distressed state.

"Are you okay?" he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "I know it's a lot to take all at once, but I wanted to surprise you. I'm sorry for being secretive."

You shake your head, in slight remorse for making him assume he upset you or pushed things too far.

"I'm just so happy." you beamed tearily.

Ease washed over him, and a sigh escapes his lips. Tears well in his eyes. He gently takes the back of your head and brings you to meet him for a kiss. His lips are soft and warm as they enveloped yours passionately. You reciprocated his kiss, bringing your hands to thread in his hair. Your noses brushed as you pulled away to catch your breath.

While holding each other, you remained in that position. Your breathing was slow and unsteady, and tears streamed down your face as you cried onto Wilbur's shoulder. Everything, for the first time in a long time, felt perfect.

Everything you had ever wanted was with Wilbur, and you were never going to want anything else.

Wilbur knew in his heart, soon you would get bette, because you just had to.

End.

tagging: @merakiwi @trashcanduck  @addxms @ax-y10

[yakool-foolio]

Alexa, play Only As Good As My God by Everything Everything. It's scenic for the downfall of Stronghart, as a song about police brutality also fits the mastermind behind the killing of many nobles and criminals who claims it's all in the name of justice. The horse imagery in this song aligns with Stronghart having unicorn motifs in his design. Funny how a symbol of purity and innocence is also a symbol of power and Stronghart took that from 0 to 100.

Van Zieks can you please roundhouse kick Stronghart for me? He's right next to you. Take the shot.

Sholmes: Well, back to my home planet. Beam me up, Iris!

The prosecutors have forgiven each other at last. Damn, Mikotoba saved the life of Klint's daughter, but the mother sadly passed. Van Zieks was completely left outta the know, but since the family name was tarnished, she was kept hidden for her safety.

WAIT.

SHOLMES TOOK CARE OF THE CHILD YOU SAY?

IRIS IS THE DAUGHTER OF KLINT?! SO SHE'S BAROK'S NIECE?!

Oh this is so funny to me cause I've been imagining Iris as Apollo's ancestor because of her deductive abilities taught by Sholmes (so Apollo would also technically be related to Sholmes teehee), but now that Klint is confirmed to be Iris' father... that would mean Apollo is distantly related to Edgeworth in my hypothetical family tree and that's wild.

Aw man, Van Zieks is resigning. NEVERMIND KAZUMA COMING IN CLUTCH TO CHANGE HIS MIND!

Sholmes n Mikotoba are so fuckin' cute dude I love their dynamic so much. Ay we got the pocketwatch back for Gina! A perfect memento mori!

This sentence aged like milk left out in the scorching sun before Gina even opened her mouth.

Iris is happy with her adoptive dad Sholmes, and him n Mikotoba continue to be extremely cute. All is right with the world.

Ryunosuke has made up his mind to return to Britain as a defense lawyer. I hope he'll visit his friends here when he can. SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA HAVE TO SEPARATE AGAIN NOOOOOOOOO

:00000000000 KAZUMA'S HERE TO SAY FAREWELL AUGHHHHHHHHH AND HE'S STAYING AS A PROSECUTOR HELL YEAH DUDE! OHHHHHH MY GOD HE'S ENTRUSTING KARUMA--HIS SOUL--TO RYNOSUKE AAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM CRYING MAN YOU GO KAZUMA SLAY YOUR DEMONS I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Aww yippee Susato's staying with Ryunosuke! Kazuma and Ryunosuke promise to duel each other in court someday! En garde!

OH MY GOD SOSEKI COVERED IN KITTENS WITH REI AND HOSONAGA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS THE B TEAM I NEED!

MY HEART... I LOVE THEM... WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

AWWWWWW SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA ARE DANCING TOGETHER YAYYYYYYYY

My babies <3

MY BABIES <3 X2

And that concludes The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! This was an incredible duology that will stick with me for a long time. As much as the first game's cases may not have been as much to my fancy, the characters immediately hooked me in and the second game made it all worthwhile. The pins were set and knocked down in a fantastical fashion! TGAA2 might've actually surpassed Dual Destinies as my favorite Ace game, which is a tough height to reach! The Phantom is still my favorite culprit though, so don't worry no one's gonna steal his title heheh.

And with the story of the ancestors at an end (for now, please Capcom make a Van Zieks Investigation game with Kazuma as his assistant I beg you it's what I crave), it's time to go investigate some men with Edgeworth! Starting tomorrow! Perhaps I could write up my live reactions for this newly remastered duology, too, hmm... I'll let future Neo decide!

(To The One Who Saw This Escapade Through To Its End, And Whom I Welcome All Ramblings From - @raymondshields)

[not-handsome-enough]

DICK KNUBBLER MAYE STILL BE ALIVE

Kinda

Alright before I do anything take this with a grain of salt, cause it’s probably a continuity error / can be easily explained away BUT if you all would like to hold onto some hope please just hear me out. And also it offers a question for yall.

Alright! So!

On twitter someone had asked Brendon and Gene about Murmaider III and its placement on Dethalbum IV ( which btw shoutout to Gene’s wife that was brilliant ) and Brendon had mentioned that what sets 3 apart from the other two was that it was more dreamlike, and that it was made AFTER Army of the Doomstar. Now since Brendon and Gene weren’t the ones to make the order on the Album we can’t set a timeline for the songs ( though they are set in Brutal to Dreamlike order once again shoutout to Genes wife you goddess ) we can at least say that some songs were made post Army. In fact we could also make some assumptions about what songs were made DURING army. So I’ll separate that list here.

NOTE : YALL DONT NEED TO READ THIS PART THIS IS JUST ME RUNNING WITH “ some songs were made post AOTD which ones could they be teehee “ JUST KNOW MURMAIDER AND SOS WERE AFTER KUBBLER DIED OK SORRy I’m not deleting that whole thing I like it

Songs with “ * “ are canon, the rest are personal interpretation.

DURING ARMY OF THE DOOMSTAR:

* Aortic Desecration ( the first song of salvation but obviously not )

* SOS ( song of salvation )

Gardener of Vengeance ( Nathan directly references this during the scene where he confides in the band and Knubbler that he doesn’t write songs about hope and he’s just doing what he knows. I believe he wrote and recorded this but felt it wasn’t good enough to be the song of salvation and moved on. HOWEVER the language he used could place this as post AOTD because it sounds more like a thrown out there example kinda like how he figured out SOS in the cave )

Poisoned By Food ( Again I think this is a scrapped song of salvation since besides the actual poisoning of food a lot of the imagery feels like the what the metalocalypse was described like )

BLOODBATH ( guess what another scrapped song of salvation. This one feels like a ‘you don’t scare me I’m going to confidently stop you because if I go down you go down with me’ song. Also it could be Nathan trying to reach out to Magnus since he was one of the people on his list. Also quick note I’m going song by song so I don’t know if I’ll notice if any other songs would reflect the list I just got out of work so I’m not gonna catch it all rn )

Horse of Fire ( this is tricky because lyrics like star still blazing allude to this being written before aortic desecration but also Nathan didn’t have the talk with the whale until the deadline came up in which he had to go with aortic desecration <he wouldn’t have had time to write about the fist or the hand.> But the lyrics don’t have the <we should reach out to the fans> revelation that SOS has. Maybe this was a draft for SOS but I think once Nathan figured out what SOS was meant to be it just came to him naturally. I’m not sure. HOWEVER since the doomstar is referred to as a star that is still blazing and not a portal that’s been destroyed it’s safe to say this is not post AOTD. Either way this is an important song to keep in mind if you look at this speculating )

POST ARMY OF THE DOOMSTAR:

* Murmaider III ( stated by Brendon Small in the interview. He said he feels that the boys would have written this after AOTD and based off of interviews he’s had in the past about his songwriting process it’s hard to not take this as canon so. )

DEADFACE ( I think this is post because while the song plays during the movie only Skwisgaar knew about the possession so the lyrics wouldn’t quite make sense yet. It’s a tricky placement but I can see Skwisgaar playing around with it since he does play the notes during the movie )

Mutilation on a Saturday Night ( this feels so much like a we survived so now we’re gonna party song I can’t see Nathan Skwisgaar or Pickles make an argument for this being a Song of Salvation. Also all the fucked up shit they talk about references what happened during the metalocalypse but it’s spoken in past tense like a ‘hey we fucked shit up but we fixed it so now we’re just gonna keep fucking around haha’)

I am The Beast ( simply cause I don’t see this as something Nathan would write during AOTD but the ‘ I am a beast this is my domain and when I speak you scream my name ‘ could work as a salvation line but it feels too much like a Mutilation Saturday Night ‘I can write whatever I want cause I lived and I’m not gonna hold back’ vibe )

Satellite Bleeding ( this feels like the first song they would have written and recorded after the doomstar died. Kinda like watching the sky clear up after a storm. )

Now despite me rambling on about this I would like to draw attention to what’s canon. Specifically SOS and Murmaider III. These songs came out after Knubbler died. Yet Dethalbum IV credits Knubbler for production.

Drawing your attention to how crediting in the Dethalbum works, each album has a little section for Dethklok to get musical credits and thank whoever and whatever. There’s also production credit and location credit. On ALL of the Dethalbums Knubbler is credited as producer. Cause he’s the producer makes sense yeayeyaeyah. But whenever there’s a change in location or production, there’s additional credits.

ANOTHER NOTE: I DONT HAVE THE KLOK OPERA CD I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE CREDITING SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE ON THERE but if someone happens to be selling that cd outside of eBay please let me know

Let’s look at them.

Dethalbum I ^

Shit ton of credits right, and on the other page which I didn’t take a picture of and can’t because I’m not home at the moment there’s credit to Snakes N Barrels for “Kill You” with each member listed. Take note that songs that are considered exceptions are credited differently and locations not at Mordhaus are credited.

I lied I have the other page. For those without the dethalbum cds the actual credits are usually on another page and “Kill You” got mixed in with it

Anyways

Dethalbum II

Hey Knubbies gets to thank someone this time! Anyways once again Knubbler is credited for production, but also Dethklok. Keep this in mind. Also the fact that different location credited for Murmaider II but it’s recorded at Mordhaus

Dethalbum III

Knubbler credit AND Abigail credit along with Dethklok AND once again location credit is Mordhaus and another fuckass place. Only thing that’s not really credited is Magnus with The Hammer but idk if he was like Toki and William where they play the songs but don’t really write or if he actually wrote The Hammer. I’m not a HammerHead, I’ve seen people interpret him as both, but at the end of the day idrk.

So what about Dethalbum IV

Knubbler is credited. At Deus Keep. Only Knubbler. Only at Deus Keep. “But he’s not credited as a Producer” True! If the album was released in universe it would probably be a producer credit. Especially since Brendon and Ulrich have Producer credit on the page prior. Maybe it’s because Knubbler didn’t make it to the final production stage. Or maybe he’s staying hidden undercover..

Remember earlier. He canonically was not around for two of these songs on this album. He could not have recorded OR mixed SOS or Murmaider III. Even if you don’t fully think that Murmaider III was made Post AOTD, SOS was done post Knubbler death. Hell, the song was dedicated to him by William! But there’s no separate credit for SOS.

If we went on the same basis as previous albums SOS would have been credited to that part of Norway where they traveled to that I forgot the name of and I’m not gonna look up but you get the point. Or even Dethklok would have been credited as production. I could also say something about how Murmaider III wasn’t recorded in the Mariana Trench and how the whale isn’t calling to Nathan anymore but that’s for another day. Right now though, it’s just Knubbler. Just Knubbler and Deus Keep.

Which leads to 3 possibilities.

Knubbler Lives: Knubbler survived ( the flashing things on the ground were teleporters ) and Deus Keep is rebuilt. To celebrate their survival they make Dethalbum IV but don’t release it

Knubbler Died: The band recorded the last few songs on the album at the remains of Deus Keep. Knubblers presets aren’t changed so credit remains to him. Once again not releasing it.

It’s not an album: Dethalbum IV doesn’t exist in universe. That’s why there’s no producer credit. That’s why Nathan doesn’t thank the klokateers ( he thanks the army of the doomstar which is just him thanking fans ). Dethklok recording it post AOTD is more to do with how Brendon records dethalbums than in universe writing.

I like to think that this is just an unreleased album in universe since the record label is more than likely destroyed, but it has the possibility of releasing one day if society is rebuilt to what it once was. But it really depends on if you think the album is canon to the universe. Cause there’s no Mordhaus credit on Dethalbum IV and there’s no way for SOS to have been recorded at Deus Keep and blablabla

something fun to think about tho yk?

TLDR: two songs on dethalbum IV were made after Knubbler death yet the credit doesn’t change for him in the dethalbum so there’s a chance that he recorded and mixed those songs cause he is alive and well horray

[mastermindmp3]

Chloe et al.

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus (hereby referred to by Chloe et al.) is a very classic Taylor Swift song. With a strong emphasis on the lyrical twists on phrases, distinct visual imagery, and an understated backing track (the piano is crystal clear, and the later backing vocals are so lovely.)

We see that idea of a distinct visual in the opening lines. The speaker describes "Your hologram stumbled into my apartment, hands in the hair of somebody in darkness, named Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, and I just watched it happen."

Describing her (presumably, lover) as a hologram implies that they are not, truly, real. They are not grounded, not a physical thing she can have. Later in the song, she mentions a lover who "needed drugs more," so this hologram-state could also imply that they are under the influence. Her lover has their hands in another person's hair; they are bold enough to bring their affair almost to her door, with someone the narrator can't even see. The names dropped in this opening are not literal people, but the kind of exasperation of "who is it this time?" names listed from the top of a hat. They are, also, rather generically common English names.

And I just watched it happen. The narrator, knowing that her lover is not solid, not real, doesn't seem to bother to stop them. She goes on to describe how the two drift over "the decade," and how her lover, too, "just watched it happen."

(Also, I love the use of the phrase "saw my bones out with somebody new." If her lover is a hologram, unreal, then she is bones - solidly real but dry, dead.)

An interesting point in all of this is ambiguity. The narrator doesn't know who her lover is seeing in darkness, and she addresses this song directly to her lover(s?) I did see an analysis bringing up that the speaker could be addressing two different people, as the chorus's main refrains imply different types of relationships.

If you want to break my cold, cold heart, just say "I loved you the way that you were." Here, it sounds like the narrator and her lover have been together for a very long time, and her lover no longer loves her present self, longing for her before the change. If you want to tear my world apart, just say you've always wondered. This, on the other hand, implies a lover who is returning, who is tempting her with old times.

This reading is also propped up by other songs from the Tortured Poets Department which confirm the idea (Who's going to stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames) However, I like that it is also left in the dark, even for the listener. Who is left wondering if they could've made it? Who said they loved her the way she was?

The final verse ponders her lover(s), and has my favorite extended metaphor I think Swift has ever written. "Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses, cooler in theory but not if you force it to be; it just didn't happen." It's so direct: We tried to force this relationship to work, and it broke down. The idea of phantoms as past lovers (dancing phantoms on the terrace / my beloved ghost and me / well, me and my ghost, we had a hell of a time ) is scattered throughout the Tortured Poets Department.

Yet, the question goes unanswered - all her questions do. She doesn't know if it'll be enough to "float in your orbit," if the memory can fade from this "scarlet maroon." Chloe et al. much like its title, is a song uncertain, and in that uncertainty, the speaker reveals a bit of her heart, the held anxiety like a breath underwater. The only actual conclusion the narrator comes to that she will wonder.

"Will I always wonder?"

[punmonster]

Her new ID just made me certain she is an intentional red herring in the LCB squad. For whom, is unclear.

Her attitude around Dante especially is not one replicated in any of her other selves to my knowledge, so whatever point the IDs usually split off from probably didn't happen to any other versions of Outis. It doesn't seem as if she's trying to act as her subordinates did to her, and she obviously isn't imitating the other sinners' attitudes.

Given there was a warning in her intro page, it seems that whomever wrote that may have been well aware of her ability to manipulate others for her own gain, given the warning of her intelect being used for anything other than missions.

I do wonder if this is part of or relates too a 'contract clause' she signed, as mentioned by a couple other sinners. It's likely that it is to return home, but where, what or who does she exactly consider as her home. Would it be with the people she loves, or has war become so much of a part of her that she may feel incomplete without battle.

It is funny that she is associated with the Trojan Horse tho - as in the bg of her official art and on her icon - which was a false gift for the sake or war, and given everything in this game has some twist on the source material, did she start a false war for the sake of a gift?

Also her and Don Quixote both have horse imagery. Immensely funny to me and for no reason.

Good day!

-[⏰]

i cant think of much to say, but i think outis served the role of a doctor. she could also be responsible for physical modifications of soldiers

the staff of hermes is a shadow in her base ego. its a common symbol in medical professions. more on this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913859/

it could be that all the history of the staff was meshed together for this game. The god of medicine once held a similar staff and he was killed by Zeus for healing so many people that there werent enough souls going to the underworld

it also has an association with ambassadors and lying, and of course hermes who traveled on feathered footwear. which could tie into the trojan horse

there is something to be said about the doctors hypocratic oath here as well. when outis saw someone suffering in canto 3, she had a method of killing him quickly. im wondering if this is the only way she could relieve her patients suffering. im wondering if this was the root of some need to rebel in her. maybe she stopped too many people from walking to their deaths. maybe she found a way out for them.

when her file says she may not have the best interests of the company in mind. that could just mean she cares more about the people under her wing, than the company, any company, itself

anyways, heres some puzzle pieces!

[wetcatspellcaster]

Do you have any writing tips for newbie fic writers? Your descriptions are gorgeous. Thank you for pieces BTW, it's my favorite 'piece' of writing ❤️

hi anon, thank you for the kind words!💞💞 I'm flattered that I'm someone that you'd think to ask this question, so I'll do my best to answer! I've put my response beneath a keep reading cut to prevent it being a long post :)

I wasn't sure how to interpret this question, so I'll focus on 'technical' (?) tips mostly. Hope any of them help, in some small way!

my main tip to new fic writers is: write, first and foremost, for yourself, and to feed yourself. I've seen this perspective get put through the disk-horse ringer of late, so take it or leave it, or take it with as much of a pinch of salt as you need. But truly, from the bottom of my heart and from my position of sudden newfound popularity, this is the most important lesson I was ever given and so I have to say it. Popularity is not guaranteed. Even a popular fic will have haters and people who think it objectively sucks, and the readers who like you will never be fully pleased with what you've delivered. This could all be very depressing and cause an author to lose motivation.... if you make it the criteria for success in the first place. If you make the criteria for success your own happiness (or perhaps the happiness of you and a few close pals), providing yourself with what you, specifically, want to see, you will probably want to keep writing regardless of all other factors. Produce fics that you want to reread when you need comfort, when you are sick, and when you want to see your blorbos exactly the way you want them. This will make any fic worthwhile to you, regardless of stats, and prevent you from writing things that will suffer if your heart isn't in it! (this doesn't preclude gift fics/prompts! sometimes your heart can be 100% in providing food for others. find your key motivators, and feed that - a healthy amount - if you're trying to get into writing as a hobby!)

Now, onto my writing tips! I don't consider myself an expert and these are more lessons that have helped me, specifically, to improve my writing. But maybe something in here will be of use!

Bc you say you like descriptions... I tend to go into detail only when it's an essential thing that needs to be described. Leave wider details for readers to fill in with their own beautiful mind-palaces, and this gives you permission to go ham on what matters. What is it that matters? maybe it's a piece of the environment (say, a soul jar) or maybe it's just how hot one part of your ship is, in their hot clothes or out of them. If you focus on the important stuff but leave the rest to background, this not only creates a good balance of action to description, but it also shows the reader what they should prioritise in the scene.

I also google '[WORD] synonyms' a lot, for descriptions specifically. Which seems like it might be condescending advice, but it both helps you find different words if you're worried you're repeating yourself, and sometimes confirms that yes. You are using the best word actually, as you were.

Get a good balance of complex/simplistic words, as well as a good balance of complex/simplistic sentences. Sometimes you need a flowery description, sometimes you just need to state explicitly what is happening or the way things are. Tone will shift depending on your balance of these two things, so test the waters and see what works for you!

If you feel like you've written too much dialogue, the answer is probably no, you haven't written too much dialogue - for fic specifically. Most people are reading fic bc they want their faves to interact more. You are giving them more interaction and they will probably love it.

If you find phrases you like in the books/fic you read, it isn't plagiarism to use them so long as you recontextualise them. I'm certain I've used other people's words multiple times, particularly for my descriptions/imagery, and this is totally ok so long as the context is original. If you're worried, or its a whole sentence/interaction you like, examine the sentence/interaction and work out why you like it so much. Is it the sentence structure? Is the character dynamic? Is it the way the kiss plays out? Take the things you find sexiest in other people's writing and find ways to incorporate it into your own work!

I proofread by reading aloud. Yes, I sound mental and unhinged. My cats are worried about me. But this not only helps you catch mistakes, it helps to test the flow of a sentence! If you're ever worried a sentence is too long/a line of dialogue doesn't sound in character, read it aloud! This will help you work out if it's flowing or not, and if it isn't then you'll get some clues as to why!

Don't be afraid to take risks, if you want to take risks! This can apply to anything: being brave enough to put in a joke you're not sure people will find funny, describing something in a way you're worried people will find weird, tackling something from a perspective or POV that you find challenging. This may be a more intermediate tip, but you can start with small risks, and experimenting helps you find your writing voice! Taking risks makes your writing unique :) and I can't explain how much better my writing has gotten since I gave myself specific challenges. You will not get it perfectly write 100% of the time (there are some parts of Pieces that are weak compared to other parts) but it will always help you improve.

[activatebutterflyshield]

Songs that make me really really really want to learn animation so I can make epic sequences with them as the soundtrack

- Notos by the Oh Hellos, itd make a great phoenix-rising, defeated-character-realizing-their-power-and-absolutely-destroying-someone-who-did-them-real-trauma thing. Also the metaphors and imagery. “Every inhale I take, swallow the ocean whole and I am one / With the hurricane, tall as the tide that laps with a rabid tongue”??? “With every exhale I break you down with a fury, I lay the hills undone / Like a dog gone untamed, bellowing out a river from my lungs”??????

- Boreas by the Oh Hellos, the perfect sort of ‘Im completely defeated but by god I’m still going to do something to help’

- Okay I should just include all of the Four Winds EPs in here. Get over here, Eurus and Zephyrus. Passerine and Rio Grande specifically.

- The Horror and the Wild by the Amazing Devil, see this one fandom post I made that was basically a desperate attempt to visualize an animatic I could never make

- Chords by the Amazing Devil, entirely different vibes but bloody hell it lights a fire in my heart every time I hear it. Just. “We were the winter nights / So you could be the morning snow / Your life begins by leaving / And our love is shown / In the letting go”????????

- Rockslide by the Crane Wives. Im writing a whole thing about that album, Coyote Stories’, relationship with climate change and the generally horrible state of the world and this song is the reason. “Oh I pray today my soul to keep / But we best get a move on or the devil we will meet”?? I mean. Mates. It hits hard.

- Sleeping Giants by the Crane Wives. Same album as Rockslide and just as strong if not more so. It would make for a great call-to-war or prelude-to-a-big-ol-battle.

- Rule #3 Paperwork by Fish in a Birdcage. By goodness is Paperwork underrated (though methinks Rule #2 Moonlight is even more underrated but thats just a good song) and I love it to death. Just a great song for an easygoing time. Or, alternatively, a great song for a subtle call to action.

- Rule #33 Pyre by Fish in a Birdcage. Its just great. A final, fond farewell from a beloved parent or mentor or loved one or other dear person telling you that you’ll be fine after they’re gone. Also the accordion is really neat in this one. “Trust yourself and live it your way”. It just is great.

- WOLVES OF THE REVOLUTION. ARCADIAN WILD. This gave so much inspiration for writing a revolution and the people involved in it. Its perfect for that arc. It doesnt bloody matter if said revolution is in a war tragedy of a fanfic.

Theres more but I dont have much to say about them, so just know that Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier (Corb Lund), Solar Waltz (Cosmo Sheldrake), Mvmt II Begin and Never Cease (The Oh Hellos (really bloody Christian but its so good just music wise)(Also Christmas as hell)), The Day Goes On (Bill Wurtz), and my very dear Discord’s Smallest Violin (The AJR Discord) are also very dear to my heart and would probably become something if I had enough commitment and free time and all those other extremely volatile factors to actually learn how to animate. I will, someday. But that day is not today.

Also I swear to you @writer-of-random-things I am writing the climate-change-Coyote-Stories thing. It exists. Or, about half of it exists. I got to The Hand That Feeds and its. Uh. A lot.

[liberty-or-death]

Wei Wuxian's Name - The Meaning of Wuxian

C Fans think this is likely the poem behind his name. And after analysing this poem, I think this is also the inspiration behind his character. OMG MXTX YOU’RE A GENIUS 😍.

Before I start, please inform me if you want to use this meta. This analysis is solely mine in every shape and form. There is only 1 Chinese interpretation online and it’s done with Baidu’s MTL. And if I do allow you to use it, PLEASE link it back to me because there’s a very high chance that I will refine this. This is the only translation/meta that I’m particular about so please respect my wishes. 🙏

The term “Wuxian” comes from the Ming Dynasty poem “Living Alone 闲居” by the poet Xiu Ben 徐贲. Sadly, there isn’t much information about the context so I’ve tried to interpret this to the best that I can. There are so many aspects in mdzs/cql that are reflected in his poem.

谢事返丘壑，退耕理田园。

To retire to the hills, to return to farming and prepare the land.

谢事 - To retire and get rid of mundane things, or to die

丘壑 - Hills and ravines. A secluded place in the mountains. A metaphor for somewhere far away.

退耕 - To resign from government service and to return to farming OR to convert land that was used for farming back to other use.

兹心获遂初，稍得洒中悁。

His compassionate heart has attained his wish, and slowly loses itself to anxiety in wine.

兹心 - I think this is related to 慈悲心 which refers to the concept of Compassion in Mahayana Buddhisim. 慈 refers to giving others happiness.

遂初 - This means attained his wish. OR to leave a government post and return to seclusion

悁 - This refers to anger, anxiety and melancholy.

(T/N: 获 and 得 both means to gain, so the poet is emphasising what he has gained)

振策升崇巘，扬舲溯长川。

Whipping the horse (or urging) to ascend the lofty mountain, sailing against the river that never ends

振策 - This term also means to urge or to push someone forward

长川 - It either describes a river OR something that’s never ending.

(T/N: some websites use the word 巘 (mountain), but others use 褵 (a marriage veil). I don’t have enough info, so I’ve gone with the mountain translation.)

惊湍信汨汨，清溜自涓涓。

The water gurgles flows steadily and swiftly, the crystal clear water from the small stream trickled slowly naturally.

(T/N: 汨汨 and 涓涓 are both sounds of the water flowing. 汨汨 refers to gurgling, 涓涓 flows slowly)

新兰艳迟日，密竹曳丛烟。

The new orchid blooms in spring, the dense growth of bamboo gather as they sway like the mist.

迟日 - this could mean late, or spring

烟 - This likely refers to 烟云 (literally translated to mist and cloud), but it also refers to a hermit deep within a faraway mountain.

东馆朝燕坐，西林暮独还。

To meditate in the morning the temple in Chang an, to return from the temple alone at dusk

东馆 - This either refers to the Eastern Temple, or a temple nearby Chang an. The dictionary says it’s 豫中 ‘Yuzhong Temple’ (term was used specifically the Han Dynasty), but I can’t find which temple it is specifically. LOL

西林 - This term does refer to the Xilin temple on Mount Lu. But subsequently it was referred to temples in general. As this a more modern poetry (aka Ming Dynasty), I’ve opted to use ‘temple’ instead.

(T/N: there’s a dawn to dusk imagery in this line, from 朝 (morning) to 暮 (dusk))

朋旧固云旷，山水聊夤缘。

Old friends are resolute and vast as the clouds, and to sit beneath the mountain and rivers to chat about establishing connections.

云 - The imagery of ancient clouds in ancient poetry is uh, not exactly regarded as a good thing. It’s usually related to sadness, or something that’s fickle (ie. a cloud is fickle, it changes shape whenever it wants to, sometimes you see it, and sometimes you don’t.

夤缘 - this means to climb up, establish connections and building relationships)

(T/N: This whole line is interesting and filled with contradictions. 固 refers to something resolute, but 云旷 means vast as the clouds. Of which, clouds symbolise something that’s anything but resolute. And in the second part, 聊 usually refers to a causal chat or even gossip, but 夤缘 refers to using connections to climb higher.)

居喧暂云遣，习静久乃便。

the noise at where I'm at at has stopped for now, dissipating like the wind. And so, the quiet life has persisted for long time.

居 - there are various meanings to this. The most common meaning is to stay/current location so I’ve gone with that

便乃 - this means “hence” or “so”

已幸驻灵药，复能讽瑶编。

It’s already lucky that the magical drug has rooted itself here, and I can memorise the precious books repeatedly

驻 - This is a very interesting word because it’s usually used to mean to garrison or to come to a standstill. It isn’t usually

复 - Repeatedly

讽 - This word usually means to or to mock. But I think it’s used as 讽书 in this case, which is to memorise.

既无羡鱼志，外物非所迁。Even if there isn’t any wishful thinking, the things outside are inhospitable and ever changing

无 - This means no.

羡鱼 - Wishful thinking. This is where Wei Wuxian’s name comes from (MXTX uses 无羡 instead of 羡鱼). This term comes from the idiom “临渊羡鱼，不如退而结网” which literally means, “instead of standing by the water to dream about catching fish, you should go home to make a net to actually catch a fish.” (ie. instead of being envious about another person’s achievements, we should put in the effort) So yes, Wei Wuxian does mean “do not (无) think wishfully and covert over the achievement of others” (羡)

非所 - Inhospitable, where someone cannot live normally

迁 - this means ever changing.

MY ANALYSIS

SO I HAVE SO MUCH FEELS. I believe that MXTX based some parts of Wei Wuxian’s behaviour according to this poem. Allow me to do a line by line analysis.

1st line: “To retire to the hills, to return to farming and prepare the land” - is this why our boy has such a fascination with retiring from his “post” and returning to the simple life? It’s interesting that the terms in this poem repeatedly emphasises on ‘retiring from government.” You could say that wwx’s life, starting from the time that he was a Jiang Clan disciple, and to being a soldier was a form of a post. So the author sets up the stage of what he thinks to “retire” is. And the “hills and the mountains” suggest a secluded far away. IDK about you but it screamed Cloud Recesses to me.

2nd line: “His compassionate heart has attained his wish,” - AGAIN I could scream about this. I feel that Wei Wuxian does embody the concept of “慈悲” in the simple sense of the word. “慈” as in compassionate. He brings joy to people around him and cares for others around him. 悲 as in sadness; he feels the suffering around him and hence he tries to deliver people from it. This is obviously demonstrated when he tries to save the Wen Clan. This line also emphasises that retiring away from all things political is what he wants. And the second part “slowly loses itself to anxiety in wine”, sadly he does this ever so frequently in the novel and almost amplified in CQL.

Line 3 and 4: “Whipping the horse (a metaphor for quickly, almost urgently) to ascend the lofty mountain, sailing against the river that never ends” “The water gurgles flows steadily and swiftly, the crystal clear water from the small stream trickled slowly naturally.” - in Line 3, the first part “ascending the lofty mountain, almost urgently so” reminds me of how he attained his ghost cultivation so quickly over a span of 3 months. And “sailing against the river that never ends” sounds very much like how he was always moving against the criticism of the masses in his first and second life. The lines about the water gurgling and trickling feels that the tide was always against him, be it swiftly or in small trickles.”

Line 5: “The new orchid blooms in spring, the dense growth of bamboo gather as they sway in the mist.” - the imagery of the orchid sounds a shoutout to Jinling. And the dense bamboo dusting in the mist reminds me of the parts where they were in the cold pond. I’m not sure if the CQL directors were equally inspired by this. (I can’t remember if there were bamboos in Cloud Recesses novel wise. 😂😂)

Line 6: “To meditate in the morning the temple in Chang an, to return from the temple alone at dusk” - HMM I don’t have a clear inspiration for this line unfortunately. But it could be a reference to the days spend in Cloud Recesses. The Lan 蓝 was a Buddhism references so it totally fit the bill. (I’ve mentioned it before in Taming Wangxian but if you can’t remember it, well that’s okay, I am to bring it back here eventually)

Line 7: “Old friends are resolute and vast as the clouds, and to sit beneath the mountain and rivers to chat about establishing connections.” - again the comparison of friends with clouds. It does suggest that he has a lot of friends; friends who are as fickle as clouds who aren’t there when the time calls for it. And as for the ones who are “resolute”… well we know who they are. And as for “establishing connections”, this is a common theme in the novel. It actually reminded me of JGY, who was essentially trying to curry favour to promote himself politically.

Line 8-9: “the noise at where I am at has stopped for now, dissipating like the wind. And so, the quiet life has persisted for long time.” “It’s already lucky that the magical drug has rooted itself here, and I can memorise the precious books repeatedly” lmao does the magic drug refer to the incense burner haha 😂😂 the vibe of the last two lines remind me of the end of the novel, whereby the “noise” of society has faded and he’s back to the quiet life. And as for the books that he can read, I’m guessing that’s probably referring to the Lan Family’s library

Line 10: “Even if there isn’t any wishful thinking, the things outside are inhospitable and ever changing” this is WWX and the moral of the story I guess?

(There were about 60 different references and I'm too lazy to link them all lol. They were mostly dictionary links or other poems that used the words in a similar manner. If you want a reference for a particular phrase, please let me know. XD)

In case you missed it, I’ve also analysed Wei Ying previously.

Additional Meta

More MDZS Meta

Meaning of Wei Ying

[blackbeeno3569]

A bit of their daily life outside of crisis, while the new page is in progress...

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE Hazel walked through the dark corridors of the Lair’s palace, slowly running through a spell book she was reading those days. Her footsteps echoed softly on the stone floor, as she walked down the stairs to the hall, flipping over another page. Then she froze on a spot in an instant. In the hall there was a giant spider, not shy from the size of a bear, its body shimmering with nightmare sand particles and its many eyes watching her without a single motion. Its fangs clapped sharply and Hazel did the only logical thing that there was to be done. She yelled. “Pitch!!!” “Oh, there you are,” the Boogeyman emerged from behind the creature, not paying her much attention though, organising the black sand around the spider’s legs. The shadowy beast leaned closer to her with a curiosity of an extremely ugly dog, that kind that could drool all over your legs and still look like it could bite off your arm, patiently letting its creator to work.

“Why do we have a giant spider in our hall?” Hazel asked slowly, her voice strained. She took a cautious step back. She never liked spiders and this creature made her skin crawl and heart race even though she knew it’s not really real.

“Spiders demand practice,” Pitch explained without looking at her, reaching down on the spider’s stomach to add some other scary detail probably, “if I don’t make some here or there,” his voice a bit muffled from the cloud of the black sand as he was precising its hairy limbs, “they tend to move their legs in a funny way when I need them...”

Only then he realised the true meaning of her question, letting the sand subside. “You are afraid of spiders?” he looked at her with a hint of disbelief. “It’s of the size of a horse!” she snapped back, Pitch’s tone way too light to her liking. He grinned mischievously and snapped his fingers: “Easy to fix, my dear.” “Don’t you dare-!” The giant spider fell into hundreds of smaller ones, filling the whole floor. The myriad of the crawling creatures stopped only in a disciplined circle around her feet. Hazel yelled again, disintegrating the few first rows back into the sand with a swift wave of her hand, just before she shot their author a livid look. He let them disappear all at once with a single elegant move of his wrist, leaning down to her with an academic tone and his grin even wider, amused glint playing in his eyes: “It’s part of the basic set of human natural fears, to be afraid of spiders, you see. Necessary for human survival in the wild outdoors. A heritage of the ancestors we might say. Absolutely needed imagery for my nightmares and fearlings.”

Her glare could curdle milk but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Pitch. “Very useful lecture,” she snarled and took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, “I hope you had fun.” “Oh, it’s always a pleasure to present you with a bit of useful information,” he nodded with a seriousness betrayed only by his eyes and he leaned down to kiss her forehead, “also you should get some benefit of living with the Boogeyman sometimes.” Hazel’s lips twitched in a smile. There was something endearing about both his dedication to his craft and his playfulness. “The almost heart attack waiting for me in the hall is a benefit?” “You could simply just enjoy a nice spider,” he countered, “it was a rather good one I think.”

“I won’t enjoy any spider, thank you very much, not in a hundred years.” “Did you see the way they ran?” “I did, my love. Unfortunately I did. Very convincing.”

“It’s not easy to do, you know.” “I can imagine.”

They walked out of the hall together, the fear slowly being forgotten.

There were indeed certain benefits of living with the Boogeyman. Not exactly in encountering the nightmare creatures in the halls of one’s home necessarily, but there were some. At least Hazel thought so.

[transitat]

The General Nosiness Tag

Tagged by @writerrose1998

A beautiful place you visited that made you very happy (pictures welcome!).

Ilha do Mel (Honey Island) in the south coast of Brazil. It has a broken down fort right on the beach where you can almost feel the history of the place.

A book or written piece of media that made you go "oh yesssss".

I'm very much into poetry, so I just have to mention Richard Siken's Crush. A really good book I read this year is A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson.

Your Spotify top song of the year.

So You Say by No Pressure. Funny story: I bought tickets to see them live in two different cities this year and saw them zero times due to weather and train delays (fuck the Deutsche Bahn).

Your favorite line/paragraph that you've written or an artwork that you're proud of.

Idk why this one had me cackling: Secure in the knowledge that they're all going to hell, Tyler waves his hand at Lucas and Bianca and drives his heels into the horse's flanks. From Nun'a'ya Business.

Your favorite painting/art piece.

This weird painting my grandmother has had forever.

I'm also absolutely obsessed with churches and religious imagery.

A language that sounds beautiful to your ears.

Italian. I really can't get over it.

Rec some fics that you keep going back to.

There are so many, but I find myself often rereading @suchaladyy and @cupoteahatter works.

Please, please share pictures of your pets if you're comfortable with that.

Kings of the trash. Damasco (Apricot) on the brown boxes and Pêssego (Peach) on the mixer. They're 3 year old twins and a bonded pair that I adopted from Bulgaria on ebay.

They have a lot of love and zero braincells.

A happy story from your life.

The time my waifu and I proved we're the stupidest idiots in Europe. We travel a lot to see our favorite bands live but I live in Munich while she lives in Leipzig, so sometimes we just meet at our destination.

We went to Paris to see Bring Me The Horizon and took trains there. I had a connection in Mannheim and was keeping her updated.

"I'm about to get on the train in Mannheim."

"Cool, my train is just pulling up to Mannheim central station, we'll probably get there around the same time," she said.

"Awesome," I replied, still stupid. "I get there around 5pm."

"That's good," she said, also stupid. "We won't have to wait for each other, my train arrives in Paris at 16:55."

"Oh," I reply while waiting to stow my luggage. "We might be on the same train. That would be fate bringing me to thee, lady wife."

"Oh yeah," (note that we're still stupid) "I'm in carriage 17."

"Me too!" I'm trembling in excitement. "What seat?"

"75"

"I'm in seat 74, omggg!!"

Anyway, turns out we'd booked the tickets together about 8 months before and completely forgot that we reserved seats next to each other. It's been 2 years, we're still stupid.

A show or movie that you could rewatch forever.

X-Men: First Class. The soundtrack, the plot, the shots! I've watched it so many times.

[feekins]

oh man, I am having a LOT of feelings about ch 4 - it's hitting me completely differently from any other time I've read it (mostly thanks to the Overhaul 💕) so. let's get into that. thoughts and things and translation weirdness I find as I re-read Trigun Maximum vol 3.

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

ok so this is a silly lil Dark Horse thing: at the end of ch 3, Vash called Leonov "Player Emilio" - but then ch 4 is titled "Emilio the Player." Dark Horse so silly~

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

🎶 WHERE DID U COME FROM, WHERE DID U GO / WHERE DID U COME FROM, PUPPET-MAN SHOW 🎶

ok but srsly - doing VS going ("going" makes more sense contextually). next, the Overhaul makes it clear that Brad could be hearing Vash and/or Wolfwood fighting, based on the explicit mention of gunfire - although I suppose this could anyone else? sad faces are bc I like Sensei. I don't like how Dark Horse kinda makes it seem like Brad's more angy than concerned?

on the next panel on the next page, there are some other translation discrepancies. Dark Horse has "You... Can you come out of this, grinning and victorious...?! Vash the Stampede." meanwhile, the Overhaul has "You think you can get out of this... You think you can win... Vash the Stampede?!"

subtle differences here, but imo the Overhaul is more explicit/straightforward in its explanation - and it feels like what Vash is saying supports what I was saying last chapter about how Leonov separates/distances himself from what he's doing. there is, in fact, a distinct disconnect.

then, on the next 2 pages...it feels like, as Vash lists names, he's inching his way toward a reconnection. Leonov's expression is different right before Isabel is mentioned - or rather, he's not completely expressionless anymore. I'd even say it's like this...slowly-dawning recognition? before he completely breaks at "Isabel".

important distinctions here imo. "lie" implies a denial, while "things" implies Leonov doesn't/can't recognize who Vash is referring to - further illustrating the disconnect between the GHG Leonov and his former self, Emilio.

next, "point" + "continued existance" are huge here. it's not a question of Vash's reason for being - it's "why shouldn't I kill you?" which flows right into Leonov saying (paraphrasing both translations here) "I don't care about his punishment" - which I thought was in reference to Vash continuing to live and being 'punished' by the GHGs, but now, I think it's more likely he's referring to how Knives would punish Leonov for going against orders and killing Vash.

SENSEIIIIIIIIIIII 😭

the hands bit in Dark Horse feels kinda misleading? like...yeah, Leonov uses his hands to make and control the puppets, but the point isn't so much that as it is how easily Leonov has been able to do it all thus far.

(...it also occurs to me just now that, in Vash calling him "Emilio" this whole time...to me, it's like...despite the horrific things this puppeteer is doing, despite what he's become, despite this monstrous role he's cast himself as...he's still this human person whom Vash knows. it's not a denial of the new identity - it's acknowledgment of his continued humanity. which makes him "family" to Vash. lol I just made myself sad.)

now, let's dig deeper into "guignol"! from what I understand, it's not just any French puppet show - it's a genre characterized by being horrifically graphic and gory and morally bankrupt! 😁

...and here, we have interesting typesetting choices on Dark Horse's part...

once again, the Overhaul's translation is much more clear. also, religious imagery methinks? with that last thing Vash says?

...some weird speech bubble-swapping between translations...

I always thought this line in Dark Horse was weird - it makes so much more sense as a question, like how the Overhaul does it.

...with all that blood...I think...this is where the people-puppets get made... 😱

[zhuzhudushu]

Hello! Your blog came up while I was searching up information about Chinese names and I was wondering if you could help me check the name I've come up with for an oc I have!

Despite being of Chinese ancestry I know little to no Chinese (forgive me ancestors, I'm still learning) so thank you for all the resources your blog provides!

The setting itself is more fantasy mythological-like with this oc being a 狐狸精 so I figured the name didn't have to be completely accurate/ def not something a random Chinese person would regularly have, (kind of like a "this is obviously a chinese name but in a fantasy game" situation) I ended up coming up with 灵火 due to the ocs relation to undead spirits and fire and also because it sounds like 灵活. I was wondering if the name sounds weird or wether I should change one of the characters. I also need to come up with a surname so I'm wondering if there are any specifics to what characters can or cannot be surnames?

Thank you again!! I'm sorry if this ask is way too long!

YES please come to me with Chinese names I love to break down this stuff.

I do want to put a disclaimer here that I am not a native speaker and this is all based on my intermediate level of Chinese knowledge.

Putting it under the cut to save dash space. You know I can talk about names forever ;)

Given Name

So based on a quick search of the characters in a few naming tools (including this one) it looks like 灵 as a character is not used in Normal names. However, like you said since this is a fantasy story it doesn't necessarily need to a Real Name and just needs to be symbolic/sound like Chinese. But this site does list a few names that include this character in 2-character given name combos, so it's not unheard of (though I will say some of the examples there are... probably not real names lol).

You can also see on that website other names that are phonetically similar/identical so if you want to check out different "ling" or "huo" characters, that website is a good place to look.

Another thing to consider if you want to keep the fire imagery is to find characters that use 火 as a radical rather than the character itself. 秋 meaning autumn for example has the 火 component and could be used in a name.

Surnames

As for surnames I usually direct people to this list on wiki of the most common 100 surnames, but if you want a less common one that's more difficult.

Basically, yes, there are rules about which characters are and are not surnames. I... couldn't tell you what they are, exactly, but typically if a character is a surname, you'll be able to find out on dictionary apps like Pleco! Even if it's a regular word, if it's also a surname, that will be listed as one of its definitions. See below:

There are also some characters that might have had uses back in the day, but now are surnames only. These tend to be rarer, in my experience (e.g. 冯, which I've never seen at all).

That said, I would say probably most if not all of Chinese syllables are a surname, somewhere. So, if you're going to be writing these names in pinyin/romanization, that might not matter so much! But in terms of characters, yes only certain characters are surnames.

Just as a side note, if you want to keep the "huo" pronunciation and are open to the idea, there is a surname 霍 Huò which was the name of a military general in one of the old Chinese stories I read LOL which is a surname I've never seen before so it's probably rare. A simple name with just a surname + single given name combo 霍灵 might be something to consider.

If it fits the vibe you're going for, there are a lot of animal/nature-based surnames. 金 (gold), 熊 (bear), 江 (river), 龙 (dragon), 冯 (galloping horse), 柴 (wood) are just a few examples. Another one of my favorite surnames is 孙 Sun because English speakers pronounce it (wrong) like the sun in the sky LOL (also it means son/grandson which is also pronounced sun so it's like a pun). It's also the author of The Art of War's last name lol.

So yeah, hopefully this gives you some food for thought. You're welcome to write back with more ideas :3

If anyone who sees this wants to comment, please do!! I'm by no means a Chinese expert and I'm always eager to learn more about names.

~Zhuzhu