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cybernaght · 4 years ago

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Guardian rewatch: episode 7

The world’s most amicable mugging continues in this episode, as Shen Wei waits for Zhao Yunlan to spring into his defence as his personal knight in shining armour. Or, as the official subtitle of the episode states:

I kid you not. Here’s the original with the alternate translation.

I am once more very much not mad at it.

I say that Shen Wei’s mugging is amicable, but that is of course is before one of the “gangsters” tries to grab at his Pendant of Pining. “It’s not something that you people can touch”, he states, easily restraining the man’s wrist. He’s not losing his composure just yet, but his warrior’s stance is showing, and he comes pretty close to breaking cover.

Thankfully, this is when Zhao Yunlan shows up to intervene. Hearing him approach, Shen Wei’s first priority is hiding the Pendant of Pining. His second priority is straightening his collar and tightening his tie. Shen Wei may be in a middle of an attempted mugging, but he’d be damned if he allows Zhao Yunlan to see him dishevelled. Come to think of it, it’s kind of hilarious that Shen Wei’s attempt at pretending to be a poor helpless human includes being completely nonplussed by being attacked. Surely freaking out a little would be an infinitely less suspicious choice.

Yunlan politely but firmly pushes the professor aside, and Shen Wei waits patiently next to the wall, neatly folding his hands the same way he did at the unpleasant councillor meeting in the previous episode.

Here we finally see that Zhao Yunlan is pretty impressive in hand to hand combat. This man may not have a sword, but he can easily knock two dudes out with three moves. Again, this is a very short, but pretty damn flawless little piece of choreography. Zhao Yunlan’s fighting prowess is even more accentuated with a gleeful adrenaline-filled grin he breaks into after he’s done. I understand Shen Wei’s endless desire to protect the man he’s devoted to, but, honestly, it’s nice to see Zhao Yunlan not really needing protection - not against simple street crime at least.

Shen Wei proceeds to calmly dust off his discarded briefcase. Zhao Yunlan proceeds to retrieve the other man’s watch from the ground and then passes it on. With physical contact. Should I be obsessing over how their fingers linger together for a second? Maybe not. I am doing it anyway.

“What a coincidence”, deadpans Shen Wei, who knows for the fact that the other man is tailing him, and causes a delightful burst of faux outrage in response.

“What are you implying?”, Zhao Yunlan asks innocently, deflecting further by inquiring whether Shen Wei thinks he staged this little rescue mission. He follows it with “Only you’re allowed to be here this time of night?”, which I choose to read as, “Really, Shen Wei. Why do you think you should have a monopoly on stalking in this relationship?”

As the two are distracted by the low key flirting, one of the muggers makes an opportunity attack on Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei is alarming Yunlan to this with genuine worry, but does not lose his composure enough to intervene.

We are treated to another excellent three moves, which are block-break-backfist. Well mixed sound helps, but Bai Yu does look very good as well. The footage does not appear sped up at all, but his movements are fast and crisp, he’s engaging his whole body, everything lands well angle-wise, it’s appropriately safe... Again, I cannot fault this at all. Bai Yu is not physically strong, and this just goes to show that you don’t need a lot of muscle to look like you can be an effective fighter. I don’t want to go into long detail on western media’s obsession with unrealistic physical standards in action media, but suffice it to say that it’s an unhealthy and pointless aesthetic choice which has nothing to do with reality of combat performance - as this scene clearly illustrates. (Look. As I said, stage violence is one of my jobs, and I’m a curvy woman who spends a lot of her time with insecure young actors and drama students. I have opinions.)

Having fended off the attack, Zhao Yunlan exaggerates the situation with the proverb “talking too much will get you killed.” Shen Wei is obviously distressed over his choice of words, but he looks down to hide it.

At this point the two decide to go home instead of getting the street criminals off the street.

Zhao Yunlan follows Shen Wei into his flat, pretending very loudly that he has not seen this place before. He is trying way too hard. And there is a touch of a naughtily feline glimmer in his eyes, because he is probably still on that adrenaline rush: his heart would be pounding, senses elevated, brain basking in a pleasant sharpness akin to a sugar rush, when everything is a little bit too saturated. And an attractive mysterious man he just saved is asking him to stay. Zhao Yunlan’s going to have even less brain to mouth filter here than he usually does.

Shen Wei is getting a first aid to kit to treat Zhao Yunlan’s injuries. It’s anyone’s guess why the self-healing Envoy needs a first aid kit at all - it lives in a Tupperware box as well, suggesting that it’s been assembled and organised by hand rather than store bought.

Sitting down, and tucking his tie in (because neatness is everything), Shen Wei prepares to administer a mysterious ointment to Zhao Yunlan’s bruise, and states that this is him giving Chief Zhao an opportunity for interrogation. I bet he has got a lie prepared for any question, because this situation has definitely been pre-planned.

Instead of probing the other man, Zhao Yunlan offers him a job. Shen Wei’s answer is a firm no, which he utters without even a second hesitation. To Zhao Yunlan, this clearly reads as a rejection, as his face crumbles.

He livens up however, when Shen Wei hurries to add that this is not a denial of help or cooperation. Zhao Yunlan is right to ask why he would take the job then case; this is an entirely reasonable question. I’m guessing, Shen Wei’s reluctance comes from his unwillingness to compromise Hei Pao Shi’s position, rather than an attempt to prevent Zhao Yunlan from getting involved in the cosmic shitstorm which is currently brewing: as the Lord Guardian, he’s gonna get right in the middle of said storm either way.

“You just move in and didn’t invite your neighbour over for some fun?”, Zhao Yunlan asks.

Laying it on really thick, I see.

Shen Wei blinks disbelievingly, as if to say “did he just…?” then recovers enough to huff out a laugh.

“My mistake. Next time, I’ll properly invite you.”

Zhao Yunlan snaps his fingers in delight, visibly vibrating with joy. In his head this is Yunlan - 1: Xiao Wei - 0.

As Shen Wei starts to apply the mysterious ointment, Zhao Yunlan flinches, and Shen Wei is genuinely taken aback by an idea that he might hurt this man. He is so preciously startled for a second, shedding ten thousand years in an instant. I am never going to not be impressed by Zhu Yilong’s ability to switch into Baby Shen Wei mode in a matter of seconds.

“I didn’t expect you to have such skilful hands.”

Zhao Yunlan’s charm attack truly is unrelenting, and Shen Wei looks up with such a fragile hope in his eyes. He has lived a long time now, and he has learned to maintain thick walls around himself, but he is still incredibly affected by Kunlun’s shameless flirting.

Continuing his charm offensive, Zhao Yunlan gets so distracted by trying to further impress Shen Wei, he unwittingly reveals that he knows the layout of this flat. And realises what he said. And hopes that the other man had not noticed, adorably brushing his nose in embarrassment.

He dug this one out for himself, and Shen Wei is far from mortified: he is pleased to have caught the other man out. Zhao Yunlan flails, and Shen Wei quite literally is failing to wipe a smug smile off his own face.

He’s not even really waiting for an explanation. He’s just happy to win this round. There is even a little “yeah sure let’s pretend I believe you” tilt of the eyebrow, when Yunlan finally comes up with something that sounds as a reasonable excuse.

After his massive blunder, Zhao Yunlan tries to leave again. Shen Wei stops him, again, and there is no limit to how slyly Zhao Yunlan turns around, followed by a hind of disappointment when all he gets is an ointment, and not, you know, an opportunity to have a good look around Shen Wei’s bedroom.

Shen Wei is left alone in his flat in a state of utter emotional overload, stroking the Pendant under his shirt.

Let’s disregard for a second the fluctuating length of the chord the Pendant hangs on (is it between his collar bones or in front of his breastbone? Pick one!), and just appreciate the pining. Shen Wei is going through a lot of feelings since his Kunlun’s returned into his life, and sometimes computing is not an option.

In the next scene, the muggers are discussing Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, calling them both too formidable to even attempt an act of revenge against them. Definitely a wise idea. Unfortunately for them, they immediately get attacked by… something.

Spoiler alert: no, it’s not a bear.

It’s the White Shirt Day at the SID. Chu Shuzhi is the only one not participating. In this scene, we discover that Lin Jing likes a horror web novelist called Lai Su - which will be very convenient for the case at hand. During their conversation, Wang Zheng alerts he team to the new case, asking for the whereabouts of their boss. Zhu Hong’s reply is that who knows which old pal the man is hang out with. As we never see him having any friends outside of his job, I choose to believe that he is probably hanging out with Shen Wei; quite possibly exploring the layout of his bedroom. Especially considering how good his mood is as he strolls into the office announcing that he is going to buy a feast for everyone.

Unfortunately, the feast has to wait. Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi and Xiao Guo head towards the crime scene, which is the very same alley the mugging took place the night before.

“Based on my experience, he died from freezing.”

There has never been a more apt reason to use the phrase “no shit Sherlock”.

Apparently, there is a cctv camera trained right on this very particular dark alley. Which implies that the muggers were even less professional than they appeared to be at the beginning of the episode. Mysteriously, the footage fails to show the actual monster who attacked the poor unfortunate street criminals. It did, on the other hand, capture Zhao Yunlan’s dashing rescue of Professor Shen.

Zhao Yunlan can’t exactly stop his team from rewinding the footage, so he is just left squirming as those around him gape at him spending time with Shen Wei in the middle of the night.

“You... and Shen Wei? This late at night?”

Chu Shuzhi’s transition from disbelief to a knowing “ah” via a mischievous smirk is particularly amusing.

The following afternoon, Zhu Hong appears in Shen Wei’s office, laptop in hand. She is quietly furious at being given this task; as I imagine it is very awkward indeed to be a laptop carrier for your crush’s crush. The entire scene she will be alternating between glaring, rolling her eyes, pursing her lips, and glaring with even more venom.

After Shen Wei gets over his initial bafflement at technology, he realises that Zhao Yunlan is video calling him in order to ask for his expertise on the current case. For the most of this scene the call looks like some sort of fake generic video conference software, apart from some shots on the SID side which very obviously show a pre-recorded footage being played: with a pause button, and a time stamp, and everything.

Shen Wei is in full trolling mode when he educates the SID team on all the types of bears that could have attacked the victim. He tasted this feeling of outsmarting Yunlan the night before and it’s too sweet to let go. Judging by the fact that Da Qing, who is by Zhao Yunlan’s side, is falling asleep during this conversation, we can guess that it’s been going on for a while.

Zhao Yunlan knows that Shen Wei is trying to prove a point here - he will not be bullied into being a consultant. So, Zhao Yunlan changes tactics, and asks Shen Wei for clues as a friend. Shen Wei assures Zhao Yunlan in turn that he would never hide anything important from. The magnitude of this particular lie is immeasurable, unless Shen Wei considers turning himself into a literal suicide bomb inconsequential. Which, to be fair, he might do.

Finally, Da Qing wakes up and suggests that the suspect is a Youchu (translated in subs a “secluded beast”). He is not correct, but it is important that we know what those are, because we’ll see them in a couple of episodes - so it actually makes sense to write them in here.

Shen Wei instantly comes forward, fishes a relevant file out of his drawer, and educates the team on that particular monster. Zhao Yunlan relates that he is familiar with those, and that he knows Hei Pao Shi fought them before in nearby cities.

Existence of aforementioned nearby cities will remain a beautiful enigma, which will never be explained. Seastar will remain very much a Little Prince-sized planet.

At this point Zhao Yunlan gets a call about the other mugger being found, and Shen Wei tells him in a rush that he does not think those two men possess Undergrounder qualities.

When asked however what those qualities are, he does not elaborate, and, after a thick silence, Zhao Yunlan sighs in resignation and finally lets Shen Wei off the hook, assuring him that he knows not all Undergrounders are monsters. He knows - of course he knows - that Shen Wei is hiding stuff. He knows the other man is somehow invested in the Undergounders, and is probably is one himself. Once again he chooses to trust him absolutely. I know it feels like I say those words every single episode, but this is also the choice Zhao Yunlan makes, deliberately, every single episode. This conversation will leave Zhao Yunlan very cranky for the remainder for the case, but his willingness to keep giving Shen Wei concessions is actually really sweet.

Shen Wei asks, perhaps, impulsively, that Yunlan shares his findings with him, because he is curious who the culprit is. It makes, as ever, little sense for him to do so considering that he would find it out anyway as Hei Pao Shi.

After completing her mission, Zhu Hong leaves in a huff. She did not say hello and she does not say goodbye either. Shen Wei tries to wave amicably, but aborts the gesture.

He does not yet know - and will not find out for quite some time - why Zhu Hong feels so antagonistic towards him.

Next stop: the hospital ward with a now insane criminal. Portrayal of mental health issues on this show is... interesting, by which I mean terribly stigmatising. I would have understood if this was a magic-induced psychosis, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.

Lin Jing realises that the case sounds very much like the web horror novel he likes. It sounds insane, but Yunlan hears him out. The scientist goes into great detail over the author, revealing that he was a leader of his fan club at some point, and detailing several murders from his recent novel that appeared to have have happened in reality.

The team moves on to scout the author’s - Lai Su’s - house, with Zhao Yunlan being the one to approach it. He then proceeds to summon his team via a non-existent radio.

Look. There is no mouth piece on this jacket. There is no earpiece in his ear. There are no wires. None of the team have radios. None of them even look like they are listening to radios. (Trust me, the “please shut up for a second, someone is speaking into my ear” is a recognisable look). Guardian’s writers/directors. Mah dudes. If you can’t afford radios, just make him do a non-verbal signal, seriously. Same effect, with much less silliness, and no continuity issues.

Before the team enters the house, we see Ya Qing in crow form for the first time. Even without the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to recognise that the crow will become narratively significant because she is animated, and this show would not waste its very scarce and rapidly depleting CGI budget in vein.

We also know that the crow is a Yashou because Lin Jing starts talking about Zhu Hong at that exactly moment. Guardian is many wonderful things - it’s dramatic, breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and poignant - but subtle it is not.

Inside the house, they discover a secret room, which Lai Su is hiding in, and we finally get to meet our unfortunate culprit.

It is very peculiar how mean-spirited this episode seems to be. The web novelist in question is shown in an unequivocally negative light. He is a coward hiding behind a blanket, a weirdo living in a secret room, a glutton stuffing his face with snacks and drinking wine. He is shown as too vain to stop chasing clout even when he suspects that his novel is leading to people dying. He writes for attention and money rather than out of genuine artistic expression. He is a whimpering mess, begging Lin Jing on his knees to speak to the Chief on his behalf. Even if we consider that moral of the story (as stated later in Guo Changcheng’s diary note) is “internet bad”, this insistence of making Lai Su so unmistakably despicable is baffling. The series is based on the web novel. What kind of message is this sending about its origins?

On the bright side, I suppose it is nice that part of this episode not revolving around Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei’s relationship is actually rather Lin Jing-centric. So far, he was mostly there for occasional tech support and countless shots of him of screaming at a computer, but here we get to know more about him, and he goes on a little emotional journey of his own - meeting his idol and being distraught by the author not living up to expectations. It is always so disappointing to see creators you admire being imperfect, or downright unpleasant, and it’s easy to sympathise with Lin Jing’s discontent.

Zhao Yunlan’s modus operandi has always been intuition. Looking at the author, he knows that he must be responsible for the murders, and also knows that he could not possibly have been. For once it is actually Xiao Guo who suggests the solution: multiple personality disorder. Or, magical multiple personality disorder, as it is the case. We see this click with the Chief, and he genuinely praises the young man.

Back at the house, Lai Su is deciding to stop the murder spree by writing the demise of the homicidal protagonist of his novel. This is his ultimate redemption, which also leads to his untimely death by the hands of the monster who lives within him and is manifested through his writing.

The team asks Zhao Yunlan what was going on with this strange case. They won’t get an explanation; but Shen Wei will.

Zhao Yunlan, as promised, drops by Shen Wei’s office late at night to tell him all about the case. He concludes that Lai Su must have had Undergrounder blood in him, with his power not manifesting until now. Zhao Yunlan sounds rather remorseful as he stipulates that the writer could have lived a long happy life despite his origin and abilities, had he not started unknowingly abusing his powers. This Zhao Yunlan is miles removed from the man who vowed to catch every Undergrounder, and we can see Shen Wei infinitely moved by this man’s empathy.

This, I think, is the very moment Shen Wei starts to fall in love - not with the man who was Kunlun, or the man who will be Kunlun, or the man who resembles Kunlun - with Zhao Yunlan, Lord Guardian, Chief of Special Investigations Department, with all his incessant flirting, and sharp edges, and pointed questions, and endless understanding.

In the final moments of this episode Zhao Yunlan shares a dark premonition that something truly terrible will happen in their city.

He has no idea how right he is.

Next up: Episode 8: The Morning Porridge

——

This conversation happened with my partner as I was working on this recap:

Me: … I am two scenes in and this is how much I’ve typed up already.

My partner: Honey! I know you’re Russian, but War and Peace has already been written.

#guardian #zhao yunlan #shen wei #weilan #recap #rewatch #those are getting longer and longer

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fortheloveoflizards · 5 years ago

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ive actually been a fan of wof for years now, im just not super active in the fandom and i guess id like to be? so here i am, sending u an awkward ask lol. anyways, the more i think about animus magic, the more i hate the way tui executed the concept? like theres barely any consequences or limitations. dragons can do whatever they want with it, which is bad for the plot. idk what are ur thoughts?

Hah, this isn’t awkward at all, I actually do have a lot of thoughts on animus magic, particularly how it differs in each tribe. I think giving each tribe different types of magic, as well as individual drawbacks on top of the general “you go crazy if you abuse your power”. Though I think the latter could have worked as more of a “if you use your power selfishly, it’ll turn on you” sort of situation? In my headcanons, each tribe has a type of magic they work best with, and a type of magic that puts strain on their physical form.

As the tribe closest in appearance to traditional European dragons, I like to headcanon Skywing animus magic as Weather and Element based. Stuff like creating storms and controlling wind currents is easy to imagine, but also magic pertaining to emotions, often fueled by the feelings of the animus themselves. A Skywing animus might find it easiest to use an object to better conduct magic, like a branch or, most commonly, crystals of different types. Skywing magic is what you would call “cast spells”, meaning they have no need to write or say what they wish to do, just think or “feel” it. As for drawbacks, emotional instability is kind of obvious, huh? There’s also bad weather being attracted to the animus, and parts of their body slowly turning into whatever object they used to channel their spells. As an example, using crystals in his spells might result in an animus’ scales turning into crystals themselves, whereas an animus that used a branch to direct air currents would notice her tail growing small twigs and leaves out from between her scales. The magic Skywings have most difficulty with is Herbal and Brewed magic. I feel since Skywing magic is very much based on action and emotion, it would be difficult for a Skywing animus to properly channel it in such a passive way.

Mudwing animus magic is perhaps my favourite to think about, it being what I call Herbal or Brewed magic. Mudwing animi specialize in potions and medicine, though this is more of an inherent tribe skill, their magic works best when imbued into food or drink. To continue with this technique, “power-ups” would be cool to see. Potions to give a dragon super strength or speed, or to keep their scales permanently warm so they can always breath fire. I think Mudwings would be most likely to use so called “magical ingredients” for their spells, as in the act of the animus using an ingredient makes it magic, rather than a normal dragon including it in their stew. I don’t feel there would be much room for drawbacks when it comes to Mudwing magic, so I’m gonna say there isn’t one. However, I will say Brewed magic is one of the hardest to perfect, as if a quantity of ingredient is even slightly off, disaster is imminent. Transformation magic is likely to be the hardest for a Mudwing animus to use. While Brewed magic is hard, it’s precise and a recipe can be done a hundred times for a hundred different dragons, and the effects never alter. Transformation magic is the opposite, in that the spell must be altered for every dragon, as every dragon is slightly different.

Next up is Sandwings! They lean most towards Written and Solar based magic. As you can guess, this means their magic is linked at least partially to the sun. Though they can’t control them, Sandwing animi often have very keen senses when it comes to the weather and seasonal changes. Change itself is a big thing for Sandwings, so seasonal magic is common. Sandwings also find writing spells easiest, as the spell is then precise and exactly as they need it. Sandwing riddles, told at parties or in passing as a fun conversation topic, have their roots in animus magic. Sandwing animi also enjoy the company of animal companions, usually camels or vultures; animals that can carry scrolls and items for the animus in question. The downside for Sandwing animi can be either mental or physical. They can start forgetting things, losing track of time, generally being scatterbrained, which eventually leads to them losing their entire memory. Or, their scales begin to darken, although I’m undecided on what kind of colour they would turn. Should they just turn golden or maybe more of a sunburnt orange or red. Perhaps even black. I dunno, maybe all three. Spoken and Lunar magic are the clear opposites of Written and Solar, so it’s pretty obvious why a Sandwing animus would have trouble in this area. Sandwing magic can be very picky, kind of like a sadistic genie that goes by what a wisher says, rather than what they mean. A dragon has to be very careful how they phrase a spell, which is hard for most Sandwing animi, hence their avoidance of Spoken spells.

I think my Seawing animus headcanon is the closest to being confirmed in canon, since the Seawing animi we see using their magic are usually using what I’ve called Spoken and Lunar magic. This includes regeneration(like healing of themselves and others), curses, transfiguration of objects and generally verbal commands. And for the record, “verbal commands” is usually, like the animus test the Seawings take, telling an inanimate object to do something. Lunar magic is connected to the moon and the tides, opposite to Solar magic. This can mean it gets stronger under a full moon, and gives a Seawing animus a kind of bond to the ocean the more they use Lunar magic. As with Sandwing animi, the magic that comes most natural to Seawings involves change. Changing tides, moon rotations, drifting currents and rips, all those factor into their magic’s strength, in and out of water. Seawing animi can also suffer a lowering of inhibitions, and can suffer what I call “going feral”. Theirs is the most noticeable, though this final drawback can affect all tribes. I like to think the more a Seawing animus uses their magic, the more they start to look like a deep sea creature. Brighter glowing scales, thinner scales overall(sometimes so thin you can almost see their insides, bleurgh!), elongated, thinner teeth, and increased speed of growth to their whole body. As you can probably guess, Written and Solar magic are the areas that cause the most trouble for Seawing animi. I’m not sure what else to comment here, since I feel it’s pretty straightforward, so there you go.

Rainwings! The tribe I’m most like! I feel that since the average Rainwing can change the colour of their scales regardless of magical ability, Transformation magic would be a perfect match for any animi that might exist in the tribe. Transformation magic includes form shifting of themselves and others, body hrror/torture(which differs from simple form shifting because it’s specifically supposed to cause pain) and transfiguration of objects. Transformation magic requires knowledge of how the specific dragon’s body works, moves and how their mind reacts to things. You might think the average Rainwing is too self-centered to be capable of that kind of perceptiveness, but I believe they’re more perceptive than they’re portrayed in-canon. I think the most noticeable consequence of a Rainwing animus using their magic is their scale colours “glitching”. If the Rainwing is naturally purple and green and they try to turn red and blue, areas of their scales might change slower than the rest, or not change altogether. A camouflaged Rainwing might suddenly find themselves bright pink and orange. Stuff like that. Weather magic is most difficult for a Rainwing animus, since it requires a lot of, I guess passionate emotions? Weather magic is loud and aggressive and takes a lot of power to control. It also relies heavily on being strongly connected to every emotion, and can backfire terribly on a dragon that doesn’t know how to wrangle that kind of power.

Mind and Time magic is what I’ve assigned for Nightwings! I felt it fits with their whole Mystical Infinite Powers aesthetic. Obviously, Mind magic includes mindreading and and Time magic future vision - which were most likely a gift from a Nightwing animus a long time ago. Other abilities include fate writing(a spell that can change an otherwise unchangeable future), enchanting, illusions, and changing minds/the perceptions of a dragon. This magic is actually relatively simple to perform, and one of the most used types by all animus dragons. That doesn’t make it any less powerful or dangerous, in fact it’s probably more dangerous that it’s so easy to use. Nightwings certainly haven’t been using it for the best purposes. This is the magic I think is the root cause of dragons losing their minds, since “Mind” is like one whole half of the magic. The unfortunate thing is that Nightwings are excellent bullshitters, so they at least last a while before anyone figures out something’s wrong. The side effect of using other types of magic is most notably scale discolouration, to the point that there are records of completely white, full-blood Nightwings. Since Icewings and Nightwings are Enemies For Life I figure their magics would clash just as much, out of principal. Reflective magic in particular requires the user to be self aware, to know their faults and, if only momentarily, be at peace with them. Nightwings are pretty in denial about a lot of stuff, it’s part of the culture they’ve built up.

Finally, Reflective and Defensive magic is the natural inclination of Icewings. That means shielding and barrier magic - which can be physical or psychological, insightful magic, illusions and star spells. No insightful magic is Not future vision, if you make that comparison in front of even a regular Icewing you will be murdered. The Icewing mind is typically pretty guarded already, as we see when Moon tries to read them. I like to believe that an animus a long time ago used their Gift to make it so Nightwings can’t read the tribe’s minds, or at least not easily. This would be an example of a psychological barrier spell. Star spells are tied to the stars(no duh) like Solar and Lunar magic are tied to their respective namesakes. However, as opposed to change, star spells are constant. Once one is cast, it stays forever. Almost all Icewing magic is a star spell of some kind, making other dragons very wary of an animus born from the tribe. Thankfully, the fact that Icewing magic includes that of Defense, it’s rarely used for aggressive purposes. I believe Icewing magic would backfire by crystalising within the user’s bones, making their joints stiff and their mind fuzzy. They may dissociate from the world and eventually be lost, as with Sandwings. As I said, Icewings and Nightwings are opposites in magic, though there are overlaps which serve to infuriate both tribes. Considering Nightwing animus magic supposedly came from Icewings, the former retained some of the abilities of the latter.

There you are, my thoughts on dragon magic. This turned into much more of a headcanons post than an answer, so I hope you don’t mind. Thanks so much for the ask, and I hope you find content creators that make you feel safe being active in the fandom!

#Wings of Fire #Rose Brambles #Headcanons #Dragon Biology #Animus Magic #Mudwings #Skywings #Sandwings #Seawings #Rainwings #Icewings #Nightwings #i didn't think i had thoughts but then i did oop #guess who found motivation #i have so much stuff in my drafts #sorry to all the people following me who thought i was consistent #dunno where y'all got that idea

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rhysoca · 5 years ago

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Typographical development up to and beyond Nicolas Jenson’s roman typeface

Introduction

While reading about the history and early development of typography, I grew interested in the point at which typographic design became, for the first time, abstract; moving away from letterforms that mimicked handwritten script towards new styles that were driven by a growing awareness and appreciation of the formal possibilities allowed by the nascent technique of letterform printing. This technical and conceptual shift is generally attributed to the French typographer, Nicolas Jenson, who designed one of the earliest and finest Roman style typefaces in 1470s Venice: a typeface now referred to as Jenson.

Background/history of writing

Typography, of course, derives from writing, which can be traced back to the 3rd millennia BC, an era in which cultural interactions between the societies of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, saw the Sumerian cuneiform script of the latter influence the development of hieroglyphics in the former, both written forms establishing themselves as powerful communicative aids before developing into new forms which influenced the creation of subsequent abjadic and alphabetic stems of writing.

Sumerian cuneiform

Egyptian hieroglyphics

The Phoenicians simplified the act of writing by drastically reducing the number of letterforms, creating what is now recognised as the first abjadic alphabet, consisting entirely of consonantal sounds. The Greek alphabet derived from the Phoenician, but included letters for vowel sounds, making it the first of a new form of alphabet. This, in turn, informed the development of written Latin - a system that, according to Eric Gill, ‘reached a permanent type about the first century AD.’

Development of the Phoenician, Greek and Latin alphabets

During the next fifteen-hundred years, a period in which the Latin alphabet itself remained for the most part fixed, the forms of lettering written in the languages derived from Latin developed in manifold ways: from the square capitals that were a characteristic of Roman lapidary inscriptions, through later and less formal cursive, insular and uncial scripts that eventually found a level of standardisation from the ninth to the early thirteenth centuries in the form now referred to as Corolignian miniscule. In turn this form of script developed into blackletter, or Gothic script, that was used from the 1150s through to the invention of printing and beyond.

Roman lapidary inscription

An example of uncial script

Carolignan miniscule

Gothic blackletter

At the time Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing with moveable type in 1439, the new technology was conceived as a means by which texts - specifically indulgences - that had previously been produced, painstakingly, by hand could be mass produced and the process of manufacture and dissemination made more efficient. The focus was on the speed and convenience that the mechanical process allowed, rather than clarification or any improvement in the aesthetic quality of handwritten script. This meant that the initial conceptual scope of mechanical printing was to produce scripts in the style in which they would, previously, have been handwritten. The standard method of writing in the germanic world used Gothic letterforms and, since printing was invented in Germany, the early typefaces mimicked Gothic script.

A page from Gutenberg’s bible of 1454

However, as Italy was the most culturally developed country in Europe at the time, German printers moved south to cities like Venice and began creating typefaces that took account of humanistic handwriting that was developing in Italy - a form that took as its inspiration the clarity of Roman lettering, marrying this with minuscule forms that had developed during later eras.

In his Essay on Typography, Eric Gill explains that the process of using current technology to repeat received forms of lettering was not new and that, in an earlier era when lapidary inscriptions were the norm, texts written using a very different technology, the pen, mimicked the then culturally dominant form:

Pen writing, even as late as the fourth century, shows very clearly that the scribe had no idea of inventing ‘pen’ forms of letters, but was simply making as well as he could with a pen what he conceived to be ordinary lettering. Whether he held the pen one way or the other (so that the thick strokes came vertically or horizontally) makes no difference to the primary intention of the scribe. He was not inventing letters; he was writing forms already invented.

…whatever tools or materials or economic circumstance (that is hurry & expense), the artist, the letter-maker, has always thought of him self as making existing forms, & not inventing new ones. Thus, the Lombards of the fourteenth century did not sit down and invent Lombardic lettering. The Siennese inscription in the Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1309, is simply a stone version of the pen letters with which the letter-cutter was familiar. The letter-cutters of the fifteenth century did not invent ‘gothic’. They had the job of cutting stone inscriptions, and they did it in the ordinary letters of their time. The forms of their letters were what we call ‘pen’ forms. But they cared nothing about that. To them they were simply letters. And just as we saw that in Roman times the Roman scribe imitated the stone inscription forms because, for him, nothing else was letters; so, in the fifteenth century, when the written was the most common and influential form of lettering, the position is reversed, & the letter-cutter copies the scribe — the stone inscription is imitation pen-writing (with such inevitable small modifications as, in stone, cannot be avoided), whereas in the fourth century the written book w as an imitation of the stone inscription (with such small modifications as the pen makes inevitable).

Gill goes on to say that,

…the first printers were no more the inventors of new letter forms than any other craftsmen had been. The first printed books were simply typographic imitations of pen writing, just as were fifteenth century inscriptions in stone.

So there was a sense in which the originators of typography, like the practitioners of earlier techniques, were tied by custom to past practice - in their case the organic, humanistic (in the sense of being physically formed by humans) physicality of scribal penmanship, which was deep rooted, and linked to a seemingly intrinsic need to make marks.

However, while early typographical practitioners referred to earlier calligraphic forms, increased usage and improved technology had significant implications as the categorical difference between handwritten and printed letters became apparent: as Elaine Lupton says in her book Thinking With Type, ‘Words originated as gestures of the body. The first typefaces were directly modelled on the forms of calligraphy.Typefaces, however, are not bodily gestures — they are manufactured images designed for infinite repetition.’ As people worked with type, there was an emerging realisation of the new formal possibilities inherent within the new medium.

The move away from traditional forms took place quickly, during the space of fifteen years, from Guttenberg’s Blackletter type in the mid-1450s, through Gothic Roman to the emergence of humanistic Roman types that emerged in 1470, and was inextricably linked with the movement of German practitioners to Italy and the influence Roman capitals combined with contemporary Italian handwritten forms on typographical development.

Characteristics and sample of Gutenberg’s Textura blackletter

Characteristics and sample of the Gothic Roman Subiaco Type

Characteristics and sample of Jenson’s roman type

Characteristics and sample of the Von Speyers’ roman type

Images above taken from Paul McNeils The Visual History of Type

The earliest instance of this is, what’s now known as the Subiaco Type, was created by two German monks, Sweyynheym and Pannartz, who established the first printing press in Italy and developed a hybrid, Gothic Roman type that combined elements of medieval lettering with renaissance forms, to appeal to local audiences. The typographer, Stanley Morison, thought that Sweyynheym and Pannartz’s invention is entitled to rank as the first humanistic or roman type’, because it established a principle, of movement away from Germanic towards humanistic letterforms, that influenced the emergence of new typographical forms and new ways of thinking about the possibilities of the medium. For this reason, Paul McNeil, in The Visual History of Type, says that, ‘The Subiaco typeface represents a milestone in the history of printing and typography.’

De divinis institutionibus by Lactantius; printed by Pannartz and Sweynheim in 1465

So the typographical style now known as Gotica Antiqua, invented by Sweyynheym and Pannartz and developed by practitioners such as Gunter Zainer, represents a significant movement away from a earlier purely germanic forms and a broadening of awareness of the formal possibilities of the still nascent technology. However, it was the development in 1470 of a purely Roman typeface that constituted a complete shift away from medieval lettering and Blackletter type towards printed lettering that seems familiar to us today. There is some dispute as to who should be given credit for this - the Von Speyer brothers (also known as da Spira brothers) or Nicolas Jenson, who seem to have made similar breakthroughs simultaneously. Of the Von Speyers’ roman type, printer and historian of typography D.B. Updike wrote in the 1930s, ‘Many roman types of varying degrees of purity and attractiveness were used by Italian printers of this period. It was reserved for John and Wendelin de Spire to show a roman type which today appears roman to us.’

An example of the Von Speyers’ roman type

However, it is Jenson’s roman that is the more famous today, considered the progenitor or all subsequent roman typefaces. Paul McNeil states that, Jenson’s type, ‘marks a turning point in the history of printing. A blueprint for all that followed, it continues to influence type design today.’ He goes on to say that, ‘Nicolas Jenson’s work elevated the nascent craft of printing to a fine art. The balanced proportions of the letters, the evenness of their spacing and the restrained overall tone of his pages demonstrate why he was acclaimed above other printers working in fifteenth-century Italy and why his work has remained a cornerstone in the history of typography.’

Jenson’s roman type

In his, An Essay on Typography, Eric Gill in summarising the impact of Jenson’s roman, says that it represents, ‘the emancipation achieved from the gothic of northern Europe and from handwriting generally. Henceforth, the designing of type was primarily the work of punch-cutters, that is of engravers. Letters were still reminiscent but no longer an imitation of handwriting.’ So while Italian printers, advanced the art of typography by moving from a type that was an imitation of Germanic handwritten forms to one that took Roman capitals and contemporary Italian minuscule for inspiration, the revolutionary insight was that mechanical typography - a new technology that allowed standardisation of letterform, technical refinement and reproducibility - made possible a formal abstraction, away from handwritten letterforms to a distinct system of lettering, occupying a different conceptual space to handwriting, that could improve efficiency and readability, while constituting an artform in its own right.

This relationship between the written and the printed letterform is one of the defining characteristics of typography. As Ellen Lupton says, in her book Thinking With Type, ‘The history of typography reflects a continual tension between the hand and the machine, the organic and the geometric, the human body and the abstract system.’

This excerpt from an article on Jenson’s roman by Paul Finn of Fitzroy & Finn studio, goes someway towards explaining what makes Jenson’s roman typeface special:

Gutenburg's invention was realised by Jensons first True Roman typeface. A convergence of all that had gone before. The alphabet now became in focus, sharpened through sacred geometry, asymmetric logic and the golden section. A monastic devotion of meditation brought forth a revelation. Jenson's inspired amalgamation of Roman capitals with the humanistic handwritten miniscule of the day imposed a structural unity upon the miniscule through remodelling the serif structures bringing form and clarity, unifying an essence of perfectly proportioned form.

The Renaissance. Rebirth. The revival of Ancient Rome. Classical antiquity; mathematics, geometry, architecture, art and science infuse Jenson's typeface. Jenson sought a suitable vehicle to disseminate the knowledge of humanities new epoch. He created the typeface which became the foundation stone of all future typographical endeavours. Constructed with architectural precision he attained a unified cohesive whole. Practising the Renaissance ideal of balance between Form and Space, when white space is as important as the blackness of form. Presence v's Absence. This is illustrated in his 1470 edition of Eusebius, De Evangelics Praeparatione the counters, wordspacing, linespacing are suspended in perfect equilibrium with the letterform, whose relationship with the extender lengths add elegance to the balanced body of type. These decompressed forms are reaction to the dense blocks of Blackletter type of Gutenburgs printed matter. Instead spacious circular rhythmic forms grace the paper enticing the reader.

Jenson’s roman has has a fundamental impact on subsequent typographical development. The principles behind his work formed the basis for later well-known roman faces, such as Griffo’s Roman (or Bembo), which was cut for the Venetian printer Albert Manutius by the punch cutter Francesco Griffo. In his book The Visual History of Type, Paul McNeil states that Griffo’s roman, ‘became the progenitor of all old-style typefaces, setting a new standard for typographic excellence.’

Griffo’s Roman or Bembo

In turn Griffo’s roman influenced later generations of type cutters, such as Claude Garamond, whose roman type has become one of the most popular Old Style typefaces in the world

A sample of Garamond’s roman typeface

More recently, from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, direct revivals of Jenson’s roman have been either cut or - in the digital era - computer designed.

These include William Morris’ 1890 Gold Type on Jenson' type in 1890.

Cobden-Sanderson modelled his typeface for Doves Press on Jenson's alphabets in 1900.

Bruce Rogers’ Centaur of 1914

Morris Fuller Benton’s Cloister Old Style from 1926

Robert Slimbach's digital Adobe Jenson from 1996

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finnsmayhem · 6 years ago

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SIDEREAL PROMPT / QUESTIONNAIRE

01. Tell us about your character’s name. Was it given to them or chosen? Does it hold any special meaning? If your character has aliases or nicknames, how did they get them and what do they mean?

His name is... really nothing special. Finn doesn't have any aliases (they get in the way of infamy), or at least not any that are serious, but his nickname is Finnán. Which is really just the diminutive of his name that his dad always calls him, and anyone who speaks of or addresses him fondly.

02. What is your character’s relationship to their homeworld? Do they hold fond memories of it, or do they hate it? Are they still here, and if not, do they miss it?

Finn loves Coruscant, and while he doesn't live there in any practical sense, he always returns to it, at least once of every of Coruscant's rotation around its star. He loves his parents, specifically his dad, and being apart from them for too long makes him absolutely miserable. Besides, Coruscant is the capital of culture (in his opinion) in the galaxy, and he loves culture, any culture.

03. Describe your character’s relationship with those who raised them. Was it positive? Negative? Neutral? What sorts of ideologies were they raised with, and do they still stand by them now?

Finn can't imagine his life without his parents. His pa was the one who by and large disciplined him — regardless of the fact that his pa was also the least outspoken of the two — and his dad was the one whom he spent the most time with. His dad was also the one who fostered his lust for knowledge and his passion in anything of an artistic nature. While Finn is fantastic at drawing, he still wouldn't consider himself an artist, merely an appreciative eye, something he has in common with both his parents.

04. What is your character’s relationship with the Force? Is your character Force-sensitive? Whether or not they are, do they believe in it? Do they lean more towards the dark or the light or are they somewhere in between?

Finn is about as Force-insensitive as they come. It doesn't bother him and he doesn't bother (with) it. He does believe in it, though, because he's seen people do some incredible things in his time travelling the galaxy, but he doesn't really think about it for longer than two minutes at a time.

05. What three word would you use to describe your character? What three words would your character use to describe themself? What three words would someone close to them use?

• charming, mischievous, resourceful

• cute, harmless, pretty

• eden: daring, charming, worrying

06. Describe your character’s aesthetic. Do they tend towards fashion or function? Do they like to accessorize? How does this extend into their own personal spaces, such as their home or their workspace?

Finn leans towards practicality. Scruffy, probably a bit oil-stained long-sleeve shirts that are often pushed up to his elbows, scuffed black boots, and equally worn trousers are his bread and butter. His hair is by and large as messy as his entire attire is.

07. What are your character’s vices? Guilty pleasures? Bad habits? Weak spots?

Adventure. Excitement. Knowledge. Finn is, first and foremost, driven by his passions and obsessions, and anything that excites him or nearly kills him (which excites him) is something he'll do. None of these are good for him either.

08. Tell us about your character’s relationship with food. What are their favorites? Do they enjoy cooking? Are they adventurous? Will they eat absolutely anything or are they hard to please?

Food is food. He eats it, but Finn just doesn't have the palette or sensibility to appreciate food on any deeper level than "it makes me not hungry". If he had to choose, though, he'd go for his pa's cooking every time. Any food that brings him a sense of nostalgia will have his priorities.

09. How does your character feel about engaging in relationships—romantic and / or sexual—with others? What is their history like? Do they fall in love easily? Are they constantly in and out of relationships?

Finn has never been in a romantic relationship in his life. That's not to say he actively avoids it, he just doesn't have the self-esteem to consider that people might have romantic feelings for him that don't just revolve around "you're hot i wanna fuck you". That said, Finn is a very sexual being, to the point of self-destruction. Consent is incredibly important to him — that is, someone else's consent. Often enough he sees sex as something he does that makes other people feel better, wanted, loved, whatever. Even if he doesn't feel like it personally, or he's not attracted to the person, he'll mind-over-matter it and just... gets it over with, which is very normal in his eyes. For him, that is.

10. What is your character’s pain tolerance like? Can they hold their own in a fight, despite injury? If someone hurts them with the aim of gaining information, how much can they take before they cave?

Finn can hold his own in a fight, and much of his pain tolerance is tied up in his spitefulness. He'll talk shit for as long as he needs to, no matter how much pain he's in, but that, of course, has its limits. Unless he's protecting people, and then he'll talk shit until he's killed.

11. What is your character’s weapon of choice? Are they more skilled as a melee fighter or do they have more skill with ranged weapons? What’s their fighting style like? What sort of training do they have behind them?

Finn's weapons of choice are two cortosis-weave ultrasonic vibrodaggers and a bow made of lightweight composites. While he tends towards more of a melee range (he's fast, agile, and he fights dirty), if that proves too dangerous and he isn't about being stealthy, he'll take out his bow. His bow's arrows particularly have gravitationally locked sub-atomic antimatter suspended in the head of them, the gravitational lock shutting off upon impact, allowing for the antimatter to connect with the matter of the arrow head... creating a very big explosion that basically cancels out all matter in a small area as though it didn't exist in the first place. Much of his training was being taught by his dad from a young age (as a way to burn both their energy), who was taught by his father. The rest has been honed by years of doing what he does and playing in deadly situations over and over again.

12. Does your character have any words or catchphrases that they say frequently? Tell us about how they picked them up.

There's not really any particular phrases that he tends to, rather than just a way of speaking that is very particularly Finn.

13. Tell us about a negative experience your character has had with either the Jedi or the Sith, and how this has affected their standing. Whether currently aligned or unaligned with either faction, if forced to choose, how would they side?

There was one situation with a Sith that nearly killed him, which resulted in the loss of his left arm, which he had replaced not long after, because he needs his arm, dammit. Regardless, he doesn't hold any grudges or hard feelings. That said, if he really had to choose, he'd probably choose Jedi, simply because of their presence on Coruscant.

14. How would your character react to seeing a relative or friend on the opposing side of a battle or mission?

He'd be very upset, and he'd try very hard to avoid them in battle. In fact, if it came down to him killing them, or them killing him, he'd prefer the latter.

15. Describe a memory that your character finds embarrassing.

Finn is infamously shameless. Try as he might, there isn't a memory that he'd count as particularly embarrassing, although his pa would disagree, and loudly.

16. What goals does your character hold for themself and what steps have they taken towards achieving them? How far are they willing to go to reach them? What is their be-all and end-all?

Finn's goal is to uncover all the secrets of the galaxy, even the secrets people aren't willing to give up, and he'll go to whatever end to reach it. Everything he does is to further this goal, every thought, every breath he takes.

17. What is the one thing your character would change about their life if they were given the chance? What other lives could they have lived as a result?

While Finn is infinitely interested by the idea of different lives, different possibilities, the what ifs, the could bes, the alternatives... he probably wouldn't change a single thing about his life as is.

18. Living in such a high-conflict time, how does your character feel about doing what they must to survive? Will they hurt or kill others—either directly or indirectly—to protect themself and / or those close to them? If so, do they regret it when all is said and done?

Finn has hurt and killed people, for sure, but mostly out of self-defence or defence of others — he's neither a mercenary nor an assassin, regardless of the fact that he has the qualities of both. Finn doesn't regret any life he's taken because the alternative would've been a bigger evil. He sleeps fine at night.

19. What is the biggest problem your character is currently dealing with?

Restraint. Self-destruction. His depression that comes and goes in waves of severity.

20. Give us 3+ headcanons of any length or subject matter.

1. Aside from his left arm that's been replaced, Finn also has cybernetics in his eyes, allowing him to enhance his vision — "zoom in", if you will, and also "mark" biometrics so he can keep track of them through solid objects.

2. Finn doesn't fight nice. He's versed in several different fighting styles and seamlessly mixes them in the heat of combat, along with the fact that he's very gymnastically minded and quick and agile, it makes him a very difficult person to kill. Which is probably good for him, right?

3. Because he's fast and agile, Finn is also pretty lithe. He has muscles enough to climb and vault over objects mid-sprint, as well as the arm strength necessary to draw his bow with remarkable speed, but other than that, he's not bulging muscle.

bonus. Give us a list of any length telling us why our “fave is problematic.”

• fucks shit up all the time

• finger guns

• thinks he's super adorable

#.abt #sidereal prompt 01 #.prmpt

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theramblingonesie · 6 years ago

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Facing Our Making, Part 3: Makeup and Gender

Welcome to Part 3 of my makeup blog series! This week we’re going to poke at gender and makeup. But before I begin, let’s review parts 1 & 2, and check in about where we’re at:

1. Beauty standards are impossibly harsh and cause a lot of unnecessary pain.

2. Let womxn decide what they want to do with their own damn bodies and stay out of it. Unless they hire you for a consultation.

3. Wearing makeup is awesome

4. Not wearing makeup is awesome

5. Your gender presentation and basically any presentation of your body and behavior do not determine who you are and aren’t attracted to sexually. And no one is the (*^*^%^$#%$#&*&^&%% authority to determine that for you. If they try, remember that they’re judging and labeling you in relation to their own internal gender/sexuality struggles. More on this in today’s blog below.

6. How toxic masculinity ruins the day in relationship to makeup or not makeup needs to die, and YES womxn also support and host this behavior (internalized misogyny). Just because a person has a vagina or presents as femme does not mean they are exempt.

7. Womxn who wear makeup are not whores unless they are, in fact, professional whores. Professional whores keep the world turning, and bless em for it. The problem isn’t sex work. It’s violence against sex workers. Consider your complicity.

8. Womxn are reclaiming the hell out of the word “Slut”, so don’t get caught being a dumb idiot who uses the outdated, violent, misogynist definition. 1000 years vagina dentata upon your entire household.

9. If you want sexual attention because you enjoy sex, then FUCK YEAH GIT IT!!!

10. “Pretty girls are dumb” is a myth that our society desperately seeks to nurture and maintain. This is rooted in dominance, power, control, and whorephobia. Stop it.

11. “Ugly girls are smart” makes no damn sense. Okay, yes I can see the backwards logic, but also if you listen to flat-earthers long enough you could even be like, “ok, I see where you’re coming from with that”.

It is not lost on me that certain beauty trends and habits can trigger and enable body image problems, ranging in severity. After attending a panel discussion that featured a speaker from Media Girls Boston, I learned that girls as young as 9 are learning that they essentially need to brand themselves through social media so that they can merely exist. Saying this is a problem is an understatement.

I support makeup and rituals of adornment. I support a lot of things that, if used improperly with dangerous motivations, can result in severe consequences.

Understand that there’s a lot of nuance in subjects like this, and utilize your critical thinking brain when exploring such topics. Continue your personal research if you’re curious about any subcategory in this series that I have not addressed.

If issues of beauty standards and pressure are uncomfortable or triggering for you, or if you or a loved one believe they may be suffering from a body-image related disorder, please know you are not alone, and there are people out there who are ready and available to support you through this. Links and hotline numbers are available in the resource section at the end of this blog. -------------------------------------------------------------

“If we are all members of one body, then in that one body there is neither male nor female; or rather there is both: it is an androgynous or hermaphroditic body, containing both sexes [...] The division of the one man into two sexes is part of [our] fall.” --Norman O. Brown, in Love’s Body, 1966

Okay! Let’s talk about this super important element of the art and ritual of beauty:

Gender!

To Marie Kondo this: This subject does not bring me joy, and I do not want to write about it, but I feel that I have a responsibility to not play floor-is-lava about it. It does not even bring me the type of righteous rage that fuels me to furiously complete a post. It fills me with doubt, insecurity, self loathing, trust issues, and a desire to disappear.

I need to say this because I know I am not alone in my feelings and experience. But I will keep it very brief because I’d like to move on.

I have experienced a lifetime of pain from the bullshit pressure the heteropatriarchy puts on female bodies. I never anticipated the heartache I would experience as a result of being judged and denied by fellow queers.

I am too butch, too unfeminine to be accepted as the right kind of woman in heteropatriarchal society. I make men question their sexuality, and I am the one made to suffer for it. I am too feminine for queers to believe and accept me when I tell them I’m genderfluid (which I have been, quietly and privately, my entire life). I am not feminine enough to be femme.

Too much woman. Not enough woman. Not woman. Not human. Once again, my body and my soul are everyone else’s to judge, determine, and own. Not mine.

And no one wants to listen when we say the world hates women.

I highly suggest looking up the toxic concept of femme invisibility in queer communities. You can start by reading this great article by Bust:

https://www.bustle.com/articles/166081-what-does-femme-mean-the-difference-between-being-femme-being-feminine.

For the record, I still use she/her pronouns. I stand by my allegiance to the fullness and diversity of womxnhood in a deeply ferocious way. My reasoning for that is both very simple and very complicated. So I guess that just makes it very complicated. Ask me how.

Mood.

Anyway, makeup.

About a month ago, I had wrapped a film shoot with some friends who flew up from Mexico. It was an incredible weekend that filled me up with so much bliss. On the drive back to Boston, I was chatting with my beloved friends and fellow Scarlet Tongue artists, Creature and Cass, about how much I enjoy the company of Mexican men. A large part of that is because it is refreshing to be around men who so easily embrace and express feminine qualities of articulating their emotions, accessing their emotions, gentleness and nurturing. Creature presented the important argument that such qualities don’t need to be classified as feminine or masculine; they’re simply personality and behavioral traits that anybody can have.

Such a point is absolutely crucial in untangling the oppressive nature of the gender binary.

Exercise:

The following traits have been classically designated as “masculine” or “feminine” behavior, but I’ve jumbled them together in the list below. Which traits do you believe belong to whom?

Reserved Warm Sensitive Utilitarian Deferential Apprehensive Reactive Emotionally Stable Serious Lively Socially bold Shy Rule-conscious Expedient Private Perfectionism Anxiety Group-oriented Self-reliant Tolerates disorder Vigilance Extraversion Traditional Grounded Agreeableness Neuroticism Excitement-seeking Attraction to aesthetics

Answer:

Hahahahah, I’m not going to give you the answer. It doesn’t matter.

Yes, hormones do impact some behavior. And YES, how we’re socially conditioned impacts which traits are more dominant. But the point is, there is an imaginary line between the two categories. The saddest reality is that, even though any human is capable of any of these traits on the list, society has determined that consequence and punishment must befall anyone who strays from their category. An enforced gender binary is dangerous.

Enter makeup.

Makeup has served infinite purposes throughout the course of history. It’s an incredible vehicle for expression, as well as radical social and political rebellion. Makeup has shaped entire movements of art, social justice, philosophy, and construction/deconstruction of body politics.

Your lipstick is more than patriarchal pigment in a tube. It is a tool for revolution.

Most people assume that makeup is only for clowns and cisgender women, and anyone else who uses it is simply a deviant who has “stolen” it.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nononononononono

This probably won’t come as a shock to most of you, but yes-- Christianity also temporarily ruined makeup. Once upon a time, it was quite normal for men to wear makeup. Then the Jesus toe-suckers made up a whole bunch of arbitrary rules about what we currently observe masculinity and femininity to be, and here we are in this stinky pile of crap rules.

I highly recommend reading this article to learn a tiny bit more of the history of men and makeup:

https://www.byrdie.com/history-makeup-gender

Who wears makeup and how people wear makeup has shifted so much throughout history, and the struggles we experience around this today have only been relevant for a hundred years or so. One of the most common forms of rebellion we hear of is when women reject traditional femininity. Whether “burning our bras”, shaving our heads, or growing out our armpit hair, this is not an uncommon experience for a lot of women. The scandal!! The pet has escaped her cage!! So many women I know have experienced an anti-femininity phase at least once in their lives. Sometimes this “phase” transitions into a permanent rejection of gender norms, but it really varies from person to person. Often it’s set off by an overwhelming awareness of how much women are defined by superficial characteristics, traditionally determined and enforced by men. So we attempt to take ourselves out of the system by wearing neutral and aggressive clothing, switching up which parts of our bodies are hairy and which aren’t, and avoiding anything “girlie”. Revisiting my conversation with Aepril, my high-glam friend who inspired this blog and was mentioned in Part 1, she made a good point about honoring such an experience: “I went through a miserable phase in my feminist youth where I thought I was being uber feminist by not shaving or wearing makeup or wearing heels, etc, because to do so was giving into the patriarchy. I was miserable of course. It took my drag queen friends to wake me up to that, as I realized that they were willing to give up family, social status...their safety and even their lives for the privilege of expressing themselves in a glamorous, feminine way. While I had that privilege because I was born in a female body. I might be criticised by both men and women, but I wouldn’t be beaten in the street for transgressing gender roles. I realized how much it meant to me through seeing how much it meant to them. Why should I give that up either? Why should anyone have to?” In Aepril’s situation, she found that her place of authenticity was through femininity. In a world that is so divided between the shoulds and should-nots of who we’re supposed to be, I find it important to squeeze ourselves through and experience all sides so we can settle on what’s true for us. Then it’s no longer conformity; it’s an outlet.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the use of makeup norms has been subverted to amplify voices that demand human rights and fair treatment. Its application has been largely linked to LGBTQ+ visibility and gay rights movements. The anti-Vietnam movement in the late 60s and 70s utilized makeup to display over-feminization and homosexuality as a way to avoid being drafted. The glam rock movement gave us icons like David Bowie, exposing and exploding restrictive gender norms through outrageous clothing and makeup, utilizing pop culture to spread ideas and acceptance of androgyny. “Female impersonation” has origins dating back to the 19th century in Europe, and the art of Drag Queens & Kings is alive and well today, celebrating, mocking, questioning, and expanding gender in clubs and theaters, in film, and right in our homes through TV favorites like Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

For our trans-sisters, the decision to wear makeup could have life or death consequences. As a transwoman friend of mine disclosed a few months back, when she’s walking down the street and hears a man call after her, her immediate thoughts turn to, “will I experience violence because I’m a woman? Or will I experience violence because he thinks I’m a faggot?” There is a lot of discussion in the trans community about the privilege of “passing”, and I believe these conversations have further supported the struggles womxn generally face-- does wearing makeup make you more or less of a woman? As writer Lux Alptraum points out, “the idea that external appearance is what makes someone a “real” woman is the very thing that many trans women have committed themselves to fighting. To the extent that makeup is an essential part of any trans woman’s gender identity or notion of her womanhood, it’s largely because that’s the message the rest of the world aggressively forces upon her.” Read the rest of this article at https://www.racked.com/2017/3/23/14937266/trans-women-makeup

Makeup is incredibly powerful. It can be used for protest, and it can be used for comfort. It’s daily wear, and it’s political. It’s an expression of freedom, and a bold face confronting restriction. It’s transformative, giving people the opportunity to live in the bodies and images that feel right and true for them. Makeup is art, an embracing of life and physicality, a way to show up, be counted, and be present. It’s an act of defiance, and an act of love.

I recently read that Facebook now has 56 gender identities one can choose from. Facebook blows, but wow that’s actually really awesome! Within that list, some of the more frequently used terms include:

Agender/Neutrois Androgyne/Androgynous Bigender Cis/Cisgender Female to Male/FTM Gender Fluid Gender Nonconforming/Variant Gender Questioning Genderqueer Intersex Male to Female/MTF Neither Non-binary Other Pangender Trans/Transgender Transsexual Two-spirit (Important: this is Native American. Don’t pull a Jason Mraz. Don’t appropriate)

Out of this list, the following folks are allowed to wear makeup:

All of them Everyone Anyone Everybody The General Public The Whole World Human Beings Aliens Animals but only if they’re actually humans in animal costumes

If you’re interested in following makeup artists on IG who are trans or gender non-conforming, here is a great starter list (partially sourced from wearyourvoicemag.com):

@ brownbeautystandards @ vlad_theunicorn @ jade_poncee @ makeupby_bran @ rosalynnemontoya @ miles_jai @ completedestruction

Again, there are infinite reasons why people of any gender do and don’t wear makeup, and I’m not going to be an authority on the matter. But I hope some of this information helps you on your journey to understand yourself better, and hold space of greater allyship and tolerance for others.

Below are some links and phone numbers if you feel you need greater support for the topics being discussed in this blog series. Being beautiful is cool, and so is being safe. You deserve to be here, and you matter.

Enjoy your week, and we’ll see you back here next week for Part 4: Performance Artists and Makeup!

National Eating Disorders 24 hr Hotline: 1-800-931-2237

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/body-image-0

TransLifeline Hotline: 877-565-8860

https://www.translifeline.org/

LGBT National Hotline: 1-888-843-4564

https://www.glbthotline.org/

National Suicide Prevention 24hr Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

http://sexworkersproject.org/resources/

#makeup #nomakeup #gender #intersectional feminism #revolution #queer #drag #androgony #expressyourself

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mcgpie · 4 years ago

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Everything You Want To Understand Before Choosing A Website Design Agency In Stuttgart

Along with infinite website design organizations around the market, deciding on an answer for your fresh or redesigned web site can be a intimidating task. In the beginning glance, most of one's options may seem equal. After all, they all lead to fairly websites, right?

But buying into a brand new website can be a somewhat huge job for several medium and small companies. Often, it means putting out a substantial chunk of one's annual budget in exchange for a huge advertising asset that you'll use each and every day to the next few decades.

So picking the wordpress agentur Stuttgart that has your firm's best interest at heart demands digging just a little deeper. At the same time that you should trust the professionals to do their work nicely, it's still true that you will need to make confident an agency understands your vision and certainly will deliver it at a price is effective for you personally until you choose to operate with them.

Fortunately, there are a few simple questions that you may ask your self to help form through out the agencies there and discover the one which will help your organization long lasting. Inside this blog post, we will walk you through each phase along this website design bureau from Stuttgart hunt and reveal you exactly what things to look for on the manner. View this website for fruitful information right now.

Before you dive to a rabbit hole of Google searches for top web design services, just take some time to consider exactly what you really need -- and desire -- in a website. Let the following questions guide your own search:

What degree of customization and expertise could you really afford?

The exact first issue to consider when needs to start looking to your webdesign agentur Stuttgart is really what sort of website you can safely pay for. Let's be brutally honest with you personally If you have not ventured a few million dollars to your project, a DIY website is most likely going to be the smartest choice.

Exactly what do others on your industry have in common?

Take a look at the websites of some other companies on your field, both locally and nationally. What do the majority of these have incommon? Are there certain standards your audience would expect to see on your website, offered your industry? Consider attributes such as:

Appointment-booking functionality for hospitality and Healthcare practitioners

Store locator for businesses with Several places

Social media Log-ins for SaaS Businesses

Social networking sharing buttons for both publications, Weblogs, and networking sites

In case your organization is one that relies greatly on clients in the community marketplace -- like health clinics or construction builders -- simply have a deeper look at your regional competitors websites. These firms draw from the exact same buyer pool because you, therefore odds are you talk about website traffic.

What is your design aesthetic?

The next thing to do is always to take into account what design and aesthetic preferences you could have. Do you feel at ease when surfing a website with a mild color strategy or a dark one? Do you find yourself gravitating more toward serif or sans serif typefaces?

Which would be your more design and branding needs?

Websites desire symbols and images to better participate any customers and give them a feel for the corporation. If you are building a website for the first time, those pictures have to come from somewhere, of course, if you are redesigning your current website, you might need to revamp your brand's entire aesthetic to create this updated.

Does their portfolio fit your favorite aesthetic?

Most web design bureaus webdesign Stuttgart and assemble their websites themselves, so consider their internet web site since the exact first thing inside their portfolio. What do you consider about it? Does this function efficiently and is it effortless to browse? Can the page designs possess a pure flow? Bear in mind, If their site is tough to use, yours very likely will soon be overly should they construct it.

Do they publish case reports of previous clients' outcomes?

A top website design agency in Stuttgart should attract more to the table than simply pretty visuals. They also have to back up those designs with sound data that reveals that their strategies are on position. Their websites needs to load faster and also rank more than others, and in case a service you are thinking can not show those kinds of results, it is a pretty very good sign you ought to keep seeking.

You also ought to start looking for a staff that brings a creative, problem-solving approach to your website. Look for specific performance throughout their previous projects, as this indicates that they take a tailored approach to each customer.

What do their past customers consider them?

Only as a service delivers visually persuasive, smartly audio websites does not necessarily indicate they will be considered a joy to perform well with. So next thing into your hunt for the perfect website design bureau should be to do a deep dip in their online evaluations to get a sense of exactly what their previous clients thought of their own experience.

Tolle-webseite.de

75323 Bad Wildbad, Cavalloweg 27

0151 71785954

[email protected]

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pinneappling · 4 years ago

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Everything You Want To Understand Before Choosing A Website Design Agency In Stuttgart

What degree of customization and expertise could you really afford?

Exactly what do others on your industry have in common?

Appointment-booking functionality for hospitality and Healthcare practitioners

Store locator for businesses with Several places

Social media Log-ins for SaaS Businesses

Social networking sharing buttons for both publications, Weblogs, and networking sites

What is your design aesthetic?

Which would be your more design and branding needs?

Does their portfolio fit your favorite aesthetic?

Do they publish case reports of previous clients' outcomes?

What do their past customers consider them?

Tolle-webseite.de

75323 Bad Wildbad, Cavalloweg 27

0151 71785954

[email protected]

0 notes

ucmeteora · 4 years ago

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Metonymy

Elizabeth and her architect

Act one: Limitation and Resistance

E: All the old houses crumble and new ones rise. (1) My potential Existence won’t be victim to decay. In the grid of infinite sameness, content must be constantly added to this stem space to give it meaning. (2)

A: Thats why you need this vessel for your brand.

“In a world that incessantly consumes images, in a constantly expanding metropolitan culture, in a universe whose buildings are no more than a few of the infinite number of figurative and informative dwellings that surround us, there nonetheless exists the architectonic event. This event is like an extended chord, like an intensity at an energetic crux of streams of communication, a subjective apprehension offered by the architect in the joy of producing a polyphonic instant in the heart of the chaotic metropolis.” The “radical desolation” of weak architecture, “a groundlessness emerging out of the singularity of an event,” has “nothing to do with a lack of ability to manifest the conditions of the contemporary culture. Quite the contrary. This weakness is precisely the architectonic manifestation of the condition of contemporary culture.” (3)

E: Thus you’re not saying that only the body explains what is obscure in the mind. To the contrary, the mind is obscure, the depths of the mind are dark, and this dark nature is what explains and requires a body. Nothing obscure lives in us because we have a body, but we must have a body because there is an obscure object in us. (4)

A: Exactly, The essence of an image (or a body) is that it should be taken for reality and equally reality can shape the image, and pass itself off as having the same substance and meaning. Without disturbance or rupture, perception can continue the dream and fill in the gaps, bringing confirmation to all that is precarious in it and allowing it to accomplish its work. If illusions could appear as real as perception, then perception too could pass itself off as the truth, undeniable and visible. (5)

E: An image which must facilitate direct understandability! In this sense, this other architecture can be regarded as an architecture of resistance—resistance against the predictability of the traditional comprehension of architecture; resistance against the conformity supporting the status quo between institutions and the living environments; resistance against the cynical fear of imagining alternative possibilities in architecture and its visions of a better future; and resistance against the solely commodified and partial comprehension of architecture. (7)They don’t care for the world they enjoy. This situation, this state of affairs is grave and unbearable. We shall invent a new way of life; We shall have to construct another whole world from the ground up. It shall be built, it shall be created! (6)

A: I am willing to follow this peculiar thought line of yours for a while longer (8) as long as we can grab that beyond burger now.

Act two: Authority and Narcissism

E: I’m in love with myself. (I) regard narcissism as the central imaginary relation of human relationships. What crystallized analytic experience around this notion? Above all, its ambiguity. It is in fact an erotic relationship, all erotic identification, all seizing of the other in an image in a relationship of erotic captivation, occurs by way of the narcissitic relation and it is also the basis of aggressive tension. (9)

A: Who, with such instantaneous confidence, was recognised as mad? (10)

E: Don’t kid yourself, honey! You’re not building a house for a madwoman, what you’re building is me:

We speak of our 'self' only in virtue of these thousands of little witnesses which contemplate within us: it is always a third party who says 'me'. These contemplative souls must be assigned even to the rat in the labyrinth and to each muscle of the rat. Given that contemplation never appears at any moment during the action since it is always hidden, and since it 'does' nothing (even though something is done through it, something completely novel) it is easy to forget it and to interpret the entire process of excitation and reaction without any reference to repetition the more so since this reference appears only in the relation in which both excitations and reactions stand to the contemplative souls.The role of the imagination, or the mind which contemplates in its multiple and fragmented states, is to draw something new from repetition, to draw difference from it. For that matter, repetition is itself in essence imaginary, since the imagination alone here forms the 'moment' of the vis repetitiva from the point of view of constitution: it makes that which it contracts appear as elements or cases of repetition. Imaginary repetition is not a false repetition which stands in for the absent true repetition: true repetition takes place in imagination. Between a repetition which never ceases to unravel itself and a repetition which is deployed and conserved for us in the space of representation there was difference, the for itself of repetition, the imaginary. (11)

A: It is necessary to be outside ideology … to say: I am in ideology’. In architecture, interpellations are being imposed at three different levels: firstly, through the disciplining process (institutions, boards, academia, publications, clients, the market, and so on); secondly, by the architectonic objects produced, which create a ritual, constantly reinforcing how architecture should be understood; and finally by the instruments that architects use, such as perspective or computational techniques, which both frame and produce facts. Architecture does not simply present ideologies as facts, as if it were lying; it actually transforms ideologies into social facts. The Prince complex (or, the architectural unconscious) the theory of history has only recently tried to overcome the chronicle of the princes by means of a history of the masses, the everyday life and the concrete conditions (not just what lies on the wave crest, but the enormous forces of movement in the depth of the sea). Nevertheless, architectural imagination is still trapped in narcissistic histories of ‘Princes’. Machiavelli’s book The Prince creates an intellectual device for political practice to counter ‘fortuna’ (the conjecture) in order to rule, thus demanding ‘negativity’ and ‘objectivity’ (virtú) to control the randomness of the future. By doing so, Machiavelli was not inventing the prince per se. What he revealed was the representational character of this practice. (12)

E: Rather, (my) meaning unfolds as (my) viewers participate in the social situation (I) ha(ve) orchestrated. (13)

A: The noblest are certainly those who are entrusted with the supreme Authority and Moderation in public Affairs. (14) For this Reason I would have the Temple made so beautiful, that the Imagination should not be able to form an Idea of any Place more so; and I would have every Part so contrived and adorned, as to fill the Beholders with Awe and Amazement, at the Consideration of so many noble and excellent Things, and almost force them to cry out with Astonishment: This Place is certainly worthy of God! (15) Thus the buildings design will have an attractive appearance, its unimpeded entrance, utility, and the walkway around the cella, authority. (16) And, in (my) opinion, age will give a temple as much authority, as ornament will give it dignity. (17)

Act three: Resurrection, Interaction

E: By slow degrees a special authority takes shape within the ego; this authority, which is able to confront the rest of the ego, performs the function of self observation and self criticism, exercises a kind of psychical censorship, and so becomes what we know as the ‘conscience’. The existence of such an authority, which can treat the rest of the ego as an object – the fact that, in other words, man is capable of self observation – makes it possible to imbue the old idea of the double with a new content and attribute a number of features to it – above all, those which, in the light of self criticism, seem to belong to the old, superannuated narcissism of primitive times. Yet it is not only this content – which is objectionable to self criticism – that can be embodied in the figure of the double: in addition there are all the possibilities which, had they been realized, might have shaped our destiny, and to which our imagination still clings, all the strivings of the ego that were frustrated by adverse circumstances, all the suppressed acts of volition that fostered the illusion of free will. (18)

A: Freedom is thus not freedom from a Master, but the replacement of one Master with another; the external Master is replaced with an internal one. (19) It acts as a (partially) autonomous, and spatially, structurally, programmatically, and visually homogeneous whole which is never completely autonomous due to its integration to a network system. (20) Mentalities of cooperation, social exchange, and interaction are, through the order of the urban, to be elicited and maintained. (21) The framing of communicative interaction is the societal function of both architecture and design. (22) But what about visual, sensory, and aesthetic interaction? (23)

E: The strategy seems, to “derive from the ‘organic’ demand for the integration of space and structure; and, as fulfilling this demand, the building becomes a single, complete, and self explanatory utterance.” (24) Freed of all normative impediments, of all questions of realization or production, the creative imagination can identify itself with global consciousness. Prospective aesthetics is the vehicle of man’s greatest hope: the collective liberation of humanity. The socialization of art represents the convergence of the forces of creation and production toward a goal of dynamic synthesis and technical metamorphosis: it is through such restructuring that man and reality find their true, modern face, that they become natural again, having overcome all alienation. Thus the circle closes. (25)

Together we will invent what I call the imagination without strings. (26)

A: How do you want to achieve that?

E: We should throw a ball. Instances of this kind are so plentiful every where, that if I add one more, it is only for the pleasant oddness of it. Dance, and that to great Perfection! (27)

(1) Hugo, Les Miserables

(2) Sorkin, All Over the Map

(3)Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

(4) Deleuze, The Fold

(5) Foucault, History of Madness

(6) Alberti, Momus

(7) Senk, Capsules Typology of Other Architecture

(8) Asimov, Complete Robot Anthology

(9) Lacan, The Psychoses Seminars of JL

(10) Foucault, History of Madness

(11) Deleuze, Difference and Repetition

(12) Stoppani, This Thing Called Theory Critiques Critical Stud

(13) Bureaud, MetaLife Biotechnologies Synthetic Biology ALi

(14) Alberti, 10 books of architecture 1755

(15)Alberti, 10 books of architecture 1755

(16) Vitruvius, Ten Books on Architecture 1999

(17) Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books 1988

(18) Freud, The Uncanny

(19) Zitzen, Less than nothing

(20) Senk, Capsules Typology of Other Architecture

(21) Lahiji, Architecture Against the PostPolitical Essays

(22) Schumacher, The Autopoiesis of Architecture Vol1

(23) Doherty, Is Landscape Essays on the Identity of Landsc

(24) Hartoonian, Time History and Architecture Essays on Critical

(25) Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

(26) Hays, Architecture Theory since 1968

(27) Harrison Wood Gaiger, Art in Theory 1648 1815

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queernuck · 7 years ago

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What Is Your Real: your name and Hyperreality in Anime

The detail seen in your name. is detail that goes beyond detail, into the creation of new details such that one is reminded of Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, the incredible overwhelmingness, but specifically present in the mundane. Thus, one is flooded with the “realness” of detail, while in fact this sublimates the Real of film, of “live action” as a stand-in for “reality” as there is only so much detail that can be captured on film. The means by which a work is created when captured by a lens specifically relies upon certain properties of light which cannot provide the same fidelity as a recreation can, and thus the hyperreal can act as an overcoding element to the “Real” imagined by the artwork. Anime is often critiqued for having low framerates, or for techniques that require looping, recycling, or other forms of perceived-laziness in animation. Apart from the way that, stylistically, this represents both a differance in the metatextual structuring of the text, and the textual means of signification, it eventually makes examples of anime that have been rendered with incredibly conspicuous fluidity, detail, emphasis thereof stand out disproportionately when compared to acknowledgement of Western art with similar supposed-detail. The turn in Western art toward CG as the standard of the animated feature leads in turn to a certain sort of hyperreality, one differentiated from the art of your name. by its status as generative: effectively, while a sort of simulation, it only acts as a simulacra toward the apparent-Real, toward objects depicted: it acts in a far more meaningful sense as a simulation, more apparently as such.

The effect of the detail in your name. is to not only create a simulation of the Real, but a simulation-of-simulation, a process of overlaying unto simulacrum that eventually results in an image that is impossible in any meaningful reality, that is not limited by the bounds of perception. The film itself is a collection of objects, objects continually in motion, given the dreamlike states in which the two characters interact. When switching between one another’s lives, there is a sense in which they are “dreaming” and thus continually forgetting, continually absent from their own experience. They are forced to create simulacra of these days based upon that which the other tells them, upon artifacts of recognition, the ephemera of their photos and journal entries acting to record for one another who the other is. The dramatic changes as they fluctuate between one another are realized not by the other characters as differentiated people, as two individuals, but as a sort of unknown univocality, the bodies united as a singular person who, in a process of crossing-over, has crossed over into a singular opposition, a Derridean pair that cannot be without its other. This, in turn, leads to the way in which one finds the two yearning for one another, looking for a completion that they admit as absent, a sort of sublimation of each other into a univocality of the self. The expression of this process of overlaying, of lives realized as simulacrum, is aesthetically represented through the incredible details of the hyperreal art style: it is “more real” than live action, than a less stylized but less detailed art style would be, in that it is more faithful to the representative act than mere replication would allow. Showing the features of a phone’s user interface in such intimate detail even in passing shots, creating means of encounter that lead to the ways in which they discover one another, relies upon a way of thinking about each other, about themselves, that is reflected in the beauty of the work.

To again refer to animation more typically considered the domain of the West, we can move to the way in which animation targeted at adults in America is so often merely vulgar comedy. Shows like Family Guy and the endless repetitions thereof have largely bland art, blander storylines, and jokes entirely reliant on whatever joke would have been most offensive the week it was being written. King of the Hill, likely Mike Judge’s best body of work, is often articulated in differance when related to other “adult” cartoons in that it relies on an artstyle which does not confuse the presence of stylization and distinctiveness with an absence of realism. Overwhelmingly, episodes of King of the Hill rely not upon gags unique to the show as a cartoon, but rather explore a sort of hyperreal Texas, a Texas which makes the viewer’s living room feel far more “real”, far more “situated” than Arlen through the development of a safe, reasonable hyperreality. The calming dulcet tones of Hank Hill’s voice and the moderate American centrism of the show’s politics combine to create a space where there is a great deal of room to develop, but where there is little buy-in required before that space may be accessed. The realism seen in the show’s artistic style is part of what allows it to function in this fashion: one preserves the character-as-image, one can create an idea of the character as expressed through aspects of the character’s self too intimate to be played out by an actor and then captured on camera, one can create the figure of Cotton or of Bobby as static, as persisting in a similar sort of character throughout time, and develop them to a far greater extent than a live-action television series would be able to given the same sorts of characters. The show succeeds because the detail, the nuance it is given over to leads to an incredibly well-developed cast of characters growing over time to include a growth of the audience, of the stories at hand, of the stories made possible through the series. That so many have related the dynamic between Hank and Cotton, as well as the difference seen in comparing that relationship to the one between Bobby and Hank, is important in that it is one of the central dynamics of the show, the way that one realizes trauma and how that trauma can be mapped onto others, but even in this process of recognition one can intentionally act against an urge to inflict it, to realize it again on the body of the perceived-Other.

The pivotal turn in the narrative of your name. comes after the characters have stopped switching lives, a transition whose nature I will attempt to disguise in order to preserve the process of unveiling I believe vital to the effect of the story, so that those interested in the film are still able to experience it. It relies on a realization of the story as a story, a sort of metatextual process of realization, of rewriting. It is the creation of time as a field of the infinite, a contingency reliant upon the realization of the past as such, the creation of a present-of-the-past and a new past-of-the-present as realized in the dramatic resolution of the story. In short, one enters into a series of overlain hyperrealities wherein the characters are unsure of what events are “real” and which are “dreams” in a fashion that is continually developed by the film, that is vital to the film’s process of resolution. Taki’s hyperreal drawings have been part of realizing a career of architecture, an unsuccessful one at that, which is a turn of art that differentiates the previous-present, the original course of time set out by the narrative, from the present now understood as real, despite the audience’s realization that it in fact represents a new overlay upon the previous-present, a present that is taken from a present that now has been made extant, a present that thus never was. Similarly, the conditions under which Mitsuha has moved to Tokyo, enabling her to finally meet Taki, have changed due to the turn imposed by Taki in the film’s climax. This act of erasure and reorientation realizes the end of the narrative as a sort of hyperreal, as the resolution that required the simulacrum of the story’s vital turn, a present that would then be erased, that would remain uncompleted for a number of years until it was finally resolved.

The collapsing of the film into merely being a well-produced movie, into it being a high-grossing anime with a beautiful style of art, belies how it has in fact itself produced a certain hyperreality: a staircase featured prominently in the movie’s resolution became a tourist destination and is now a staircase beyond itself: it only presents itself now as a staircase because of your name. whereas before, it was merely a staircase like any other. It is a simulation of the staircase in the movie, just as the scenery of any other movie is in some way a simulation using actual locations, and in turn it is able to become a staircase beyond itself, a simulation of a simulated moment contained in the movie, a hyperreal object representing a version of the staircase that never “existed” in the material sense. The creation of an attraction as such, the way in which it inscribes upon the apparent-real through an act of creating its hyperreal presence, is thus the final turn of the movie’s hyperrealism. By affecting this hyperreality, it serves to show the course of the narrative within becoming-hyperreal, within this development of something that is far more real than any adaptation into supposed “live action” could meaningfully be. It is far more real when it is not, it is a simulation of the real more meaningful than its realization.

#your name #kimi no na wa #jean baudrillard #deleuze and guattari

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happycakestories · 6 years ago

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old mx fic - some last real big projects

here are all the various messy ideas i’ve had from the beginning to the most recent times, a real good way to trace the development of my interests- from a catch-all doc

“Just the two of us” AOA → Lostboycrow - Love Won't Sleep (Kill Them With Colour Remix), wizard - forgive, opia-falling (wheathin remix), iu’s jam jam, ozzie see me, Zayn - Pillowtalk (No Sleep Remix), Justin Abisror - i’m gonna go (instrumental), AOA “Under the street lamps” ---> sex song

Shiny eyes and pouting lips

it actually talks about a boy going with a french prostitute for the first time in his life and discovering that he loves her despite her being a prostitute and not understanding a word she says

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acCzIUE8qwc

https://affenknecht.com/lyrics/rammstein-fruhling-in-paris/

Fashion prompt au:

Soft browns, long coats, and big sweaters! Jooheon and pink pastels and aesthetic color clashing! Changkyun.

Big sweatshirts and fluffy pastel fashion with rude logos! Changkyun and long, dark, almost witch-like fashion, indie/hipster! Jooheon

Both hella pastel or both super punk rock boyfriends.

Jooheon is the softest punk boyfriend with pastel boyfriend Changkyun who looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you; isn’t afraid to fight.

Soft whites/pink pastels! Jooheon (Soft browns, long coats, and big sweaters! Jooheon) and muscle shirts/athleisure! Boyfriend Hyunwoo.

5 times hyunwoo coordinated his outfits to match with his boyfriend’s and one time jooheon did the same

Pastel fashion! Jooheon with punk! Wonho. A scene in which Wonho makes jooheon try on his clothing and he looks so good, he’s never allowed outside wearing that kind of fashion ever again.

“I was carving my name into your side and you were calling me soft, calling me gentle. I do not think you were paying attention.”

Trista Mateer, from “For the One Who Loved My Hands More than Anything Else,”

How lovely the silence of growing things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbC0IOVM09A rapper solo 2016 gda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWRGqx8104w sistar performance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNkuUmTdOY kcon vid? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xskGDUAZtq4 kcon vid found

we’re stuck in a log cabin overnight during a snowstorm bc of some stupid school team building exercise and it’s freEzing and I can’t sleep and you can hear me shivering in the next bed so you pick me up and dump in your bed and good grief you are hot in every sense of the word’ au --- definitely showheon

We met briefly on the plane ride over, then again at a bar just off of post, had a one night stand, now it’s first formation and SURPRISE! I’m your new Commanding Officer and you’re my new First Sergeant AU ---- showheon probs

Fantasy military au! Where taekwoon and hakyeon are conflicting military generals vying for the same position and a former love.

However, taekwoon decides to switch sides mid-battle with the intervention of a few heavenly helpers.

Jaehwan power dynamic fic. Top of the military chain, seems so pretty and delicate, but with one word through his generals and commanders they’d be dead. Image of him in chair, with only military longcoat on, bruises on thighs, neck and body, with hongbin and hyuk kneeling at his feet.

http://kin.naver.com/qna/detail.nhn?d1id=3&dirId=302140101&docId=263876142&qb=6rOg65Ox7ZWZ7IOdIOuCqOyelOuNsCDruYXsiqTqsIA=&enc=utf8&section=kin&rank=1&search_sort=0&spq=0

Please power dynamics SO MUCH

Origin fic, how Jaehwan got to power, how he picked up hongbin and hyuk as his second in commands. How hongbin and hyuk separately interact with him and each other.

Also an au where the human world has been incorporated with the world of gods, so much of the military is biased towards the gods as the top commanders, of course not acknowledged out loud, but people usually suspect things.

Military au! Where it seems like taekwoon and hakyeon are rival military generals vying for the same position and a former love. However taekwoon forms a new strategy mid-battle and instead, it’s one that aims straight for Hakyeon’s heart.

however, taekwoon changes what he’s fighting for mid-battle with the helpful (or unhelpful) intervention of some heavenly beings.

Maybe include a bit of teasing from hyuk, he really does love his hyung but he loves riling him up. Flirts with him a little bit to make taekwoon jealous, obviously hakyeon knows and is a little exasperated, but taekwoon can’t believe this young man who’s someone higher up in position than him is also acting like this to someone older than him.

http://happycakeycake.tumblr.com/post/153833786832/hong-buns-cha-just-came-out-to-have-a-good

http://happycakeycake.tumblr.com/post/153834638942/prince-taekwoon-do-not-edit-romantic-cat

It’s hard to keep a frivolous god under control, but it’s even harder to keep a frivolous lover

how lucky it is that hongbin and sanghyuk have been tasked with both!

i’m looking for you (you’re looking for me)- conflicting military generals

think about love- pet house au

baby (with drowsy eyes), say something- lace pet au

so arrogant (but I like that attitude)-more lace pet au? 1st Chapter name maybe

In a world where pets are extremely expensive and treasured property, military commander taekwoon is encouraged to spend his well earned credit in a pet house. The pleasure slaves there are rumored to be the most expensive things ever, but even one hour with them brings an experience that’s supposedly worth every cent. Taekwoon has no use for his overwhelmingly large paycheck, and besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

Workaholic military general taewoon is dragged out by his friends for a night out to the theatre. There, he makes a connection with the most beautiful dancer he’s ever seen.

Lonely military general taekwoon is gifted (burdened) with a pushy, loud-mouthed pet named hakyeon

Scene where they’re both in leo’s lonely ass woods cabin with rainy day outside and hakyeon reading by the fire/leo working: maybe a fight or changing point

N with lace collar or blindfold OR BOTH???? Hakyeon cuddled up in taekwoon’s large military jacket with a lace collar and black booty shorts by the window.

Where taekwoon gets a personal military outfit tailored for N with lace detailing (lace collar) just because he’s a top ranking general and because he fucking can. Totally showing him off at the office, but get jealous anytime anyone looks at him with anything hinting at lust or attraction.

Hades and persephone au:

Taekwoon hates the coming of spring, the arrival of hakyeon; yet he wants to possess him, he wants that beautiful smile, his tanned skin, and his entire heart and soul, ok but like what if the underworld was super militaristic and everyone had to dress in military uniforms, but above world everyone dresses in loose bright clothing and hakyeon has to wear a specifically tailored military uniform once he goes to the underworld.

“you belong to the underworld now; you body, soul, and your way of dress are to be part of this place”

Hyunwoo hasn’t left the shadows of the Underworld for millenias on end, but today when he looks up toward the Above, something has him interested.

More jookyun hades and persephon

Changkyun knows he’s young and brash, but the evidence of what he’s just done is sitting in front of him and crying into cupped palms, which makes him regret his hot-headed actions even more. As Kihyun would have probably said, “changkyun what makes you think that kidnapping someone is a good way to get them to notice you?” In Changkyun’s defense, it had seemed like a really good idea at the time. WRITE JOOHEON IN THE WHITE SHIRT- also maybe changkyun in black fighter outfit or that plaid jacket w/ hoodie because underworld is definitely rocker chic.

“Awkward hell lord” daniel, hecate! Kihyun,

yes i’m a bad boy (so yes i like you)- CUTE OUTFITS WHERE CHANGKYUN IS DRESSED IN TOUGH CHIC CLOTHING AND JOOHEON IS DRESSED IN THAT LOOSE WHITE T SHIRT/

Where Joohon has a terrible weakness for bad boys and Changkyun thoroughly exploits said weakness (even though he’s actually a lameass nerd). What if he was a waiter/barista and looked so heavenly and cute in that white button up and changkyun comes in threatening at the end of his shift to try and scare people away.

I’m a fighter, fighter (your champion)- WRITE JOOHEON IN THAT ONE OUTFIT WHERE HE’S SITTING WITH SOME BEAR STICK THING IN ALL BLACK CAUSE HIS THIGHS LOOK REALLY GOOD

Everyone here fights for a reason: money, fame, freedom, love, or survival.

but when shownu looks down at his bloodied knuckles, he doesn’t know why he’s here. He doesn’t know why he’s fighting. He continues living: day in and day out, punching and kicking, until he falls or his opponent does. The next morning he’s dragged out to do the exact same thing over and over again. For what reason? He doesn’t know.

This is the first night that Shownu actually feels like he slept well. Today’s fight had been great, at least by his standards. His opponent had been significantly younger than him, and he had huddled in the corner of the ring as Shownu slowly advanced on him. He had screamed and refused to fight before crying and begging to be let go as the bear-headed judges dragged him away. Shownu felt a twinge of pity for the boy, for he somehow knew that where the boy was being taken would be infinitely worse than being bruised and beaten by him.

Maybe this is the why he dreams tonight. He dreams of a young man and with a honey-sweet smile. The whole image is blurry, but he can

Another fantasy-caged au, merge this one/separate from oracle au????

Mute dreamseer Jooheon, kept up in a beautiful gilded cage for his entire life. Looking for new guards that know nothing of the situation to watch him.

Changkyun is one of the newest, but most eligible fighters. Blessed with the element of fire, trained as a small child to fight.

Kingdom grants him a sum he can’t say no to, but wonders what’s so precious that requires so much protection.

Use that one post of lace and roses: http://t1cc.tumblr.com/post/138081715838/i-dont-do-anything-with-my-life-except: good imagery for a fic, a cage of lace and satin?

Demon/Angel/Human au: WRITE JOOHEON IN THAT ONE OUTFIT WHERE HE HAS HIS HAIR SLICKED BACK IN THE WHITE TSHIRT OR HIS ALL IN OUTFIT WITH THE WEIRD STRAP ACROSS THE CHEST DURING AS

Angel jooheon is friends with demon changkyun, and recently jooheon has been very infatuated with human hyunwoo. Changkyun obviously gets some jealousy issues since he’s been chasing Jooheon’s admirers away for centuries. There’s no way his efforts will be ruined by some simple human.

Angel jooheon meets gentle demon shownu and they both are kinda bad at their jobs

Angel jooheon and demon changkyun meet over a fight about a human’s soul and changkyun accidentally gets hooked on jooheon’s obnoxious personality and dimpled smile.

Demon changkyun is hell bent on bringing Jooheon down. There is no way someone can be so pure and innocent without any darkness in them. Determined to defile him somehow. Or the story of how changkyun tries to be an evil demon, but really he’s just a sucker for Jooheon’s smile. Where Changkyun thinks he wants to see Jooheon cry, but really he’s more of a sucker for his smile.

unfair love

Jooheon towards shownu, accidentally teasing him?

Jooheon being oblivious towards changkyun, “you’re so unfair towards me, why can’t you see me as perfect boyfriend material hyung?”

Serial killer, murderers au, i love you so much (we were made for each other)

Where both shownu and jooheon are psychopaths and they find the purest love in each other. Also accidental murder on both sides?????? yay????

Jooheon’s been betrayed so many times, so there’s no way he’ll let the best thing that’s ever happened to him leave him now.

Hyunwoo has felt nothing his entire life. He’s been detached from his family for years and he’s never been able to connect with his so called friends. He’s been so lonely, but when he’s with Jooheon, he wants to wrap his entire being around him, love him, touch him, and possess him. He’ll use anything and everything he has to keep Jooheon with him forever. Even if the consequences are Jooheon’s tears and hate, there’s no way he’ll let him go.

When Changkyun had said “if i had to die I would like to go via suffocation by your thighs”, Jooheon was not supposed to have said okay and then sat on his face and actually strangle him to death. With his thighs. He regrets everything and nothing at the same time.

Policeman changkyun is faced with the most gruesome series of murders he’s ever witnessed in his career. He’s tired, stressed, and his sweet cheeked boyfriend keeps disappearing during the strange hours of the night. Something’s obviously suspicious here, and there’s no way Jooheon being his lover will prevent Changkyun from properly doing his job.

Maneater au? Not sure if i want this to be literal or not. If literally maybe incubus au (please use those cute demon horn with heart sticker pics) with young stupid demon prince - changkyun who overestimates his own power and jooheon basically knocks him down a few pegs. Or maybe Jooheon and hyunwoo are dating and Jooheon is sincerely in love this time and to him sex doesn’t have to do anything with love since for him it usually just means dinner, and he also doesn’t want to end up accidentally draining hyunwoo dry. Of course hyunwoo has no idea and is dying of blue balls, so he gets to work testing jooheon’s self control. We all know how this ends obviously.

If literally, maybe men around their early to mid 20s have been disappearing and turned up half eaten. Young policeman changkyun investigating these cases and comes upon a young man walking around in a dangerous part of town just as he finishes his rounds and goes up to him to ask him if he can offer him a ride home and maybe a coffee date later. They start dating and suddenly the killings stop. However, once Changkyun tries to investigate into them Jooheon strangely becomes aggressive and tries to convince him to just leave them. Again we all know how this ends

Figuratively, jooheon’s what people would call a vixen, a slut maybe, but he prefers the word maneater. He strings along multiple partners on his pinky fingers for months only offering them small trinkets of affection before tossing them aside. One day when he meets hyunwoo he thinks it’ll just be another easy conquest, but hyunwoo purely falls in love with him and hijinks ensue. Like feelings or smth. Also aggravated best friend changkyun please.

If you write any of these listen to man-eater on 8tracks by chuwenjie.

Rich young master:

Changkyun’s the young spoiled rich son of a CEO and Jooheon’s the newly hired part time worker who knows nothing about the unwritten rules of serving the young master. Of which includes don’t ever talk back or offend him.

Hyunwoo is a lonely heir to an entire company and a rich fortune. For years, all he’s done is shut himself away and worked to better the company. His lifelong friend (and unofficial housekeeper) is tired of Hyunwoo’s shit and puts out an ad for a someone that would be willing to clean Hyunwoo’s old mansion for a few hours everyday. A young rapper named Jooheon picks up the job offer because hey he needs to make a few bucks on the side and cleaning for a few hours every day isn’t that bad. A cheesy romance story where a lonely soul meets a warm one.

Mafia boss/pet au:

Shownu is the kindest person Jooheon has ever met, and he wonders why someone like him would be living in this kind of neighborhood. In which Jooheon and shownu are your typical next door neighbors, but in a neighborhood that is completely owned by the mafia. Little does Jooheon know, Shownu is actually the boss who owns the neighborhood.

Jooheon is a pampered pet of the most powerful mafia boss of the city, hyunwoo. However, the arrival of a new recruit catches his eye. He asks Hyunwoo if he can have him, and of course there’s no way Hyunwoo can say no his precious pet.

Changkyun is part of a group of new recruits who have been integrated into hyunwoo’s mob. Of course, their loyalty must be tested somehow, and Jooheon’s perfectly willing to do whatever his master needs him to. The new recruits only take up more of Hyunwoo’s precious time, and he needs someone to spend time with Jooheon. It just so happens that Jooheon’s taken interest in one of the new recruits, and Hyunwoo needs someone to take care of him while he’s away. Or basically Changkyun is tasked with the babysitting of Hyunwoo’s precious pet, which both tests his patience and sexuality. MAKE JOOHEON WEAR WHAT HE’S WEARING IN SLOW W/ HYOLYN. Power dynamics galore please

As the most powerful mafia boss in the city, Hyunwoo must constantly watch over everything he loves. As it stands, Jooheon has been the most precious thing to him for years. With a new batch of recruits arriving, they all have to be thoroughly tested for their loyalty, and it just so happens that his pet has taken up interest in one of them. Hyunwoo has always believed in the motto of killing two birds with one stone. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with spoiling his pet for a bit.

http://sterekvoid.tumblr.com/post/153757382229/super-sick-and-want-to-die-but-showheon-keeping-me: please this position,

Changkyun is completely sure at this point that he will be Monsta X’s new boss; he’s directly under the chain of power as the group’s current boss, hyunwoo, is ready to retire. He’s done everything over the past 2 years to gain hyunwoo’s approval and he’s so sure that hyunwoo will name him his successor that he’d bet his life on it (not like that’s a valuable form of currency in the world of crime ha). However, hyunwoo’s got one more test for him before the exchange of power happens, and it could be the one that makes it or breaks it for Changkyun.

The test? Show his absolute loyalty and devotion to hyunwoo by laying his life out on the line for his beloved cousin Jooheon. Basically Changkyun just got stuck being some glorified babysitter for a sweet-cheeked, baby-faced, college student, who also happens to know nothing about his cousin’s shady business in crime. The catch? Changkyun is allowed to drop out any time, but he’d be forfeiting his claim to the top position forever, and there’s no way, insufferable babysitting or not, he’s giving up on that.

One scene: Somehow Jooheon gets his feet hurt or something?? Or his leg hurt, and he and changkyun get into a big fight over taking his pants/socks off? Maybe leave them behind so he can clean the wound. Image, Jooheon cuddled by the window in a sweatshirt and boxers in a safehouse somewhere holding a grudge against Changkyun.

Very dark pet au:

Lighter but not (crack) more action and kind of tense/action feel:

Write something with that one picture of Jooheon where he looks like a policeman. Policemen Jooheon and hyunwoo versus mafia boss changkyun???

Gods/virtues au:

Changkyun is Apollo and he falls in love with a simple wood nymph named Jooheon. They make some sick beats with each other and fall in love along the way.

Jooheon, the patron saint of victory grants Hyunwoo the everlasting curse of victory and war as he lays on the battlefield pleading with his last breath.

Changkyun is a rising young general and he knows to ensure victory he must make a successful deal with a god. Unfortunately, he makes it with the wrong one entirely.

Young powerful God Jooheon and his warrior boyfriends, inspired by jooheon’s look in slow w/ hyorin. Hyorin could be like his female counterpart?

Plant shop/florist

Changkyun’s found his own personal haven with the new botanical shop that’s just opened down the street.

Forest nymph:

Changkyun gets himself lost in the forest the one day he voluntarily decides to go outside, and he encounters playful woodland nymph Jooheon.

Werebear hyunwoo and forest nymph Jooheon and their lovey dovey, domestic life in the forest.

Cute garden witch Jooheon, maybe this could link to plant shop one??

Mermaid au- cute bunny jooheon in that one white shirt, soaked through? Hair slicked back?

Shownu likes to swim, best mermaid ever. What kind though-gentle whale shark?? Rescues bunny hybrid jooheon when he accidentally falls into the big forest lake? s’cute

Hanahaki Disease

Changkyun coughs up pink/yellow/orange/blue daisies; he’s in love with Jooheon, but Jooheon has always only seen him as a little brother. When he looks at Jooheon, Jooheon is only looking at hyungwoo.----unfair love

http://livingartsoriginals.com/flower-daisy.htm

Jooheon starts to cough up pink tulips, and he knows he can’t avoid either telling shownu or letting himself die. Changkyun crushes his own daisies in his hand and tells Jooheon that there’s no way he’ll let him do this to himself. Even if he has to betray him by telling hyunwoo.------i knew from the beginning (that there is no answer)

http://livingartsoriginals.com/flower-tulip.htm

Shownu coughs up blue daisies. He presses each separate petal into a book and checks himself into the hospital.--------i knew from the beginning (that there is no end)

Ten demon au

Murderer johnny is out for his daily rounds at night when he finds a starving demon and he takes it upon himself to feed it.

Tiny guardian au

Tiny shoulder guardians, angels or devils

Changkyun has jooheon as his shoulder guardian, angel jooheon, don’t know if i can make this one shippy? Maybe Changkyun introduces jooheon to shoulder guardian hyunwoo and they have the purest fluffiest love.

Spy agency au

Literally honey trap au though, jooheon’s known for successes on honey trap mission, nickname honeybee. Given a new mission to seduce the rich heir changkyun to gain some important information about his company to see whether if there could be secret plans from his company to produce nuclear weapons. Of course something goes wrong when changkyun ends up being Jooheon’s teenage love.

Spy partners IM and jooheon, or jooheon and shownu. Or jooheon is a spy and he lives next door to trainer shownu who has some suspicions about his neighbor.

Hybrid au

Puppy changkyun loves his owner Jooheon, he’s been with him his entire life and they’ve basically grown up together. He wishes he were bigger, that he could stand next to Jooheon and grip his hands with fingers and not paws.

Minhyuk decides to break some magical laws and grant his wish.

- hybrid bunny jooheon and hybrid puppy changkyun

- Jooheon and changkyun met when they were kids and have grown up together, basically friends to lovers, except changkyun becomes a possessive dog hybrid when they’ve grown up.

- bear shownu and bunny jooheon/bumblebee jooheon???

- hyungwoo decides to get a new hybrid pet to keep changkyun company. Changkyun doesn’t want to share his owner, but the new bunny hybrid is endearingly adorable and he warms up to him. Or kihyun w changkyun meets shownu w jooheon and the two hybrids are forced to spend time together since their owners are dating, and they slowly warm up to each other.

Teacher au

Competing music teachers changkyun and jooheon

Music teacher jooheon making some last minute copies before heading home and he hears a splashing in the pool and freaks out. Basically swim coach shownu loves practicing late at night and scares the fuck out of jooheon

Defiling the innocent

Churchboy jooheon and he somehow gets a less than innocent boyfriend in changkyun

Where hyunwoo and jooheon have been growing up together and one day hyunwoo has some strange thoughts about jooheon and thinks he’s being possessed by the devil.

Innocent church boy jooheon and actually demon changkyun, sexytimes in the church.

Arranged marriage au

Youngest son Changkyun from Kihyun’s family married to youngest son of hyunwoo’s family, jooheon. Either fantasy au or real world au?

Younger man Jooheon married off to silent and scary hyunwoo in the countryside. Slow burn of them falling in love.

Write something where changkyun has his hair up from that one performance of fighter of 161118 fighter/monsta x- fighter @musicbank

Model au

Grace’s prompt: Model shownu is in a rush to finish the day of work so he can head out for the night with wonho. Has had a long time crush on wonho since they both fought long and hard to enter model industry together. Rushes into changing room, hurriedly whipping off clothing and hears a surprised gasp. Sees a young man with full cheeks and slim eyes flushing a pretty pink as he averts his eyes and runs out of the room. Leaves shownu a little shocked and slightly yearning to chase after him. Sees him the next day and he cutely blushes again while looking shyly at hyunwoo.

Please include unknowingly married wonho and kihyun. Cute late night ramen outings with hyunwoo and jooheon/other models. Jooheon being starstruck by all the beautiful models. Jooheon having badass protective rapper friends jackson and changkyun.

Radio dj/singer/asmrtist Jooheon

Jooheon is the cutest idol changkyun’s had to write songs for

New radio dj jooheon joins old veteran shownu and they have some late nights together

Changkyun meets his favorite asmrtist/idol in person and he is absolutely adorable.

Boxer shownu au- shownu in glasses

Shownu does fighting and his cute boyfriend cheers him on at night

Doll/android au-shownu in glasses

Bored twenty year old changkyun is looking to buy one of those new Doll models on the market and he stumbles upon an older model called Jooheon. He is a worker just out of college and this model is much more affordable for him and somehow he feels a connection to it.

Scientist hyunwoo that makes the first successful model of an android, names it I.M. Unfortunately he’s not sure how to develop it emotionally and often leaves it to its own devices. His boyfriend discovers him one day and they form a bond, I.M.quickly develops emotional complexity, unfortunately one of those feelings is jealousy and possession.

Shownu is given one of those new fangled android models from some random selection that he somehow won. The cheery model named Jooheon bursts into his quiet life and changes it irrevocably.

Intimidating boyfriends au

Jooheon thinks he’s super intimidating and takes a lot of pride in that, but really it’s just because of his two boyfriends

SHOWNU IN GLASSES FOR EVERYTHING MAYBE/PUT JOOHEON IN THOSE CUTE SEXY OUTFITS HE WORE.

Please write a fic where jooheon is really thirsty for shownu’s arms/shoulders. His all in back dancing.

Thigh sex/intercrural sex:

Jooheon has thick thighs. That’s all there is to it. Maybe tie that into Changkyun’s obsession with his thighs? In quickies/moments of need jooheon’s thighs are all they need to get the job done. Shownu and jooheon and changkyun polyamorous relationship?

Melancholic/darker pet au!

Fallen in love with friend’s younger sibling au!

Here are Changkyun’s new year resolution’s: Love Jooheon, Cherish Jooheon, and Support Jooheon (heart), Kihyun watches Changkyun smirk to himself and he shakes his head at that idiot.

Midsummer night’s eve-Wedding night with shownu and jooheon but somehow put a twist on it? Maybe do garden nymph jooheon and shownu wedding night with ritualistic sex on midsummer’s eve? Where every midsummer night’s eve, someone in the clan has to host a celebration night for everyone. Unfortunately this year, it’s Jooheon’s turn and he has to tell Hyunwoo just how crazy it gets. Wherein midsummer’s night’s eve is the most active for garden nymphs and other magical creatures and it usually involves clan orgies. Jooheon still has to the duty to his clan and host it, but obviously can’t take part in all clan rituals anymore, jealous hyunwoo, slightly possessive changkyun, instead hyunwoo has the wildest night in his life with Jooheon high on spiritual energy.

Write amazing dancer hyunwoo-inspired by his performances on hit the stage. Jooheon getting so embarrassed watching his body rolls and hip thrusts. Maybe they work in the same company, Jooheon writes lyrics and hyunwoo choreographs. They have an end of the year december show and they’re both thoroughly enamored with each other’s performances. For one of hyunwoo’s later shows, Jooheon writes a rap for him.

Sugar baby au- ken and leo

Kihyun wedding photographer for hyunwoo and jooheon

Jooheon sings inappropriate songs in English (missy elliot) and Changkyun gets really embarrassed. She’s dreaming: lyrics of talking about not remembering him next morning, do something with that, something whimsical, magical? Maybe god/night spirit changkyun and Jooheon never remembers him next morning. Or Jooheon has a weird sleep personality (really erotic night sex), but never remembers doing it with changkyun the next morning.

Red lips, curled lashes, flushed cheeks, soft skin, loose hair, gold jewelry. Hmm maybe with reborn oracle jooheon? Or pet jooheon idk

Write something/ integrate into fics based off of this photo: photographer au? Maybe the kihyun wedding one http://garisanee.tumblr.com/post/153703032612

Jooheon with smeared lipstick: mafia or pet au, maybe into gods au, murder au maybe????????

God au w/ heroes of the remixx, but also that other one with the gates and women one

Close: space was just a word made up by someone who’s afraid to get too close

Write something based off playing with fire, or insert into an au- gods au?

Maybe combine with this quote: http://dvoyd.tumblr.com/post/152519735188

Ooh soft fic: changkyun sends jooheon that one selfie in your likes, also the instagram accounts, boyfriend instagrams or they live kinda far away and routinely check each other accounts, hyunwoo gets jealous with all the pictures jooheon posts with other guys.

Cherubic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdyY-x4IX_E: shownu and jooheon taking pics of his abs for twitter pics, but kinda turns into a makeout session with some explicit videos and that’s why he can’t post them.

http://sterekvoid.tumblr.com/post/149778025364/shownu-looking-daddy-af

Daddy hyunwoo???????

http://sterekvoid.tumblr.com/post/153634045339/thankful-for-this-moment

Feeding?

That one picture of jooheon hugging hyunwoo from the side and he’s wearing a brown kind of zip up jacket, adorably pressed up against him.

For intimidating boyfriends au! That one picture of hyunwoo and jooheon in radio station with jooheon making a cute fight me gesture, but behind him hyunwoo looks like he’d actually fucking beat you up.

Stuck lyrics are really good, queen, blind, sir yes sir salute to your lips: all good for oracle au

Jooheon in dark outfit: https://68.media.tumblr.com/ad0dc00f77e935a701a31f6144e413eb/tumblr_ohijrdOo1W1u5ikz6o1_540.jpg, would work for murder au or maybe gods au for dark rituals?

Murder au, suits?????

Oracle au or murder au- girl your face is like a blue moon, smooth radio dj changkyun?

Can’t sleep love-Pentatonix: late night love making fic

When changkyun is actually taller than jooheon

Mafia ideas: suicide squad track in clubs, jooheon’s long dangling cross earring. Hyoyeon's mystery? At one point Changkyun gets properly fitted for a suit and he looks so good

A dimple is the mark left by an angel’s finger when turning up the baby’s face to kiss when they are sleeping. Potential oracle, angel/demon, au?? www.ancientsuperstitions.com/dimples-ears/

“What would you do if you had a free day with a lover?”..... “Uh what could we do?” “Watch movies I guess” ----jackson is totally thinking about something dirty

Mermaid jooheon please: something with changkyun or maybe koi fish/any other kind of fish jooheon meeting with gentle basking shark or whale hyunwoo.

Honey cafe: honey pots, honey rings

Lingerie model: thigh highs, garters

Piglet jooheon, bear hyunwoo, fox changkyun/wolf changkyun idk

But like the growth span of Jooheon in one year picture: au where jooheon and hyunwoo grew up together and hyunwoo always saw the other boy as a sweet little brother, but jooheon’s always been in love with him. He and his family had to move away when they were just kids, but at one point when they’re all grown up, kihyun mentions having a friendly get together with the people at his work and invites hyunwoo along, since they technically work in the same company, just in separate departments. There he meets jooheon again and holy shit wow he’s all grown up and damn did mother nature do well. They separated when they were just kids, but hyunwoo’s always remembered a boy with dimples as deep as the sea and eyes that formed a half crescent when he smiled.

I know what you did last summer: angsty au! Where hyunwoo’s promised betrothed of 5 years falls in love with a castle guard instead. Featuring much angst and crying. Please have a scene where hyunwoo confronts jooheon and grabs him by the shoulders and jooheon’s never seen him this angry. For the first time he’s actually scared of the other man, and hyunwoo watches jooheon’s face crumple and wet spots start to dot his sleeve. “I’m sorry, I never meant for this to happen, but…” he crumples in on himself before quietly admitting “you can’t control the way I feel.” Hyunwoo can’t control the surge of jealousy he feels, at the thought that he, the prince, the next king of this country, was somehow jilted for some common castle guard. He grips jooheon’s chin and forces him up into a bruising kiss. Their kisses before had been speculated by the public from behind judging lashes and hidden smiles, so they had been a short, chaste press of lips. But now in the privacy of their (shared) room, he swallows Jooheon’s surprised gasp and roughly licks his way into the other’s mouth, not caring for how wild he looks right now.

Shades of cool: A world where magical creatures are rare and few between, and the ones that are seen are locked up in various aquariums and zoos. Changkyun is given the chance to work at a local aquarium that is rumored to have caught a mermaid.

Handmaiden inspired visual aesthetic: That one scene where the lady was outside with the gentlemen,laid in the quiet forest and she’s wearing a loose hanbok with her hair down, but he has a casual light suit on. Maybe fantasy wedding/engaged au, where they escape to the forest one day when they’re supposed to be on a royal procession and on official business, but jooheon never looks happy during them so after a meeting with a local earl instead of boarding the train to the next county, he takes his hand and rushes them into a nearby garden that’s been closed to the public. Hyunwoo’s never been this spontaneous in his life, but when he remembers how uncomfortable Jooheon had looked under the hungry stares of the public, it only makes him run faster. “Wait, what are you doing?!” Jooheon shouts after him. “We’ll miss the train!”

Hyunwoo yells back, “I guess we’ll just be taking a bit of a detour then~”

Nose boop kiss

hybrid/woodland creatures au!: adorably nuzzling/writhing around in the snow or leaf pile.

Maybe domestic polyamory au!: christmas where changkyun and hyunwoo just accidentally are too busy and forget to get jooheon a gift. The two panic and somehow end up deciding popping out of a gift box shirtless is a good idea. Of course, that ends up going as smoothly as expected.

Including shirtless hyunwoo, ribboned changkyun, and hysterical jooheon.

Sweet boy: hufflepuff jooheon, slytherin changkyun, gryffindor shownu, kihyun slytherin, ravenclaw hyungwon, minhyuk hufflepuff, wonho gryffindor: hp au where slytherin changkyun is hopelessly sweet on oblivious hufflepuff jooheon.

Hyunwoo, minhyuk, wonho, and changkyun all play quidditch

Jooheon always comes to watch everyone’s practices, and Changkyun always ends up trying to show off. At one point idiotically flies into a pole.

Jooheon’s lips and fingertips stained black. No matter how hard he scrubs or washes it only gets darker and smears everywhere, with no sign of it coming off. He panics, leaving more black trails everywhere. Changkyun finds him huddled in the bathroom, face stained as if he had walked through a mine shaft, and the previously pristine, white walls pressed with black fingerprints.

“What’s wrong with me?” his friend cries. A typical friends to lovers story, except this time with demonic possessions

Prompt idea: he eats sunshine and star powder

“The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.”

your cheeks bleed a fiery red (but you cry a soft blue)

Fantasy au! where Changkyun is young, fresh-out-of-training, recruit for the special magical creatures unit of his local area. Not many people are willing to endanger themselves to help cosmic beings beyond their own comprehension, and Changkyun's especially rare, in that he signed up for direct in-field work out of his own volition. It was either that or a boring office job, and he'd much rather get blown to smithereens trying to help an allergic phoenix, than pour over endless forms for the rest of his life.

Of course, when he had said he expected his first day on-site to be filled with excitement, being completely on his own as he heads toward the largest warp portal he's ever seen in his life was definitely not the picture in his head.

Never did he think, as he stands shocked in a ruined church chapel, that on his first day he'd be given the opportunity to save an angel. A fallen one, to be exact.

Flower nymph/Witch au: Resin rings

https://www.buzzfeed.com/maitlandquitmeyer/little-luxuries-you-deserve-right-now?utm_term=.fozYAeWoG0#.aswkNw7oZz

This is so aesthetic a moodboard for something must be made HONEY'S cafe or some shit idfk

happycakeycake sent a photoset a.a.w.s

Special delivery for a favorite customer

happycakeycake sent a photo post

A quiet night in together

I JUST WANT JOOKYUN IN T SHIRTS AND SHITTY PAJAMA BOTTOMS SITTY ON A WOOD PORCH AND DRINKING PINK CHAMPAIN OUT OF CAT MUGS THERE TOO DECADENT

Mångata

n. The road-like reflection of the moon across the water

Night-time reflections on drunken feelings and spare pink champagne

Changkyun’s cheek is almost completely numb against the wood railing when he hears the tell-tale swish of the front door. He raises his head, stretching out the crick in his neck as he looks toward the sky. According to the half-moon, it must be at least ten.

The glare of his phone tells him he’s off just so. 10:47.

The arrival of the apartment’s second tenant is indeed confirmed when their porch door rattles open against the shoddy metal frame. Newly-dyed blonde hair pops out into the moonlight, followed by slim eyes that crinkle fondly when they take in Changkyun’s welted cheek.

“Hey, I’m back. Did you wait long?”

The words puff as into visible clouds, and the younger man shivers as each syllable cuts through the air like a cold wind blowing towards him.

“Mm,” he hums noncommittally, leaning an elbow casually against the railing and keeping his face flat. “What do you think?”

Jooheon pouts, lips curving into an ever-familiar duck bill, and Changkyun resists the urge to snicker loudly. The other man fidgets at the younger’s impassive expression, reluctantly half-in and half-out between the porch and the living room.

“In my defense,” he states (see: whines), “Fridays are always rush nights. Plus,” he sighs dusting at unseen leftovers on tight slacks, “there were at least two days worth of leftovers to clean up.”

Changkyun goes lax against the wooden rails, amusement warming his stomach as he imagines Jooheon making puppy-eyes at untouched pies and cookies. His housemate immediately groans, sensing he’s about to be laughed at and disappears back into the darkness of the apartment. The creak of muffled footsteps recedes towards the bedroom and Changkyun can’t hold back his grin, breathing out noisy snickers and watching them unfurl as hints of mist into the frigid air.

Jooheon comes back in time to catch the last wisps of Changkyun’s laugh, pausing at the open doorway to hum out his own quiet giggle. The younger man is sprawled loosely against the porch, faded purple t-shirt and oversized sweatpants hanging off his frame, face relaxed as he grins openly toward the night sky. A cold draft winds around their building, and Jooheon tugs gingerly at the worn sleeves of what was once a maroon hoodie.

Now, in its washed-out red, the color fades into a pink under the moon’s spotlight and he fingers sulkily at fraying cuffs. A shadow of the tight cinch of the collar of his work uniform still remains under his skin, so he pulls the hoodie up to his mouth, hiding his face in soft cotton.

“Why are you even waiting out here anyway? It’s absolutely freezing...” Jooheon muffles out, shuffling forward to rest beside Changkyun on the railing. The younger turns immediately over onto his elbows, coming to hunch and glance towards the other man. He rolls his eyes, huffing as he rests his chin to a raised fist.

“Well, I thought I’d enjoy the view for a little, because someone said they’d be off-shift early today!” The moon cycle hits this week as a dangling half-sickle, and it had hung so crookedly beautiful in the sky, Changkyun decidedly bore the brunt of the cold for what he had thought would be a five-minute thought session with himself and the winking cosmos.

Unfortunately, deep thought leads to easy loss of consciousness, and he had promptly passed out in the cold.

Now, they’re both awake and shivering, each wondering why the other chose to stay outside. Jooheon shrinks his hands even further into his sleeves, rubbing thin cloth desperately together as his eyes wander up towards the sky.

“It’s because of the moon isn’t it?”

He takes Changkyun’s silence as a yes and snorts his signature croaky laugh into curled sleeves. “You’re such a nerd, why did I even ask?” He reaches over, ruffling a sleeved fist against Changkyun’s scalp. Even softened by worn cotton, the knuckles dig a bit too hard and combined with the late arrival home, Changkyun’s more than a little annoyed.

“Hyung - I swear to god,” he growls ducking away from the affectionate touch and turns to glare jerkily downwards. The intrusive hand pauses mid-air, where it had been buried in the younger’s hair just moments before, and slowly retraces a lingering path back to its owner.

The space between them grows thick with unreadable tension, and Jooheon swallows awkwardly as he tries to breathe through the silent space between them. It’s true, he had promised earlier this week when Changkyun shyly took his hand and asked if he was available Friday night. What he hadn’t expected was just how long cleanup would take today - busy enough for him to get back over an hour late than scheduled.

When he cautions a glance over to the younger man, he’s still adamantly avoiding Jooheon’s eyes. However, he’s also still shivering in his thin shirt, skinny arms wrapping tightly around an equally small chest. The best thing would be for the both of them to go back inside, but Jooheon is probably the last person who could convince Changkyun of that right now.

Well, if they’re both inevitably stuck out here, Jooheon might as well make something of that, right?

He whispers hesitantly, “Wait here-” before cutting away and heading back inside, letting the porch door slide closed with a clack.

Changkyun finally drops his sulk, straightening up to look regretfully back at the door. He had gotten irrationally mad in the moments past. Somehow Jooheon’s friendly teasing had hit an already exposed nerve and he had snapped. For the elder’s tough facade, he’s irrevocably soft inside, prone to crying at the smallest of things. Changkyun wouldn’t be surprised if his small eruption had driven the other man away for the rest of the night.

Just as he’s about to mope to the moon again, a noisy slam announces Jooheon’s (unexpected) return, and Changkyun has to control how quickly he perks up. The other man is back but with a puffy coat wrapped comically around an already oversized hoodie, another winter jacket in hand, along with two familiar mugs and a bottle of...is that champagne?

He bustles over, coat sleeves sliding and rustling loud enough to wake every bird in the neighbourhood, setting down the bottle and mugs in order to drape the jacket gingerly around Changkyun. He pats awkwardly at the younger’s now warm-er shoulders, making sure the jacket stays on before returning to his previous position against the railing.

Indeed, it is champagne upon closer inspection as Changkyun takes a closer look, pulling his goosebumped arms through the jacket at the same time. The fabric settles comfortably around his lanky proportions almost perfectly, and he realizes Jooheon’s somehow managed to dig out his favorite jacket from the mixed cesspool that is his bedroom.

ALSO LESBIAN JOOKYUN WITH SKINNY SHARP CHANGKYUN WITH THE SHARPEST EYELINER AND RIPPED JEANS AND SOFT CURVY JOOHEON wHO RECENTLY DYED HER HAIR BLOND AND CHANGKYUN S HAVING HEART PALPITATIONS

Compendium (n): a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, especially in a book or a form of publication.

A string of loose stories and different universes for one Lee Jooheon

happycakeycake

Changkyun with like a rough spiky bob and messy bangs and the only thing she knows how to do is the fiercest eyeliner but jooheon always coos over her anyway "my favorite dongsaeng looks so adorable today!"

happycakeycake

COLLEGE LESBIANS JOOKYUN IS ALL I WANT IN LIFE

Jooheon with longer curly hair and soft curves and snapbacks that she thinks makes her look cool but it's just precious

Imagery practice:

Like a pastel painting but with the colors melting as if in molten lava, raspberry pink blending into a bright orange, grey fading into a baby blue.

Rolling flames across the sky, pierced by shadows of telephone wires and tall trees

Fat lumps of grey sit still in the sky, looming and unchanging overhead. Yet, somehow it fades into a complete shade of open blue, barely dotted with white fluff. When the bus shifts, all he can see is the darkness of rain clouds again. It’s like watching foaming waves push out to the sea, going so far until everything melts into plain blue.

The vibrant green of the grass and the trees stands out cartoonishly in the shaded light and he blinks owlishly, wondering if he’s somehow living in a child’s drawing. White dots flutter across the open windows and they melt into the ground. It can’t be snowing in April, can it?

He squints harder, pressing his cheek to the lukewarm glass. The white pieces are actually minuscule petals, revolving through the spring wind as every tree shakes their flowers loose, shedding them for summer leaves instead. There’s so many of them flying around though that if he looks far away enough, it could be an early March blizzard.

The weather is strange today. It had been appropriately wet and freezing in the morning, the world saturated in shades of grey and green. Nothing unexpected after the previous night, where the heavens had poured out their sorrows out for hours on end.

However, as he steps out to the bus stop it’s blindingly bright. From inside glass windows, the sunlight seemed mild and subdued by the thick net of grey across the sky. Yet, as he’s almost blinded, it’s obvious the view from inside had been a lie. It’s another strange weather phenomenon - yesterday the snowing flowers and today the post-rain sunshine.

Where could this expanse of sunlight come from, he wonders, finally relaxing his stare as he enters the shielded cover of the bus. The sky is entirely painted in grey, only occasional patches of watered down blue showing through. Somehow, the sharp light only stands out more, pure white smeared against a muffled backdrop.

Maybe he’s spent too long blankly staring at computer screens or just being inside, but he thinks this must be what heaven on earth looks like.

Dream: 4/24/17

A wide penthouse/apartment room, empty except for two large beds and some tables and cabinets.

It seems dark, but there’s wide rectangular glass window that takes up the entire front wall. It shows through as cloudy and gloomy - the expected night city view is shrouded in gray mist; the room completely dimmed and dark: only off-white light coming from the window - more like a buzzing violet, hazy enough to be a fog.

Kihyun sat on one bed, face placid and unreadable as he stared at Jooheon sleeping under the covers in the other, Changkyun sitting on the edge of the same bed, hovering over him.

His arms are bare, but he’s safely tucked under blankets; sleeping so calmly - completely open and vulnerable.

eyes closed with lashes pressed and fluttering against his cheek, mouth slightly parted as he breathes sleepily, cheeks squished into the pillows; blond hair ruffled and curly.

Curled like a baby with blankets gripped in a loose embrace. There’s some kind of light - purple/violet pink neon light glowing above him from the wall? It’s spilling over his body like stained watercolor paints - especially on bare fingers, neon pink shading across pale wrists, across the back of his hand and stopping just a little over his knuckles.

Also highlighting the back of his head, violet strands standing up, frizzly in the neon light. There’s a cold purple creeping across his bare back, fading against skin in a soft highlight - at least from where Changkyun is sitting.

Changkyun is reaching over, with one arm over Jooheon’s figure as he looks down at his peaceful visage. He’s worried about something - they’re going in for a surgery? “reprogramming” was the word used. He lays down over him, but so carefully he’s barely putting any actual weight down on the sleeping boy.

Kihyun sits straight, with his hands clenched in his lap as he observes the two - eyes completely dark. He says, “You know, he won’t be the same after the reprogramming. Are you still going to go through with it?”

It’s some kind of decision, something Jooheon’s completely entrusted to Changkyun to make. It doesn’t seem to be a literal reprogramming, more of a biological fix that will heal whatever disease Jooheon seems to have, but Changkyun knows something will “snap” and Jooheon could potentially become a new person - forgetting him and who he used to be. He doesn’t know if he can do it, so he clenches his eyes shut and huddles against Jooheon, breath shaking as he feels the solid mass of the other’s body under him.

At this, Jooheon wakes, swollen lids rousing as he turns toward Changkyun with pink cheeks. It’s the overused metaphor of the sun suddenly shining through dark clouds - shining lips immediately pull into a sweet grin when he drowsily sees Changkyun. It’s absolutely beautiful - a ray of light in the darkness of the bedroom, his hair glowing like a halo.

The first thing he says is “I trust you.” before pulling the other boy flush into his embrace, looping bare arms around his neck tightly.

On another note: later dream: college volleyball game? Jooheon whining across a volleyball court about a foul or something? An oversized maroon red volleyball jacket falling over his fingers and those typical tight volleyball shorts - red and white sneakers and socks with a stripe up to the ankle. Later on, he and his teammate argue across the net, both of them pouting, but she’s really fiery and angry - she’s small with the short sleeved t-shirt of their jersey - red and white, something black emblazoned across the front. She has her hair down with a curtain of straight bangs - YooA from Oh my Girl! Maybe?

gumiho/fox spirit Jooheon: http://www.cracked.com/funny-7186-8-scary-japanese-urban-legends/

As an offering to the gods, living beings have been sealed into the pillars supporting temples to ensure stability and longevity in construction - after all human flesh is the best foundation for a building. These structures are still standing and Changkyun happens upon some dusty remains in a small nameless temple village.

Lee Jooheon/Lim Changkyun | I.M

Lee Jooheon

Lim Changkyun | I.M

Monsta X Ensemble

Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements

Horror

Alternate Universe - Merpeople

Any Rating

Any Warning

The dead walk out of the sea, beautiful and alive, and no one suspects anything otherwise. Except for Changkyun, when Jooheon shows up in front of his door, asking him cheerfully if he still has the keys to the lighthouse. The other boy had drowned himself just two months ago.

Lee Jooheon/Lim Changkyun | I.M

Lee Jooheon

Lim Changkyun | I.M

Monsta X Ensemble

Alternate Universe - Circus

Horror

Alternate Universe - Merpeople

Any Rating

Any Warning

every attraction in the circus show is obviously fake, save for the locked, covered tank pushed into the dusty corner of the back of the supply room. changkyun, a new hand hired to help with cleaning, hears a strange gurgling from the supposedly empty tank and goes to investigate.

captured mermaid! jooheon falling in love with changkyun, and along the way changkyun discovering all the terrifying horrors of his workplace and the previous attractions who may or may not have disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Lee Jooheon/Lim Changkyun | I.M

Lee Jooheon

Lim Changkyun | I.M

Monsta X Ensemble

Horror

Kitsune

Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements

Any Rating

Any Warning

Changkyun hears the capital's temple is famous for offering wandering travelers like him the best of luck. However, he's more than interested in the rumored treasure that's said to be hidden within the midnight depths of the nearby burial ground.

kitsune/gumiho/fox spirit! jooheon who's been sealed deep within the temple for centuries by generations of priests and finally a handsome young man comes and accidentally sets him free...how will he repay him?

Every beauty comes with her horrors.

A vague fantasy au - inspired by Blind MX - something about secrecy, sanctity, and ruining virginal purity - “I wanna rip apart the blinds that cover you - I see it, blind” - absolute sacrilege but neither of them can resist the sin - “Your existence flickers before my eyes, don’t disappear”

Perhaps a temple boy - one of a dozen chosen oracles - life entirely devoted to the gods and nothing else, i.e. vestal virgins. Exist for the sole purpose of tending to the temple, keeping the flames alight for the gods - therefore cannot leave at any moment - especially not in the daytime. “You were not born for the public’s eye - you are a piece of the gods themselves, their flesh and bone, their blood and hair - keep yourself sacred and so too will your god.”

First meeting in the dark - a flash of a wide heated stare and the oil pot clangs hastily against the ground. The flames flicker, sparks alighting in crackling anger, and the male oracle

That + something w forbidden royalty - changkyun a prince and jooheon a simple servant of the gods - and yet when changkyun is with him, he’s never felt more in awe - the holiest image of jooheon nestled between his sheets, a sheer blanket held to his chest, draping down just so around his hips as the morning sun surrounds him in a stream of glowing gold - “my angel, my heaven, stay with me forever,” he murmurs languidly, pressing each word with a dragging kiss over Jooheon’s arched neck. “You are my religion,” he confesses fully, words dry, hushed, and sacred in the dusty air. “Shh-you must not say such things,” jooheon smiles easily, but there’s an uneasy wrinkle in his brow as he smooths a thumb over Changkyun’s parted lips. The prince kisses him fiercely, determined to swallow away the protest with a talented swirl of his tongue as he digs his fingers into the creases of the oracle’s bare hips. A laugh echoes sweetly into his mouth, but he only bears down harder, extricating a shy moan as he sets upon the task of proving his words true. After all, he doesn’t lie about things such as this.

Scene with Jooheon bathing in a pond hidden in the center of a forest clearing - cleansing himself with the essence of the earth - connect and recenter himself again for holy work. Thin white linen shirt, fitted loosely with errant ends of delicately tied straps batting softly against his skin. Hem of pants billow right under his knees, tickling at the crook there and jooheon shivers, rubbing both hands up along his practically bare arms. He hangs up the lantern, stepping fully clothed into the hushed pond and clenching his eyes shut as cold creeps unflinchingly across his every inch of skin. Fire bugs blink curiously from the bushes, their glowing torsos lighting up the glossy ripples with nebulous dots of amber. Pink lotuses sway with the wind, little boats for sleeping buds and jooheon’s stills as much as possible, waiting for the pond to settle into its impenetrable plateau again.

Changkyun: the young brash stubborn hormonal prince → but honest and absolutely knows what he wants - but in the process he mucks up a bit. Play w idea that even w prince and oracle, he absolutely reveres jooheon, treating him like he’s his most sacred idol, his most precious object - a conflict between protecting and desecrating. Wants him in every sense: body, mind, and soul - wants every bit of him, free him from the servitude of the temple, make him his and jooheon will never have to hide his pretty face from the sun’s beaming smile ever again. Free him - and lock him up in his own cage.

Suit porn! Au: rich young heirs or aristocrats, they have nothing better to do with their time nor their money and so they buy suits just to wreck them again with each other.

#otw: 170727 meet and greet on fymonstax.tumblr.com

Wonheon mafia! Au w/ gang member wonho and stripper jooheon:

Title ideas / inspo: Kiss me like it’s a lie, lie to me, baby don’t say you want no liar, baby don’t say you want a bad guy like me, you’re my favorite kind of lie, put me in my place if you want- (as if it's your last, pride and prejudice - zico, sweet lies, earned it, frzzn by teflon saga, (slick neon nights and the city thrumming through the dirty veins of the underground - a smooth rush, you’ll never feel the same as you do now, splayed on your bruised knees, the lights pressed into your skin, here, even as he’s pinned to the spot ten times over, jooheon feels the danger like a dance beat, pulsing in time beneath his skin. Here, caught in hoseok’s stare, they create the very definition of heat between them. It’s so dangerous, so dangerous, so hot and he teases anyway. - want by taemin, in the night and false alarm by the weeknd, some exo spicy edits, then the cruel tenderness of it all sets in, teeth grazing across the back of your neck, the world caught in the odd hours before dawn - wicked game by hula hi-fi)

Jooheon takes the crumpled bill between his teeth, gritting his teeth around the taste of sweat and smoke as he crawls backwards on the stage, throwing his head back against the heated metal of the pole.

“Good work,” Youngjae pouts without taking his eyes off the glossy pucker of his lips in the tilted backstage mirror. Jooheon grunts noncommittally, jaw aching as he spits out the wad of bills onto the makeup table, littered with a bottle here, a half-open compact there - a collection of shared clutter.

“Rest up,” Youngjae hums, snapping the strap of garter belt with a clawed finger, and Jooheon watches half-heartedly out of the corner of his eye as the lace settles into a reddened welt over the other’s curving, round thigh.

“Get a ride, alright?” He grins, hazy, lined eyes blinking smoky pink with hasty eyeshadow as he struts out into the rabid screams, each step clicking perfectly to the beginnings of a pounding bass.

Jooheon checks his phone, pressing his bruised knees over the rapidly cooling line of sweat making its way down his bared chest, pooling at the thin hem of the only flimsy piece of lace offering him any semblance of decency right now. His phone blares bright, reading 11:50 with startling bluntness.

Minhyuk’s shift ends at 1, but there’s no way his discolored knees nor his swollen, aching waist can take any more of this - at least not tonight. He gingerly steps his grime covered feet over the tacky carpet, grimacing when his bare toes stick with every step. There’s a pair of ripped jeans hung over the back of a chair, and jooheon painfully, tenderly slips into them, waiting quietly for his shifting joints to settle into bearable silence as he zips himself into the tight denim.

He can’t find his shirt anywhere in the mess of leather straps and ripped lace, so he folds his arms into a puffy winter jacket, sighing as the fine layers encompass him in a bubble of warmth. The edge of the hood comes to the edge of his cheek, the sleeves dangle over the tip of every finger, but it’s not so bad on a winter’s night. It’ll be easier to wait for hours in the alleyway like this.

“Want a light?” A black car rolls past him before purring to a sleek, silent stop.

“You hate smoking.” Jooheon says by way of greeting, keeping his back pressed to the hard grit of the alleyway. It’s the truth.

“Only on some nights,” Hoseok affirms, taking a long, slow drag before puffing a grey dragon’s breath at his huddled figure. “And tonight, you looked good up there.”

Jooheon says nothing, and Hoseok stares, taking in the smeared edge of black around blood-shot eyes, glancing over the streaks of lipstick still glossed over in shiny pools of pink moonlight. “Come on,” he smiles, teeth showing, “I’ll give you a ride home.”

Jooheon frowns, pressing his mouth into a fine line of wordless disapproval. Hoseok stifles a chuckle at his pout. After a beat or two, the younger man shifts meaninglessly along the wall before muttering, “Minhyuk’s taking me home.”

“At one in the morning?” Hoseok supplies, not missing a beat, eye-catching smile still plastered across his pale face. “Youngjae told me you know, that you needed a ride.”

Damn Youngjae, Jooheon frowns harder, kicking at a pile of dusty pebbles, scuffing the toe of his worn boots even further. There’s an audible click from above his downturned head, and he looks up to see Hoseok still leaned casually on his open window edge, cigarette tilted jauntily out from the corners of his upturned lips. “Get in,” he quips, each word dislodging a flickering ember drop to the ground, short life extinguished into the bite of the cold cement.

“Put it out,” Jooheon bites, demanding even as he pushes away from the wall, knees and ankles creaking as he forces his body to stumble around to the passenger side.

“Sure thing,” Hoseok sing-songs, letting the cigarette tumble to the ground without a moment’s hesitation. He slithers his upper body back into the driver’s side and rolls up the window with an indistinguishable hum.

“The boss is planning a business talk at the club next Saturday,” Hoseok remarks through the dead silence between them, one hand on the wheel, both eyes on the road. “You’re dancing then right?” He turns slightly, catching a flashing glance of Jooheon’s dark head propped against the foggy window before swiveling back to the road.

A business talk, Jooheon considers, a shiver running through him at the unspoken implications behind it, and he’s suddenly reminded of the fact that he’s not wearing anything under his winter coat. He curls up tighter on the seat, the realization of it somehow infinitely worse in Hoseok’s presence. “Yeah,” he murmurs, breath condensing over fine glass.

“It’ll be good money,” Hoseok affirms as he pushes the car into a thrumming stop, unlocking the doors with an echoing click. Jooheon pushes against the handle, almost tripping over the side edge in his hurry to escape the strange atmosphere of marlboro smoke and gun lubricant, of piano music on the radio and the slickness of Hoseok’s smile.

“I’ll see you then,” the older man waves in a short, cheery motion, ducking down slightly so Jooheon can see his slitted eyes, closed in a sly grin, from under the obstruction of the car’s black hood. Jooheon turns on his heel and leaves.

Jooheon distracted by Wonho - letting himself succumb just for a little, until a tussle with drunken members - youngjae’s dead fish-eyed stare is lain across the floor at all the wrong angles and he breaks down, (how could he have let himself go, to let himself be fooled while this was going on - they were never that close, but there’s some sort of unspoken solidarity, a trust you could never form unless you toiled away your body, letting yourself be sold like this everyday - youngjae understood - and now he’s dead).

sleazy gang member leering up at him + wonho seeing jooheon’s discomfort and calling him aside to another room.

“You - you had guns the entire time?” jooheon whispers, throat dry, staring up at hoseok from his dislodged seat against the ground. Youngjae’s cold body remains swollen, clammy, and silent under his touch. The shuffle of metal clicks over holsters and suit jackets, shed easily in the presence of the few eyes left. hoseok grins, the sickly glare of club lights looming in his eyes, above jooheon.

“the deal had to be made one way or another - he was the one who chose the more difficult alternative.” hoseok shrugs, shoulders rippling calm and easy under the leather holster. Jooheon looks away, a hot tightness rising through his throat as he meets youngjae’s flat grey stare instead. He takes a moment to truly look, to realize the wide emptiness of youngjae’s eyes, the only thing left of him in his final moments, and he finally bottles it up and swallows the feeling down with a silent, pained gasp.

hoseok trails bare knuckles along his cheek, tight and elegant lines shifting in the dark as he kneels to jooheon’s level. “Collateral damage,” he comments. A glance, a half-shrug and youngjae’s dead body is quickly thrown away. Jooheon doesn’t look up, feeling hoseok’s fingers begin to tremble again his skin from his own slow undercurrent of growing shudders.

“But don’t worry.” The grazing of knuckles becomes a smooth palm, cupped around the entirety of his cheek, fitting itself into the empty crook of his jaw and hooking its easy touch behind his ear. Jooheon stills for so long he can’t tell whether it’s because he’s unwilling to move or because he physically can’t. hoseok cradles his face, gentle and soft, and leaves his words in a whisper of a kiss over jooheon’s forehead. “I would have never let anything happen to you.” unlike him goes unspoken.

The fall is eventual and inevitable. It’s enough that one of these nights, these nights so black so suffocating and another crack of the gun as he stares at another pair of dead fish eyes hidden between shuffling legs. Finally, when hoseok looks at him with such simpering pity, as if he understands - those arms open and he can’t stop himself from falling.

The night passes like an eternal damnation between them. Jooheon can’t take his eyes away, not when Hoseok looks down at him like he’s finally won. It’s a frenzied, maddening thing. Teeth latched onto his neck, hands dragging him down by his writhing hips, he fades with the rest of the night.

It is only until dawn, that turns to the great Venetian window and hides his stained cheeks in his palms.

At his side, Hoseok lights up a smoke and breathes in and out, a deep and satisfying drag. This is not the first or last time between them. Jooheon should run, he should strip Hoseok’s touch from his skin and leave himself raw against the white, tainted sheets. But danger feels as familiar as the burn of cigarette smoke and the beast’s nadir bathed holy in the morning light is enough to fool him, just for the moment.

The idea that Hoseok drives Jooheon into his arms - so cruelly so casually, until he’s entangled. Only until he’s shot down the ones at the very top, that it even occurs to Jooheon - it’s too late to run. “My love,” Hoseok kisses him, and Jooheon finally tastes it, the spilled blood on his tongue, the cold edge against his throat.

“I admit, I’ve had this in mind for a long time. But then you came along - and well, here we are.”

Modern Noir Songs inspired crime/mafia! Au: My Love by Kovacs

(my love, no more whiskey and cocaine, like a shark I'll be ripping you apart, and celebrate with lots of champagne) (can’t trust a cold-blooded man, he’ll love you and leave you alive) (your eyes are frozen to kill me-gashina) (The tremble of your mouth sets me on fire as night closes in) - kal cahoone, “the movement” (I think I said te amo, before I knew your name) - Tarantella - Esqueletos album

A chapter based on each song in the 15 song noir playlist

The boss, for all his whispered reputations, sits small and contained behind a simple mahogany desk, looking for all the world like he just stepped out from behind the stage of a New York fashion scene, everything about him brushed to what Changkyun would say - a point of spoiled perfection. Delicate pops into mind, and the younger man bows fluidly at the waist, subtly scoffing at the chances of someone like him ending up here with that face still intact.

“Kneel.”

The unwavering command stops him mid-way, half-trapped at ninety degrees and a slow jerky ascent, the word registering like the grate of chalk over sidewalk in his stuttering mind. He glances up, still bent at the waist, only to meet a slitted gaze, flat with the cold grey of tombstones and nimbus clouds and drops to his knees with an unexpected wave of shivers.

Changkyun’s neck is locked into a stiff column of stone as he keeps his head ducked to the lush carpets, breath inextricably caught as every muscle twitches, tensed and yet not daring to move even an inch out of place. His own bug-eyed reflection stares back at him from the glossy tip of pointed leather, warping his quiet terror into something much more palpable as a polished oxford jerks harshly under the tender length of his throat.

His frozen vision is forced upwards, caught in the same stormy pair of nimbus clouds again as they tilt towards him in smooth, slanted consideration. The hard edge of the other’s shoe nudges his neck up even further, strained and bare in a defenseless offering.

It’s the first time the other man smiles, hazy storm clouds dipping beneath silk lashes as creamy welts appear under full cheeks. Dimples, Changkyun acknowledges vaguely, feeling his throat work uncomfortably against unforgiving leather. The rubber rim of the shoe stays still, hooked under his chin as the boss smiles down at him with a sense of unsettling calm, and Changkyun’s frantic mind is already on its way towards shutting down as it repeatedly screams what do you want? into the silent void of the closed room.

But well, the answer is right there, nudging a harsh imprint against his proffered throat. He swallows audibly, breath catching as he looks into those fathomless pools again before clenching his own nervous gaze shut and pressing his dry lips to the arched length of a socked ankle.

He leaves his kiss there, stilling for an unmeasurable moment before retracting his mouth in bated hesitance. The leather digs into the soft skin of his chin for a few seconds more before slipping down across his skin in silent approval. Changkyun closes his eyes and sends a murmured prayer to whatever god is out there because he was sure for a minute or two he was going to be kicked straight across the face.

“You may leave now. Hyunwoo will see you about tomorrow’s matters.” Changkyun doesn’t need anything more to stumble to his heels and basically turn tail and sprint out of there. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches the soft hint of another dimpled grin and resolves to never trust another pretty face again.

Betrayal scene: “i’ve always wanted to see you on your knees,” jia er coos, nudging his boots between jooheon’s open thighs, pressing them into the ripped slashes along the other’s bloodied pants. Changkyun’s never seen such desperation in the older man’s eyes before, never seen him in such a state of vulnerability. (He can’t help the strange thrill that runs up his spine).

“Here-” Changkyun mutters, fumbling for the spare gun in his shoulder holster and pressing it into Jooheon’s stiff hands. He’s re-loading his own with precise, memorized motions, but the other man only holds it like he’s cradling a teacup, as if the handle would shatter if he bore the entire weight of his grip around it. His fingers curl around the barrel like the way a schoolgirl would pick a blossom from a spring tree, careful with the wonder of a lovesick novice.

No- Changkyun doesn’t believe this. “Don’t tell me,” he chances to speak even as Jooheon’s shadowed gaze roves along the gun’s black body with meticulous investigation, “you’ve never used a gun before?”

The older man’s fingers finally curl into a clenched grip around the handle as his ripped lips form an irritated glower. Even now, Changkyun thinks his soft, rounded hands are completely unsuited to the touch of blackened metal - too unwieldy, too delicate for killing. And yet, he knows, he’s seen otherwise.

“Hyunwoo always shot it for me,” Jooheon murmurs after a tense pause, turning the Charter 0.38 around his smooth palms, the barrel’s unforgiving edge presented in stark contrast against the curved porcelain of his fingers, “but well, I suppose what better time to learn than now?” A wet shriek pierces through the wall behind them, and Changkyun grimaces as the sound pounds through his eardrums. Yeah, why not - after all, he’s always wanted to see the boss with blood on his pretty, delicate hands and what better chance than today, with their lives on the very edge of the line. He can’t thank the gods enough.

Bedroom interrogation scene:

Backstory: “He grew up in an orphanage, much like every other boy in that wasted part of the city,” Hyunwoo states, voice vibrating smoothly to the same tandem of the ragged cloth he’s currently polishing over the pistol’s scratched surface. “But well, he saw some things-” he pauses, cocking the gun to the gentle morning light, inspecting its barrel this way and that before he silently deems it acceptable and sets it aside for the next banged up smith and wesson. “And his poor little brother did too.”

Changkyun’s breath catches; it’s cliche as every other sob story he’s heard and yet - he wonders what Jooheon would’ve looked like as a chubby, innocent child, the faceless body of another boy appearing as some vague form by his side. The image glitches, unequivocally fake compared to the sleek-eyed, fine-haired man that Changkyun presents himself before everyday, staring at him over lightly crossed legs with a cocked, unreadable gaze.

“He was only seventeen too - so close to leaving with all his belongings in one hand, his brother safely tucked in the other,” Hyunwoo sighs, age-old fatigue cracking across the tanned face as he loads a new magazine into the now-polished smith and wesson. The distinct click of the fresh bullets punctuates his every word, leaving Changkyun inordinately chilled to his very core. “I’m sure you can guess what happened when the men found them.”

Changkyun’s mind races with a thousand images, dark, blurred and flickering images as he finds himself blurting out hasty questions without a moment’s consideration. “What men? And how did he even survive?”

Hyunwoo only sends him a unspoken glance, before his face shifts into a blank mask as he continues with his methodical task, filling up the dry silence between them with the rhythmical re-loading of bullets. “I’d assume they’re long gone now - low-life thugs that ran wild in the underbelly of the city, so drunk on power that they forget-” he re-sets the grip with a forceful shove of his palms, piecing the gun together with a final echo of cold metal, “a king never lasts.”

“Then what about Jooheon?” Changkyun’s mouth runs wild with unbidden thoughts, words tumbling like a rushing, unbroken waterfall.

“He’s something else,” Hyunwoo hums, a strange light glimmering inside his calm eyes. Fondness? Changkyun wouldn’t dare guess out loud. “When I found him - well, my first thought was that he must’ve been the only survivor of a sudden gunfight, probably just a poor lamb caught in the slaughter.” He chuckles, low and unhindered, the unreadable emotion in his creased gaze pooling with the amber intensity of raw honey. “But I’m sure you of all people know what a farce that is.” He glances lazily at Changkyun, observing the other’s expression of wary agreement with a keen pang of satisfaction in his stomach.

“I can still remember it now, the way he stumbled over dead bodies with an obvious injury - at the very least a dislocated ankle, but most likely a cracked bone.” He grimaces, tapping the pointed leather of his shoe against the tiled floor in phantom pain. “There were marks all over him, bruises blooming across his cheeks, a collar of handprints around his throat, and blood - blood was everywhere.” He sets the gun down with an air of tense finality, the light in his eyes glazing over as he sits back, caught in something only he can see. “It was gruesome.”

Changkyun doesn’t doubt him for a minute; if someone with as many scars like Hyunwoo is admitting this without an ounce of hesitation, then he’s really only proven himself as the novice everyone thinks he is.

“He never held the crown of a king, but when he stepped up to me, bleeding from the mouth, chin held sharp and proud - I thought I saw the fangs of a wolf.”

Hyunwoo’s death? Potential?: (i just want to know you, bury you in black)

Jackson interactions + CK onlooker:

Title ideas: affection is cigarettes after sex (mocha is the glimpse of heaven)

MX monsters au: incubus! Shownu and fire kitsune! Jooheon

https://vixxtastic90.tumblr.com/post/165353681691/xeletteshipsyou-monsta-x-mystical-creatures

http://xeletteshipsyou.tumblr.com/post/164789108510/monsta-x-mystical-creatures-shownu-will-be-an

The stage roars with the crowd’s frenzied screams and as the stalagmites of light fracture past the sweaty film of Changkyun’s blurred vision - Jooheon grows a pair of wings right before their very eyes.

A heavy sleeper - prompt idea? Horror maybe?

You know how to handle guys baby - prompt idea (queen - mx)

Escape is just a nod and a casual wave - tear you apart - she wants revenge

take me (cage me) in your love

“I wonder what an angel tastes like,” Minhyuk sighs, smearing a line of red past his cheek with a long, lazy drawl of a pointed finger. Hoseok runs his tongue along the rounded edge of his teeth, swallowing down the hint of iron, filling his stomach with only a sense of empty dissatisfaction. Life hums sluggishly in his veins, and the heady thrum of blood flows behind his closed lids. It’s not enough.

“Why don’t we find out?” The eternal inferno of his appetite awakens with a roar, and, suddenly, he’s hungry all over again.

In which hungry demons/incubi wonhyuk devote themselves to the desecration of heaven’s holiest child.

http://aminoapps.com/page/monbebe/6017419/monsta-x-as-witches

Kihyun sings for no man, but for Jooheon’s innocent smile he’ll make his first and only exception. The crown treasure is a songbird tucked away into the hushed, twisting hallways of the palace - sworn to never sing for any man as long as he lives. The songbird of the palace is tucked away into the hushed twisting corridors of its expansive body, muffled in rooms of dusty silks and locked behind shining silver bars - sworn to never sing as long he lives.

burn me to ashes with the softness of your kisses (burn me with the softness of your kisses), look at song lyrics rec page, tear you apart lyrics, dark noir songs? I yearn to hold you close (tonight and always) - pillowtalk

Out of my head, of my heart and my mind - siames the wolf - as you get high - i want you to snuff out my flame - you make my blood pound faster (my heart break harder) - “san telmo” tarantella

Ruts are a whirlwind force of nature: irrepressible, uncontrollable, and dangerous above all else. Without a mate or black market suppressants, you might as well sentence yourself to a life of government-imposed isolation - that is, if you aren’t practically charred from the inside out first.

Changkyun knees shake, knocking against the ice-cold porcelain of the toilet bowl as he watches his future swirl down the drain, white bits of crushed suppressants mixing with the acid green-yellow of his body’s plain rejection of his efforts at maintaining control. His degree (a full four year scholarship - his mother had cried tears of pure happiness), his career (an open position at a nearby lab already there for the taking - the sunbaes teasing him mercilessly, asking if he’s submitted his application yet), all of it - gone. A curtain of red falls in blooming blotches across his vision, and Changkyun’s hopes, his dreams (his innocent childhood yearnings, the only thing he had ever, has ever, loved) are destroyed by a simple clot of heat, swelling heavy and hot over engorged flesh as if to remind him this is what you are, this is all you ever will be - a beast forever caught in its own biology.

Dimly, as hard tiles smash into the back of his head with an audible crack, Changkyun can hear a scream fill the sterile space of the room. He struggles to breathe, eyes lolling as he swallows past the raw pain ripping through the tender glands in his throat, and another sound echoes. It’s him - the savage, baying cry is stringing itself out from his mouth, wordless and desperate as he begs for something outlined just so in his mind’s eye, hazy around the edges with the flickering black spots of his vision. Syllables and rational sentences are hacked to pieces by his locked jaw, spat out instead as heaving grunts and sharp whines as he claws at empty air, searching blindly for the very thing he can never have.

An a/b/o au but alphas are a dangerous thing - if one is allowed into a full rut, may very well result in death - for both the alpha and their mate. Treated as an immediate danger by the government if unbonded.

Childhood friends jookyun - grew up together in an orphanage. W changkyun’s skinny frame always expected a beta - but well, fate loves playing cruel tricks.

The moment changkyun’s blood test comes back as alpha (+) he loads himself w suppressants. He’ll never let himself be ruined by something so arcane, so animalistic - he’s not like those criminals on tv, the insane characters locked up in various shows - he’s just a person w his own goals and dreams.

The moment the rut forces itself through - jooheon can’t just stand by and let his friend claw himself open and bleed to death - calling the police isn’t an option either, not if he wants to see changkyun again - and so he does the only thing he can think of.

A haze is all changkyun can see through, but everything else is too vivid - the taste of jooheon bursting so sweet and alive against his tongue, the mixed musk of sweat, semen, and jasmine somehow - embeds itself within his nose, the too easy give of flesh under his digging nails.

The next morning might as well be a horror scene, he’s so shocked and disgusted w himself. Bites, scratches, red welts, bruises, littering all over jooheon’s still body - sleeping though, face calm, breathing peacefully through swollen lips as changkyun shakes, taking in the consequences of what he’s done. He looks down, burgundy crusting w a tang of iron underneath his uneven fingernails, hissing as he runs his fingers down raw scratches over his back - still nothing compared to the violent aftermath painted onto jooheon in varying shades of muddy yellows, greens, and plum ripened purples.

Dead men are heavier than broken hearts - askbangtansound

Lilili yabbay - “the dance of the thirteenth month, the dance that leans on the moonlight, my vision is only at you” “open up the time where only both of us can exit (exist)” - a tale spanning centuries, generations.

sin - “ a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God ”

Like the remnants of ancient ruins, his body is lain among the flowers coated in creeping moss and the dust of past centuries, desecrated and forgotten in all his lovely holiness. The grecian statues stand, embedded in a guarded ring of supple limbs and twisted bodies made with incomplete too-perfect flesh as the growing grass of a fresh spring runs over their arcane stone bases. The mausoleum, the holy temple rises as a remnant, prostrated before the cruel chains of fate.

When jooheon kisses him, love flashes - green, clicking, immediate - across changkyun’s mind. When jooheon kisses him, it flashes love like a string of codes through changkyun’s mind.

In which jooheon and changkyun fumble around each other like a set of overheated, spluttering computers whirring on overdrive.

"Don't forget about me. On a good day, I'll call you once again. It was beautiful meeting you, who bloomed. - from new moon jbj

“I’m fine, but i’m not okay.”

https://bisexual-changmin.tumblr.com/post/173622718463/changmin-yunho-source-source - concept is satan’s son flirting with a very beautiful vampire

(the devil’s) satan’s youngest son woos a very handsome vampire.

“Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.” Their Eyes Were Watching God.

If i had a flower for everyday that i thought of you, both my garden and my life would be in full bloom.

Hyungkyun - changkyun is sure he’s in love with the coolest boy in school.

Featuring - deceiving appearances, murder, betrayal, and tragic teen romance

Hyungwon wears his ears pierced - how many, changkyun can never keep track of. He dyes his hair too - right now he likes the sharp blonde look that never seems to fade even under the summer sun - and of course, his signature leather jacket always slipped around his shoulders - it’s garish over the school’s blazer, but it’s handsome, it’s so cool.

I mean he just looks so... in that leather jacket - until he finds it splattered and smeared with blood, bone, and other bits. Hyungwon offing people for the sake of it - or really for changkyun’s sake.

The teeth-gritting grind of bone and blood, the smooth tear of skin - the hissing pull of a person’s entrails - a splatter of red viscera.

Admiration to disgust once he finds out what kind of person “he really is.” “did you really fool yourself into thinking that?” as if you have any right to accuse me of deceiving you - come on, tell me the truth - you tricked yourself.

A potential addition to fingers around your throat universe: hyungkyun version

In time, Changkyun meets his own mysterious suitor of the night.

A surgeon in residence who makes a bit extra on the side with some black market operations - and soon, a strange patient comes under his knife.

He wants his upper canines removed - they’re oddly sharp changkyun thinks. A familiar bitterness coils in his throat.

He hasn’t had much training in dentistry, but he gets to work anyway. He just has to remove them right? Easier than having to fill in empty spots. Somehow, he thinks, clamping the pliers around the tip of the tooth, it doesn’t seem like it would hurt the man either way.

It’s a failed operation. Hyungwon still has enough of his teeth left to tear through skin and bone to blood anyway.

Fantasy - fei inspired:

The boy of his dreams. The boy beckoning him from inside the screen. It’s all a beautiful fantasy. But Minhyuk wants it, wants it bad, wants it more than anything he could wish for in the whole wide world.

“I love you.” He smiles, eyes crinkling shut, his mouth pulled into that familiar, lovely invitation. “You don’t know me.” He meets his eyes dead on, a glistening doe-eyed stare, and all Minhyuk recognizes is a dreadful sense of emptiness.

He’s a stranger and Minhyuk is in love with a complete stranger.

The boy in real life has plain brown hair. The coloring has already faded into thin strands of gold, straw-turned-silk, a dirty shade drained out from the inside of a stained club sink.

He smiles, sitting directly across from Minhyuk, eyes glistening with the same secretive understanding. “Not the same right?” and he taps his head with that pointed tilt. The same finger, solid flesh and warm in daylight, holds Minhyuk’s attention captive just the same.

His single finger is capable of holding all of Minhyuk’s attention poised and captive.

This time his hair stays that golden shade of brown, ordinary beyond imagination. Minhyuk doesn’t know what he was expecting - but really, he shouldn’t have been in the first place.

“I believed that this was love. Now I know you aren’t real but that attracts me even more.” - artificial love, exo

imperial au: scraps and planning

Potential title - Strategy is best discussed over a cup of drink

Chap. 9: things to keep in mind

In General: All the PORN scenes???? + tenderness, growing possessiveness and a rediscovery of each other within the context of a physical relationship.

He’s wearing the most simple of hanboks - stripped down to a single color, the glow of his skin see-through under the fine ramie sokjeogori covering his chest. Every movement, every shift under the warm candlelight, leaves Changkyun mesmerized.

Wearing a thin veil across his face - enough to barely obscure his features - somehow the outline of his lips, the shadow of his cheeks are even more alluring beneath it. Jooheon unties the single ribbon at the back and it falls loose. They meet eyes once again, face to face, just the two of them under the hush of the night in Changkyun’s room.

Fumbling with each other’s robes, caught in the heat between their bodies, friction between their tongues. Of course, didn’t come prepared, so Jooheon fingers himself open in front of Changkyun impromptu with some candle oil or something. It’s messy and slow, but Jooheon guides the prince through it, controlling the pace by riding him until Changkyun comes with a muffled cry. The concubine hasn’t come yet, and goes to leave because it’s usually only about pleasuring the client first and your own climax comes second, but Changkyun drags him back done and jacks him off, jooheon protesting sweetly all the time, but comes faster than he ever has in the past under the touch of his prince.

UNEXPECTEDLY DEEP VOICE - a tender awkwardness b/t them as they discover all these things - jooheon gently guiding him through it all.

Slow exploration of each other - disrobing, hands shaking as they touch every new exposed inch of skin. Changkyun watching him, open-mouthed wonder and arousal as Jooheon stretches himself open before him - tentatively slips his own fingers in and Jooheon encourages him, falling apart slowly at the same time - changkyun can’t believe it, to be the one to make Jooheon like this, to strip him bare and make him lose control, it makes him dizzy - slow riding and changkyun’s hips move on their own, afraid to hurt him as Jooheon shivers, wordless - but jooheon teaches him a few new things ;), inadvertently marking him with little bites.

“Don’t worry, my prince. You’re more than adequate.”

Looking at the bruises on his body, he runs a tentative hand over them. “I-I hurt you-” but Jooheon’s eyes curve into the sweetest smile. “No, never.”

The whole, Changkyun wakes to the other’s half clothed back, illuminated softly in the morning sun. The concubine is busy adjusting a fallen earing, robes still haphazardly draped across his shoulders, and the prince can’t resist leaning over and pressing a kiss against the bare skin. Jooheon jumps in surprise, earring momentarily forgotten, and looks back with amused delight. “Up so early, my prince? You should be resting after a night like that.” Changkyun squints at the bright light, and buries his face shamelessly into the other’s shoulders. “As if you have any right to talk.” He hugs the concubine tightly around the waist, attempting to pull him back to bed. “If I should be resting, then you should do so with me.” (emphasis on the beauty of the morning after: woken up side by side, they trade kisses, blindly mouthing at each other - an easy intimacy, soft under the morning light. against the rising dawn, the world disappears - only jooheon is held within his eye. (twitter pic ref) - insert changkyun poem at some point.)

After the first time - breathlessness - they didn’t know what to expect from each other, from this new physicality - and suddenly it’s like a wall, one that had never even existed, is gone - and they’re reaching for one another again. Something’s been set off between them and the impulse to reach out and touch has never been more tempting. So Changkyun succumbs, again, and again, and again. Like holding your breath underwater and letting go - Changkyun finds it against Jooheon’s gasping lips.

The new and sudden impulses and desires awakened within him - the broken sounds falling from Jooheon’s lips, the bruises in the shape of his hands - something arises in him that almost scares him - an indescribable desire to hide him within his palms, be the only name that falls from those lips.

Changkyun’s interaction beyond just jooheon - Jooheon and minhyuk, a noticeable closeness (the glances he caught of them wound around one another in the rain, and now one whispering, the other laughing - both of them seated side by side in the audience) - changkyun is suitably jealous of the other man, concubine or not.

Also changkyun’s deep voice - make an appearance somehow - more apparent, the small things about each of them that they notice the more time they spend with each other????

That one thing about ck being competent on the throne - really shakes jooheon up - all “grown” up, makes him feel flustered.

They spend more and more time together - jooheon spread out on changkyun’s floor, diligent in his own work. A leg propped up as he contorts himself over a loose scroll. There’s a dish of ink sitting precariously at his foot, and ever so often he wets his brush across the side. Changkyun watches, and decides he’s completely unaware of how he looks - graceful as he’s lost in his own thoughts. He wants to break it just to tell him that - if not something more.

under the warm lamplight during cozy nights, changkyun writes poems with smooth ink along jooheon’s bare skin. Changkyun makes tangible what was only words, thoughts, and longings before with adorations and worship upon jooheon’s skin.

Their daily meetings together - ever unspoken have become their shared secret.

in the palace’s ever-increasing maze, this is only a single corner, forgotten and rediscovered - and their unspoken secret from then on. they bring books, light instruments - even food and drink

walks together, past hazy verandas, under filtered sunlight and passing under the eyes of solitary columns - changkyun reaching out to do so beyond his hesitance. The sight of it, a bright jewel in his hair, gives him a tempting idea. changkyun is always slightly unsteady about their height difference, even the slightest dip of an eyelash between them sends his head spinning back in vertigo - maybe it’s the shoes, the extra weight of a gihye’s heel - but even so there’s the smooth slope of jooheon’s shoulders, broad in a way that gives him the silhouette of a waterfall, relaxed in a manner of eternal grace and majesty.

where changkyun lets his princely impulse get to the better of him - concubines are already draped in jewels and finery, but to see jooheon in his own choice piece - it’s an exhilarating sort of feeling, somehow a secret excitement and satisfaction for him - to see jooheon preened over in public, wearing just that simple hairpin/comb, from him and him only. it feels like a declaration somehow, changkyun wouldn’t want to presume - but it’s their little secret, wide open yet just between the two of them - the giving of the gift marks something between them.

the two of them wandering down the bank, steep and loose earth rolling underfoot. there are no man-made impressions dug and shaped out of the ground, so Changkyun slides down first. there are tree roots and weeds dragged between his fingers, ripping in protest, and he scrapes himself against rolling stones too. but in the end, he looks up, bold, and offers a hand to Jooheon and the concubine arrives, pressed safely to his side - jooheon’s little gasp of shock, the widening of his eyes - but he bends down and takes ck’s hand within his, gripping tight and changkyun shakes under his weight - but he doesn’t let go.

Leads into a wild affair in the rain - soaked wet as they fall upon one another on the steps of the pond - jooheon’s robes spreading across the water, sticking against his skin. He shines, translucent in the rainy mist. Cheeks rosy from the cold, he looks at changkyun with soft, damp eyes - “you’ve ruined me my prince.” - a tender beckoning - Changkyun can’t help it, he kisses him until his lips go numb. Water rushes between them, filling the spaces of reaching fingertips, eager bodies - Jooheon’s cheeks are smooth with dew, a gentle smearing from his lashes, pink blurring the curve of his mouth.

historical equivalent of composing raps together - changkyun finally musters enough nerve to bring his compositions to their little haven - of course jooheon is the perfect piece and always manages to provide the closing line he needs

there’s something of a difference b/t knowing and truly understanding - and only now, with the reminder of another, the mark and strain of someone else worn upon his expression, does changkyun really think about the implications of jooheon’s nightly occupation. it’s a shocking kind of realization, the sensation yanks him back, cold and flat against the earth. he wonders, burning with curiosity and want - but he keeps quiet again. still, the itch builds without relief and he finds himself paranoid to an obsessive extent - when beneath beautiful smiles, mornings played out in shades of pink, and soft confessions, all he can see is the perversity of his own imagination playing out the worst and most explicit scenes before him.

Changkyun’s nagging awareness - even with jooheon here with him nightly - the reminders of others being able to touch him like this - it gets to the better of him one night -> the payment, “be wholly mine” - jooheon almost angry and yet he concedes to changkyun’s stubborn earnestness.

Also a way for hyungwon and ck to repair their relationship - deal brokered b/t them.

conversation: there’s lighthearted ones, but the very nature of their roles - prince and concubine meeting like this everyday - turn the conversation towards more melancholic tones. “Do you know why they call it the forbidden palace?” jooheon turns to him, smiling. this time the curve of his lips doesn’t reach his eyes. changkyun shakes his head, silent. the concubine looks to the lake instead, brushing a loose hair from his brow as the wind picks up. light flecks of greenery swirl past, dandelion powder and fallen petals in the air. spring perfume permeates the little bank before him. jooheon turns to him again and through the screen of glittering blossoms, his smile is bitter.

“on the contrary - it’s very easy to enter. really anyone could come in whenever they’d like.” He pauses, eyes trailing the stem of a peony floating above head. changkyun knows what he’ll say next, almost dreads the sound of it enough to steal the words from jooheon’s lips. but he keeps his quiet.

“it’s the concubines who are forbidden from ever going out.”

after that, the only conversation between them is lost to the whispers of the wind.

After Jackson’s arrival:

scene: imported cocoa beans from the west - traded with silks and scrolls for a single bitter brown nut. changkyun sneaks a handful from the imperial stock and they brew their own amateur cocoa tea - smoky and rich, the steam practically dripping down their throats. jooheon is thoroughly enamoured w this strange taste and changkyun, addicted to how the concubine’s smile folds so sweetly over each and every cup.

#happycakewrites

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rofics · 8 years ago

Text

Just love us, please?!

Fandom: Bts and Got7 Pairing: Seokjin x Namjoon x Jackson Au: Hybrids College Length: 3.3k Genre: fluff and smut Request for: I need obvious Namjoon in my life!!! Can you please write something where Peacock!Jin and Hummingbird!Jackson fight over lazy Panther!Joonie! Endgame NamJinSon?? Pretty Please? Summary: Namjoon's life is way to hard with Seokjin and Jackson competing to win his heart without him even knowing... Problem arrives when Namjoon get's a boyfriend that isn't either of them... Extreme times requires extreme meassures... Those measures are fake dating so Namjoon understand he wants at least one of them!

Namjoon really just wanted to chill through university, he just wanted simple things like ace all his classes and graduate on top of his class, simple things. Being a panther hybrid he was lazy by nature, he liked sitting in the sun working on his laptop just soaking in the sunlight. Which was one of the reasons that his skin had a healthy tan.

First year went well, he never saw his roommate, mostly because he apparently dropped out and for some reason Namjoon got to have the room for himself the entire semester and the next. The start of his second year was when shit happened. First one of his good friends from back home Seokjin transferred to Namjoon university instead if his old one, Namjoon’s having a pretty big culinary program. Then again so did Seokjin’s previous one, but he decided it was better not to ask.

Seokjin was a tall guy, not as tall as Namjoon of course, but tall, broad shouldered and with a handsome face. A classic good looking guy that all the girls would fawn over. He was a peacock hybrid luckily he resembled a peacock more than he actually looked like one. While yes his eyes were deep and black resembling an empty pit you could get lost in easily, he luckily didn’t have the feathers from his arse.

Instead his hair was a mix of the most beautiful green, blue and purple mixed together in one of the world combination, and that was his peacock traits. Other than knowing you are better looking than everybody else, but Namjoon wasn’t sure if that was a peacock trait or a Seokjin trait. The most strange part was that yeah Seokjin knew he was good looking, but he was never unlikeable cocky, when he would joke about himself being attractive it weren’t in a bad way.

It was hard to explain, but overall Namjoon really liked Seokjin until they had grown apart since they had gone to different universities and only really saw each other when they got home from their studies. That was the reason when Seokjin turned up at his dorm door to say hello to him he wad a little surprised, that was also when he met his second headache.

Jackson Wang, studying in the same year as Namjoon on an athletic scholarship and Namjoon’s new roommate. The thing was there was nothing really wrong with Jackson, he was shorties around 174 cm, well built often smiling and he liked to rap like Namjoon. He was often loud and happy, but again not in a way that was annoying or anything like that. Namjoon also understood why Jackson was so hyper sometimes.

Jackson was a hummingbird hybrid. He like Seokjin didn’t have many physical traits of the hummingbird. His neck area was very sensitive and a soft red different from his normal skin tone. He had almost infinite amount of energy and he could eat anything and never get fat, and like Seokjin he had the deep bottomless black eyes of bird.

So on the surface it all sounded great right? Two good friends all really good people, the problem was that for some reason… they hated each other. The day that Seokjin came to see him in his dorm was the same day Jackson came to unpack his stuff. They took one look at each other and from Namjoon’s point of view it looked like they had some thought communication and then decided that they hated each other.

From both of the other hybrid’s point of view that wasn’t really what happened. What happened was that when Seokjin opened the door to Namjoon’s room, Namjoon who had been his crush since he was 9 what he saw was not Namjoon lying around lazing it in his pj, tail happily drawing small circles in the air while he typed away at a speed Seokjin could only dream to one day reach. What he instead found was a fully dressed Namjoon… Which was a shame since soft Namjoon in pj’s with Ryans on them was the kind of Namjoon, he was standing making room on one of shelves while some stupid guy with bleached blond hair and a way to big smile was staring at HIS Namjoon’s ass.

Jackson saw Seokjin as some stuck up brat who was lusting after the one person who didn’t want him like that, the one person that Jackson liked! They were both very much aware that the other person had feelings for the panther hybrid, and without even saying anything they both knew it… The game was on.

The one problem was that they hadn’t thought about was that Namjoon was as fucking oblivious as a rock. Seokjin should have seen this coming the girl who lived between him and Namjoon had tried to make Namjoon date her for even longer than Seokjin had tried to. Nothing she did worked out, she gave him chocolate on valentines every time for 10 years and he noticed nothing. When they were 16 she asked him to the dance, he thought it was as friends.

It had ended with her crying on his doorstep asking if she wasn’t pretty enough! Namjoon’s answer had just awkwardly been “I’m sorry… I’m gay.”

And that had been the moment Seokjin had known that his innocent crush had hope and he needed to marry that man… boy…

It had started as small things, Seokjin arriving at their dorm early to escort Namjoon to his classes, Namjoon of course just thought that Seokjin was being a good friend. Jackson weren’t too happy with it, but he acted like he didn’t care, or at least he tried, but the nasty glare he sent Seokjin was enough to even clue in Namjoon. Even if Namjoon at 7 am in the morning was really just a tired little kitten, rubbing his eyes and accidentally walking into stuff.

As winter hit both of the hybrids had taken to much more bold strategies. Seokjin at this point was sure that Jackson had actually kidnapped all of Namjoon’s hoodies forcing the younger to wear his. Which was stupid! Because now neither of them could see Namjoon with his cute sweater paws, because of Jackson fucking tiny hummingbird.

Seokjin had taken to always wrap his scarf around Namjoon when they were out. Because apparently Namjoon’s weird fashion sense did not come with a scarf. See by everybody else's standards that would be enough for them to realize that the two males were fighting for his attention. Namjoon just thought they were being nice and friendly.

Seokjin had started kissing Namjoon’s cheek to say hello and goodbye. Something Namjoon just giggled at which drove Jackson insane so for payback he started holding Namjoon’s hand and cuddling up with the taller panther late at night to watch a movie.

Both of them had different privileges when it came to Namjoon. Seokjin was the childhood friend that Namjoon knew and had known for years. Jackson was his roommate that he spent many many hours with. Luckily none of them had the same major as Namjoon, which was probably good for Namjoon’s sanity, he tried so hard to get them to like each other.

When Jackson and Namjoon ordered takeout for the 3rd time that month he would jokingly say that if they had Seokjin there it wouldn’t be an issue since he were such a good cook. When he was with Seokjin he would tell him about Jackson’s fencing tournament and how well he did! Tell him about how nice Jackson were to him last night and stuff like that, his goal wad to get the two to like each other.

What he instead managed was to get both of them to think that he liked the other person better, which was just… not the point he was trying to make. Especially since from Namjoon’s point of view they were both straight. Yeah both of the older males had just assumed Namjoon knew their sexual orientation.

Everything changed though when Jackson barged into Seokjin’s room and for the first time spoke directly to him without Namjoon between. “Okay we need to fix this!”

“I’m not giving up Namjoon for you, there is an equal chance that he falls in love with me.” Seokjin looked unimpressed from his position at his desk “Also… That door was locked did you just break into my room?”

“I borrowed Jungkook’s key, he is dating a friend of mine Yugyeom so it was easy and I’m actually likeable.” Jackson stuck his tongue out like a child, but then he got serious,“That is not what I meant, Namjoon has a boyfriend and it’s not me… and not you.”

“Excuse me what?” That caused Seokjin to actually put down the recipe he was working on. “Namjoon would have told me.”

“Yeah I thought so too, or that he would have told me. But I saw them at the lecture hall today kissing!” Jackson threw himself down on Seokjin’s bed, as he rolled around a little, mostly to annoy the older male he did notice just how good his bed smelt… huh weird.

Seokjin went back to reading with a relieved sigh, not even looking at the hummingbird currently rubbing himself against his bed, he was used to Jackson being a weirdo. God what did Namjoon even see in him? Yeah he understood that Jackson was actually good looking he had to give him that, he was well trained from the gym and his facial features were aesthetically pleasing, but he wasn’t like Seokjin’s prefered guys soft and sweet around the edges.

Jackson was kinda like… a nice jock… yeah that was good way to describe him. “I’m sure you just saw it from the wrong angle, it’s a classic mistake.”

“No! This is not some stupid romantic comedy where I saw it and then run away crying. I’m not stupid thank you very much, I know you think I am just because I do sport’s! But I have to keep my grades pretty high to maintain my scholarship asshole!” Jackson sounded actually annoyed.

Seokjin couldn’t stop himself from feeling a little bit guilty, he never planned on actually insulting Jackson. “That was not what I meant.” His tone was softer this time, while yes Jackson was his romantic rival Seokjin didn’t want to do emotional or physical harm to him.

“Whatever, I went up and asked him what happened and he introduced me to his fucking boyfriend Jaebum. He is one of Yugyeom and Mark’s friends. Decently tall and a shiba hybrid, dark hair, pretty eyes and a little fluffy tail” Jackson pouted

“Do you want to date Namjoon or Namjoon’s boyfriend I’m no longer sure?” Seokjin couldn’t stop himself from teasing Jackson, not really wanting to accept how bad reality is, “and how serious can it be, it’s a dog and a cat hybrid?”

“You are aware that we are bird hybrids right?” Jackson just mumbled. “Technically that’s a word fit, my point is… this is real, this is happening and we have to stop it.”

“Shouldn’t we be happy that he is happy with somebody else?”

“Have you ever heard of this guy from Namjoon before? Because I haven’t.” Seokjin shook his head, which made Jackson continue. “That is my point! How much love can there really be between them if they were never together before this, he doesn’t love Namjoon like we do! If I have to lose him I can accept that it is to you, but I can’t accept it being some random guy!”

“That is almost touching Jackson, but do you have a plan in that hyperactive head of yours?” Seokjin couldn’t really believe that he was going along with this, but Jackson had a point he had never heard of this Jaebum fellow and suddenly he was dating Namjoon, that wasn’t right!

Jackson just shrugged his shoulders. “I kinda just assumed that we make it up as we go.”

Sadly Seokjin had no better idea so they ended up shaking hands on that, and vowed that they would be temporary friends until they managed to save Namjoon from his own bad choices.

It turned out to be harder than he thought, on one side Namjoon really didn’t change that much. Yes sometimes Jaebum would spend time with them, but Namjoon didn’t just stop hanging out with them or anything like that. He would still let Seokjin kiss his cheek and Jackson hold his hand and cuddle him, and to Jaebum’s credit he seemed fine with it.

The first time he saw Seokjin kiss Namjoon’s cheek the peacock hybrid had been ready for shiba hybrid to throw a tantrum, to show how he was immature and not good enough for Namjoon, but instead he had gotten a light laugh as Jaebum slung an arm around Namjoon’s waist making the panther lean into the touch comfortable as Jaebum teased. “Should I be worried?”

The problem was that his teasing tone was completely calm, and showed that it was just a joke that he had no worry that Namjoon was going to cheat on him or that Seokjin were a threat to the relationship. Seokjin didn't know if he should feel insulted that Jaebum didn’t see him as a threat, or annoyed about how Namjoon just giggled while he answered. “It’s just how Seokjin-hyung says goodbye and hello it’s normal, I think he watched to many french movies.”

“Something tells me that it might be your fault, pretentious french movies.” Mark who was sitting behind them made a gagging movement behind the pairs back. Mark was a special kind of person a close friend of Jackson’s and short like the hummingbird and a penguin hybrid. Which meant he had the classic deep black bird eyes, some black colouration down his forehead and covering his nose. Objectively speaking he was really cute, not Seokjin’s type but cute, and he seem to be just as much of anti of the relationship as both Jackson and Seokjin so that was nice.

3 weeks into what Seokjin would now like to call hell on earth, and no progress had been had. They had made Jaebum seem like a fool managed to make him seem unable to ever be on time something that the inner leader in Namjoon normally hated. They had made him spill soda over Namjoon’s favorite ryan plushie. Which Jackson regret the second he made Jaebum do it, because it made Namjoon cry not angry at Jaebum just really really sad. The weird part about that was that Jackson and Seokjin both seemed a lot more concerned about that than Jaebum, another sign that clearly he weren’t right for THEIR Namjoon.

It ended up with Mark being the the one that ended up having a bright idea as the three anti NamBum- which was the least likeable shipname they could come up with, sat on a roof of their dorm building one evening the couple had invited them along on their movie date in Jaebum’s dorm room which he shared with Mark. All three had said no thanks, neither feeling like watching the two men make out, okay they had never done that in front of anybody, and they kept it mostly pg around other people, but everybody was tired of other people touching their man.

Yes that included Mark, it had turned out that Mark was actually in love with Jaebum but had been to afraid to ever act on his feelings. As they sat there Mark suddenly said “You two should pretend to date.”

Jackson sounded like he were getting choked by the piece of granola bar his was trying to eat, as Seokjin asked confused. “What?”

“There is no better way to make somebody realize that they really love you until it is too late to have them. You guys are both so sure that Namjoon has some kind of feeling’s for both of you maybe it’s time to make him realize that he needs to do something, and what he is doing right now is wrong. What better way than two of his apparently dream guys as you both like to call it date each other instead of them.” Mark just shrugged his shoulder looking sad and regretful. “I should know how it feels, and trust me it works.”

Seokjin almost immediately answered. “Mark that is a really bad idea, nobody would ever believe that me and Jackson were dating! We don’t even like each other! Right Jackson? Jackson?”

Jackson looked a lot more hesitant though, looking at Seokjin with a weird look. “It could work,” his tone were hesitant but clearly open to the idea, “I’m desperate I’m gonna be honest with you. If I thought having sex with you in front of Namjoon would help… I would do it without a question, and do not say you wouldn’t because you were just as desperate as me.”

Seokjin tried to deny it, but Jackson just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Don’t lie to me.”

“Okay, but shouldn’t we think over this a little bit more. Like how far are we going to take it?” Seokjin was a lot more reserved about it than Jackson was.

“As far as we need to.” Jackson said it in such a relaxed tone that Seokjin had a hard time accepting that they were talking about dating… THEM… Fake dating.

Seokjin just sighed, the problem was that he didn’t have a better idea. He didn’t know any other way to maybe get Namjoon to realize that they were right for him. That he needed to at least pick one of them instead of Jae fucking Bum. “Okay let’s do this.” God what was Seokjin getting himself into.

Mark smiled an actual smile for the first time in forever. “Now kiss.”

“WHAT?” Seokjin had not signed up for this, technically he had signed no papers at all.

“This is why, if you want to make Namjoon believe that you two are actually dating you need to be more relaxed about it… That involves kissing.” Why did Mark make so much sense? Seokjin prefered him when he were just pouting over lost love.

He didn’t get much time to think about before Jackson suddenly plopped down into his lap. “Sup hyung?” This was the first time Jackson had ever called him hyung, and it was said with a shit eating grin… Oh god Seokjin wanted to get out of this right now.

He never got to answer, because Jackson’s lips were on his the next second and the only thing he could think was ‘Oh my god, I’m kissing Jackson Wang’ and ‘Why is he so good at kissing?’ and last but not least in some part of his brain he didn’t want to accept ‘god his lips fit so well against mine’.

One more part to come!

- Prussia

#Bantang #Bts #Namjoon #Rap Monster #Seokjin #Jackson #NamJin #RapSon #namjoon scenario #namjoon fanfic #Hybrid au #bts hybrid #seokjin scenarios #seokjin fanfic #jackson scenarios #Jackson FanFic

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wombatlogic · 8 years ago

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Project 4

a horror/independent adventure game by lizardotaku (https://rpgmaker.net/games/9461/)

a review

So what is it?

Project4 is advertised as a a horror/adventure game, and it definitely leads towards the adventure side with a heavy dose of surrealism. It's inspired by the likes of HOME and OFF, neither of which I've played, so my perspective might be a little odd... especially considering I don't play many horror games to begin with. However! I do like "walking simulator" games so let's see what Project 4 has to offer. It's advertised as "shortish" (~2 hours) and "complete" which are both things I appreciate.

I'll try to make this spoiler-free.

Story

Project 4 opens with an intro story about a pair of twins who live isolated in a forest, surrounded by other children hunting rabbits. When the player takes control of Trost (Class: Actor) in a completely unrelated environment, my impression was that Project 4 is ruled by two different stories: a concrete one outside the game's environment, and a central conceit/metaphor story of the projects. The "real" story is updated as Trost progresses through each of the projects. Trost has an objective, and is oppposed to the projects and their worker denizens, etc. As the game continues, the story is wrapped up in the named engineer minions that populate the projects, but especially mystery characters like Emil that show up in each zone to support Trost. The relationships between the individual project managers (bosses, basically) are all interesting as well, especially the last two, Tris and Dell, which are unusual fights where Trost is the agressor. Each zone has a self-contained plot that plays out as Trost visits (and generally kills off half the project's residents), plus things like notes/logs that tie together a story between all of the projects, their former visitors, and dynamics between each of the project heads.

Then, after the last fight of Project 4, after Trost's rampage is finished, the concrete story from the beginning picks up where it left off to end the game. Confession time: I didn't fully get it. I spent a decent amount of time trying to understand how the narratives fit together (the conceit/metaphorical one inside the projects vs the one outside) but I couldn't parse the pieces. I could piece together who the characters were in the projects vs the characters in the conceit, but but by the end of the game, this wasn't new info. I felt like they're should've been a payoff at the finale, some sort of "Ah-ha!" revelatory moment where the meaning of the projects and the characters would take on a new light, but it just never came, even after I spent some time trying to refigure it out, including replaying the first half of the game or so.

My conclusion is that the timeline of the external, real story of Project 4 is wobbly and not really a linear narrative... more of a "master effect" feeling kind of thing. That's my biggest gripe with this game: the way the twins' story cuts into the projects' story heavily imply there's something crisp to be figured out, but really it's much muddier. Stuff I didn't understand includes an entire playable character "Blackmail" who shows up out of nowhere, the fate of Emil, the purpose of the big ghosty chase scene character, and generally what the linear timeline is to the story of Project 4. When for 90% of the game I think there's a deeper meaning to look for, and then in the closing minute, the meaning is just as vague or inscrutable as everything else... The rest of the story retroactively loses its impact.

Aesthetic

In short: it's good. My initial interest in this game was almost solely from its title screen. It reminded me a ton of an animated short titled "Rabbit" I remember from a ways back . Either way, the game doesn't quite pan out like that. Black and red aren't the themes here, more "vivid color" on black, and strong tonal contrast in general.

I'm not sure how much of this is an idea from the inspiration sources of Project 4 (HOME/OFF) but it's executed really well. The four titual projects each have their own color theme, emotion, guardian boss, NPC attitude, etc. The first project feels a little empty (the only events for the first few maps are stream traps), but by the time I got to Project 4, I was really into it. The intro to Project 4 is the high point of the game -- there's a neat panning and title drop for each, and the one for Project 4 capture this rainy, melancholy feeling much better than I can put into words. It's super nice.

The tiles all fit in with the themes -- they're straightforward and sometimes evocative. The tiny animations are very welcome, they make the game feel alive and they're subtle enough to be atmospheric without attracting too much expression. Facesets are also simple and effective, and the colors all match the project, a nice touch. I can't stress how much individual expressions helps convey the characters. Emil especially has an amazing faceset. The battle actors are (mostly) great as well. There are a lot of variants on the individual enemies, and towards the middle of the game, they start trending surrealistic. I definitely like the "strange" vibe vs the traditionally horror ones encountered in the second half of the game.

Speaking of surrealism vs horror, the few places where the game fails to live up to that title screen are when it tries to be a straightup horror game. There's an incongruous chase scene around midway that's not interesting, scary, or fun from a gameplay sense. The same character comes back later on and I still don't really get it. The disclaimered gore/language in Project 4 is alright -- it serves as a nice contrast with the environments anyway -- but it doesn't stand out too much.

Sound is a mixed bag. The menu stuff is generic enough except for the dialog scroll tick (nice). Music is from a variety of free sources and generally used well, although I don't like recognizing tracks in game from other places (such as with the Presence of Music) but it's alright. I winced everytime I heard scream.wav though.

Mechanics

Combat is not this game's strong suit. I've never, ever seen a single-character combat system work well in an RM game, or even an RPG, outside of roguelikes. And Project 4 is single character for the vast majority of the game. Worse, there's a single dominant strategy: spam the "PARALYZE ENEMY" skill. It locks down the enemy for a solid 2-3 turns, by which it's easy to paralyze other enemies on screen as well. It trivializes the boss fights too, as everyone is equally vulnerable. It also seems an odd design decision to have skills cost no MP - that would've put a limit on my paralysis spam, at least, although having no skill cost basically meant I was using an ability every turn rather than mashing the attack button like most RM games. At least there are no random encounters and the fights are relatively quick -- I didn't get bored.

There are a ton of items to be picked off the ground, mostly restoratives, and a character that sells healing items as well. None of these are relevant, of course, because paralyzed enemies do no damage, but even if they were, an issue: One of the items for sale costs 1 gpmoney. So I bought a hundred Fish Piece items at the first shop, thinking I was clever for finding an infinite healing exploit, aaand then never touched my fish stick stack for the rest of the game. Oh well.

Apart from combat, there's the one previously-mentioned chase scene (I had to restart three times but the solution is "hold the down arrow key") and a fishing minigame. I was pretty amused by having the game tell me the height and the weight of the keys I fished out of the sewer but I didn't exactly get why this game has fishing in the first place.

There are a few puzzles and timed maze sort of challenges, most of which are passable. I didn't appreciate a screenshaky one in Project 4 where I couldn't tell where the exit was, but the most egregious thing in this game is a "enter the code" type challenge at the end of the game, also in Project 4. It uses the Hero Name Entry system to take a passcode, and if it's incorrect, starts a battle. Okay, to start off the battle is trivial because all combat in Project 4 is trivial, but expect to fight this fight a thousand times because there's no indication that the passcode is a numeric passcode, or indeed any indication at all of how to figure it out. There are numbers in the surrounding room ("There are zero good reasons to trust anyone, not a single one") but they're vague, out of order, and include terms like "several" which apparently means 7. Anyway, even after basically reading instructions for this puzzle on the gamepage, I still had to cheat to figure it out. Just skip this one, seriously.

I'm not sure if Project 4 would be improved as a pure "walking simulator," without the combat. The violence is a theme, at least. I wonder if there's a good way to rethink the combat to make the single character fights interesting, but the rest of the gameplay cruft could be safely cut along with the straight horror elements (the chase scene, basically).

Conclusion

Project 4 is an interesting, unique, game. It's short enough where if you're still reading it's probably worth playing (). I only wish I could recommend it more strongly, but the conclusion just lacked the power to make the game memorable. I really did enjoy exploring the world of the projects, the purple Project 4 especially, but the whole thing almost seems like a "cargo cult" exercise in a surrealist game -- it has a lot of well done aesthetic elements there, plus some neat characters and an overall sense of mystery, but because that core story comes off weak, it's not possible to put meaning in any of those things. I can't decide if I want to see this game with a revamped/revised conceit with the story of the twins, or just some of these environments show up in a tighter, punchier game, but either way, I appreciate about half of what's here, even if it's only the nucleus of something that's really great.

#rpg maker #horror #surreal #game reviews

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wagihyoussef · 8 years ago

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Art, Architecture, and Cultural Lag

Abstract

The tempo of change has been so swift that 21st century man cannot keep pace with contemporary scientists and artists. The span of time between innovations and their understanding, and popular acceptance, is often referred to as cultural lag. Modern art must be understood in terms of its own frame of reference and what the artist is trying to do. He may be trying to achieve disorder rather than order, chaos rather than a cosmos. The act of creating sometimes replaces the importance of the object created. The evolution from Egypt through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the modern world is an attempt to grip with the complexities of motivation, interpretation and meaning in behalf of man's human accomplishments for life in our time.

Keywords: humanism, idealism, realism, rationalism, functionalism, emotionalism, eclecticism, impressionism, inner and outer space

Introduction

To understand the spirit and inner life of a people, the values and drives that caused people to find life tolerable and meaningful, one must examine their arts. Art provides the record of man's experience of his life, perceptions and sensations. Examining art within the times and places of its occurrence registers the degree to which man has attained civilization. The arts in relation to the life and times that produced them provide a deeper understanding of human behavior in the past, and the future that awaits our new generation.

Creativity lies in the imagination. From the void, the man artist conceives an image, out of the chaos he brings order and makes relationships. Egyptians built and embellished their tombs to provide their needs beyond the grave, for art begins in myth and magic in tombs and temples. Men concerned themselves with the natural and supernatural, the real and the unreal, the seen and unseen, the past and the future, the transitory and eternal and there is nothing new under the sun. History holds up the mirror to man, to his present and future as well as to his past. Man constructs to house his body and provide refuge for his spirit. Ever since man caught sight of himself or saw a scene reflected in a still pool, he desired to create a human image, or an imitation of nature. For caveman, art served life. Art and reality were one, and the image was the animal. For them, signs and symbols served better than reality. After looking at cave art, it seems to be a distortion of reality.

Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture

The shift from a nomadic to a communal life, from a food hunting to a food gathering society, is reflected in the arts by the shift from direct imitation of nature to a more geometric art based on formal principles and traditional conventions. A mixture of accepted formulas and accurate observations of life is found in the art of ancient Egypt. Through temples, magnificent statuary, representations of priestly ceremonies, the artist could give flesh and blood to the concept of godhood, kingship and priestly authority. Originality and innovation were discouraged yet the paintings of the walls of Egyptian tombs show a keen eye of wealth of naturalistic detail.

Death for the Egyptian did not mean extinction but rather a continuity of life beyond the grave. The tombs' occupant was shown supervising work in the fields, making offerings to the gods, sailing a boat, hunting or fishing, watching the dance, or playing games. In wall paintings and reliefs, fruit and game were provided for his table and handmaidens and manservants for the ministrations of his needs to feel at home. Egyptian tomb art is a recreation of life as it was experienced in the flesh.

Sculpture was used in Architecture as embellishment to relieve the strict functionalism of the structure to endow a building with meaning. A statue became the image of the heroic or godlike ideal toward which a people is striving. Paintings, frescoes and mosaics supply the pictorial dimension. The artist begins the creative process with the vanishing point of the void.

Greek Art and Architecture

When the philosophers Plato and Aristotle discoursed on the arts, they looked for common elements applicable to all and they were keen for unity amid the multiplicities of art, as they were for unity among all the other aspects of human experience. Humanism, idealism, and rationalism provide the framework that surrounds the arts and enclosed them in such a way that they come together into a significant unity.

The Greeks thought of art as an imitation of nature. Plato was afraid that some works of art tended to be more the product of divine madness than of reason. Aristotle could distinguish between historical and poetic truth, fact and fancy. The Hellenistic artist was more interested in exceptions than rules, in the abnormal than the normal, in types than archetypes, in diversity than unity. The Hellenistic artist, by recognizing the complexities of life, gave his attention to shades of feeling and to representing the infinite variety of the world of appearances.

Hellenistic philosophers held that each man has his own feelings, ideas, and opinions entirely different from those of others. Hellenistic philosophers became psychologists analyzing the self and laying bare the causes of inner conflict. Artists turned from the ideal of self- mastery to that of self- expression. Hellenic sculptors never forgot that stone was stone, but their realistic zeal often led later Hellenistic craftsmen to force stone to simulate the softness and warmth of living flesh.

Medieval Art and Architecture

Poetry in medieval times was a popular art form in which verses were chanted. Everyone performed at his best and they were welcomed in castles and abbeys to enliven the nobles in the Gothic period. Since the 11th century secular music forms were just emerging. The focus of attention in that time was on the words of the poem and the musical element was subordinate and if alone it would not have hold an audience and the dominant interest was epic poetry.

In Architecture of the gothic period one has an awareness of the opposition between the masses and voids, the interplay of thrust and counter thrust, and the principle of attraction and repulsion that awaken dead weights into dynamic forces. In sculpture, the conflict of the particular and universal is seen in the remarkable feeling for human individuality in some of the separate figures and the iconographic necessity of molding them into the dignified impersonality required of a row of prophets and saints.

The appeal of the Gothic lies in the very restlessness that prevents the sense of completion which can only be in the imagination. There were, in fact, no finished cathedrals, each lacked something, from a set of spires, in some cases to a nave as at Beauvais. Vincent's encyclopedia and Thomas Aquinas' Summa were likewise never completed. Thus, the object of Gothic thought was to work out a method for comprehending the incomprehensible, for pondering on the imponderables, for dividing the indivisible. Gothic art was designed to bridge the impossible gap between matter and spirit, mass and void, natural and supernatural, inspiration and aspiration, the finite and the infinite.

Renaissance Art and Architecture

Art now entered a new phase of self-awareness as Renaissance artists began to think in terms of aesthetic problems, modes of presentation, and pictorial mechanics. In this trend of scientific naturalism, the arts of painting and sculpture became allied with geometrical and scientific laws, a union that lasted until 21st century expressionism. The illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface, for instance, was achieved by defining a point at which lines converge, and in foreshortening.

Architecture had to be a kind of logic in stone, sculpture and glass had to be encyclopedic in scope and music had to be a form of mathematics in sound. All experience had to be interpreted intellectually in contrast to the more intuitive and emotional orientation of the Romanesque. To the scholastic philosophers everything must be based on principle of reason that is approachable through the logical power of the mind. Hence the key to understand the universe was in the exercise of man's rational faculties. Philosophical truth or artistic value is determined how logically a proposition fitted a rationally ordered system. Thus, blind acceptance of hallowed evidence of the senses is dependent on the freedom of the will, intuition or reason, because the mind needs order and demands unity above all other considerations.

The human body revealed a spirit of free inquiry, and the study of mathematics. This led to a new concept of space characterized by no sharp cleavage with the past and a desire for personal fame and high regard, in the quality of humanism, and in the tendency of individualism. Architects became mathematicians, sculptors anatomists, painters geometricians, and musicians acousticians. Mathematical proportions of the human body were taken as the basis of its beauty.

Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, and Vasari

Brunelleschi was concerned with the mathematical proportions of his buildings. Alberti stressed the study of mathematics as the underlaying principle of all the arts. The result was the reaffirmation of the expressive power of the nude. Painting also is considered as a science, and sculpture a mechanical art. In architecture, the breakthrough in space is reflected in the raising of Brunelleschi's cupola almost 100 meters into the air.

Perfect art rested on the typical Renaissance historical assumptions of the great development of the arts in antiquity. Italians took the greatest pride in the achievements of their own architects, sculptors and painters. From this time art became the standard of perfection under the leadership of Michelangelo Buonarroti who has opened the eyes of all who delight in his arts of painting and sculpture, which had been lost in medieval days and subsequently rediscovered in the then-modern times.Michelangelo's Madonna reveals the unity between bodily beauty and eternal beauty, he links human moral power with eternal goodness, and his organic compositions connect temporal with eternal truth. Even in his abstract architectural form of St. Peter's the pilasters are the slaves imprisoned by the weight of the material burden they must carry, while overhead soars the lofty dome in the geometrical perfection of the circular form symbolizing the paradise that man has lost and that he must somehow regain. The whole building is conceived as an organic system of upward pressures and tensions, culminating in a cupola dissolving into the freedom of infinity.

Andrea Palladio in 1570 the author of the influential Four Books of Architecture has left a detailed exposition of his philosophy and noted that he began to measure every minute part of the buildings of the Venetian style which he considered their buildings are the most beautiful edifices that has been erected since the time of the ancients. The buildings he talked about are cubes enclosing cylindrical cores, topped by saucer domes. Each had a flight of steps leading to Ionic porticos and its pediment is as those of classical temple, with statues on either side and above. Each portico provides entrance into the imposing reception room that gives the villa the name "Rotonda". The last building Palladio undertook was the Olympic Theater at Vicenza. Palladio emerges as the most influential architect of his period especially in France, Egypt, England, Ireland and America where it was carried on by Thomas Jefferson, as seen in the Rotunda of the University of Virginia which is as seen in the Villa Rotonda. Even in its present form the White House in Washington D.C. has Palladio's winged design on the White House on either side as of a classical temple portico.

When Vasari, the disciple of Michelangelo used the term Mannerism he meant working in the manner of Leonardo, but studied masterpieces with the thought of assimilating systematically the vocabulary of the late Renaissance giants. Art, in other words, did not hold up a mirror to nature but rather to art. This implied well-schooled craftsmen and a style based on stereotypes. With Palladio, academic mannerism came to terms with the classical orders of his ancient Roman mentor Vitruvius.

The Enlightenment

In the 18th century as the scientific knowledge of Newton and the social theories of John Locke became the common property of the educated classes, rationalism broadened into the movement of the Enlightenment. The most characteristic expression of the Enlightenment became the 35 volume Encyclopedia. Reason in the vocabulary of the 18th century implied cold intellectuality. As applied to the arts, resentment for the search for expressive forms and sentiments of sufficient universality was to be accepted by all who subscribed to the principles of good taste and judgment. Through the power of knowledge, the age-old shackles of superstition, intolerance and fear began to be thrown off.

The Enlightenment did not go unchallenged, and undercurrents of irrationalism were found in movements that presaged 19th century Romanticism. In Germany, emotionalism burst out in the more violent form of the so called storm-and-stress. Movement that made a rather personal interpretation of Rousseau's initial statement in his Social Contrast. "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." By bursting the bonds of civilized restrains, they were in full rebellion against hereditary aristocratic privilege as well as stern middle-class morality. Their freedom was far from that of Enlightenment, it was in fact an anti-rationalistic, anti-universal, powerfully pro-individualistic freedom that bordered on self-destruction and anarchy.

While it is often called the Age of Reason, the 18th century gave birth to some of the most bizarre and irrational beings, real or imaginary even to populate the mind or imagination. The decorative impulse manifested as the rococo burst out-of-doors into a lavish exterior. Otherwise the architecture has all but disappeared. The triangular repose of the temple pediments and window brackets of the academic style has dissolved into a pattern of undulating curves and broken rhythms, and visionary vistas of the heavens that enliven the vaulting. All other decorative details combine to carry out this sense of heightened motion. The eye is also lost in the vast atmosphere perspective of the painted vaulting. The ideas that weave the arts of the 18th century into coherent pattern are the rococo, the enlightenment and the emotional reaction to them known as the storm and stress, the rococo is the last to adhere strictly to the canon of beauty.

The Enlightenment was accompanied by a spirit of optimism and perfectibility of man. Humanists believed in the intellectual and artistic paradise of ancient Greece and Rome. Heroism and self-sacrifice became manifestations of the revolutionary spirit to confirm the principle that sovereignty resided in the people. Everyone who could read became biography-conscious. Oscar Wilde must have had this revolutionary period in mind by saying that nature is the imitation of art.

Among the important innovations of the time was an increasing emphasis on color in the various artistic media. For architects, color was associated with the picturesque. Viollet-Le-Duc and other architects could duplicate any building in the history of architecture. It was consequently an age of autobiography, memories and showmanship. When the architect did begin using cast iron, it was to build dream castles and neo-medieval cathedrals.

The Industrial Revolution

Late 19th century radical changes were initiated by the Industrial Revolution. This meant the shift from agrarian to an urban economy and the migration of substantial number of people from the farms to the cities. The dynamism of the revolutionary period with its social political, and industrial upheavals, confronted artists with the image of a changing world. No longer were the arts produced only for a small sophisticated group of aristocrats, instead they were addressed to a larger and more anonymous public of the bourgeois class that artistic media were brought closer together and back to nature, and exoticism. Revolutions held high hopes and promised liberation of man. Thus, the rift between usefulness and beauty widened. Refusing to reconcile themselves to the reality, artists sought ever more fanciful ways and means to avoid the issue. As intellectuals, they were better educated and better informed than similar groups in other times had ever been.

The yearning for past periods was expressed in the various revivals. The fuller vocabulary of romantic escapism included the back-to-nature movement, a longing for the lost paradise of a simple life, and exoticism with its fantasies of life in far-off places. Interest in medieval times was awakened, and artists delved deeper into the middle Ages. Revivals of Gothic, Romanesque, and Byzantine styles followed next with admiration for the Renaissance and Baroque periods. After Neoclassicism and Romanticism had run their courses the revival idea led to a broad eclecticism, whereby architects could build in any past style. England and Germany claimed the Gothic style as their own.

The application of modern scientific knowledge to industrial progress opened many possibilities in the arts. Synthetic products replaced the old earth pigments. Architects were wondering how their work could remain in the realm of the fine arts. Painters were seeking a formula for the incorporation into the accepted framework of pictorial art of the new physical discoveries. Artists were diverted from historical subjects into everyday life. Optical realism was persuaded to the point of separating visual experience from memory. The artists were intoxicated by light rather than life, and they saw the world as a myriad of mirrors that refracted a constantly changing of color and intensities of light. To reproduce the fugitive atmospheric effects the impressionists desired they had to work directly from nature. Beauty like color, they felt was in the eye of the beholder not in the picture itself. Their art therefore becomes one of analysis more than synthesis, sensation more than perception, sight more than insight. This means the triumph of technique over expression.

Throughout the 19th century there was a sharp division of thought on the work of an architect. Should an architect work as an artist or a builder, a designer or engineer? Should an architect concern himself with decoration or with structure? However, architects in that time were producing a design based on any known building from the past. What had begun as the revival of special periods had now broadened to include them all. The classical was considered best for memorative buildings and monuments. Medieval was the preference for churches, and Renaissance was thought suitable for public buildings of the 15th century on.

The Industrial Age however had produced new methods and materials that opened novel possibilities in the 18th century. The new materials were a threat to the traditional pictorial designers, and the more progressive architecture became, the more all superfluous ornamentation was omitted in favor of the function of the design, and the realization of the potentialities of the modern materials and the development of a new architecture. The Crystal Palace that Joseph Paxton constructed to house the exposition destined to eclipse the exhibits themselves and to find a place in the history of modern architecture.

Realism and Impressionism

Artists were aware of the success of the scientific method. Realism and impressionism brought a new objective attitude into the arts with an emphasis on the technical side of the crafts. Architects began to look toward engineers for the developments in buildings. A painting for an impressionist was a kind of experiment and problem-solving and a type of visual research problem. Experiments in optical physics revealed secrets of light and color that painters could explore. Increased knowledge of the physiology of the eye and the psychology of perception led to a reexamination of how the observer looks at a picture and what he perceives.

The impressionistic painters convinced us that pictures were composed of light and color, not line and form. Paxton and Eiffel, by incorporating light and air into their designs, achieved an original design and architecture relationship between inner and outer space. Cezanne's path led into a new concept of pictorial geometry that became an important anticipation of 20th century art, and the point of departure of cubism. The atmospheric problems of light and shadow have led to important new developments in sculpture. The fragmentary style of the symbolist anticipated the stream of consciousness and other techniques of modern literature.

Conclusion

Modern art must be understood in terms of its own frame of reference and what the artist is trying to do. He may be trying to achieve disorder rather than order, chaos rather than a cosmos. The act of creating sometimes replaces the importance of the object created. The tempo of change has been so swift that 21st century man cannot keep pace with his scientists and artists. The span of time between innovations and their understanding, and popular acceptance, is often referred to as cultural lag.

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