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killedbythegroove · 2 years ago

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As usual, Chris is the friendly, grinning, reserved observer. Dominic, the smug rascal with the dry jokes, asks me the name of the pretty promoter who is taking care of her today. And Matthew, the bright kid with a penchant for hyperactivity, meticulously paints every colour abrasion on his run-down Asian sneakers black again with an Edding.

this is actually killing me i love them

The Inner Symmetry

VISIONS Germany reviews Muse's set at Hurricane Festival in 2001 and interviews the band in issue No. 100, July 2001.

[Note: This article has been translated from German, and my German is nonexistent so I am no help here. Original article archived on archive.org]

Good Morning Beautiful

The summer of '99. A good year in every respect. Great records, great concerts, fine festivals. The Hurricane, for example, was one of those highlights that people talked about for a long time. Motorpsycho, dEUS, Chemical Brothers, Manson, Queens Of The Stone Age, Foo Fighters and dozens of other seal-of-approval gigs. That was nice.

Right in the middle: three young guys with playfulness, pressure and anger in their stomachs, and an album called "Showbiz". As well as half a dozen VISIONS editorial staff, who at eleven in the morning in a shockingly empty circus tent indulged in true emotional rapture. The reason: singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominique Howard celebrated live on German soil for the first time Songs like "Sunburn", "Muscle Museum" or "Uno" enthralled from the word go with brilliant guitar baths, magical presence and a punch that made the festival breakfast stick in your throat.

So there it was, the new Britrock sensation. Three pimply teenagers in shabby jeans and sneakers, who at first glance looked as if they had won the Sparkasse youth development prize. But they had prepared well, at home in tranquil Devon in rural nowhere in southern England. Had studied the records of Nirvana, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and the Smashing Pumpkins in the children's room, met several times a week in the rehearsal room for years and worked meticulously on the details until they were really good.

Then, in early '99, they had just that little bit of luck: John Leckie, the production ace for Britain's rockier moments, found them fragrant and took them to the pampas. More precisely: to Cornwall to Sawmill Studios, where, in the middle of the forest and far away from any civilisation, bands like Oasis, Supergrass and the Stone Roses had already put down great albums. And now it would come, the "Showbiz".

In the afternoon of that day on the Hurricane [festival], during an interview in their then-still clearly small camper, three super good-humoured rockers lolled about casually on their couch and gibbered over the small group of girls who openly offered themselves as accompaniment for the afternoon at the concert earlier searched. Man, that's pretty exciting, all of this. Matthew shakes his head: "It's so surreal. Up until a few months ago we were still practicing our fingers sore in the rehearsal room and playing in pubs to a few people who thought we were shit. And now we're rocking here in Germany at one of the biggest festivals and having a lot of fun. Great, and now I'm going to see Placebo."

The World Is Yours

It's cold, it's winter '99. Despite the technical problems and ten hours on a snow-covered autobahn, Muse really impressed the almost sold-out Cologne Prime Club. Later, Dominic, Matthew and I are sitting in my old Opel, freezing like slugs in the three-star freezer and listening to tapes for a VISIONS blind date. They seem pretty much destroyed - the fact that "Showbiz" was released worldwide, at the same time and with great fanfare now hits mercilessly. You want them, preferably anywhere and immediately. Five club concerts in Europe, then as support for the Foo Fighters and Porno For Pyros through the States, and in between to Southeast Asia, where they already fill the big halls.

That takes its toll. As a jittery, flu-stricken Matthew soberly states, "It's damn hard to maintain a consistently high level when you've got absolutely no downtime. Right now, all I could do was sleep all day." Moderately enthusiastic they fight their way through the 15 songs on my tape, only the new Therapy? can really blow his mind. "My goodness, let's get started," says Dominic happily. "And how well they play to the point. Oh man, we still have to practise a lot."

Pleasure And Pain

Earlier this year in London: visibly relaxed, contentedly grinning faces on the band and label people. The weather is beautiful, the hotel is large and expensive, the lounge is comfortable and the media entourage is international. A relaxed afternoon with fine finger food and a lot of questions. And new sneakers for Matthew. Unconventionally cut old school sneakers with fashionable puma fur applications in black and bordeaux. He got it from the Japanese delegation because they heard that he likes that sort of thing. That's right - Matthew is overjoyed: "An excellent gift. Because that's how it is with shoes for me: I always only have one pair. I wear it exclusively and for as long as possible. Until I get a new one that I like.

With all due respect, Mr. Bellamy, I blurted out unintentionally, it was about time. Because his previous favourite pair, parked right next to my armchair, a festival-proven biotope of days gone by with the pungent aroma of ammonia and acid, could have a negative effect on sex appeal. "Heehee, finally someone else tells him!" giggles Dominic, who is lounging next to Matthew on the sofa and gnawing the toppings of bite-sized slices of pizza in layers.

Matthew takes it easy, like so many things these days. But they also have every reason to smile: Yesterday, at the first small club gig after a five-month studio break, it literally broke out of them. Pressure and fun in a family package, a superbly balanced balance between brute force and pure beauty, and all with a tightness and precision that very few trios can achieve.

Also, and even more important: The second opus "Origin Of Symmetry" is as good as in the can, and, so they say, turned out really smart. More ideas, more courage, more variation, more studios and more real human bones - the latter used as idiosyncratic sounding percussion instruments. “Yeah, that's about it,” Matthew judges. “We just wanted to trust each other more. We know more, can do more, so we want more.”

According to Matthew, the most important development, which was also unmistakable last night, is the following: “We have found out what it really means to be a three-man band and how we can optimally use these advantages. We've listened to a lot of Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Nirvana, Primus and Police—the best trios in music history—and only focused on what makes them special: dynamics, interaction, precision, filling in empty spaces. I think we're getting that across quite well now.”

His trick: variation. In volume, mood, intensity and instrumentation. The latter especially, because Matthew has learned to play the piano. “I've been really into playing keyboards, Fender Rhodes and piano for a long time, and now I'm composing a lot with them too. I aspire to be at least as good at it as I am at the guitar. That's why we're going to integrate the keys into the concerts in the future. That gives some songs a completely different, completely new vibe.” Also: It also looks good. “I think it's cool: Sitting on the stage behind his piano, singing a ballad and having the blues. Almost a bit like Tom Waits.” A jealous crook,

“There are two sides to Muse – in the songwriting, on stage, in all of our music. They express the two opposite moods I can find myself in when making music. On the one hand you have the happy, light-hearted side that's just looking for a good melody and a well-rounded song. On the other hand, there is this thoughtful, serious, dark, often aggressive element that sometimes breaks out of me and creates wild, unbridled moments. That's what scares me sometimes on stage, because something almost always breaks. It's the borderline between pleasure and pain. You have to learn to deal with that.”

Truly, not an easy chunk. Especially when impressions like those of the past year rain down on you. Shrill situations and people, bad and good surprises, a life with left indicators and headlight flashers. Matthew says: “You're in the middle of Australia, the phone rings and they ask you if you can tour America with the Chili Peppers next week. And a week later you are suddenly in Japan and 20 girls are camping in front of your hotel room. And if you go out and talk to them, they make a big fuss and run away. At the bottom, you hop in the limo, drive to the venue, and then all hell breaks loose.”

That Rockstar Thing, Revisited

Easter in Düsseldorf, two months later. Almost everything is the same as it was a year ago when you were here for the first time: the same place (Philipshalle), the same occasion (Osterrocknacht). But: a different position. If you gave the afternoon heater back then, this year you are the secret main act for many. Also different from last time: the mood. Because it's bad. There are far too many interviews, viva is annoying and they don't feel like signing autographs. And then this ugly backstage room, of all things, the one next to the Stereophonics, who you always thought were stupid.

Especially since their singer Kelly Jones informed readers in detail in an NME interview about how independent and boring Muse were compared to them. And anyway: Matthew is a little snot with bad manners. As proof, a play follows in two acts. Part one consists of a very pissed off Mr. Bellamy, unannounced visits to the cloakroom neighbours, arguments, ugly scenes, and to top it all: red wine stains on your favourite sneakers. The end of the scene: even more bad mood. The evening seems to have passed.

But part two follows in no time, less than an hour later: Muse on stage. Professionals in a duel - with the weapons of the musician. Matthew is the grumpy, multi-talented frontman somewhere between languishing singer, maniacal guitarist and serene piano player. The new songs are stunners, today's drive is a very special one, and the Stereophonics playing after them look pretty lame and tired. Muse, the ‘young urban professionals’ of rock music, do what they do best: vomit out emotional apocalypses that have become songs, absorb anger and energy, surf on a sea of intensity, melody and groove.

They play skilfully on the keyboard of the rock 'n' roll premier league, and not only in musical terms, as the rest of the evening proves. We—that is, the industry-standard mix of media representatives accompanying the band—are sitting in the living room booth of their super-luxury bus on the way to the after-show party in a rented hotel suite. The band is upstairs in the living quarters of the rolling amusement hut; not alone, as giggling girls' voices tell us.

Later, in the suite, a motley crowd of roadies, journalists, musicians and label people demand music and alcohol. Matthew, Chris and Dominic are just taking a shower or something, the procurement of drinks is faltering, everyone is waiting, nobody knows why, for whom and in what condition.

But as soon as they are there, the fun trumpets with the aura of successful alternative careerists, things get turbulent. Beautiful girls give them beautiful eyes, complimenting pats on the back from every side, handshakes and a bit of casual socialising. Who would have thought: The insignia of being a star are now excellent for the three inconspicuous boys from the sheltered provincial idyll.

As it's almost getting light outside and my skull is getting darker and darker, I'm standing in front of a monstrous wide-screen TV with Dominic and an absinthe in my hand. My efforts to explain to him that the hotpacks from the Rockpalast broadcast that are just crossing the screen are called Clawfinger, were a very hot sweep in the early 90s and were allowed to replace the main act today, earns a weary shrug of the shoulders. "I've never heard that. Must have been before my time. I was just starting out on Nirvana and grunge at the time.” Young veggies, damn it.

Blood, Sweat & Abbey Road

Three weeks later we meet again, because in the meantime "Origin Of Symmetry" has hit the home CD player. It only needed a few runs to convey the certainty: This record also has it, something special, maybe even more than the debut "Showbiz", which in direct comparison seems downright tame.

The foundation: a handful of fantastic, aggressive rock tunes like "New Born", "Hyper Music" or the first single "Plug In Baby", with killer melodies and beats like slaps in the face. The walls: magical ballads like the suicidal blues "Feeling Good", the heart-rending "Screenager" or the sacred "Megalomania", which comes with church organs. The roof: confused glam rock with tasteful 80s keyboards ("Bliss"), a vocally losing-all-control of Matthew in the pathos anthem "Micro Cuts", or orchestral monumentals in the best prog rock tradition, as in "Space Dementia" or " Citizen Erased". A colossus of diversity, beauty and great songs.

The circumstances of this album production couldn't have been better either: They spent a few months in the four most expensive and best studios in England - including Peter Gabriel's 'Real World' mega complex, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour's studio houseboat and, of course, 'Abbey Road'. “Admittedly, we also had to take a deep breath at the end of the recording when we asked ourselves what the next record should actually be,” says Dominic. “But should we forego such opportunities because of that?”

During the recording sessions, they were again guided for long periods by the skilled production hands of John Leckie, but on four of the heavier songs they also put themselves in the care of another top-class sound carver: Tool producer Dave Bottrill. “I don't think anyone understands us like John, but it was a very important experience,” Matthew recalls. “Dave has a very different approach to a band and their music.” What's the biggest difference between them? “John Leckie is sound, arrangement and feeling. Dave, on the other hand, thrives more on the energy he thrashes into you while recording. It really helps you get the most out of yourself.”

With the finished high-quality recordings, Matthew says, they were drawn back “back home to our living room, now in terms of studio technology.” Namely to Cornwall to the 'Sawmill Studios', whose owners - and this is where we come full circle - meanwhile too is her manager, closest adviser and backup daddy. We are sitting in the bright sun on the terrace of a luxury hotel in Hamburg. As usual, Chris is the friendly, grinning, reserved observer. Dominic, the smug rascal with the dry jokes, asks me the name of the pretty promoter who is taking care of her today. And Matthew, the bright kid with a penchant for hyperactivity, meticulously paints every colour abrasion on his run-down Asian sneakers black again with an Edding.

Despite the stress of everyday touring, they make a vital, tidy impression today. The recipe is simple, explains Matthew. “First: eat better, take care of yourself a little. And secondly: going out a lot, having a few drinks with nice people who were at your concert. In short: lead a social life. If you just hang out at the hotel and lock yourself up, like we did on the last tour, then eventually all ties to normal life will be severed. You'll quickly become a bit ‘meschugge’ [mad?]. That's why we're going out a lot more among people this time. It helps you stay grounded. The only thing that is sometimes clearly neglected is sleep.”

Good keyword: Is there ever help? Surely you get offered at some after-show party, that junk. But no, no power to the drugs - at least the stupid ones. “Everything that is too speedy or too chemical drives me crazy, we don't really need that at all. The greatest feeling is something hallucinogenic, maybe a few mushrooms. But never on tour. At most at home, or rather in the studio if you got stuck musically and need a conceptual overview for a few hours.”

That's how they sit there: three smart young men in harmony with themselves, the world and the temptations lurking everywhere. Unaffected, reflected and extremely relaxed wolves of the music genius in the sheep's clothing of young normal people. “That's what life is all about,” says Dominic. “Being able to do exactly what you want to do most, in a relaxed, optimal environment.” “There are still phases where I catch myself thinking that all this is nothing more than is a great dream,” adds Matthew. “And then again there are moments when the full force of this crazy rock lifestyle hits my bones so much that I know: That must be reality.”

This is also reality, and current ones at that: Muse are the paragons of the new generation of boisterous rock emotionalists. The reactions to the album range from positive to overwhelming, the concerts are buzzing and everyone is happy. The fans, because they can indulge in pure Muse enjoyment. The label, because if everything goes well, you can soon earn a lot of money with it. And the band, because they can take all the freedom they want and still be loved fanatically and taken 100% seriously.

Matthew is a bit proud: “What I think is so great is that people really engage with us. Because that proves: We are not hype, everything is solidly developed success. When we try something new or overshoot the mark, nobody says: ‘Let them do it, they're crazy anyway.’ No, people try to understand why we do something. They take us seriously and deal with our ideas. It's a really great feeling to be liked for that, not because you had that one cool #1 hit with that catchy tune.”

Just An Ordinary Night

Their gig in the completely sold-out market hall on the same evening is rather meagre thanks to a terribly miserable sound, terrible scramble and the obvious listlessness of the actors. But today's after-show party in a hip cocktail bar on the Alster is quite solid. A constellation of journos, record bosses, musicians and happily grinning groupies, which is remarkably similar to the Düsseldorf drink, but today decidedly more top-class, basks in the wonderful feeling of being able to be there. And they do their job well, the three main actors. Are charming, funny, constantly surrounded and even concerned about the musical well-being of the guests - Dominic doesn't give up until he can soften the granite block programmed stoically to house by a DJ to let the complete new Weezer record run through.

"Is that a pattern every night when you're on tour?" my gin and tonic-soaked brain asks an equally heavily-counted Matthew as we wait for cabs at dawn. “Yeah, more or less. That's good: we have fun and gain experience. And then you can write songs about it again.” And hey presto, he's already sitting in the taxi with Dominic and a pretty companion. Hopefully he'll keep his shoes on later for the cozy part in the hotel. The one with the cougar pattern, the red wine stain, and the marker pen on the side.

#matt bellamy #dom howard #chris wolstenholme #origin of symmetry era #muse interview

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supermassiveart · 2 months ago

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Decided to kick off the new year by redrawing my first painting from 2024. Really pleased with the improvement :DD

New vs old:

#muse #muse band #musers #matt bellamy #muse art #origin of symmetry #oos era #red hair matt supremacy

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apocalypth-pleathe · 2 months ago

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god awful orange semen tree cookie

these two came out alright though

#muse band #matt bellamy #dom howard #chris wolstenholme #oos era #origin of symmetry #baking #cookies #christmas

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mcmansionhell · 8 months ago

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the motel room, or: on datedness

Often I find myself nostalgic for things that haven't disappeared yet. This feeling is enhanced by the strange conviction that once I stop looking at these things, I will never see them again, that I am living in the last moment of looking. This is sense is strongest for me in the interiors of buildings perhaps because, like items of clothing, they are of a fashionable nature, in other words, more impermanent than they probably should be.

As I get older, to stumble on something truly dated, once a drag, is now a gift. After over a decade of real estate aggregation and the havoc it's wreaked on how we as a society perceive and decorate houses, if you're going to Zillow to search for the dated (which used to be like shooting fish in a barrel), you'll be searching aimlessly, for hours, to increasingly no avail, even with all the filters engaged. (The only way to get around this is locational knowledge of datedness gleaned from the real world.) If you try to find images of the dated elsewhere on the internet, you will find that the search is not intuitive. In this day and age, you cannot simply Google "80s hotel room" anymore, what with the disintegration of the search engine ecosystem and the AI generated nonsense and the algorithmic preference for something popular (the same specific images collected over and over again on social media), recent, and usually a derivative of the original search query (in this case, finding material along the lines of r/nostalgia or the Backrooms.)

To find what one is looking for online, one must game the search engine with filters that only show content predating 2021, or, even better, use existing resources (or those previously discovered) both online and in print. In the physical world of interiors, to find what one is looking for one must also now lurk around obscure places, and often outside the realm of the domestic which is so beholden to and cursed by the churn of fashion and the logic of speculation. Our open world is rapidly closing, while, paradoxically, remaining ostensibly open. It's true, I can open Zillow. I can still search. In the curated, aggregated realm, it is becoming harder and harder to find, and ultimately, to look.

But what if, despite all these changes, datedness was never really searchable? This is a strange symmetry, one could say an obscurity, between interiors and online. It is perhaps unintentional, and it lurks in the places where searching doesn't work, one because no one is searching there, or two, because an aesthetic, for all our cataloguing, curation, aggregation, hoarding, is not inherently indexable and even if it was, there are vasts swaths of the internet and the world that are not categorized via certain - or any - parameters. The internet curator's job is to find them and aggregate them, but it becomes harder and harder to do. They can only be stumbled upon or known in an outside, offline, historical or situational way. If to index, to aggregate, is, or at least was for the last 30 years, to profit (whether monetarily or in likes), then to be dated, in many respects, is the aesthetic manifestation of barely breaking even. Of not starting, preserving, or reinventing but just doing a job.

We see this online as well. While the old-web Geocities look and later Blingee MySpace-era swag have become aestheticized and fetishized, a kind of naive art for a naive time, a great many old websites have not received the same treatment. These are no less naive but they are harder to repackage or commodify because they are simple and boring. They are not "core" enough.

As with interiors, web datedness can be found in part or as a whole. For example, sites like Imgur or Reddit are not in and of themselves dated but they are full of remnants, of 15-year old posts and their "you, sir, have won the internet" vernacular that certainly are. Other websites are dated because they were made a long time ago by and for a clientele that doesn't have a need or the skill to update (we see this often with Web 2.0 e-commerce sites that figured out how to do a basic mobile page and reckoned it was enough). The next language of datedness, like the all-white landlord-special interior, is the default, clean Squarespace restaurant page, a landing space that's the digital equivalent of a flyer, rarely gleaned unless someone needs a menu, has a food allergy or if information about the place is not available immediately from Google Maps. I say this only to maintain that there is a continuity in practices between the on- and off-line world beyond what we would immediately assume, and that we cannot blame everything on algorithms.

But now you may ask, what is, exactly, datedness? Having spent two days in a distinctly dated hotel room, I've decided to sit in utter boredom with the numinous past and try and pin it down.

II.

I am in an obscure place. I am in Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada, on assignment. I am staying at a specific motel, the Voyageur. By my estimation the hotel was originally built in the late seventies and I'd be shocked if it was older than 1989. The hotel exterior was remodeled sometime in the 2000s with EIFS cladding and beige paint. Above is a picture of my room, which, forgive me, is in the process of being inhabited. American (and to a lesser extent Canadian) hotel rooms are some of the most churned through, renovated spaces in the world, and it's pretty rare, unless you're staying in either very small towns or are forced by economic necessity to stay at real holes in the wall, to find ones from this era. The last real hitter for me was a 90s Day's Inn in the meme-famous Breezewood, PA during the pandemic.

At first my reaction to seeing the room was cautionary. It was the last room in town, and certainly compared to other options, probably not the world's first choice. However, after staying in real, genuine European shitholes covering professional cycling I've become a class-A connoisseur of bad rooms. This one was definitively three stars. A mutter of "okay time to do a quick look through." But upon further inspection (post-bedbug paranoia) I came to the realization that maybe the always-new brainrot I'd been so critical of had seeped a teeny bit into my own subconscious and here I was snubbing my nose at a blessing in disguise. The room is not a bad room, nor is it unclean. It's just old. It's dated. We are sentimental about interiors like this now because they are disappearing, but they are for my parents what 2005 beige-core is for me and what 2010s greige will become for the generation after. When I'm writing about datedness, I'm writing in general using a previous era's examples because datedness, by its very nature, is a transitional status. Its end state is the mixed emotion of seeing things for what they are yet still appreciating them, expressed here.

Datedness is the period between vintage and contemporary. It is the sentiment between quotidian and subpar. It is uncurated and preserved only by way of inertia, not initiative. It gives us a specific feeling we don't necessarily like, one that is deliberately evoked in the media subcultures surrounding so-called "liminal" spaces: the fuguelike feeling of being spatially trapped in a time while our real time is passing. Datedness in the real world is not a curated experience, it is only what was. It is different from nostalgia because it is not deliberately remembered, yearned for or attached to sweetness. Instead, it is somehow annoying. It is like stumbling into the world of adults as a child, but now you're the adult and the child in you is disappointed. (The real child-you forgot a dull hotel room the moment something more interesting came along.) An image of my father puts his car keys on the table, looks around and says, "It'll do." We have an intolerance for datedness because it is the realization of what sufficed. Sufficiency in many ways implies lack.

However, for all its datedness, many, if not all, of the things in this room will never be seen again if the room is renovated. They will become unpurchaseable and extinct. Things like the bizarrely-patterned linoleum tile in the shower, the hose connecting to the specific faucet of the once-luxurious (or at least middling) jacuzzi tub whose jets haven't been exercised since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wide berth of the tank on the toilet. There is nothing, really, worth saving about these things. Even the most sentimental among us wouldn't dare argue that the items and finishes in this room are particularly important from a design or historical standpoint. Not everything old has a patina. They're too cheaply made to salvage. Plastic tile. Bowed plywood. The image-artifacts of these rooms, gussied up for Booking dot com, will also, inevitably disappear, relegated to the dustheap of web caches and comments that say "it was ok kinda expensive but close to twon (sic)." You wouldn't be able to find them anyway unless you were looking for a room.

One does, of course, recognize a little bit of design in what's here. Signifiers of an era. The wood-veneer of the late 70s giving way to the pastel overtones of the 80s. Perhaps even a slow 90s. The all-in-one vanity floating above the floor, a modernist basement bathroom hallmark. White walls as a sign of cleanliness. Gestures, in the curved lines of the nightstands, towards postmodernity. Metallic lamp bases with wide-brimmed shades, a whisper of glamor. A kind of scalloped aura to the club chairs. The color teal mediated through hundreds if not thousands of shoes. Yellowing plastic, including the strips of "molding" that visually tie floor to wall. These are remnants (or are they intuitions?) of so many movements and micromovements, none of them definite enough to point to the influence of a single designer, hell, even of a single decade, just strands of past-ness accumulated into one thread, which is cheapness. Continuity exists in the materials only because everything was purchased as a set from a wholesale catalog.

In some way a hotel is supposed to be placeless. Anonymous. Everything tries to be that way now, even houses. Perhaps because we don't like the way we spy on ourselves and lease our images out to the world so we crave the specificity of hotel anonymity, of someplace we move through on our way to bigger, better or at least different things. The hotel was designed to be frictionless but because it is in a little town, it sees little use and because it sees little use, there are elements that can last far longer than they were intended and which inadvertently cause friction. (The janky door unlocks with a key. The shower hose keeps coming out of the faucet. It's deeply annoying.)

Lack of wear and lack of funds only keep them that way. Not even the paper goods of the eighties have been exhausted yet. Datedness is not a choice but an inevitability. Because it is not a choice, it is not advertised except in a utilitarian sense. It is kept subtle on the hotel websites, out of shame. Because it does not subscribe to an advertiser's economy of the now, of the curated type rather than the "here is my service" type, it disappears into the folds of the earth and cannot be searched for in the way "design" can. It can only be discovered by accident.

When I look at all of these objects and things, I do so knowing I will never see them again, at least not all here together like this, as a cohesive whole assembled for a specific purpose. I don't think I'll ever have reason to come back to this town or this place, which has given me an unexpected experience of being peevish in my father's time. Whenever I end up in a place like this, where all is as it was, I get the sense that it will take a very long time for others to experience this sensation again with the things my generation has made. The machinations of fashion work rapaciously to make sure that nothing is ever old, not people, not rooms, not items, not furniture, not fabrics, not even design, that old matron who loves to wax poetic about futurity and timelessness. The plastic-veneered particleboard used here is now the bedrock of countless landfills. Eventually it will become the chemical-laced soil upon which we build our condos. It is possible that we are standing now at the very last frontier of our prior datedness. The next one has not yet elided. It's a special place. Spend a night. Take pictures.

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#architecture #design #1980s #datedness #essay #the backrooms #oddcore #dreamcore #weirdcore

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wangxianficfinder · 1 year ago

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In the mood for...

~*~

1. Hii! This is my first time asking for a fic, well cause usually other fans ask the same thing.

Any fic with JC/Jiang Sect bashing in the canon era.

Thanks a lot! I love all the work you guys do! @ffaddictsrn

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💖 Return to Sender by Thesaurus_with_no_words (M, 73k, wangxian, not JC friendly, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, YLLZ WWX, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies AU, Temporary Amnesia, Partial Memory Loss, Literal Emotional Manipulation, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon typical horror and gore, Slow Burn, WIP)

🔒💖 Resilience. by Vrishchika (T, 7k, wangxian, time travel, not JC friendly, golden core transfer fix-it)

🔒💖 After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 10k, wangxian, WIP, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives AU, Getting Together)

🧡 Never Again by Hauntcats (T, 67k, WangXian, WWX & WQ & WN, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Angst, Not JC Friendly, BAMF WWX)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence)

Go Hiking With a Blindfold On by Hauntcats (M, 12k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, not JC friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, No Golden Core Transfer)

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WQ & WWX, WN & WWX, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Eventual Wangxian, No Golden Core Transfer, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Canon-Typical Violence, Not JC Friendly, Tagged just in case because there is no redemption arc here, What if WWX saw the first siege of the burial mounds and said Nope to the war, Original Character(s), OC point-of-view for one chapter for plot reasons)

Symmetry by Vir_Abelasan (M, 13k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, One-Sided ChengXian, One-Sided ChengZhui, Canon Divergence, LSZ is raised by wwx, Wwx still dies sorry, Revenge, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Dark LSZ, Manipulation, Power Imbalance, Torture, Not JC Friendly, JC’s Canonical 13 Years Murder Spree, BAMF LSZ, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, LSZ Gets to Go Apeshit)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, wangxian, fix-it, darker gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way?, golden core transfer fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, or anyone friendly, except wangxian, cultivation world critical, fluff, sunshot, politics, courting rituals, genius WWX, no demonic cultivation, talismans, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, WIP)

Get it right (mdzs time travel) Series by AmiraAlzilu (M, 85k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Fluff, Not JC Friendly, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Getting Together, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Jiāng Family Bashing, Character Death Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grieving LXC, Grieving LQR, LQR Is So Done, Dead LWJ, Dead WWX) (link in #2)

~*~

2. heyyy thanks for all your hard work! itmf for fics that the lan clan finds out about wwx abuse from the jiang sect. thanks in advance!

🔒🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) link in #1 Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

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3. Hello!! Itmf/does anyone know of any canon-compliant fics where when WWX comes back to life it is like no time has passed for him so he still feels and acts like a teenager/young adult? Where he gets along better with the juniors rather than his generation because he still is young at heart? Thank you!

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4. heeyy mods, hope youre enjoying the holidays!!

this is for itmf

A) I recently read audience of one which is basically being XiCheng being sweet babies, so I would really love if someone could rec good XiCheng fics

B) are there any good modern wangxian detectives au!!?? @mercurygirlwt28

4B)

🧡 CSI: Gusu Edition Series by Stratisphyre (M, 39k, WangXian, WWX & LQR, Modern with Magic AU, College AU, Golden Core Reveal, Single parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Hospitalization, Allusions to violence and murder)

Moonlight as My Guide by BromeliadDreams (M, 32k, WangXian , Case Fic, Body Horror, Modern with Magic, Academia, (book) canon-typical desecration of the dead, actually far more soft domesticity than the previous tags imply, background/implied xiyao, grey-ace wwx)

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5. hii, tje next Itmf can I ask for fics which feel the song. "dark red" by Steve Lacy.

thank you!!

~*~

6. Hola! for the next itmf, I have two requests please, they are kind of similar.

A) pls rec the good modern aus!! the fluffy, tje ones w angst, anything.

B) modern aus which also deal w depression.

6A)

🔒 Wangxian Tax Universe series by adrian_kres, RoseThorne (T, 5k, wangxian, modern, Getting Together, Americana, Family Dinners, Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Announcements, Therapy, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Crack, Fluff)

Extracts from the diaries of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, relating to the case of Lan Zetian (Nov. 4 to Nov. 27) by Accidental_Child (T, 6k, wangxian, modern cultivation, Case Fic, Epistolaryish, Diary/Journal, WWX-centric, LWJ-centric, Slow Burn, (academic), Enemies to Lovers, academic rivals i guess?, Rivals to Lovers, Mentions of Murder, mentions of abuse, mentions of assult)

🔒 Standing By by Prince_kun (T, <;1k, wangxian, WIP, Modern, Mutual Pining, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Strangers to Lovers, Past WWX/Other(s), Airports, Airports can be romantic and not just meant for the dramatic breakup scene, Rich LWJ, CEO LWJ, Bisexual Disaster WWX, WWX is LSZ's Parent, Fluff, Light Angst, Everyone Lives AU, Developing Relationship)

Lessons in Belonging by Nyatci (M, 12k, wangxian, Modern, Childhood Friends to Lovers, POV LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Homophobia, Good Uncle LQR, background 3zun, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Asexuality, but it’s just an assumption, some mild non-overly-explicit smut, LWJ really wants to put a ring on it, so he does, Domestic Fluff, wangxian adopt a-yuan, 5+1 Things, softer than how the tags make it sound)

The extravagant wedding, the gorgeous brother, and other reasons you should listen to your uncle by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 5k, wangxian, Modern, Kid Fic, Soft Wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Matchmaking, Fluff and Humor, shark week)

The Art of Communication by mrcformoso (G, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Meet-Cute, Engineering Student WWX, Music Student LWJ, Swimmer WWX, Martial Artist LWJ, POV Outsider, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Communication Issues, But Wanxian Makes it Work, LWJ has limited words, WWX has too many words, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Love Languages, Requited Love)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Sex as Self Worth Reaffirmation, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Se,x Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good)

🧡 Hello, IT. Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again? By overmountainandmeadow (T, 65k, WangXian, Modern AU, Office, Modern office AU, IT Director! LWJ, Graphic Designer! WWX, Father!LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Juniors as interns, Light Angst, Mistaken Identity, Identity Porn, Rabbits, Cloud Recesses as a company, Happy Ending, Single Parent LWJ)

🧡 Yiling Salon: Hair, Nails and Piercing by TriviasFolly (T, 22k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hairstylist AU, Hairstylist WWX, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Experimental style)

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, wangxian, modern, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic LWJ, neurodivergent WWX, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you've met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the asshole dog, setting out to make the neighborhood safer for your crush and accidentally building community, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation, the chef's assortment of partnered sex acts) (link in #17)

🔒some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

oh brother by lanzhans_rbf (skzinger) (G, 5k, LXC & LWJ, WangXian, Modern AU, POV Outsider, Twin Jades of Lán Dynamics, Twin Jades of Lán Feels)

A Soft Storm by AvoOwO (Not rated, 47k, wangxian, modern, hurt WWX, LWJ pov, protective LWJ, not SS friendly, car accidents, hurt/comfort, heavy angst w happy ending, sexual harrasment, stalking, crying, blood & injury & gore, major character injury, college, slut shaming, insults)

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, wangxian, rape/non-con, modern, ABO, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, WangXian play the long game, UNTIL THEY DON'T, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Office au, Mpreg)

I know what my heart wants by yakuso5u (Not Rated, 28k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Father LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Accidental Child Acquisition, Domestic, Slice of Life, Christmas references)

flight of the birch tree by bleuett (T, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, liminal spaces, Subways, dreamy vibes, Meet-Cute, kind of)

i know who i want to take me home by ScarlettStorm (E, 16k, wangxian, modern, bartender WWX, drunk LWJ, caretaking, meet-cute, fluff, comedy, smut, minor angst, major shenanigans)

spoke like we meant it by BlackWiresOnHerHead (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1, Fluff, oh my god they were roommates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Pining, Cuddling, Accidental Confession, Humor, Abandonment Issues, Light Angst)

Keep Track of Losing Days by giraffeter (T, 74k, WangXian, Modern AU, Case Fic, Police, Missing Persons, Mystery, Getting Together, Flashbacks, Rooftop Conversations, Detective LWJ, antifa WWX, Endgame NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, First Kiss, First Meetings, Seattle, Mutual Pining, nonfatal car accident, mafia wens, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers)

6B)

🔒 moonlight falls series by RoseThorne (M, 15k, wangxian, SL/XXC, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, NHS & WWX, Found Family, Modern, Corporate Espionage, Bunnies, Adoption, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, References to Depression, Anxiety, Blind Character, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Confrontations, Bad Parent LQR, Pre-JC & WWX Reconciliation, Dissociation, Mental Health Issues, Anniversary, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Emotional Constipation, Communication Failure, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC is Trying, WWX Needs a Hug, Implied/Referenced Sex, Food Sex, Friendship, Reconciliation, Psychological Trauma)

Welcome to the Family series by jiejieaini (E, 231k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, JYL/JZX, modern, Wangixian Get a Happy Ending, LWJ is best dad, Bunnies, London, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Adopted WWX, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Reunions, Hand Jobs, Tears, Gay Sex, Consensual Non-Consent, Dom/sub Undertones, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Christmas, Praise Kink, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, WWX & LWJ Have a Breeding Kink, First Time, Public Blow Jobs, High School, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, Birthdays, Blowjobs, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Drowning, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Dubious Consent, Rimming, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, A-Yuan is adorable, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, Nightmares, Adoption, Pregnancy)

12 Hours In Hell and Paradise (Or: Lan Zhan’s Distinguished Guide to Seasonal Depression) by demonicsalad (T, 4k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, Modern, Friends to Lovers, Developing Relationship, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Love Confessions, POV LWJ)

💖 you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry (T, 150k, wangxian, modern, College/University au, Social Media, Mental Health Issues, Healing, self-care, Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, the mortifying ordeal of self-acceptance, Falling In Love, Depression, Slow Burn)

KILF (Knits I'd Like To Fuck in) by ScarlettStorm (E, 168k, wangxian, modern, sex work, fiber arts, 2nd in series)

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)

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7. Itmf some fics that are just plain funny! Rec me any fics that made you lol please @peebls

Lan Wangji Gets Harassed by a Pack of Children by hyacinth4maria (G, 9k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX & WCZ, CSSR/WCZ, Madam Lan & LWJ, LWJ meets the Wei family, the Wei family consists of OCs and strays, Modern, High School, Young Love, Fluff and Crack)

rerun from the outside by Eicas (T, 2k, wangxian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, POV Outsider, JC POV, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX has timetravelled! unbeknownst to him so has LWJ!, JC gets to be there for the glorious moment when the penny drops, Mojo's post)

❤️ Wangxian’s Time-Travelling Shenanigans series by pupeez4eva (G, 18k, wangxian, time travel, love confessions, humor, Mojo's post)

The Twelve Days of Christmas, OR, How to Drive Your Brother-in-Law Insane by Following One Traditional Carol by Hobbsy3 (T, 3k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Twelve Days Of Christmas, sending someone six geese and seven swans is definitely not an act of love, OR IS IT, Christmas Fluff, JC is So Done, LWJ is a Little Shit) link in #16

Deep Dive by MimiSpearmint (E, 24k, wangxian, JC & WWX, modern, therapy au, twin prides of yunmeng feels, angst w/ happy ending, career ending injuries, counsellor LWJ, eventual smut, crack, discussion of domestic abuse)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse) there's a reason it's recced all the time!

To Woo a Yao by Iamnotawriter (G, 8k, WangXian, Some Humor, Investigations, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Secret Letters, Mystery, Crack)

WeHateDogs by trippednfell (T, 3k, WangXian, Modern AU, Inspired by Twitter, Social Media AU, WWX is a professional dog hater, Fluff and Crack)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Modern AU, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

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8. Uhm hi. I’m looking for a fic where instead of Jiang Fengmian, Yu Ziyuan was thought to be Wei Ying’s parent. Or where yu ziyuan adopts Wei ying

Hope series by RoseThorne (T, 57k, wangxian, WWX & YZY, WWX & JFM, WWX & JYL, YZY/JFM, JC & WWX, LQR & WWX, LXC & JYL, Madam Jin & YZY, LQR & JFM, LXC & LWJ, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Illnesses, Family, Scars, Memory Loss, Angst, Crying, Music, Nosebleed, Fear, Recovery, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Flirting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Blood and Gore, Monsters, Sexual Tension, betrothal, Arranged Marriage, Grief, Adoption, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Clairvoyance, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Food, Secrets, Resentful Energy, Cultivation Sect Politics, Character Death)

~*~

9. Hi! Do you have rec fics where Wwx has a sibling/sister? (This part added to FF) Thank youu!! @gideonmorningstar

We Meet at the Thousandth Step by Admiranda, Rynne (T, 163k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, WIP, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, CSSR & WCX Live, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Different First Meeting, Night Hunts, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Plot, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Strangers to married, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Everyone LivesAU, Developing Relationship, Minor Violence, Case Fic, Mystery, Flirting, WWX's Canon-Typical Flower Flirting, Arson, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, First Kiss, Meeting the Parents, Resolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Romantic Tension, WWX Is a Good Big Brother, New Relationship Bliss)

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10. ITMF fics that changed your minds about tropes/settings/characters you had previously disliked? I am trying to try new things but I tend not to pick things for myself outside of plain plain status quo. TY!

mating rituals by detectorist (E, 16k, WangXian, XuanLi, Modern AU, College/University, Humour, Pining, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, The Rituals Are Intricate) Never cared about jzx until I read this fic

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Omegaverse, Alpha LWJ, Omega wwx, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Modern Setting - Office, Mpreg) This is the abo fic for anyone who’s never liked abo

symmetry by bleuett (M, 44k, WangXian, Space, Science Fiction, Happy Ending, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Holding Hands, Blow Jobs, Hand Feeding, Cultivation in Space, Yearning, Reunions, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Injuries, Grief/Mourning, Unconventional Time Travel, Burial Mounds) Never liked fics set in space but this one was so good

Twin Demons of Mò by XiaoFeiFei (ArfBarkWoof) (M, 358k, MXY & WWX, wangxian, JL & MXY, XY & MXY, JGY & MXY, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury, Abuse, Death, Twin Demons of Mo, MXY Lives, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Minor Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon Divergence, Self-Harm, Found Family, Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, POV Alternating) Twin Demons of Mo was my first foray into the super heavy angst that can pop up in the fandom, and since I'm very empathetic, heavy angst tends to be difficult for me to read, but TDOM was beautiful and now I can handle fics like Concord with more ease

TAKOYAKI by ariskamalt (E, 3k, wangxian, modern, Established Relationship, PWP, Tentacles, Tentacle Sex, First Time, Semi-Sentient Tentacles, Anal Sex, tentaclejobs?, Podfic Available) please don't let the tentacles scare you😆

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11. hello! i just finished this fic on ao3 called 'like speaking to my heart' by SnowshadowAO3.

it has suibian and bichen as daemons and i've really enjoyed reading it.

i wanted to ask if it's possible to find more fic's where suibian and bichen play a major role either in their sword forms or are like these aus where they take a different form.

(not really necessary but are there any fics where suibian and bichen share a really close bond with lwj and wwx, respectively, too?)

thank you so much!

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

~*~

12. hi hi! i'm in the mood for fics where lwj feels insecure over his "bland and stiff" personality and wwx reassures him

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13. Could you suggest some multi-chapter fics of genre Fox Wei Wuxian and Dragon Lan Wangji. @lostsoul234

(Dreaming of) Being Human by Harleydoll (M, 109k, JC & WWX, NHS & WWX, LXC & WWX, LXC & LWJ, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Soft Wangxian, Pining, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, Oblivious WWX, YLLZ WWX, Fox WWX, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Huli Jing, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, , Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Literal Sleeping Together, Sharing a Bed, Nudity, WWX is a Lán, WWX is Loved, Gremlin WWX, Shapeshifting, POV WWX, Qíshān Wēn Indoctrination, Not Lánlíng Jīn Sect Friendly, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Post-Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Explicit Sexual Content, Oral Sex, First Time, First Kiss, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Sunshot Campaign, Fox Spirit WWX, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Really Character Death)

🔒Due Process by Kytrin, Mslead (E, 279k, WangXian, XiChengSang, Poly Junior Quartet, Modern AU, Foxxian, dragonji, Genderfluid WWX, WWX identifies as male, Organized Crime, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of child abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Reincarnation)

To lurk, to lie in wait by trippednfell (M, 124k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Huli Jing, strangers to co-parents to lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, background NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Fox Spirit WWX, Dragon LWJ, Blood and Injury)

The early bird gets the worm, the early fox gets the bird. But the dragon wakes the earliest of them all. by sekhmetpaws (E, 52k, WangXian, XiYao, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Royalty, Prince LWJ, dragon lwj, fox wwx, dragonji, Arranged Marriage, but not really, Mistaken Identity, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Foxxian, slowish burn)

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14. ITMF a fic where wangxian bond over both being Chinese / having similar experiences?. It can just be a small moment in a bigger story or it can be whole story @zerokogane

Ticket to Ride Series by mistresscurvy (E, 21k, wangxian, modern, online dating, road trips, service top, phone sex, dick pics, wedding banquet, shower sex) Also it has a killer meet cute

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15. Hey!! I’m fairly new to the fandom and I’m still trying to navigate through your blog so idk if you’ve already done this ask but can you recommend a fic that follows the junior quad as they accidentally give travel back to Wangxian at cloud recess??

Thank you so muchhh

~*~

16. Hey any Christmas wangxian fics that are not too smutty and just wholesome and pure @veryfoxyfulwuji

Ornaments Under the Stars by trippednfell (M, 57k, wangxian, Modern, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, the wangxian Hallmark Movie AU no one asked for, plot and title were randomly generated, Kidfic, Disabled Character, debilitating injury as substitute for missing golden core, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst with a Happy Ending, Guest starring LWJ's sky blue coat, The Coat deserves its own tag, disordered eating habits)

We Wish You A Logical Christmas by little_ogre (M, 9k, wangxian, Star Trek AU, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Going to Vulcan for Christmas, WWX is Vulcan, LWJ is human, what could go wrong, Pon Farr)

Christmas Eve at Number 16 by liulans (T, 9k, wangxian, Christmas Fluff, Modern, Getting Together, Mistletoe as an icebreaker, Fluff, neighbors to lovers, Friends to Lovers, Christmas Eve, snowstorm date)

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17. Hi! I recently saw a DIY where they printed out their favorite fanfic and they (did book binding, sorry, I don’t what the English word for this is) so I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend fanfictions wich are 1. long enough (so it makes sense to bind it into a book) and 2. good/awesome/ wholesome,etc enough ( so I will actually want to bind it).

To keep it short, please recommend your favourite long fics. Thank you so much!

An addition to my ask because my dumbass accidentally send it before adding detail.

If anyone knows a fanfiction with a great plot, good writing or one you think deserves to be a book (because some of them honestly feel more professional than most real books do) I would be super thankful to them <;3 @desperation-is-my-middle-name

💖 Magical Marriage Ribbons series by starandrea (M, 1M, wangxian, animal transformations, weddings)

Fallen series by Jaywalker_Holmes (M, 150k, wangxian, major character death, underage, time travel)

💖 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, immortal WWX, slow burn, pining, arranged marriages)

The Scarlet Lotusby rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics)

how to be a heartbreaker by sweetlolixo (E, 122k, wangxian, Sugar Daddy AU, Modern, Sugar Daddy LWJ, Sugar Baby WWX, Dark WWX, Dark LWJ, Pining LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Crossdressing WWX, Seductress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Dirty Talking LWJ, They Do Fall In Love and there’s Fluff, Dark Wangxian Power Couple, Off the Charts Sexual Tension, Size Kink, Daddy Kink, degradation kink)

🔒 Silver & Gold by beeswaxing (E, 162k, wangxian, post-canon, de-aging, fluff & angst, happy ending, fix-it of sorts, family bonding, established relationship, non-sexual intimacy, BAMF WWX, pining, protective WWX)

Meet Me Friday At Seven by craftyTrickster (luoxiaobai) (E, 128k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Friends to Lovers, Blind Date, lots of texting, almost a chat fic, WC and WLJ aren’t evil but they are annoying, Kissing, Masturbation, Anal Sex, romantic sex, Bi WWX, bi nhs, Single Parent WWX, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) by bwyn, Yuisaki (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Actors, Multimedia, Online Friendship, Drunken Shenanigans, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Underage Drinking, Drinking Games, Families of Choice, Ensemble Cast, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Catfish AU)

finally safe (for me to fall) by sassybluee (E, 77k, wangxian, modern, sugar daddy au, age difference, sex work, rich WWX, older WWX, service top WWX, poor LWJ, single parent LWJ, sugar baby LWJ, family issues, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, slow burn, cockblocking, anal sex, blowjobs, no lube & lube, addiction, compulsory heterosexuality, implied/referenced abuse, wangxian + others)

it rains, it pours by jublis (Not Rated, 130k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Case Fic, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Soft WangXian, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, The Junior Ensemble Love WWX, Protective LWJ, Protective WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, YLLZ WWX, Rogue Cultivator LQY, LQY & WWX Friendship, BAMF LQY, Horror, Friendship/Love, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Ambiguous/Open Ending, for the mystery, Our boys are fine) is dripping with atmosphere, and being able to hold a physical book and read it by the fire on a stormy night would enhance that so well

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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alphynix · 2 years ago

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Strange Symmetries #03: Eerie Early Echinoderms

Represented today by starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and crinoids, the echinoderms have a characteristic five-way radial symmetry that makes them barely even recognizable as bilaterians. Their true ancestry is only revealed by their genetics and their larvae, which still retain bilateral symmetry – and the way they metamorphose into adults is bizarre, essentially growing a whole new radial body from within the left side of their larval body.

(Sea cucumbers and sand dollars are superficially bilateral as adults, but evolved this secondarily on top of their existing radial symmetry. And some adult echinoderms like starfish also seem to retain a little bit of "behavioral bilaterism", generally preferring to move with a specific arm always acting as their "front" end.)

The first known echinoderms appeared in the fossil record during the early Cambrian, about 525 million years ago, but the common ancestor of the whole group probably actually originated a few tens of millions of years earlier in the mid-to-late Ediacaran. Early echinoderms seem to have started off as flattened animals that sat on the seafloor filter-feeding, and with this largely immobile way of life their bodies started to shift into asymmetry, no longer constrained by the locomotory advantages of being bilaterally symmetric.

In fact, for these early sedentary filter-feeders being radial was actually much more advantageous, able to distribute sense organs all around their bodies and grab food from any direction without having to reposition themselves, converging on the lifestyle of non-bilaterian cnidarian polyps. The evolutionary transition from bilateral to asymmetrical to pentaradial seems to have happened incredibly quickly during the Cambrian Explosion, and all modern echinoderms probably evolved from a group called the edrioasteroids, maintaining their new base body plan even when they later began taking up more mobile lifestyles again.

But during the process of all that some very alien-looking lineages split off at various stages of anatomical weirdness.

Stylophorans had asymmetrical bodies with a single feeding arm at the front, and varied from irregular boot-like shapes to almost bilateral heart shapes depending on their specific ecologies. The highly asymmetrical forms were probably spreading their weight out over soft soupy mud in quiet waters, while the more bilateral forms may have been more streamlined to deal with stronger water currents.

Sokkaejaecystis serrata was a stylophoran that lived during the late Cambrian, about 501-488 million years ago, in what is now South Korea. It was tiny, only about 1cm long (~0.4"), and its boot-shaped body was surrounded by spines and flanges that spread out its surface area and probably also made it much more awkward for small predators to attempt to eat.

———

Meanwhile the solutes started off as immobile animals living attached to the seafloor via a stalk-like appendage. But fairly early in their evolution they switched to a more active mode of life, modifying their stems into tail-like "steles" that were used to push themselves along.

Maennilia estonica lived in what is now Estonia during the late Ordovician, about 450 million years ago. It was quite large for a solute at about 12cm long (~4.7"), with a sort of vaguely-trapezoidal body, a short feeding arm, and a long thin stele.

Both of these strange early echinoderm lineages were surprisingly successful, surviving for a good chunk of the Paleozoic Era alongside their more familiar radial relatives. The solutes lasted until the early Devonian about 400 million years ago, and the stylophorans continued all the way into the late Carboniferous about 310 million years ago.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Twitter | Patreon

#science illustration #strange symmetries #paleontology #paleoart #palaeoblr #sokkaejaecystis #stylophora #maennilia #soluta #echinoderm #ambulacraria #deuterostome #bilateria #art #eldritch echinoderms #go home evolution you're drunk

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oliveroctavius · 1 year ago

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I got this ask on main but thought I'd pick it up here, my comics history/fashion ramble blog. I'd been wondering this exact same thing recently, and Google initially wasn't much help—Rocketeer replica jackets describe themselves only as "Rocketeer jackets" and the one Lobster Johnson cosplay thread just suggested ordering one of those.

The most curious part is the double seam and horizonal row of buttons that mark out the entire front as possibly being an unbuttonable "bib", like a plastron front. (Please don't ask how late in the game I worked out that "plastron" is the right word for that.)

The closest genuine Golden Age example of a plastron jacket I found was the military tunic style uniform of Blackhawk, created in 1941.

(Pics from the '52 movie serial (right) really show how awkward it is to combine open lapels + plastron. On a double breasted coat, that chest panel IS the bottom lapel, folded shut.)

Here's the thing: This outfit mirrors that of the Nazi ace pilot he fights in the origin issue, von Tepp (middle). And compare further to the far right: real life WWI flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, AKA the Red Baron, in imperial German Uhlan (lance cavalry) uniform.

"The Germans had designed such great costumes, we decided to use them ourselves," co-creator Cuidera is quoted as saying in Steranko's History of Comics, which (more dubiously, in my opinion) compares the look to the Gestapo or SS. Breeches or jodhpurs weren't strictly a Nazi thing at the time, but they do add to the overall effect.

Compare two other military tunic themed costumes from 1940, on Captain Marvel and Bucky Barnes. These are asymmetrically buttoned, and switch to a more classic circus strongman look below the waist.

But somewhere around 1975, with the Invaders book, Bucky gets a buttoned bib! There's something infectious about it—the symmetry, maybe. (Even re: the characters we started with; Mignola didn't draw Lobster Johnson with buttons down the right side, but every artist after does. And Spider-Noir wore a sweater under his coat until Shattered Dimensions introduced the double-breasted vest.)

If it didn't reach his belt, Barnes' button-on front + shirt collar combo would resemble a bib-front western shirt, like the one that became the Rawhide Kid's signature look in '56. (Or Texas Twister's in '76.)

This shirt entered the old-West-obsessed public imagination in the 1940s/50s largely because John Wayne wore it in several cowboy movies. In reality it was rare among cowboys, more common with firefighters and civil war era militia.

Military tunics, Western shirts, alright, but does anything match the style and material and era, or are these jackets a total anachronism? I tried looking into 1930s leather flight jackets and was surprised when the closest-looking results were marked as Luftwaffe.

It took me a bit to work out why: USAF and RAF issued standard flight jackets with a center closure. The Luftwaffe instead let their pilots buy non-standardized ones. The 'weird' double-breasted black German flight jackets were in fact fairly normal (but repurposed) motorcycle racing jackets.

Far left is an English biker's jacket that dates back to the 1920s. Even without the bib, this may be as close as you'll get to an authentic Rocketeer. The jodhpurs were pretty common to complete the look. (What was an early motorcycle anyways, if not a weird metal horse?) The first biker jacket with the now iconic off-center diagonal zip was designed in America in 1928 and yet as far as I can tell, not a single actual pre-war pulp hero wore one.

The greatest weakness of this post is that I haven't been able to find any of these artists' notes on how, exactly, they arrived at similar versions of this iconic Pulp Front Panel Jacket. I'm sure I've missed some things. But as far as I can tell, this jacket is an odd bit of convergent stylistic evolution from the above influences that's picked up enough momentum to now be self-perpetuating.

The problem with pulp heroes is that for the most part, they just wore clothes. The appeal of this jacket is actually very similar to what the 1940s thought the appeal of the bib-front shirt in westerns was: It's alien enough to feel "old". It looks like something invented before zippers or synthetic fabrics. It looks formal and militant but also renegade, rebellious. It also looks a little mad-sciencey*. It's a costume, but you can nearly fool yourself into thinking the past was weird enough that you could find something this cool on the rack.

If I wanted to end on some grand point, I could try to argue that there's a thematic throughline between fascist fashion, John Wayne movies, and throwback pulp. A manufactured aesthetic valorizing the violence of a fictional golden age... but I think the noir stylings of the post-Rocketeer comics in this lineup mean that, at least on some level, they know the "good guys" didn't dress like this.

*If I had another couple weeks of time to burn, I'd try to trace the visual history of the Howie coat in popular culture and investigate its possible connections to this. Alas, I do actually have a life.

#thank you for reading. also don't read golden age blackhawks the racism is awful even by era standards.#comics history #costume taxonomy #<- forgot I had that tag.#not to be like ''in MY favorite comics...'' again but may I point out that Hellboy and Robo and Tom Strong just wear... clothes #like. yknow. A pulp series that had confidence in itself rather than trying to cosplay as eras it thinks were cooler might do-#[I am yanked offstage before I can restart that rant]#the rocketeer

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talonabraxas · 10 months ago

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The Flower of Life

There really is some deep rooted symbolism behind this captivating image. Some say it’s representative of the union of the sacred Masculine and the Divine Feminine, the connectedness of all living things, and others see it as the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Let’s explore the depths of the topic.

Origins & Symbolism The origins of the Flower of Life trace back to the dawn of civilisation, where it is believed to have emerged as a symbol of cosmic order and divine harmony. Its precise origins are shrouded in mystery, with some attributing its creation to ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, where it was found in the temple of Osiris and said to contain a ‘secret code’ (underpinning the basic building blocks of the universe), and also the Sumerians, and the Greeks.

At its core, the Flower of Life is composed of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles, forming a mesmerising geometric pattern reminiscent of a flower in full bloom. Within this pattern lies a myriad of geometric shapes, including triangles, hexagons, and pentagons, each imbued with its own symbolic significance.

The Flower of Life is often associated with sacred geometry, a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of geometric forms and their spiritual, philosophical, and symbolic meanings. It is believed to represent the interconnectedness of all living beings, the fundamental unity of existence, and the underlying order of the universe.

Spiritual Significance In spiritual traditions around the world, the Flower of Life holds profound significance as a symbol of creation and interconnectedness. It is often regarded as a visual representation of the divine blueprint of the cosmos, with each circle representing a stage in the process of creation.

Within the Flower of Life, one can find various sacred symbols, including the Seed of Life, the Tree of Life, all 7 Chakra systems, and the Metatron's Cube, each carrying its own symbolic meaning and spiritual power. These symbols are believed to hold the keys to unlocking higher states of consciousness, facilitating spiritual growth, and connecting with the universal source of energy and wisdom.

Healing & Transformation Beyond its spiritual significance, the Flower of Life is also associated with healing and transformation. It is believed that meditating upon the pattern of the Flower of Life can help to harmonise the mind, body, and spirit, promoting health, balance, and inner peace.

In recent years, the Flower of Life has experienced a resurgence in popularity, with many people incorporating its imagery into their spiritual practices, artwork, and jewellery. Its intricate beauty and profound symbolism continue to inspire awe and fascination, serving as a potent reminder of the interconnectedness of all things and the infinite possibilities that lie within the universe.

Modern Interpretations In the modern era, scientists, mathematicians, and artists have continued to explore the mysteries of the Flower of Life, uncovering new insights into its geometric properties and mathematical significance. Through computer simulations and mathematical algorithms, researchers have gained a deeper understanding of the complex patterns and symmetries inherent in the Flower of Life, shedding light on its underlying principles of order and harmony.

Furthermore, the Flower of Life has found its way into various fields beyond spirituality and art, including architecture, design, and technology. Its geometric principles have been applied in the construction of sacred buildings, the development of advanced engineering techniques, and the design of innovative products and structures.

The Flower of Life: Mysteries of Sacred Geometry:

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forged-in-kaoss · 2 years ago

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[Feeling Good :: Muse :: Rock Im Park :: Nuremberg :: 2002]

#muse #muse band #matt bellamy #oos era #origin of symmetry era #feeling good

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kintatsujo · 2 years ago

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LoZ AU- The Courage of Running Away LABRYNNA EXPANDED (long post alert)

Let's start with a link to the original masterpost since this is plunked in the midst of Part Five of the OG plotting posts.

Labrynna was practically a footnote in the original CoRA plotting posts, it and Holodrum basically getting covered in one post.

But as I've noted since, it turned into its own storyline, and I got wrapped up in Politics, and fantasy politics are my fucking catnip so I have at this point gotten through two whole ass NaNos with it oh god.

Image descriptions will be in ALT this time around so theoretically the seventeen to twenty pictures in this post won't be quite so bad???

So where things pick up, Link has just left Windfish Isle on Uncle Torik's ferry with Marla and Tonbo and they're headed to Labrynna.

...I was going to post the map of Western Aurule here but that. I'm gonna put that in its own post. Here's a link to the map of Aurule proper as it currently stands.

And the first thing Link does, before they even get all the way to Labrynna, is piss off a pirate:

A lot of you are not going to look at the alt text so I'm going to say that he's based on a thorny devil and I did not mean for him to turn out so adorable. (But also I love lizards so maybe it was inevitable that my fondness would show through.)

Link was MOSTLY trying to get him to leave Crescent Island alone so he blows up the figurehead of Kragg's ship.

Which was of Kragg's wife.

Kragg is gonna show back up.

Link and Marla and Tonbo manage to escape to Jabu City, which is based on the fact that there's an OoT-style-Zora Village underwater off the coast in Oracle of Ages because this fic is nothing if not wild extrapolation.

Jabu City is a mixed-peoples city, with Zora, humans, Rito and some Gorons, but it's largely Zora.

Note on mister "Oh I'm in DANGER:" A running gag is that Marla is considered a very attractive Zora and Tonbo is having absolutely none of people hitting on her. Marla takes a lot of delight in this.

Have some more Jabu City fashion because I got carried away:

The trouble is, Jabu City is a beautiful place but the Zora there are generally kind of... hoity toidy high on themselves. There's a few crass comments made about Marla being from Windfish Isle, for example.

So Link, Marla and Tonbo don't spend especially long there and instead head north to the town of Brynna, where Link finds himself instead running into his mother's past-- stories of her adventures, but even more importantly into a traveling story collector who has a bit of a connection to Catena.

I want you all to know that hitting on the idea that the Graceful Gorons are called that because they're all Victorian era-style boxers was the single most inspired moment I've had in this AU setting's worldbuilding, my brain is enormous and I am sexy as hell XD

Anyways Allemande and Courante were Catena's friends for years, and then Catena died so Allemande started taking journeys around Aurule every few years so that he could collect stories about her and about adventurers like her. Think of him as being a bit like an earthier Kass without an accordion.

Allemande suggests that they go to Lynna City, Labrynna's capitol, partly because another one of Catena's old friends lives there now.

But on the way they run into Politics again (they've already run into these politics in Jabu but now it's even more in their face), because they have to cross the Kappakon River to get to Lynna City, and that means interacting with the Kappakon River Zora, who are quite a different deal from the coastal Zora:

What Enhir means when she says "what they're doing to us" is that the mayor of Symmetry City next to Dimitri Bridge is dumping garbage upstream of the nearest Domain, Nuun Domain, trying to get rid of them and mostly making their Patriarch and their tadpoles desperately ill. (I didn't include a sketch of the Nuun Domain Patriarch even though he does have a design because at the point I drew this I already knew this post was longer than most of the original posts for the AU, waagh)

Symmetry City is also where Link, Marla and Tonbo first meet Sturmaz, who essentially joins the party for pretty much the rest of the storyline because I love him and he's a good boy.

I made a post about Sturmaz before and it features a little more art that is absolutely him yelling at Symmetry City's mayor about this mess.

So it takes some yelling at the right people but eventually Link gets the Nuun Domain sorted out and they head to Lynna City to meet his mom's best friend, Githa, who actually lives here because she got banished from Hyrule for reasons that might be clear after the picture:

Notes on Githa: She was originally inspired by Agitha from TP as she appears in Hyrule Warriors with a bit of influence from Purah; for some reason when Invid and I were playing through HW Agitha being a secret criminal or mob boss turned into a running joke along with her NPC mode constantly clinging to giant bosses whenever it was absolutely inconvenient. That turned into Githa.

Also, she doesn't know Catena thought of her as her best friend, which is the real reason Link decides she's a disaster person.

The problem is, now they're in the Capitol and naturally there's more Politics there. For example, Sturmaz's uncle:

(Marla and Tonbo don't want to let Sturmaz or Link think that having shitty father figures is normal.)

And indeed, the stupid hat does come with the job, as Link discovers when he goes with Sturmaz and Nimbas to the Labrynna Senate:

So the idea behind Labrynna's government is that in CoRA's version of events, Labrynna abolished the monarchy after Queen Ambi because they weren't putting up with that shit again (the official line is that so much power is considered too much strain on one person.)

As is evidenced by the Presiding Lady still being a member of Ambi's bloodline and the senator of Brynna being her sister, however, nepotism is still alive and well in Labrynna.

Also Link gets a cute outfit so that he doesn't stand out so much in this crowd:

(It was an emergency situation I swear.)

To be clear this is a man's dress and Link's entire reaction to it is "I don't know how my father puts up with a floor length skirt." Fuck your gender roles.

Nimbas turns out to be more than a bit of a professional jerkass.

(By "river monsters," Nimbas means the Kappakon Zora. Just to be clear.)

Link also visits the Maku Tree, because you don't go to the capitol of either Labrynna or Holodrum and just not visit the Maku Tree.

I wanted the Maku Tree to have an equivalent to the Kokiri for a number of reasons but one of them is that over on the Ghirahim side of the story he's having a silent existential crisis about his backstory and I like narrative mirrors. *thumbs up*

Credit goes to Invid for the idea that the Koroks and Kokiri are actually just the same thing entirely and that the Kokiri put on the Korok masks in order to leave Korok Woods safely.

Also Kula is actually a canon Breath of the Wild character. I made a sound like I was greeting a cat when I found her in TotK. XD

Link finds out, among other things, that the Golden Kragg seems to still be pushing his way up the Kappakon despite that he has to fight every single river Zora on the way. It turns out that Kragg is upset about more than Link blowing up his ship's figurehead:

At some point several years before in Yoll Province, the local dragon went missing, the local lizalfos started acting up, and then the Labrynna Senate, partially spurred on by Senator Nimbas's arguments on behalf of Senator Aldo from Yollton, well, absolutely exterminated the Lizal presence in Yoll Province, and executed the lizalfos leader in Lynna City Square.

Leaving behind her husband, the Golden Kragg, and his lizalfos pirate crew.

So THAT'S not great.

Have a chonky dragon.

Obviously that means that Link has to investigate this shit.

Kragg is heading straight for Lynna City with full intent to carve a new statue of his wife out of the Maku Tree herself, and while the River King Izemaz, living in the Maku Domain, is absolutely going to step in if Kragg tries it, the main bridge Kragg would have to come through is a major marketplace in Lynna and Link can't stand idly by even if it means his destiny as a Called Hero is sort of chasing him around a little at this point.

Which means that Link and party take an express glider to Yoll because time is now of the essence (it is terrible that I didn't draw this. Imagine them sitting in one of those steampunk engine-less plane contraptions and getting launched from a catapult. Also Marla doing lots of screaming.)

Well, shit.

(Link can hear Gabbrosald's sickened godsong because of the pointed ears while Zora are just really sensitive to Things Being Wrong in the Environment. LORE.)

Anyways shit goes DOWN. They have to do a dungeon and everything. And finally, at the end of it, once they've freed the dragon in distress, Gabbrosald gives them a ride back up to Lynna City so they can stop the Golden Kragg from burning Maku Park and using the Maku Tree as carving base, because actually Lord Gabbrosald was rather fond of those lizalfos and would prefer that the Golden Kragg not get himself killed.

Now Link just needs to convince Senator Nimbas that killing the lizalfos that the furious local dragon god is fond of is maybe not the best idea.

#my art #loz #loz au: the courage of running away #au august #holy fuck goodnight everybody #I should not have tried to fit this whole storyline into one post

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108garys · 1 year ago

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Centuries

There's three main eras in little hope, five if you account for Tilly Johnson's statue and the WW1 photo adding to things, myself and @delurkr Have expanded the reincarnation cycle to 9 life's across the three century time span and keeping in mind that some of these incarnations are early concepts and just putting the decades is a bit of a mixed bag here's a portrait of every T across time

Individual and info undercut(but not touching on plots and headcanons tho)

Tabitha, the original and all that, none of the others would be here without her 💖

Truth, the very next life and a very early concept

Same with Temperance, vague details that are subject to change

Tamsyn, now she is fleshed out to an extent even though I started out with the thought of how lovely her hair is

Tilly Johnson, canonical fourth T, based off my colourisation of her bust but much much more off delurkr's interpretation of Tilly

Tammie started out as "Jenny may in a western" in terms of looks and I'm sure that's still there given her hair/eyes colour and mole although I did put in the effort to make her more historically accurate and more individual

Theresa is delurkr's oc for the 1917 cycle and I can't put enough weight on how important this character is to so much of my own creations, this character was the first time it occurred to me that little hope could be expanded this way and from there so many of the ideas I've had and come up with can in my opinion be owed to delurkr blowing my mind wide open to the possibilities and I could gush about it all forever(I'll stop before this post gets too derailed 😅)

Tanya is of course best girl and the reason we get to celebrate all these lovely ladies birthdays

Last but certainly not least is our girl Taylor, she's out here breaking the cycle✨

So yeah I took the relatively simple idea of symmetry portraits and got stubborn about it lol, also I'll lastly and again say that if you somehow like my stuff and haven't checked out @delurkr then what are you doing? Some of my best ideas spawned because they got me thinking and everyone should check them out 💕

@kassiekolchek22 @tatjana-fantasy @blubary @dennisseyebrows @qusochek @lazylesbianbear @ultrabananapudding @ivycross @eframschweigersskincells @eddie-brii @mybrainrotforreal

#Little hope #The dark pictures anthology #The dark pictures little hope #Tabitha Milton #Tanya Clarke #little hope taylor #little hope 1917 #little hope 1810s #Little hope 1880 #little hope oc #Tdpa oc #character birthdays #supermassive games #ramblings #Victorian supermassive

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wind-rider · 9 months ago

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hey :) can i ask for stuff from the mythology you talked about in infodump? or more specific things about how cyrinism is / can be expressed?

OH BOY CAN YOU

I'm going to talk about BOTH and this post is going to be SO long and you can't stop me

MYTHOLOGY

(Theft of the Moon, art by yours truly, 2024)

Overview

I'm just going to talk about the mythology for the POV culture because I cannot possibly go into the other ones without this becoming a whole-ass dissertation. So, just assume that everything that follows is specific to that culture/belief, though variations of it do definitely exist in other cultures in the world (including the variation I spoke about in the infodump channel; as it's not the exact one used in the story, I'll leave it for later).

To begin with, the various figures in the mythos are p much entirely represented by specific animals or general inhuman Creatures! Exactly how many figures there are depends on the specific subset of the religion, as there are regional variations, but the simplest and most widespread of them has only two: Cana and Korr.

At their base, they are the representations of the concept of opposites, in all the forms those take. Respectively, they are Sun and Moon, Day and Night, Light and Dark, Destroyer and Creator, Hunter and Hunted, Death and Life, Fool and Trickster and so on. Their most popular representations are of the Sun and Moon.

Cana, the Sun, is depicted as a canid of some kind; usually a dog, though occasionally a wolf or fox. The Moon, Korr, is naturally depicted as a cat, whether housecat or panther (or other big cat) depends on the teller, era, and locality.

A lot of superstitions revolve around these animals as a result; a dog, especially one with pale fur, was seen as a herald of disaster or drought, while a dark-furred cat was revered as a sign of good fortune. The opposites, ie a dark-furred dog or a pale-furred cat, had different meanings; the former a symbol of either betrayal or resistance, and the latter one of instability and change or triumph over evil. Dogs were unheard of as pets in the region until only a century or two before the modern day, and cats are still far more common.

The concept of light and heat as a harbinger of destruction and ill fortune is generally seen as having arisen from the unforgiving desert and savannah environment that the POV culture arose within. The country within which the story takes place, Havel, has grown more secular in recent decades, but some neighbouring countries that, unlike Havel, have not become as much of a cultural melting pot over time, still retain these beliefs as a significant part of daily life.

Creation Myth

In the beginning, there was only the Renn, or the Empty, a state of non-existence at the beginning and end of the Universe. The Renn was the absence of everything- it was not dark, nor light, it was simultaneously infinitely dense and containing no matter at all. It did, however, have a single imperfection: the point of collapse of the world before it, the tiniest seam in the Nothing that cloaked it. Time didn't yet exist again- the seam simply was, an antithesis to all that didn't exist around it. From the seam spread an Imbalance, and from there, two forms in symmetry, unfolding outwards and bringing with them Existence.

These forms were the original Twins, Cana and Korr, the light and the darkness. Like all things, they existed in opposition- one could not exist without the other, but they actively counteracted each others' existence. Cana's bright burning self forced Korr to protect himself, lest they were both destroyed. From the once-Renn around the, he surrounded himself in soil and stone, and settled there, within the delicate shell of the newborn World. There, in the safety of the dark, he created Life, and bided his time until he might emerge once more.

Night and Day, and the Theft of the Moon

For a long time, the sky was dominated by only Cana. The sun reigned over all, and daytime was eternal, leaving the world a scorched and lifeless place. Cana's shadowy twin, Korr, couldn't stand to emerge from beneath the ground lest he be destroyed by her light.

However, one day, he decided to try and speak with her. He waited until she was resting on the horizon, a rare moment where the heat and light wasn't so strong, and crept up to just beneath the surface, hiding in the shadows of a narrow cave. From there, he told her of all the wonders of life that were trapped below the earth from her heat, and if she could perhaps share the sky with him, they could emerge and she would no longer be alone within it.

Cana refused- she didn't trust her brother's tales, and she was afraid of the cool darkness he described. But Korr didn't relent, and eventually, they came to an agreement- she would hide herself for one minute, and allow her brother alone to emerge and walk the surface for that time, no longer. But Korr was cunning, and as she hid, now blind without her own fire, he snuck through the shadows and snatched a piece of her light.

Furious, she gave chase to burn him back beneath the earth, but despite how his stolen light burnt in his mouth, Korr didn't stop running, and shadow fell over the earth in his wake, becoming night.

Here, the story differs according to the telling. Some say that the moon is that stolen light still held in Korr's teeth, trapped in an eternal chase through the sky. Others say that he tried to hide it, and it burned half of him away, becoming his pale twin Pyrrhus, running as the moon alongside him in the night. Either way, the ending is the same: the siblings continue to chase, and day continues to turn to night, and with just a little less light burning from Cana's paws, life was able to emerge and grow.

Another variant of the story, central within Havel's Church of the Blind Creator, tells that Korr was blinded by his stolen light and swallowed it, causing his descendants, Cyrin, still to burn from the inside. Most Cyrin's tendency to easily overheat, often resulting in harm to themselves, is the reasoning for the latter. This is in contrast to the primary telling of Cyrin's origins, which says that in revenge for Korr's betrayal, Cana cursed/blessed (depending on the teller's opinion) some of his proudest creations, humans, with her fire and strength, and those were the first Cyrin. To some, this painted Cyrin as harbingers of loss and destruction; to others, gifted ones tasked with using Cana's power for good and new creation.

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This is getting really long, so I'll make a new post for Cyrinism later and tag you so you see it. Thanks for asking!!! Please feel free to ask any further questions or clarification on anything I've talked about here :]

#wowie this got long #but yeah the idea of the sun as a destroying force and the night as a creative one had a very large impact #especially with the whole concept of being most creative at midnight haha #fun fact: it was also believed that conceiving a child during the day meant that they would be born a Cyrin #and it was thus 'safer' to do so at night #windrambles #storystuff

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