#practical script writing exercise

[townpostin]

Karim City College Hosts Script Writing Workshop

Mumbai screenwriter Sajal Kumar shares insights with Mass Communication students A script writing workshop led by Mumbai-based screenwriter Sajal Kumar was organized by Karim City College’s Mass Communication Department. JAMSHEDPUR – Karim City College’s Mass Communication Department hosted a script writing workshop featuring Mumbai-based screenwriter Sajal Kumar, sharing industry insights with…

[honeytonedhottie]

building a new life and identity⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🧁

building a new identity and life for urself is actually easier than it sounds. u only need to commit to the new identity.

WHO IS THE PERSON THAT U WANT TO BE ;

how do they act? what is their education? that’s the first question to ask urself. i talked about a garden analogy in one of my previous posts but just in case u missed that i’ll remind u:

so basically imagine urself as a gardener and ur life is ur garden. it’s boundless. u can fill the garden with flowers 🌸 and plants, anything u desire really. think of ur desires as the flowers that u fill ur garden 🪴 with. the plants that u water the most or the pay the most attention to will grow beautifully. this is how manifestation is. 

so what i’ve been doing lately is keeping 2-3 affirmations on loop in my brain whenever i get a minute to. (kinda like when u put something on queue in ur mind) when im doing mindless activities or something. i’ll repeat the affirmations in my mind OR out loud. but i’ll only do this when i want to. (cuz nothing in manifestation should be forced) 

doing this, i kinda imagine my affirmations as watering my manifestations 🪷. now that we’ve established setting up ur garden, let’s FILL it. (this is the funnest part) i want u to write down who u desire to be as though u were already that person living that life. so you’d title ur page (who i am) 

my name is ___ i am ___ years old 

ur personality and character traits 

ur skills and talents 

ur appearance 

ur self concept and how life treats u 

ur education 

ur relationships

how long it takes u to get everything u want 

literally EVERYTHING. this is scripting. ur creating a script in which ur reality will follow. next we need to PRACTICE the script. 

how do we do that? being delulu, affirming, manifestation exercises, daydreaming, SATS, literally PRETENDING. fulfilling urself in ur imagination is u practicing the script. 

once the script is persisted in enough and well practiced you’ll see it play out in ur life. congratulations, you’ve built a new life and identity for urself <3 (this is a remake of one of my old posts in my newer style)

[goddessinnerglow]

Become Your Best Version Before 2025 - Day 15

The Power of Self-Talk

Hi Goddesses! Let's talk about something we all do every single day, often without realizing it, talking to ourselves. You know that little voice in your head that's always commenting on everything? Yeah, that one. Let's make it work for us instead of against us!

Think about it: would you talk to your best friend the way you sometimes talk to yourself? If you just had a mini "oh…" moment, you're not alone. I used to be the queen of harsh self-talk until I realized I was basically being a mean girl to myself 24/7.

So today, we're going to transform that inner critic into your biggest cheerleader. Not in a fake, toxic positivity way, but in a real, authentic way that actually sticks.

Let's look at how we can flip the script:

The Inner Dialogue Check-In

First, let's catch those thoughts! For just one hour today, try to notice your self-talk. No judgment, just observation. You might be surprised at what you hear. Are you:

Beating yourself up over tiny mistakes?

Comparing yourself to others?

Dismissing your achievements?

Using words like "always" and "never" about yourself?

The good news? Once you notice these patterns, you can start changing them.

The Language Swap Game

Here's a powerful trick: imagine your thoughts are text messages you can edit before sending. Let's practice some rewrites:

Instead of "I'm so stupid for making this mistake" Try: "I'm learning from this experience"

Instead of "I'll never be good enough" Try: "I'm growing and improving every day"

Instead of "Everyone else has it figured out except me" Try: "Everyone's on their own journey, and I'm exactly where I need to be"

The Mirror Exercise

This one might feel weird at first, but it works! Every morning when you look in the mirror:

Give yourself one genuine compliment

Say one thing you're proud of

Set one kind intention for the day

Start small, even a simple "Hey, I like your energy today" counts!

Building Your Confidence Playlist

Create a collection of phrases that make you feel strong. Your personal highlight reel might include:

Times you overcame challenges

Compliments you've received that felt truly meaningful

Your proudest moments

Little wins that made you smile

Keep these handy for when your inner critic gets too loud.

The Permission Slips Exercise

Write yourself permission slips, just like in school, but these are for:

Making mistakes and learning from them

Taking up space

Saying no without guilt

Being a work in progress

Changing your mind

The Reframe Game

When you catch a negative thought, ask yourself:

Would I say this to my best friend?

Is this thought helping or hurting me?

What would someone who loves me say instead?

What's a more balanced way to look at this?

Your Daily Self-Talk Rituals

Pick one or two of these to try:

Morning power phrases (said out loud!)

Gratitude check-ins with yourself

Evening appreciation moments

Celebratory self-high-fives (yes, really!)

The goal isn't to never have negative thoughts. It's to catch them, question them, and choose whether to believe them.

Your Challenge for today

Notice your self-talk patterns for one hour (set a timer if it helps!)

Pick ONE negative phrase you use often and write down a kinder alternative

Try the mirror challenge (even if it feels silly at first)

Remember, changing your inner dialogue is like learning a new language, it takes practice, patience, and lots of gentle reminders. You've got this, and more importantly, you deserve this!

See you tomorrow for Day 16!

♡ ☆:.｡ Keep glowing, babes! ♡ ☆:.｡ With love, Goddess Inner Glow.

[leonw4nter]

hi! so i was wondering if you could do hcs for re2r leon who is dating a nurse? also i wanted to say that i love your writing!! it’s literally some of my favorite on this app 💗 thank you!

RE2R!Leon Headcanons on dating a nurse…

RE2R!Leon x GN!reader

You two had met when officer Rayman had to send him to the ER for stitches on his side after a physical encounter with a car thief on crack. You had been at the ER just passing time, occasionally attending to other patients if they needed any help.

You had already thought that the young officer was already attractive, but you didn’t pay his face much attention and rushed to help him with the cut on his side, as blood seeped through his white inner shirt and into his navy blue uniform. He was already used to being shirtless with a bunch of other officers in the locker rooms of the RPD but somehow, he felt flustered being topless in front of you.

“Gosh, your body is just goals,” you comment as you finish up the last of his stitches. Warmth floods his head, sending his brain swimming in all sorts of happiness-eliciting chemicals. “It’s so good, actually. What’s your workout routine?”

“Oh it’s– um…–” he stammered. Pistol squats, weighted squats, glute extensions, weighted calf raises, thirty-second sprints, leg swings, cat camel, crab reaches, and some kicking. It would’ve been easy for him to share his gym regimen and tell you its intervals but with you looking up at him with doe eyes, all words melted into goo before they could leave his throat. “Oh– it’s just, you know– squats, calf raises, some running. That stuff… I think– I mean, yeah! Just these um… exercises, yeah. Right.”

He wanted to kick himself and never come back to that ER again but you didn’t seem to notice his awkward stammering (or did really well that it looked like you didn’t notice it).

You gave your number to him in case he had any questions or needed help with tending to the stitches just below his ribs and since Marvin had given him 2 days off to recuperate, he took the time to call you and asked if he could send you some donuts during one of your lunch breaks soon.

“I was wondering if– if you’ll be okay with me dropping some donuts off at your work during your break. It’s just my small token of thanks,” he said. He wished that he prepared a script ahead and practiced a handful more times, unconfident with the trembling in his voice and the small voice crack he hoped the phone didn’t pick up.

“Oh! Of course! That’d be great! Leave it at the front desk, to a certain Nurse Joyce and I’ll pick it up,” you gleefully say.

“That’d be awesome. So uh… see you soon, I guess?”

“See me soon? Are you implying that there’s going to be more than one occasion where we’re going to see each other–”

“Goodnight, nurse!”

He didn’t mean to sound rude or come off as a sourpuss but your words coming back to him when he thought it would stay only in the form of thoughts in his mind scared him, he just had to hang up.

After several dates and 5 months spent together as friends, Leon bashfully asked if you would want him as a boyfriend because he felt ready to be your boyfriend if you were ready for the commitment. His poor hands were gripping the bouquet too tightly, wrinkling the plastic wrapping around his large hands. His eyes looked comically round and almost puppy-like, especially with his dilated pupils. You nodded and said yes to him, gently taking the flowers and giving him a big hug. Before you went inside your door when he sent you home, you pressed a kiss to his cheek and blew him a kiss before going inside. Poor Leon stood frozen in front of your steps, pleasantly shocked as a wide grin made its way into his baby face. You stayed behind the door for a bit, listening to him. You swear you heard a giddy laugh and a silent “Yes!” from the other side.

Watching medical shows became a regular thing between you two. You pointed out some of the medical inaccuracies and explained what should actually be happening as Leon looked at you with hearts in his eyes. It was also vice versa: you watching a cop show with him and him breaking down the mechanics of how investigations are done while you nod and hum in agreement while silently swooning over the increasing animation of his hands as he went over the laws and breaches in ethics.

“Whew, that was so smart of you.” You say as you scooch closer to him and lean against his shoulder. This confused Leon at first.

“Huh? Why– what’d I do?” He anxiously asked, worried he did something wrong even though that didn’t seem to be the case.

“You really got into the nitty gritty of it and went into hypothetical scenarios with different outcomes of the situation. You know, I heard that you graduated at the top of your police academy.”

He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Uh, yeah… I did but it’s nothing, really. You’re really smart too, you know.”

Before you, Leon used to simply wash his cuts with water and anti-bacterial soap and not place a bandage over it. Now, he’s immediately asking you for band-aids whenever he has one. Sometimes, the band-aids look ridiculous: bright yellow band-aids with rubber ducks, Disney princesses, cartoons, or cute animal doodles but he doesn’t mind, it’s like a small piece of you that he carries into work, a small reminder of you keeping his wound guarded.

Leon’s now a regular at the hospital, you a regular at the police station. At the hospital, the older nurses and doctors like to grill him about you and how he’s treating you. Back at the police station, the officers like to share stories about all the times Leon embarrassed himself by accident or when he started out as a rookie. They loved to bring up how fast Leon managed to solve the puzzles they set up for him when he had his first day on the job, recommending challenging puzzle kits as a gift for him. What both your coworkers had in common was scrunching their nose and feigning dislike for your mild displays of affection like hugging and kisses to the cheek.

If Leon needed to request for a leave due to medical reasons, he considered himself lucky that you were qualified to be able to write up a medical certificate to present once he got back.

“Officer, I don’t think I can accept this.”

“Why not? It’s written by a medical professional, a licensed one too.”

“We don’t accept certificates coming from–”

“Someone we’re legally associated with? Yes. That includes parents, siblings, and spouses but they’re not my spouse. Well, not yet at least, so I think I’m free to go. Nothing in the handbook indicates that I can’t have my unmarried partner make my certificate.”

“... consider yourself lucky, officer. Fine, I’ll take it.”

He does consider himself lucky– more than lucky, in fact.

One time, he got curious and decided to ask to see the needles you use on patients. On a particularly silly mood that day, you decided to exaggerate a little bit. You took the needle meant for an epidural, a needle around 6 inches, and explained that this went into the spine. He had gone pale, the rosiness and pinkish tint of his face vanishing as you demonstrated how it would be used. You showed him the needles used for intramuscular injections and he adjusts the collar of his clothes, a little queasy at the thought of these scary devices being used on a near-daily basis.

There are some days where you’d come home completely silent and drained, feeling blue from the events that had gone down in the hospital. If Leon got home first, he’d be welcoming you with a beaming grin and open arms but once he spots the puffiness of your face indicative of crying, he pulls you in for a hug and immediately asks what’s wrong before listening to you and offering words of comfort or the solace of his presence with you.

Back then, he simply relied on fruits and the occasional vegetable for his vitamins but after dating you, you decided to slip some vitamins after meals into his diet. He particularly likes the gummy vitamins though you remember to remind him to take them out of the car so they won’t melt and turn into one cluster.

NOTE - Thank you so so much to the anon who sent this, I hope you liked it <3 I've been having writer's block for a bit so it took a long time to complete a request like this but I'm glad that I managed to get this done for you :) I didn't format this post like how I usually format it (w the dividers and text gradients) bc there's a major weather disturbance from where I live and it's affecting the signal and connection speed of the internet so I'll probably make this look pretty once the storm passes us. School starts again in like... a week so requests getting done will prolly take some time so I'll do my best to post everything before everything goes tits up in terms of academics. Anyway, that's it and thank you for reading my fics!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <33333 UUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!

[glowettee]

// part 4: the ultimate guide to manifesting basics ✨

hey loves! mindy here~

as your resident manifestation bestie who's juggling 5 ap classes while manifesting her way to med school and future business empire, i want to share everything i know about making your dreams reality. i'm going to dive deep into the manifestation world in the most detailed (but still cute) way possible!

why manifestation works (the basics):

quantum physics tells us everything is energy

our thoughts create vibrations

like attracts like (it's literally science, besties!)

our subconscious mind is super powerful

belief creates reality

essential components of successful manifesting:

clear intention

be specific about what you want

write it down in present tense

include how it makes you feel

elevated emotions

practice gratitude daily

visualize with feeling

maintain high vibrational states

inspired action

take steps toward your goals

follow intuitive nudges

stay consistent

my personal manifesting routine (that got me straight a's):

morning ritual

gratitude journaling (3 things minimum)

positive affirmations while doing skincare

visualization during breakfast

throughout the day

mindful studying with intention

catching limiting beliefs

redirecting negative thoughts

evening practice

scripting for 10 minutes

reviewing vision board

setting intentions for tomorrow

common manifesting mistakes to avoid: × doubting the process × being too attached to outcomes × forgetting to take action × neglecting self-concept × rushing the process

pro tips from your girl mindy:

treat manifesting like a friendship with the universe

stay consistent but keep it fun and light

document your manifestation journey

celebrate small wins

trust divine timing

note: manifesting isn't just about getting what you want - it's about becoming the version of yourself who already has it. when i visualize my future doctor self, i embody that energy right now in how i study, dress, and carry myself.

quick starter exercise: write down your biggest dream as if it's already happened. include:

how you feel

what you see

who's around you

what you're wearing

what you're doing

the key is to make it feel real and present. i do this every night before bed and it's literally changed my life!

with love and manifestation magic, mindy xo

[cenorii]

Wesker: personality

This is my psychological analysis of the character, which includes important details of the story, an analysis of the decisions they made and the concept of the phenomenon of «Guiding Fear». Contains spoilers!

Even if you know lore 100%, you will be able to learn something new from my thoughts

I did this to practice analyzing personalities and reliably prescribe my own characters.

[These are all my personal reflections that I have been accumulating and analyzing for six months. You can see the same analysis with Chris here. In Wesker's case, I dispel the myths that he is evil-evil and crazy, it's not that trivial here... Thanks to everyone who reads this, I really appreciate it and it's nice to know that my thoughts are of interest to someone!]

The most difficult subject of all. An attempt to embrace the immensity. He is infantile and the desire to prove this quality forced me to write such a huge article.

Wesker embodies the fear of losing himself, the anxiety of being someone he is not. He knows nothing about himself from the beginning, neither his Spencer-prescribed destiny nor his real name. As he tries to resist and exercise his individuality, he is eventually confronted with the truth that his every move has been pre-planned, never answering the questions: where are his own decisions? Where is he himself? What is really his?

I chose this fear for Wesker for a reason. The fear of losing himself can cause a person to purposely distance himself from others and not allow anyone to get close to him. He strives to shield himself from everyone, and we can observe this in his desire to be alone. Outwardly, such a person may appear indifferent and cold, even indifferent, so as not to give away to others (and to himself) his true feelings and needs. Wesker believes that it is right not to show anyone that something matters to him, otherwise he will develop weaknesses. After all, what people hold dear can be manipulated. And he doesn't want anyone to have control over him. He hates being controlled, so his surroundings know the bare minimum of information about him.

Who's Spencer? One of the founders of Umbrella, to put it succinctly. A man who is obsessed with identical mansions and mysteries and immortality and creating «perfect humanity». Rich and powerful.

But let's get to Wesker's story. A lot of things happened to him in his 48 years of life.

First of all, I want to point out that at an early age he was taken from a family that Spencer believed had a unique combination of intelligence and genes. But he wasn't the only one who was treated this way as part of «project W» (the experiment to create the perfect human). There were hundreds of children who were later given the surname Wesker. Until their adulthood, they received the best education, living in a boarding school (presumably), and were selected to be the best.

The children, being a blank slate, absorbed Spencer's teaching, being brought up according to his ideals. Their lives were pre-scripted, every step of the way. Those who were unremarkable were weeded out. Competition, anxiety. The lack of a normal childhood could breed a fear of losing oneself in every Wesker, for life was controlled. Personal boundaries and choices were absent, Spencer's worldview was pounded into everyone's head. Children were also distorted with notions of right and wrong, forced to be emotionally detached from a non-ideal world. This upbringing has produced people who have no empathy for others, empty machines with no personality of their own, ready to perform perfectly in any job in which they find themselves successful. They see the world through Spencer's eyes, but not their own.

In the end the best were 13 people, where number 12 was Alex Wesker and number 13 was Albert, the one in question. Someone who really always wanted to see the world with his own eyes, wanted to transcend.

The 13 candidates, following Spencer's plan, had to mature before moving on to the final stage of project W - injecting themselves with a special prototype virus. The power that this virus can bestow is so great that an immature individual, according to Spencer, has no right to possess it. In theory, this virus should improve a person, make him perfect, but in fact it turned out to be very selective and killed 11 candidates out of 13. Only Alex and Albert survived. Alex didn't gain any strength, because at the time of the injection she was sick, and the virus cannot improve a weak organism. But her half-brother was lucky, and the virus endowed him with all possible positive properties, changing his body and turning him into an almost immortal creature, looking completely like a human. That is, outwardly, except for the color of his eyes, nothing had changed in him. At the time of the injection, they were both 38.

I don't believe in theory that he lost his «humanity» due to mutation. On the contrary, he was never «human» in the classical sense of the word. He, like the others, was raised not to show empathy for others and was indoctrinated to believe that he was superior. Wesker had not changed, but because of his newfound freedom, he was no longer constrained by the limits Spencer's upbringing had placed on him.

When Wesker was 18, he was sent to the «Umbrella Executive Training School» with his future friend William Birkin, who was 16. They were research associates. As one could guess, the stress didn't end with his childhood, it coexisted with it. Following the text from his report, Wesker continued to feel like a mere toy in the hands of Umbrella, and further in the hands of Spencer, he literally raved in every paragraph about the old man. And to get out of this state was impossible from his words.

He and Birkin were led to Lisa Trevor, a subject who had been physically and psychologically abused in this School for many years. The horrible picture that opened before them, gave Wesker confidence that he could be in her place if he did his job badly. But he had no idea that he'd always been there, that every stage of his life was Spencer's experiment, just not as ugly.

Wesker wrote in his report: «We had two choices: succeed in our research... or lie here and rot like her. Thus we had only one option. This woman tied to a pipe touched something in our minds»

These thoughts are literally a revelation of his subconscious fear that has haunted him since childhood. A manifestation of humanity.

When Wesker entered this School, he felt freedom and saw the horrors of science for the first time. Perhaps a turning point in his life, for in order not to lose that little freedom, and his life, he had to do as he was told. Had to adjust and ignore the rationalism screaming inside. Working there greatly affected Birkin and Wesker, but Wesker had to transfer elsewhere to get more information about Spencer and also because of the realization that he had reached his research limit. When Birkin started studying the G-virus, Wesker realized that it was beyond his knowledge. Although he was good at science, he didn't want to do it all the time, he wasn't looking to improve his skills and knowledge, reaching for something else, as if trying everywhere, trying to find his place.

Close to the age of 38, Wesker gets a job in a special police unit as Captain of the S.T.A.R.S. Squad and a double agent. But he was already then pursuing a personal goal and found himself a triple agent. His goal was not simply to test bioweapons on members of his squad, as the assignment stated, but to escape with the results to another organization. The only way to break free from the influence of Umbrella, which is why he gave up his best people so easily.

It's unclear why he planted supplies on Chris in a difficult moment and helped him in every way he could if the trial was supposed to go «natural». Perhaps he wanted Chris to 100% make it to the final trial, but Chris was doing fine without it. Maintained the image of the captain? Game rules? Anything is possible. I'll use the code word «WX» to note this behavior, because I'll come back to this topic a few more times. «WX» stands for Wesker's penchant for actions that do not conform to his basic behavior, including helping others that does not bring him any personal benefit or benefit. In other words, good without any reason.

At the mansion, Chris and Jill get rid of the bioweapons in their path and make their way to the lab, where they catch Wesker off guard. There are 12 endings in the game, but only the one where Wesker is stabbed in the stomach by the Tyrant is canonical, as that is the ending depicted in Umbrella Chronicles, where the story is told on his behalf.

He survives by regenerating from a pre-injected prototype virus, but it's unclear if his death was part of the plan. His first report states that Wesker planned his temporary death from the Tyrant, but in subsequent retellings of this moment, I began to question how relevant this report was. His reaction and facial emotion shown in the re1 remake described surprise. But he couldn't be faking it at that moment, because he already had his back turned to Jill and Chris. Considering the way Wesker in Umbrella Chronicles describes his death, it seems like he really didn't expect this. Something didn't go according to plan. He didn't plan for this kind of trauma to activate the virus within him.

The point about the prototype virus is also worth mentioning. Birkin, on Spencer's orders, misled Wesker by telling him that this substance was developed specifically for him. That is, Wesker did not know the truth and details about having a huge probability of simply dying from the injection. Judging by the information in the notes, if Wesker had not injected it into himself, the virus would have entered his body in some other way, it was inevitable. The remaining 12 Weskers were injected with the virus, some by force, some at the request of a friend, and some under the guise of vaccination.

Let's take it a little further. Wesker was declared dead and moved on to another organization. Now his plan was to get rid of the sinking ship that is Umbrella. But why was he so intent on destroying it? It could have been a personal vendetta, after all, it was Umbrella that had manipulated his life and taken away his freedom. It was also a way to prove to his new organization that he was worth something.

By executing his plan, he inadvertently helped Chris and Jill, who were seeking the same thing. I'd call it «WX», but since he was pursuing a personal goal for his own benefit, it's 50\50.

Then in re4 he gives Ada the task finds the amber with the parasite Plaga. Considering that Wesker moves quietly around the island in the remake, it's odd that he didn't get that amber himself. With the power and speed from the virus, he took it all on the shoulders of one Ada, who was also infected during the mission, which only wasted his time. Didn't want to get his hands dirty? Maybe. But if he had gotten them dirty, the mission would have been completed faster, and isn't that a tactical advantage?

In the remake, he manifests «WX» (DLC Separate Ways) when he shows up at just the right moment for Ada and saves her from the ganados. After likely killing them with a gun, he takes a passed out Ada to Mendez's bedside, where he gives her a temporary recovery shot (or draws her blood?) But you know what's even weirder? He purposely chose a comfortable place for Ada, rather than laying her down on the ground somewhere. He was also there with her the entire time she was lying unconscious. I'd put an exclamation point on that weirdness, because... why? First of all, why did he save her when he could have continued the mission in her place? Recall Code Veronica, there Wesker arrived on the island with his HCF squad, but then we find his soldiers infected. He showed no concern for them and actually continued the mission on his own. Second, why did he keep sitting there? To scold and pathos leave?

He envisioned the option of Ada's possible betrayal and later stole Krauser's body, from which he had already extracted the Plaga sample, but he saved her anyway. Why? All of Ada's subsequent tasks on the island he could also have accomplished on his own and much faster. It's not like he was very busy if he allowed himself to sit with a sleeping Ada. The next meeting with Ada takes place on the elevation. Wesker brings her a case, pointing a gun at her. What is this gesture for? I don't think he sees her as a threat. Maybe it's a way to lend weight to his words, but doesn't he consider his authority absolute? He's a much bigger threat than the gun in his hand, so it's an odd action that makes him seem insecure.

After Ada's betrayal, one of Wesker's allies informs him that her helicopter can be attacked, but he refuses, calling it her "little act of defiance". Thus, he gives someone the Plaga sample she stole, and also spares Ada herself. It's «WX», though he could have gotten rid of two problems at once - the traitor and the competition.

We are now transported to the future, in the DLC for Re5 – «Lost in Nightmares». Here's where the fun begins.

DLC reveals to us that something has been bothering Wesker all his life, and that something is a subconscious manipulation that has been psychologically programmed into every Wesker. The so-called «Spencer's presence». It was a defense mechanism that constantly caused a sense of anxiety and a desire to seek out Spencer, to obey him. But this defense stopped working as soon as the old man met his prodigal son and told him everything. Wesker learned from him the whole truth about himself and about «project W», that his whole life had been manufactured. Then the defenses in his head were destroyed and he quietly killed Spencer, appropriating his dream for himself. He failed to deal with the realization of the truth, taking his dream of becoming God and creating a perfect humanity. An infantile fantasy of an unjust world that needed to be changed to fit his ideals.

In that moment, he faced his fear head-on. There she was - the cause of his fears, the person who had gotten into the depths of his mind, into his innermost being. Spencer. And now this old man was lying bloody on the floor. Perhaps Wesker should have been relieved and finally started living the life he wanted, not this old man. But he had taken Spencer's dream for himself, thus, once again acting against his will. In doing so, he didn't walk away from the problem, but exacerbated it without even realizing it. Wesker must have guessed that he had some problems, but his inflated ego that prevented him from thinking about it, screaming that he couldn't have any flaws. The problem became a hole that he tries to fill with things like this.

Whereas other characters conquer their fears by facing them, Wesker drowned in them, unwilling to change anything. His entire personality was built on the horror of losing himself, and when he found out that he basically had no self all his life, he lost his mind. He decided, since this world was unfair to him, then he needed to completely rewrite it and turn it into his own utopia, in which he would be whoever he wanted, untouchable, whom no one would point out and control.

However, thanks to the re4r (DLC Separate Ways), we now know that similar thoughts haunted Wesker even before he met Spencer. His desire to change people and start a new era he expresses after the credits. With this, the writers patched a few plot holes that appeared after re5. Now Wesker sounds like he didn't assign Spencer's goals to himself, but even before meeting him, he decided on a vision based on his upbringing.

Unfortunately, there is a long known scripting problem re5, because Wesker was not planned as a character who will survive the events of this game, so his motivation sounds stereotypical and stupid, because his plan and should not have been realized. Must be in the remake they will fix this flaw, because the beginning has already been made. His moment of frustration after killing Spencer is interrupted by Chris and Jill coming up. Consumed by rage, Wesker is seriously trying to kill Chris this time, or he was playing with him again, knowing that he would not oppose him. After saving her partner from death, Jill pushes Wesker out the window, falling down onto the rocks with him. After falling off a cliff, Wesker obviously survives, but also saves Jill. Why not just leave her to die? Why treat her and then plan to make her a test subject? Aren't there other healthy people out there? Stupid and empty revenge is not in his character. This is just another manifestation of «WX» and his obsessive desire to cling to the past.

I don't have much to say about re5, because Wesker died there, or we were made to think so. The only thing I will mention is his unhealthy attitude towards Chris. He displays it at every chance he gets. The notes about Wesker in Umbrella Chronicles state «As a spy he held the concurrent post of S.T.A.R.S. Captain and has been impressed by Chris' combat abilities since then», and during the events of Umbrella Chronicles, Wesker said the phrase «Chris, it appears our fates are forever intertwined». In the re1 remake and Code Veronica, he openly stated that Chris was «his best man» in a sort of unobtrusive admiration. It's no longer possible to perceive Redfield as separate from Wesker.

Each time he points a gun at him, Wesker never takes a shot on target. In the battle on the airplane, he points the gun at Chris without even putting his finger on the trigger. Such a good opportunity to kill him, to get rid of the enemy for good, and he just stands there holding a gun he's not even going to use. Just take the shot and it's over, but no, he's standing there babbling on as if it's actually that much more important to him. It's like Wesker was looking for an opportunity to vent to the very person from his past. It's reminiscent of the moment he pointed the gun at Ada. It's like he was trying to add weight to his words, to show the importance of what he was doing.

In Code Veronica, he decided to play with Chris instead of killing him. So many opportunities were missed, as if he couldn't physically hurt «his best man». Chris is Wesker's only drop of common sense. If he was sure of what he was doing, and also sure of himself, he wouldn't have left Chris any chance of survival. He would have killed Redfield at the first opportunity, but he stands there every time and doubts what he's doing. Chris is a kind of controlling element to him that constantly makes him hesitate.

And this strange hatred for Chris also raises questions. Maybe he hates him because he was jealous of what he owned? Something that cannot be obtained with money. Support, understanding, the love of a sister and close people, trust. Wesker compulsively convinced himself that he was not made for such things, for even having a sister, they did not possess affection. From the beginning he had no friends and his only companion was Birkin, though their relationship could hardly be called a normal friendship. He had no family or loved ones, and the only support he received came from «patrons» who were actually agents of Spencer and Umbrella. Seeing the Redfields supporting each other in difficult moments, being heroic, Wesker truly realized that he would never do the same. He has no people he holds dear, nor does he have those who hold him dear. There are no irreplaceable people in his worldview, but this connection between Redfields is probably beyond his comprehension. It's a simple human problem, which is why he's so fixated on himself, because if he loses the only thing he has, he'll have nothing left. He's miserable and drowning in his own despair.

While interacting with Chris on the volcano, Wesker first reveals his idealistic, infantile nature, naively dreaming of a better world without war and disease. Losing control of his powers and realizing that he will not defeat Chris in such a state, he decides to overdose himself with Ouroboros, which in the end does not make him stronger at all, but only slows him down, making him drown not only in weakness, but also in his own uncontrollable anger and frustration. Events are moving too quickly and so it can be assumed that his words here are not addressed to Chris, but to himself. After all, in the last battle he claimed to be «saving the world» and now he wonders «is it worth saving?» He dies without knowing the answer.

«However, there is no point in power if it consumes itself» his phrase, well suited to the situation at hand.

Btw, in the original idea, the moment before he died, his eye color would become natural, showing despair and horror. An interesting idea that was discarded.

I would also like to parse his phrases: «Only those with superior DNA will be chosen by Uroboros. Only those fit for survival will be allowed to carry their genes into a new age!» Also, «I don't need anyone else. I have Uroboros!»

Wesker is more aware of how the world works than anyone else. Corruption, betrayal, human vice and filth. He had to participate in it to achieve his goal, had to go through a lot of disgusting people for the sake of getting benefits, himself to sink to their level. Seeing this, he has become disillusioned with people, so he wishes they would disappear, giving way to someone more «worthy» of life. He also renounces everyone, entrusting his fate to his creation, desperate to gain understanding.

His life was cut short at the age of 48 (2009) in a volcano, but that's according to official reports. In theory Wesker and his possible clone are alive now, which we could learn from Umbrella Corps. But I'm not going to tell you about it here.

I failed to mention that at 32, Wesker had a relationship with a woman named Muller. Strangely, she was still alive afterward and had a good opinion of him. Although it would seem that with such a personality it should be the other way around.

She ended up pregnant, and now, as of 2021 in the re8 storyline, their son is 29 years old. I can understand why she might not have informed Wesker about the son, because first of all he might not have approved and made her get rid of him, and secondly she might have lost the ability to contact him, since he was working in secret. But the fact that she kept the baby speaks volumes. That the man she broke up with is genuinely pleasant to her. I mean, if he'd been the way he was at the time of his death, it's unlikely she would have kept the baby. Often victims of violence/abuse get rid of their children, no one wants a child from a tyrant. That's the side of this character that we don't know anything about.

It's hard to imagine how a person who has a fear of losing himself and who distances himself from others has managed to find a short-term relationship at all.

What about his personality? There's a double bottom here.

It's ambiguous. At first you see a stereotypical villain and then a psycho who wants to «save the world» by destroying it, a standard hackneyed scheme, nothing interesting.

But if you look closely, we see a simple man on the verge of despair. With his past behind him, he cannot give up everything and live the way he likes, because he is superfluous in this world. Because of his own fears, he has developed a belief that he has to strive for something in order not to lose himself. All Weskers have been raised to believe that they have a great destiny, which builds an unhealthy and extremely vulnerable self-esteem.

With his fear of losing his identity, Wesker isolates himself from others, creating psychological walls that even he is afraid to penetrate. This may be the reason he broke up with Ms. Muller. She risked getting into places where even his foot had not set foot, so it became necessary to distance himself from her in order to avoid unpredictable consequences.

His dream, adopted from Spencer, actually echoes his deeply buried problem. «Infect people with a virus that will only improve and not kill a select few like him» That is, Wesker dreamed of making people like himself. Isn't it loneliness and desperation that makes people do such things? It didn't seem that he was hungry for «power» specifically, because he already had it in the traditional sense. All the more, based on his words, he did not wish for evil with this gesture, he wished to «save» humanity, knowing that millions would die. For the sake of finding a company «worthy of him», he was willing to risk killing everyone and being alone. Desperate and lost, he began to make bad decisions.

You know, it's been unusually hard for me to see beyond the obvious. I feel like I did the wrong thing by taking it upon myself to judge him without knowing almost anything about him. I originally had a biased and negative opinion of the character. But now I've gone neutral.

What do I see in front of me now? A character disconnected from his own lore. We read about one thing and see something else entirely. And also an unhappy man. Wesker is famous for his reports. They were always interesting to read because of their informative and judicious tone, so it was much more interesting to watch him when he acted in accordance with his reasoning.

Judging from the story, he is able to evoke compassion and empathy in the viewer, but does he evoke it in action? In action, he evokes nothing. He is not even annoying, although a well-written character should evoke an emotional response, but he evokes it only with his story.

Creating something unambiguously negative is not a bad thing. But such a thing should be presented wisely, and it should have a certain kind of backstory, which will only deepen our belief that this object is evil.

But in Wesker's case, things went wrong from the start. Having created a story that resonates in you with an atmosphere of hopelessness, lack of choice, and fear of losing yourself, we see a character that doesn't match that. It's the events of the personal story that create the character, but if the character feels pulled from it, something went wrong in the writing.

If you are creating a character who is supposed to be compassion, the story should help with that, make you feel his problem. The same is true if you're writing someone who is negative and should be disgusting. Murder isn't enough to make a character a villain, the story is the main key. And our victim's story isn't about becoming evil at all, it's about fighting fear, where fear wins in the end, which doesn't fit with the concept of evil evil at all. That's why the player/reader/viewer can't always decide who he is: antagonist? Anti-villain? Who the hell is he?

[The beginning of an optional fragment]

By the way, there aren't enough facts in this analysis, so now we're going to break down the prototype virus that was injected into 13 Weskers. If you're not interested in that, skip to the next section. I haven't previously mentioned the Progenitor, from which many viruses in this universe originated, so the prototype is an unstable strain of the Progenitor, weakened dozens of times so as not to be too toxic. This virus either gives a person immense strength or kills them altogether. Alex stayed somewhere in the middle, because nothing happened to her, but her brother changed a lot.

Wesker has special genes, as well as immunity, that made the prototype fused with him. But activation, according to Birkin's report, requires a stressful situation. That means the hormones released as a result of stress dramatically amplify the influence of the virus, helping the body to initiate the fusion. It's all about hormones, we'll come back to that.

When Wesker received an injury incompatible with life from Tyrant, the hormones produced at that moment triggered the V-ACT process. He went into anabiosis, transforming all the cellular tissue in his body as well as repairing the damage he had sustained.

But having gained strength through a complete reorganization of his body, he was not yet aware of the instability of the virus inside. He didn't know that the prototype doesn't «fix» in his body. Therefore, the strength provided by the virus is not eternal, weakening with time.

So Wesker has to take PG67A/W regularly to re-secure the virus inside and stay strong. An insufficient dose of PG67A/W can cause malaise, and a large dose becomes poison. Which is what happened in re5 when Chris and Sheva injected him with the substance an extra two times. He experienced pain, and then presumably his powers escalated to the point where he no longer had control over them and they lost usefulness.

His son, Jake, also inherited genes and special immunity, which is why most viruses are harmless to him, but also do not give any advantages.

The fact that the forces of an overdose are not lost, proves the moment when Wesker easily damages the rocket with his bare hand.

Now back to the subject of hormones. Not only do they provoke viral activation, but they are a completely controlling element. Wesker, when provoking his emotions, can change the density of his own body, which also causes bioluminescence in his eyes. I noticed this when rewatching the re5 cutscenes. Always when he is about to strike, his eyes start to glow. Glow is emotion, and emotion is hormones.

This is why Excella can free pierce his skin with a needle and inject the drug, because at this point Wesker is calm and his body density is close to that of a human. In battle, his body is like a stone, it hurts Chris to hit him and this can be seen in his animations.

[The end of an optional fragment]

The injections are another painful element that robs Wesker of his sense of self-worth and freedom. Therefore, coupled with the fear of losing himself, he has an inferiority complex. This complex manifests itself outwardly in a superiority complex - in arrogance, an inflated ego, which we see in his behavior. This is the answer to the question of many people, why he behaves this way. Not considering himself a full member of society, not considering himself suitable for ordinary life, Wesker begins to believe that he is above «all that» and calls himself God, in other words self-deception.

An inflated ego is the result of psychological defense, a sign of hidden fears (loss of self). It also indicates the presence of insecurity, which he tries to hide by creating a strong image for the outside world. However, like many people with large egos, Wesker has a fragile self-esteem, which is why he hates so much the rude Chris who initially discerned his weak side. His self-esteem is closely tied to his ego, so with the image he has created, Wesker protects a side of himself that he never shows to others. He hides it even from himself, as I mentioned earlier.

I thought Jake's AI words would be perfect here:

This is the only fragment where I decided to have fun with AI, but it gave me something that really makes sense.

I would like to summarize, because the analysis turned out to be long, and something towards the end may have already slipped the reader's mind. So... What do we know?

Because of his nonstandard childhood and obsessive upbringing, Wesker has an unhealthy and extremely vulnerable self-esteem. By deceiving himself, he began to consider himself superior to everything ordinary, and to believe that he is simply not made for this cruel and unfair world with wars and diseases, so he dreams of creating «his own world», where there will be «equal» people, so that he will no longer feel superfluous.

Also, because of his childhood, he is withdrawn to the point where he hides his true feelings and needs even from himself. He feels safe as long as no one knows what he cares about. If you don't know what a person cares about, you can't manipulate him. And if he doesn't care about anything, he is invulnerable. He is afraid to be himself and express it. He himself doesn't know what «he» is really like. Judging by his phrases in the game, Wesker would like acceptance, but would never admit it openly.

It is also an echo of an effect he has been under the influence of all his life - the «fear of losing himself». This fear has become a convenient pattern of behavior in his life: pretending not to care about anything and believing it. People with this fear need to appear indifferent, not letting anyone know that anything matters to them.

But what is «fear of losing yourself»? It is the phobia that someone more powerful can manipulate you and take away your sense of security, of reliability, whereupon you no longer consider yourself strong and confident. Wesker felt for years that he was under Spencer's strong influence, his puppet, which cemented the «fear of losing himself» even deeper. Every step in his life was not his personal choice but Spencer's, Wesker was only made to think that he was acting on his own free will.

Loneliness and lack of empathy were also his eternal companions. Never having friends, never having family and support, and never having anyone that Wesker could cherish. And no one who would have treasured him. That's why he's so fixated on himself, because if he loses the only thing he has, he'll have nothing left at all. That's why he prioritizes pragmatism over emotion, easily betraying anyone and replacing one with another. But he also tends to cling to the past, sometimes betraying his pragmatism.

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

Due to a misunderstanding, I would like to supplement my text. This analysis is only my personal interpretation and my personal view of the character and his story. I do not claim that it is 100% canon, because canon is so vague and disjointed that it is impossible to fully assemble it objectively. Everyone is entitled to have an interpretation different from mine. Best wishes to all!

[creature-wizard]

Manifestation Without Woo: Changing Your Brain

So let's talk about your brain. Every life experience changes the way your brain works in some way.

If a beloved family member favors a certain kind of candy, your brain will likely wire itself to produce positive feelings when you see that candy. But if someone cruel to you favors a certain style of shirt, your brain will likely wire itself to produce negative feelings when you see that shirt.

If you grew up with caregivers who neglected you or broke their promises, your brain probably wired itself not to trust other people, and to only rely on yourself.

If you grew up in poverty, or if your parents always refused to get you nice things for any reason, your brain may have wired itself to see nice/expensive things as inherently unattainable.

If you were always comparing your looks against glossy airbrushed celebrities, your brain may have wired itself to perceive the way you look as inadequate, maybe even ugly.

If people were always telling you that you were stupid, ugly, lazy, worthless, or whatever, your brain may have wired these beliefs in.

Thus it's possible to accumulate many negative beliefs that get in the way of happiness and self-fulfillment. And it sucks. But there's good news - your brain structure is changeable. This is called neuroplasticity.

So how do you do it? Simple: You make your brain re-wire itself by telling and showing it a different narrative.

Techniques and practices such as affirmations, writing scripts, visualization boards are all excellent ways to do this. All of those techniques for changing your self-concept are really techniques for rewiring your brain!

Also, your brain will rewire itself better if you're less stressed out and getting proper nutrition and hydration. This is why stuff like meditation, "healing frequencies," moving around and getting exercise, adding more nutritious foods to your diet, and making sure you're getting enough water can be very helpful.

It's also important to be mindful of things that might reinforce the narrative you're tying to overwrite. For example, if you feel like you're worthless because you're ugly, hanging out with people who call others ugly as an insult probably won't be good for you. If you're insecure about your intelligence, you might want to hold off on watching movies that feature supergeniuses as main characters. If there's anything that might be feeding your negative beliefs, try and cut it out of your mental diet for awhile, and see if it makes a difference.

Affirmations, scripts, etc. that reinforce a narrative of needing to be better than others, or needing to meet some arbitrary level of success to have value can also reinforce negative narratives. Are you telling yourself that you're the most beautiful/handsome? Stop that. Tell yourself that you're attractive, period. Are you telling yourself that you're a "high-value person"? Again, stop that. Just tell yourself that you deserve love and respect.

Also, if you're dealing with mental illness, you shouldn't really expect this to be a full-on cure for it. You might be able to rewire your brain in a way that your mental illness is less impactful, but that doesn't mean you won't stop experiencing symptoms in some way. It's okay if you still need medication, professional therapy, etc.

Finally, remember: what you are doing is a natural, organic process - you're making your brain grow differently. This means it'll take time! You can't expect yourself to get overnight results any more than you can expect an acorn to turn into a whole oak tree overnight. Anyone out there telling you that you can just do this overnight without any effort has probably already rewired their brain a lot more than they realize, and underestimates how much work it took them to get where they are.

[lua-magic]

Astrological remedies of Rahu and Ketu.

Moon Rahu

Consequences - Heightened emotions, no emotional control, OCD, can cry very easily.

Remidies - Stay near water bodies or spend more time in water, like take long showers especially, when you drink water sit and drink water, don't drink water in hurry .

Moon Ketu

Consequences - Isolation, depression, disconnection from emotions, can't express feelings, deep thinking..

Remidies - Drink more water, and follow some spiritual practices where you can connect to the universe easily, like tarot, Astrology, or any kind of divination where you can get answers from the universe directly.

Sun Rahu

Consequences - Feel direction less, under confident, Imposter syndrome, problems in making descisions, lust, and greed for name and fame.

Remidies - Try to spend sometime in Sun always, never disrespect your father or father like figure in your life, if you have issues with Father then forgive and let go.

Sun Ketu (Positive)

Consequences - Isolation, problems with father or child, problem with connection with family,

Remidies - Ketu is letting go and charity, do charity.

Mercury Rahu-

Consequences - Problems in communication, social anxiety, frequent misunderstanding or disputes with friends.

Remedies- Read more books especially about successful people and autobiography and keep your books and stationary items properly and organised

Mercury Ketu (Positive)

Consequences problems with expression, connecting with people and expressing their thoughts and emotions

Remidies - Start writing, especially, scripting your thoughts and desires, maintain a diary where you write everything that you can't express publicly.

Venus- Rahu

Consequences This combination spoils your Jupiter and native would be pulled towards immoral activities and lust and greed. Native has strong sexual attraction towards opposite sex thatvoften become the reason of heart breaks.

Remidies - Native should read or listen to more spiritual books and follow spirituality and morality.

Venus Ketu

Consequences: Venus is money and luxury often native feel detached from luxury and money and sometimes faces issues with money .

Remedies Ketu is your gratitude , so be be grateful to everything especially to your money, and have spiritual approach towards money, you can earn money from spirituality as well

Mars Rahu

Consequences One of the most tricky conjunction to handle as native would become extremely agressive or anxious, sometimes obsessed with bed pleasure.

Remedies - Native should spend more time with nature especially with the green plants and if possible learn gardening and surround yourself with green plants.

Mars Ketu

Consequences Blocks within body, no focus in life, frequent cuts, pain and surgery, feel energetically low

Remedies - Native should go for grounding, ie walking bare foot in nature and involve in daily exercise routine. don't sit for long time and keep your body moving..

Jupiter Rahu

Consequences This conjunction harms the Jupiter and again person goes against their religion and morality, especially, if Rahu becomes strong then native get frequent negative thoughts and makes lot of wrong decisions because native doesn't like to listen to anyone's advice. .

Remedies Have some teacher or mentor in your life and whenever you have to make decisions in life then refer to your guru or teacher or take advice from experienced person and then move ahead in life , Never disrespect elder people and never bad mouth anyone

Jupiter ketu (positive)

This combination, pulls native towards spirituality and to get more knowledge in life

Person would be drawn to meditation and divine.

However, native usually, think small, and like to have simple living

Remedies - ketu is giving and Jupiter is knowledge, give your knowledge as much as you can, have spiritual guru in your life that can help you to evolve spiritually.

Saturn Rahu

Consequences -Again tricky combination, Saturn and Rahu when becomes strong, it damages your Mars, sun and Moon.

Mars when becomes weak it gives issues with focus

Moon when becomes weak it creates emotional issues.

Sun when becomes weak it gives you false ego and person can't handle criticism .

Remedies Do breathing exercises daily, especially deep breaths, control your emotions especially anger issues learn to be quiet, stay humble especially when someone is criticing you, because Saturn is service so don't bring your ego in your work

Saturn ketu

Consequences:

There are two kind of natives, one who is extremely successful and other who are not settled in work or can't find suitable work, there is no in between.

Remedies If you are finding hard to settle in work especially, routine jobs then practice occult, astrology and some kind of divination, ketu is also your intuition, so always follow your intuition when it comes to work

Saturn is work and ketu is charity or problem solving, so try to help as many people as you can through your work.

If you have ketu or Saturn in sixth house then feed animals regularly and don't use any products made from animal skin.

[cleangirlxoxo]

winter arc 2024 (how to glow up)

winter arc

i've been seeing this term a lot on Instagram/TikTok and the basic concept is to take these winter months (October, November, December, January and February) to lock in and complete your goals with no distractions. recently I have been trying to focus on myself and achieving my goals so I feel like this is a perfect trend for us girlies trying to rebrand ourselves!

this is something I am going to be taking very seriously, as I feel like i'm in desperate need for an era of just focusing on myself completely. for the next 5 months we are only going to be directing our energy (and thoughts) on the improvement of ourselves. i am going to be categorically laying out the rules I am going to be following for the next five months; hopefully this motivates someone out there wanting to change themselves for the better.

01. health + fitness

-taking supplements everyday

-gym 4x a week

-eating clean

-drink 60 oz of water a day + track how much i'm drinking

-no caffeine

-yoga daily

-no drinking alcohol or smoking

-skincare every day and night

-8 hrs of sleep every night (!)

-hair oiling once a week + no heat damage

-lash serum every morning and night

-guasha exercises everyday

-whiten teeth + oil pull daily

-face mask + lip scrub atl once a week

-take makeup off every night

-wash face before and after working out

02. finances

-take care of bills

-open up a credit card

-save as much money as possible

-prioritize work

-don't spend money frivolously

-rewards for achieving goals

-start investing

-find a side hustle

03. intellect

-learn a new hobby (mine will be sketching/drawing)

-finish atleast one book a month

-get good grades/work hard in school

-practice writing everyday

-stay off of social media

-try to stop using foul language

-keep a habit tracker

04. mental health

-meditate daily in nature

-repeat affirmations of the month in the mirror everyday

-visualize desires as if they are yours

-script dream life in a journal

-keep a diary and write an entry everyday even if it's brief or boring

-work on positive self concept that is aligned with goals

-no negative thoughts allowed

-no thoughts about other's opinions or critical thoughts of others

-spend most of time alone for true enrichment

-watch movies you've always wanted to see

-decorate walls of room more

-girlblog

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

Best Jeanist: You need to be the ultimate force. I have a new skill I'd like to teach you that will help you to incorporate yourself into the tapestry of our diverse local community.

Bakugo: Okay, bring it on!!

Best Jeanist: Today we will work to help you master the ancient art of...cursive.

Bakugo: Eh?

Best Jeanist: It's best to have practical experience. The ways you interact with the public and craft your image are vital to sewing the threads of your success.

Best Jeanist: We will write letters to the local nursing home to raise the spirits of the elderly, and you will write each card out in fashionable cursive.

Bakugo: *seethes*

*Two Hours Later*

Bakugo: *Furiously muttering under his breath while writing the most beautiful cursive on doily greeting cards*

Best Jeanist: *grabbing a card to review Katsuki's work, nods approvingly when he sees the elegant script* I'm proud of the way you've embraced the fiber of this exercise.

Bakugo: I need to prove that I'm the best at everything I do, of course I can write some flowery letters!!

*Several days later, at the nursing home*

Elderly Woman: *reading card aloud to her friends* "Dear Old Person, I hope you don't die anytime soon." What a thoughtful young student - and what absolutely lovely handwriting!

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Literally No One Asked: Examining Merits and Limitations of Three Translation Styles via Various Scripts of Chrono Trigger

As the last vestiges of winter vacation slip through our collective fingers (save the proverbial hands of those lucky ducks with another week left), I wanted to take the time to expound on a topic near and dear to my heart: the merits and limitations of three fundamentally different translation approaches, illustrated with three different approaches to a single work.

Under a cut for no doubt grievous length.

Also, a general reminder that this eassay is only about Japanese to English pop culture translations. It assumes certain basic value judgements we make about pop culture. "But this Spanish to Czech literary translation--" Is Jake Gyllenhaal gay? Sir, this is a Narnia blog.

Introduction

It seems like we always come back to the same question: do we as readers want literal or liberal translation in our Japanese to English media? Terrible question! It's too reductive; furthermore, both terms are too vague to be of any practical use. Let's throw it out and talk about something interesting for a change.

It is, perhaps, more telling to examine why we favor certain degrees of "literal" or "liberal" translation work and the relative merits and drawbacks of particular approaches. Certain readers will naturally favor different writing styles for different reasons, and it's likely a futile--to say nothing of boorish--exercise to insist someone change their preferences. However, there are some less subjective qualities we can examine which open the door to more fascinating discussions: In what areas are different approaches most effective? What are the limitations or common pitfalls of such approaches? What does favoring one approach over the other suggest about reader values? And so on.

While there are certain degrees of refinement and transformation in every approach to translation, the majority of styles fall into one of three broad categories:

Structurally untransformative. A text that "hugs" the Japanese and lives within the Japanese media cultural consciousness.

Inefficiently transformative. A text that lives within the English media cultural consciousness but achieves this result with strenuous, often sloppy, transformations. I may be a little harsher on this category because it's the one the majority of my work falls into.

Efficiently transformative. A text that lives within the English media cultural consciousness and is largely a clean, coherent work on its own. Typically (but not always) closely mirrors the source in style. Virtually always closely mirrors the source in spirit.

Due to licensing restrictions--to say nothing of the intense time commitment of translating a full work--we are very rarely blessed with alternate translations of games or books in the pop culture space. This limits our ability to effectively compare approaches, as a "liberally" translated apple bears a non-helpful resemblance "literally" translated orange. Are the visible differences a product of the translators' style, or is it a matter of the different species?

Fortunately, we are extraordinarily lucky to have three fundamentally unique translations of the game of Chrono Trigger with full scripts available at our fingertips. While it feels a tad gauche to put a magnifying glass on what are (mostly) the works of single individuals--particularly when one is a hobby project--all translations have been visible to the public for at least fifteen years. It is sufficient to say they are probably not reflective of any of the translators' current skillsets.

For those of us who haven't played the game twenty times in a probably autism-fueled stupor, let's discuss briefly the history of these translations.

Chrono Trigger was first released in English in 1995 with a translation by Ted Woolsey. I haven't deepdived any of Woolsey's work to a meaningful degree in recent years. My general impression is that his works tend to be "okay" translations with moments of brilliance (the names in Eng!CT are a shining example of this) and occasional complete misTLs. Some of his writing is pretty sloppy or ill-planned but generally acceptable within the game translation space of the 90s. He is reported to have completed the translation of this roughly 200,000 character script within a month. This is not impossible for a professional--we'll touch on this again later--but it is not pleasant. Given this severe time restriction, Woolsey's text is impressive but is a shining example of an inefficiently transformative translation (approach 2).

Fans, while largely appreciative of Woolsey's work, noted multiple minor mistranslations and examples of overzealous--and ineffective--transformation. A full retranslation project was launched in the early 2000s and spearheaded by an individual with the penname KWhazit. This project culminated in 2007 with a full patch of the game. KWhazit's work, in an effort to capture lost or obfuscated meaning in Woolsey's text, is reluctant to depart from the structure and makeup of the Japanese text. The text is largely free of errors, although I disagree with readings in minor instances. It serves as our example of structurally untransformative work (approach 1).

In 2009, with the release of Chrono Trigger on the DS, Square Enix assigned then in-house translator Tom Slattery to update the 1995 Woolsey translation and retranslate significant portions of the text. While some of Woolsey's core translation decisions are maintained--we'll talk more about this later--Slattery's work is generally a unique product. By my estimates, Slattery most likely had two months in which to complete the work and had less familiarity with the game than Woolsey in 1995. The unique challenges of this second official translation will be discussed later.

It would be remiss not to mention that Slattery's script was the first version of Chrono Trigger I ever played, and most of Slattery's other Square Enix translations (FF Tactics Advance, FFVI Advance, FFIV DS) are other childhood or adolescent favorites. Slattery was one of my translation idols when my interest in translation first began budding about a decade ago, so I'm well aware that I harbor some nostalgia for his writing. However, I hadn't looked at the Chrono Trigger DS script in any serious way for a good four or five years until just a few days ago. (Again...the caffeine and probably autism-fueled stupor. That was my idea of a vacation. In my defense, I had a grand old time holing up in a hotel room, reading scripts for hours, and grinning like a fool.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the script holds up--to the best of my professional ability--even without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.

Slattery's script is my favorite of the three, because I consider it the most effective and skilled conveyance of the Chrono Trigger spirit. It encapsulates the efficiently transformative approach (#3).

We'll examine why this elegant work is effective in its transformations, what transformations exist in Slattery's translation, and what drawbacks are associated with this approach via several case studies.

Prior to that, it would be helpful to discuss why each approach is fundamentally different.

What is Structural Transformation and Media Cultural Consciousness?

It is helpful at this point to remind the reader that I have no formal education in translation theory and am willfully making terms up as I go. Their significance does not extend past the boundaries of this essay.

That is, I do not use the phrase "structural transformation" purely to mean adjusting grammatical structures (the formal definition); at its heart, virtually all Japanese to English translation requires some degree of adjusting sentence structures for basic readability. "I topic dinner subject eat negative past feminine." is nonsense. At the same time, it's foolish to pretend that "I didn't eat dinner." is just as transformative as "Oh! Pish-posh. Who even eats dinner these days, darling?" (Important note: We are not attaching value judgements to degrees of transformation! I am not suggesting one line versus the other could ever possibly be more appropriate when completely devoid of context.)

To be able to differentiate works that might contain Ms. Didn't Eat vs Ms. Pish-Posh, we must consider what other works these translations are in conversation with. This is what I'm terming the language media cultural consciousness.

Works in the English media cultural consciousness mimic the style of works written originally in English--usually by native or strongly fluent writers--in order to utilize helpful shortcuts. We know, by virtue of reading lots of English works, that "Once upon a time" opens a fairytale. We understand that "Would you make me the happiest man on Earth?" is a marriage or dating proposal with no further context provided. We read "Captain! The flux capacitator is going into overdrive!" and immediately understand the speaker is in an emergency situation on a spaceship in a sci-fi story, even though we do not know what a flux capacitator is or what happens when one enters a state of overdrive. These shortcuts prevent the writer from having to reinvent the wheel with every story. It is an inescapable fact that a work exists in a language media cultural consciousness, and virtually all stories can be lifted (to some degree) from one into another without changing the core components or themes of the story.

By way of comparison, translated works in the Japanese media cultural consciousness mimic the style of other translated works that--for any number of reasons--closely adhere to dictionary definitions of the Japanese text. By being written in English, these works are largely in conversation with each other. (Again, we are not attaching a value judgement!) Savvy readers within this cultural consciousness automatically understand that "I want to be by his side..." is a statement of romantic intent even if they cannot read 彼のそばにいたい… A character saying another's name followed by an ellipsis is an expression of poignant emotion ("Amemura-kun..."); "That is..." is said by someone taken aback.

The media cultural consciousness is determined at the prose level (how the story is told), although some works can transform aspects at the content level (what the story is) without negatively impacting the underlying themes and tone. All choices the translator makes are transformations. Every work is inherently transformative. While, realistically, all works fall on a sliding scale between the two cultural consciousness poles, we can generally consider works that attempt to operate in the Japanese media cultural consciousness structurally untransformative and classify (in)efficiently transformative works as ones that attempt to operate in the English media cultural consciousness.

There. We've gotten all the impartiality out of our systems. Now we can begin assigning value judgements! Whee!

For many native English speakers (a younger me among them), it is tempting to assume that English media cultural consciousness = good and stop there. I am incredibly grateful and humbled by the many people who've spoken on the subject with differing opinions, both indirectly and directly to me. If you wouldn't mind me holding my opinion until the end, it is perhaps more enlightening to examine a couple of key questions first:

Why Do Most Professional Works Favor the English Media Cultural Consciousness?

There are certain subsets of the industry where this is not as much the case (usually anything involving dubbing or other timing-sensitive audio), but to avoid getting into the weeds of why visual/audio mismatch is undesirable, let's focus the discussion on the majority of the industry.

At the most basic level...money talks! The overwhelming majority of the wealthy English readership is based in the US, UK, and Australia/NZ. This is not to say that there are not other major pockets of readers; insider data (you'll forgive me that I can't cite my sources here...) reveals especially high consumership in India and the Philippines. However, consumers in countries with average lower expendable income are less likely to legally purchase translations, and as a result, the market tends to cater to the whims of its highest-paying customers. This isn't especially satisfying on an ideological level, but it is to some degree understandable--at the end of the day, translators, editors, and all the many other industry professionals need to eat too.

However, why is US English the industry standard as compared to British English, say? Even non-American-English-speaking translators are expected to write in American English on the vast majority of their projects, and in the rare instances a work is released in Europe/Oceania but not the US, it is highly likely that the work will be written in American English anyway. What gives?

American English occupies the intriguing niche of being English's lingua (dialetto?) franca by virtue of the US's cultural global hegemony. For better or for worse--and quite arguably the latter--common conventions of American English culture and storytelling are understood across the globe. Most English readers outside the US understand "She's the cheerleader" describes a peppy, outgoing girl who the speaker probably feels negative about--perhaps she's dumb (and blonde, by any chance?) or more sexually active than the speaker feels appropriate. "You look like your mom found you in a Walmart parking lot" is understand as an insult even for those who've never set foot in a Walmart or whose local Walmart has a vastly different image from American Walmarts. By tapping into this cultural consciousness, translators can use shortcuts to tell stories to a large audience.

This latter argument is, to my mind, the more compelling of the two reasons to set works within an (American) English cultural consciousness. This argument also applies to hobby works, albeit to a lesser degree. Indeed, here a myriad of counterarguments begin to take hold.

Why Do Some Translators and Readers Prefer the Japanese Media Cultural Consciousness? And Counterarguments

Apart from matters of personal taste--again, I no longer find it appropriate to comment on individual preferences--some readers prefer the Japanese media cultural consciousness out of a dislike for American cultural hegemony, a conflation of sloppy writing (approach 2, inefficiently transformative works) with all English media cultural consciousness translations, or a desire to feel a sense of distance from the work. I'm fascinated by this last, which I've heard from multiple individuals and still can't claim to understand fully at an emotional level. Historically, I've (unfairly) chalked a lot of that up to exoticism from mainly US-based individuals, but I most often see this argument from those outside the US. It appears that some individuals feel most comfortable when translated English--already a foreign incursion in their lives--rebels against AmEng cultural frameworks embedded in the storytelling. (Personally, I think this concept has fantastic literary merit and would love to hear more from individuals in this camp. Please tell me if you think I'm completely off base, too!)

On the flip side, we also find many individuals who are more fluent or at home in the Japanese media cultural consciousness. Many of these individuals are non-native speakers, although some native speakers who generally don't seek out original English media may feel the same way. The constant prioritization of native English speakers in such discussions can make non-native speakers feel ignored and marginalized, particularly as many individuals are already marginalized in other ways within the AmEng cultural sphere.

It isn't fair to say an individual shouldn't feel at home in their given cultural consciousness; nor is it appropriate the needs of all such individuals. Many structurally untransformative translations speak to this need and provide a space for a unique and fascinating form of English storytelling to flourish.

Additionally, semi-fluent readers sometimes struggle with the figurative language or irregular vocabulary associated with (in)efficiently transformative translations. (Structurally untransformative translations tend to use a strictly limited vocabulary and collection of sentence structures, making them potentially more friendly to semi-fluent readers.) Semi-fluent readers are also more likely to be tripped up by annoyingly flowery or disjointed writing, both common problems of inefficiently transformative translation. It must be noted that this is partially a matter of taste; opinions on what is annoying varies widely even among industry professionals of various degrees of English fluency.

Apart from the law of averages--more readers, native or non-native alike, are likely to be fully fluent than semi-fluent--the common counterargument to this is that semi-fluent readers should read more works in the English media cultural consciousness to broaden their horizons. I agree with this to a limited degree only. While expanding one's knowledge is a powerful thing, I find it insulting to imply some readers do not like certain works due to willful ignorance. It is ultimately the reader's right as to which works they choose to engage with.

Subjectivity abounds! As a result, I generally don't care whether a work is placed in the Japanese or English media cultural consciousness as long as it is done skillfully. However, most structurally untransformative works fall flat due to their inability to retain core emotive information from Japanese. Much of Japanese's emotional tone is carried in grammatical particles which are typically neglected or overemphasized to an awkward degree in structurally transformative works. In the sample sentence at the very top of this section, the grammatical particle わ (rendered as "feminine" in the agrammatical translation) implies the speaker is female, and likely a relatively posh or middle-aged one at that. This is impossible to see in "I didn't eat dinner yesterday."

Other emotive information is lost in conversion due to differences in English vs Japanese stress and line length. This can be made up to some degree by a strong knowledge of the Japanese cultural consciousness, but in most cases, a skilled translator is needed to bridge the gap for the vast majority of readers. For example, tsukkomi (riposting) humor rendered into English usually needs to be short and punchy to be funny, an example of the English cultural consciousness bleeding over into the Japanese space. If Japanese words serving pronounal functions are rendered as English filler words (ie, こんな to "this kind of"), the lines become bloated and lose their humor to all but the most savvy of readers. See "You're the only person who thinks that kind of thing..." vs "Nah, that's just you..."

In most cases, critique on structurally untransformative works ends at whether mistranslations are present in the work. It is rare that more than little attention is paid to how effectively the work conveys style and tone. This is not to say that all translators with structurally untransformative styles are poor translators. Far from it! Off the top of my head, I immediately think of two senior translators with relatively untransformative styles whose works I know very well and admire. However, in order for these works to effectively convey the stories' emotional beats and tone even within the Japanese media cultural consciousness, the translators (or the editors who work with them) must at times be more transformative than is their norm. Even then, I sometimes think they do a poor job in certain key areas. One translator struggles to convey the presence of humor; the other has difficulty writing strong emotions.

On a subjective note, I prefer writing my works within the English media cultural consciousness because I find it more rewarding to more individuals when done properly and, as a side bar, more difficult. This isn't to say that I think generally structurally untransformative translators are lazy--I fully acknowledge I lack the ability to produce such well-composed and untransformative pieces as the colleagues mentioned above--but rather that attempting to write in the Japanese media cultural consciousness can often go hand-in-hand with bad habits. It is tempting to cut corners when overworked and write an easier, but perhaps less effectively communicative, translation. Were I to focus all of my energies in this media cultural consciousness, it would be worthwhile to pursue these translations more often! However, as of now, I do not and thus lack an interest in dipping my toes into this pool--unless, of course, my client stipulates it. Cha-ching. I enjoy being paid for services rendered.

At this stage of my career, I consider myself relatively fluent in the Japanese media cultural consciousness and do have the ability to track story beats and feel emotional tones that do not follow native English conventions. However, I do still have a preference for works written in the English media cultural consciousness, as I find these more emotionally fulfilling when executed well via efficiently transformative translations.

That "when" is doing quite a lot of heavy lifting. What can happen when a translation is inefficiently transformative? Let's dive in.

What is Efficient Transformation? Or: How to Avoid Annoying White Guy Syndrome

Anyone who spends any length of time in the translated Japanese media space knows an annoying white guy. "You're not like other white guys who talk about Japan," a friend once told me after I'd ranted for five minutes about racist undertones in dead literary translators whose work I detest. My friend was very sweet, but a rotten liar.

Annoying white guys are everywhere. They may not be white or male; anyone can be an annoying white guy if they try hard enough. We all have STEM degrees and an inability to shut up. Hi, it's me. Hey. How're you doing?

The bulk of translations complained about as so-called "too liberal" translations are products of annoying white guy syndrome, which is to say poor writing. The executed transformations fail to create the correct tone; in most cases, being obnoxious is not the author's intention!

The reader is annoyed, and rightfully so, because the work does register as part of the English media cultural consciousness--but it falls into the subset of poor writing. Usually, the work registers as such because it is wildly tonally inconsistent. Works often appear a little too hyper (a huge issue for me--I sound like I'm hopped on caffeine, usually because I am. Let's put a pin in that) with inconsistent characterization and tone. In many cases, the translator understands what needs to happen to execute the story successfully but simply lacks the skills--or is otherwise limited--to create tasteful and appropriate transformations.

This is not to say that being overly liberal is the only problem. Rather, it's often the case that the inefficiently transformative translator is overly literal in the wrong places. The inefficiently transformative translator often overstresses emotive particles or is overreliant on dictionary-literal sentence structures, particularly if they have a background in hobby translation.

In other situations, the inefficiently transformative translator may override the author's wishes and insert their ego to an inappropriate and distracting degree. This may present in surprising ways. A translator who performs a bad faith reading and writes a line in a purposefully inflammatory way for the English media cultural consciousness may be just as inappropriate as a translator who scrubs out problematic elements to the point of censorship.

Other common pitfalls include obfuscating story beats or placing the stress of the story beats in the wrong place via transformative processes or adding information that is contradictory on either a story or tonal level. In some cases, this may appear as the translator poking fun at the work, a concept I generally think very poorly of. Mistranslations are also not uncommon in inefficiently transformative works due to the limitations mentioned below.

In most cases, the inefficently transformative translator wants to execute efficient transformations but is stymied by said limitations. Some translators with this approach eventually improve or remove said limitations to the point that they produce efficiently transformative works, and the whole world is all the better for it.

How, then, is an efficiently transformative work produced? Such a translation requires coherence on the story beat, character, thematic, and narrative voice levels. The translator must almost always have a comprehensive knowledge of the work and effectively retell the work from scratch with good writing practices. Inefficiently transformative works are often produced line-by-line and miss the forest for the trees; efficient transformations require a much higher-level focus.

Some efficiently transformative works are extraordinarily transformative, perhaps to the point where they're arguable more entertaining than the source material. The Brian Gray-led translation of The World Ends With You boasts a lively script with a playfulness that sets it apart from most other translated games with a teenage cast; the Japanese script is more in line with its peers. I personally don't think English TWEWY's zest outstays its welcome, but again, this is a matter of taste. More importantly, the additions to the text serve to support one possible reading of the source game's theme and message.

(Sidebar: The internet being the internet, some people are likely going "Additions to the text? :eyes: :eyes: Hot gossip? One possible reading?" It's nothing that exciting. The additions I can think of off the top of my head are all very granular. For instance, an English line in a secret report "But darkness has always been husband to light" personifies "light" and "darkness" when the Japanese doesn't. Darkness and light are already visual motifs of the characters this line alludes to, so the personification only serves to strengthen the intended message.)

However, not all efficient transformations need to be as radical as English TWEWY. Often, less is more! Clear, coherent writing that conveys the source's message while standing on its own two legs as an independent work is the operative idea, and Slattery's Chrono Trigger script is an excellent example of a more understated text that does just that.

Well, How Hard That Can Be? What Could Possibly Get in the Way?

Apart from a general lack of skill, the biggest obstacles toward producing an efficiently transformative work are lack of time, lack of incentive, or a lack of familiarity in the work. Other work-specific limitations may apply, and we'll examine three such limitations in Woolsey's and Slattery's works.

As mentioned above, Woolsey has gone on record to say he was given about a month to translate the roughly 200,000 character script. Slattery has said he found his pace uncomfortably fast and cited completing an average of 5,000 characters per day. This would put him at approximately 40 work days, so I am assuming he had roughly double Woolsey's time to translate the same script. (Please note that this estimate is mine and may be entirely incorrect.)

Years ago, these numbers horrified me. Now, I don't find the prospect (especially Slattery's) atypically daunting, assuming this full-time project was the only source of income in that time period. You'll forgive me if I'm shy about the details, but I don't translate for my day job. (I'm in a related industry role.) Outside of that, I translate for maybe 2-3 hours per day in less busy periods and complete ~7,000 characters per day. In busy periods, I can churn out between 280,000 to 320,000 characters over the course of two months--and again, I'm not being paid to sit and translate 8 hours a day. Slattery's timeline strikes me as industry typical (if not fun); Woolsey's is even less desirable but not totally unheard of. Of course, it was entirely possible they were also juggling side projects while working full-time for Square Enix. The truth is, translators often work many jobs at once because industry pay is quite poor! As unfortunate as it is, sometimes translators simply can't afford to expend the time and effort necessary to do a stellar job. This rush may have been the cause of some mistranslations or bumpy spots in Woolsey's script.

This, however, assumes the translator is familiar with the source material and is not bogged down by time-consuming thorny patches of research, puns, misleading text, or other work-specific oddities. (Rap battles, anyone?) Chrono Trigger strikes me as a fairly forgiving text; however, I would imagine Woolsey lost a decent amount of time renaming a fair number of major and minor characters.

(Sidebar: "Renaming characters?!" I hear some people cry. Yes! Most renaming schemes were executed very well, and while I don't know for certain that these names can be attributed purely to Woolsey, the new names are largely thematically appropriate and strengthen the English text. Some characters whose names are fanciful in Japanese but plain in English, like the mysterious Princess Sara, are renamed with English fantasy-appropriate names like Princess Schala. Other names that would appear inappropriately odd (Marledia?) become commonplace (Nadia). The only naming choice I do find a bit dubious--if nostalgically charming--are three semi-joke characters (Vinegar, Mayonnaise, and Soy Sauce) renamed to rock figures Ozzie, Slash, and Flea. I do agree that changing the condiments is a smart idea, as that particular combination feels odd in an Am Eng cultural context, but bringing in real life figures is perhaps inappropriately incongruous with the fantasy atmosphere.)

Woolsey seems to have been somewhat familiar with the game prior to translating it; I assume he was able to play a copy at some point in the process or at least had extensive footage of it. Slattery has gone on record to say that he wasn't very familiar with Chrono Trigger prior to translating it, at least compared to Final Fantasy IV (another beautifully executed script). He claims to have struggled with knowing what text went where even with extensive video footage.

Wait, huh? How does a translator not know where a piece of text goes in a game? Surely it should be visible right on the screen!

The problem is, game translation has little to do with looking at the actual game. Most of the work is conducted in Excel or a similarly designed translation tool. As a test, I put the script in Excel and pulled a few lines at random to see what might come up:

私を助けに来てくれたのですね。 しかし、それにはおよびませんよ。

(Did you come to save me? That's very kind, but you needn't have bothered.)

This is a character pretending to be the queen, who is not supposed to be present in this scene. I can definitely see some confusion if the translator doesn't know about the imposter.

もう1回やり直し！　ドア��所からさくにそって時計まわりに3回まわる！

(No, no, no. Do it right! Start from the door and work your way around the walls. Three times, counterclockwise. On the double!)

This is a character's response if you mess up a mini game. In the script, it looks like this line comes right before the text for the mini game being completed successfully. Without context, it wouldn't be immediately clear why the character switches from barking orders to cheering.

ぬけがらを押せば…… ぬけがらをのぼれば……

(Push the shell... Climb the shell...)

An NPC telling the main characters how to navigate a puzzle. There's zero textual indication what the "shell" is, and this term could be translated in lots of different ways--husk, skin, etc. One would need to navigate to the video and see the shell itself to choose the correct term.

I was able to identify all the lines at a glance, but that is a product of having played this game over twenty times. Someone less familiar with the game could easily have wasted time on all three lines digging up footage to find out what was going on!

Additionally, all games have tricky bits of non-dialogue that can be nearly impossible to track down. Say an Excel cell contains nothing but the word "bar." Is this a crowbar? A level bar? A pub? Short of querying the development team, another time-consuming task, it may be very difficult to tell.

As if that weren't enough, each translator has expressed encountering a handful of other difficulties during their condensed rush through the script.

Woolsey has stated (presumably this is hyperbole) that 50% of his original translation draft had to be cut for the NES's limited space. Most games have strict space limits which can hamper storytelling for all but the most concise translators. Furthermore, Woolsey's translation was subject to external censors, resulting in some rather silly looking assertions, such as characters visibly drunk on "soda pop." While such censors are relatively uncommon in the current translation space, client or parent company demands can--and do!-throw annoying wrenches into translations. Unless the translation team can cleverly smooth over these unhelpful stipulations, the translator will usually receive the blame for a less-than-ideal reader experience.

Outside of the general feelings of being rushed and unprepared, Slattery has (diplomatically) commented on the difficulty of inheriting a legacy translation, especially one as well-loved as the 1995 Woolsey Chrono Trigger script. Working with a team of translators or taking over for a translator on a solo project requires a much different skillset than translating from scratch. In continuous projects, adopting the other translator's writing and translation style is necessary, a task that can be very difficult--not to mention frustrating!--if the other translator(s) have very different skills or approaches than you. Even in cases where your skillset is more adapted to the particular project, it is inappropriate to flex those chops and create an incongruent product.

Slattery was not beholden to matching Woolsey's style; however, by retranslating a beloved game, his work would naturally appear as in dialogue with Woolsey's. Changing fan favorite lines could arouse fan ire, but at the same time, nostalgia-laden lines written in Woolsey's style might not mesh well with the bulk of Slattery's work. Similarly, correcting mistakes (especially well-known ones!) or modifying characterization are always tricky maneuvers. While it is crucial to not perpetuate errors, performing large changes or having to go on record to discuss such modifications can veer into finger-pointing territory unless handled with care. Interestingly, Chrono Trigger was not Slattery's first retranslation of a Woolsey text (see FFVI Advance and FFIV DS), and that wealth of experience may explain why this retranslation is so deftly done.

All this is to say, it is a miracle most commercial translations turn out as well as they do! While it is certainly the professional's responsibility to complete quality work under industry-standard conditions, one cannot help but wonder if better pay and better timelines would go hand-in-hand with more elegant and error-free translations.

Case Studies

We've now discussed extensively different approaches to translating, how these approaches may come about, and their relative merits and drawbacks. I've selected three examples to illustrate these points and add a final few notes. These examples are largely illustrative of each translations' full text and haven't been cherry picked so much as selected lovingly from a smorgasbord of delightful lines rich with potential commentary.

Glen's Flashback: Emotional Tone and Consistency in Voice

(This is not really a spoiler, and this game is nearly thirty years old... But I suppose if you haven't played it and wish to spare yourself any plot details, please skip to the next case study.)

In this scene, a character named Glenn reflects on a pivotal moment of his childhood when his older friend, Cyrus, scared off a group of children bullying Glenn. Both characters are present in the medieval period but speak modern Japanese. In other scenes, their tone is appropriately knightly.

Source (English text courtesy of the archivist):

[Frog's Flashback, Unknown Forest, ? A.D.] [Glenn] 「うわーん！[END] [Cyrus] 「お前らーッ！[END] [Kids] 「やべえ、サイラスだ、逃げろーッ！[END] [Glenn] 「ヒック……、ありがと…… 　サイラス……、ヒック。[END] サイラス「グレン、男はな、立ち向かって 　　　行かなきゃいけない時もあるんだぞ。[END] グレン「でも……、ぶたれたらイタイよ。 　　　アイツらだって……[END] サイラス「優しすぎるよ、グレンは……。[END]

Let's take a look at this scene through the lens of approach one:

[Glenn] Uwaan! [Cyrus] You guuuys! [Kids] Look out, it's Cyrus, run awaaay! [Glenn] hic...... thanks...... Cyrus...... hic. Cyrus: Look, Glenn, a man's got times when he has to fight back, too. Glenn: But...... getting hit hurts. Even for them...... Cyrus: You're too gentle, Glenn......

This translation is free of errors (dubious lack of capitalization on "thanks" aside) but has room for improvement in a few areas.

Let's take a look at all those long vowels. "Uwaan!" is largely understood as crying or distressed screaming within the Japanese media cultural consciousness, but I worry about the emotional ambiguity of "You guuuys!" "お前らーッ!" is unambiguously angry. Were the game to provide an image of Cyrus looking angry to support this vague text, this would be acceptable. Alas, Cyrus's sprite looks like this:

Not the most imposing, I fear.

"Getting hit hurts. Even for them..." is also more unnatural than is my preference. In a professional work, I would find this distracting and be taken out of the moment. The tone is supposed to be somber, but I have difficulty seeing it here.

Now, via approach two:

[Glenn] Aaahhhh! [Cyrus] Hey you-! [Kids] It's Cyrus! Run for your lives! [Glenn] Sniffle...thanks, Cyrus...Hic...! CYRUS: Glenn, there're times when people simply have to grit their teeth! GLENN: But...it hurts when I get hit. They... CYRUS: You're a marshmallow, Glenn...

Glenn's scream has become more recognizably grounded in the English media cultural consciousness, and the sniffle is a smart touch--too much hiccuping could make Glenn sound drunk within the parameters of the Eng MCC. The "Hey" in "Hey you-!" largely clears up the emotional ambiguity of approach one, although there are surely even clearer solutions.

However, some other choices are a bit odd or simply not desirable. "Run for your lives!" is at odds with a character readers are supposed to sympathize with. I wouldn't stress this point were I editing it, but we're nitpicking! We're having fun!

Cyrus's tone is in "Glenn...teeth!" is more assertive than I'm reading it (to me, it's more of a gentle reminder like "Y'know, Glenn...there are times when you have to stand up for yourself") but I see an argument for Woolsey's take on it. I don't have an issue with that, nor do I particularly mind changing "men have to blah blah" to "people have to blah blah." It is generally a smart choice to work around overly gendered language when it would appear distracting, but given the medieval setting of these two would-be knights, I wouldn't find it inappropriate to lean into the machismo. "Grit their teeth" is the true problem in this line. It is good to use figurative language, particularly when the source does (as it does here; when Cyrus says literally "stand and face" he doesn't mean Glenn should simply stand up and stare holes into the bullies), but "grit their teeth" is too vague to the point that it fails to convey Cyrus's intent.

The two biggest concerns, however, are in the last two lines. Woolsey, perhaps going too fast in a slightly ambiguous section, misunderstands the dropped subject in "It hurts to be hit." Glenn is not scared to fight back because he's afraid of being hit harder. Glenn refuses to fight out of compassion for the enemy--a core aspect of his character! Misrepresenting one of the most crucial pieces of this main character's backstory is a disappointing feature of this text.

Finally, while "marshmallow" is a fun and childish choice, this is incongruous with the medieval setting and overly Ye Olde style of Cyrus and Glenn's speech later. In fact, Glenn's over the top (even distracting!) speech pattern appears to have been dropped entirely here. It isn't inappropriate to dial back hammy characters in serious moments to avoid shattering the tone (although it may be better to never let them reach a distracting level of ham in the first place!) but it simply seems incongruous in this scene.

Each line seems to have been considered one-by-one and thus fits poorly within the larger work.

And the same scene in approach three:

Glenn: Aaahhh! Cyrus: Stop that! Kids: Oh, no, it's Cyrus! Run! Glenn: *sniffle* Thank you, Cyrus... *sniffle* Cyrus: Glenn, there are times a man must stand and face the things that trouble him. Glenn: But...it hurts to be hit. I cannot hurt another. Not...not even them. Cyrus: You're too soft, Glenn.

While I'd argue that the usage of ellipses on line 6 is more in line with Japanese than English, this passage does a great job of standing on its own as a well-written piece of English text.

The screaming and crying is unambiguous to fluent English readers. More pressingly, Cyrus's second line has become a crystal-clear "Stop that!"

The rather distracting elements of the second translation have vanished, and Glenn's character--the key point of the scene!--is accurately represented. By adding "I cannot hurt another." Slattery conveys a strong understanding of the source's intent and successfully ties the concepts of "being hit" and "hitting back" together without awkward phrasing.

The character's voices are simple but present. With the use of "cannot," we see a slight formality in Glenn's voice that will carry throughout the rest of the game. It isn't fancy, but it doesn't need to be! The lack of bells and whistles helps sell the simple concept and is easier to implement throughout the script.

Dance Bobonga: Lyricism and "Dangling" Text

In this scene, a group of prehistoric cave people invite the main characters to "Dance bobonga!" Bobonga is, we assume, a nonsensical cave-person sounding word.

Source:

[Dancers] ボボンガ　コインガ[note] ノインガ　ホインガ[note] 歌えや踊れ　風達と[note][note][END] ボボンガ　コインガ[note] ノインガ　ホインガ[note] 歌えや踊れ　山達と[note][note][END] ボボンガ　コインガ[note] ノインガ　ホインガ[note] 歌えや踊れ　この一夜[note][note][END]

Let's have the song in approach one:

[Dancers] Bobonga, koinga[note] Noinga, hoinga[note] Sing, dance, with winds[note][note] Bobonga, koinga[note] Noinga, hoinga[note] Sing, dance, with mountains[note][note] Bobonga, koinga[note] Noinga, hoinga[note] Sing, dance, all this night[note][note]

I am unnaturally fond of "noinga, hoinga"--what a stellar bit of nonsense.

In terms of accuracy, this translation fails to capture the personification applied to "winds" and "mountains." Does this matter in the grand scheme of the game? No; I'm nitpicking.

What is more disappointing is a general lack of anything that makes it sound like a song, apart from the music notes. I can't complain too much because this is standard for works in the Japanese media cultural consciousness, but I hope we'll see it in the more English-focused texts.

Now, for approach two:

[Dancers] Oohga, bunga [musicsymbol] Munga, meeple [musicsymbol] Dance with wind people [note][note] Oohga, bunga [musicsymbol] Munga, meeple [musicsymbol] Dance with mountain people [musicsymbol] Oohga, bunga [musicsymbol] Munga, might [musicsymbol] Sing and dance all night [musicsymbol]

The song has changed quite a bit! Swapping the caveman noises for "Oohga, bunga" is excellent, as these sounds are more instantly recognizable as "English" caveman grunts. Additionally, the rhymes lend an added sense of lyricism we lacked in approach one. Woolsey also solves the problem of the personified winds and mountains by naming them "wind people" and "mountain people." It helps that 2/3 of the song is nonsense, but Woolsey does a good job of creating musical-sounding lyrics without deviating from the source. It's much easier said than done!

The one drawback is that, by dropping the "bobonga," Woolsey has now created a problem of dangling text. The invitation to "dance bobonga" now connects to nothing at all, giving the line an awkward randomness. Transformative translators must be careful of dropping concepts for this exact reason.

Approach three is quite similar:

[Dancer] Ooga, booga [note] Munga, meeple [note] Dance with wind people [note] Ooga, booga [note] Munga, meeple [note] Dance with mountain people [note] Ooga, booga [note] Munga, might [note] Sing, sing, dance all night [note]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Slattery cleans up the spelling and rhythm slightly but otherwise leaves this unchanged. I consider this smart--Woolsey did a good job on it, this song is an iconic legacy translation, and the adjustments give the song an extra level of polish. Slattery does a similar clean-up treatment on a handful of other songs or chants in the game but generally leaves the bulk of Woolsey's work there intact.

Unfortunately, Slattery's translation has the same dangling "dance bobonga" line. This is a problem he inherited as opposed to one he introduced himself, but there are a small handful of other dangling lines or concepts sprinkled throughout the script. Even very well-executed translations can have slip-ups.

Welcome to Enhasa: Ambiguous Meaning and Tonal Inconsistency

Now, for some NPC text! Unlike scripted scenes, NPC text does not need to flow like a conversation. Instead, these miniature monologues establish setting through tiny snippets of text--microstories. We only get a few sentences with these characters, so it's crucial to use the space effectively and convey the necessary information with a strict eye on tone.

These NPCs are some of the first the player encounters upon entering a magical kingdom floating in the sky. They are designed to give the player a sense of mystery and whimsy.

Source:

[Young Man] ようこそ、エンハーサに。 エンハーサは、魔法王国ジールの 夢みる町です。 ねむりのよろこびの中で しんりを探しているのです。 おや……？ しかし、あなた方は……。[END] [Doreen] ここは永遠なる魔法王国ジール。 すべての望みのかなう場所……。 だけど、そのだいしょうが どのくらい高くつくかは 知らないけれどね……。[END] あなたの目に見えてる世界と アタシの目に見えてる世界とは まったくちがうものなのかもね。 いい？　宇宙は生命の数だけ存在するわ。 見えるもの、さわれるものだけが 本当と思っちゃダメよ。[END] アタシはドリーン。 閉ざされた道をもとめなさい。 じゅんじょよく、ちしきの扉を 開けてね。[END]

Let's take a look at how approach one handles these two characters:

[Young Man] Welcome to Enharsa. Enharsa is the Magic Kingdom Zeal's dreaming city. We are searching for truth within the joy of sleep. Hmm......? But, you people are...... [Doreen] This is the eternal Magic Kingdom Zeal. The place where all desires come true...... However, there's no telling how high the price for that will reach...... The world that you see with your eyes and the world that I see with my eyes may be completely different things. Listening? All that exists in the universe are the destinies of lives. Don't think that only what you can see and touch are reality. I'm Doreen. Seek the way that was shut. Get the order correct and open the door of knowledge.

First--and this does not matter much in the grand scheme of things--I find the choice to render エンハーサ as "Enharsa" a little off-putting. The older 1995 translation uses "Enhasa," meaning the change here was deliberate. Yes, there is a long vowel on the "a" sound which can represent an "ar" but...was it necessary? Native English speakers naturally elongate the the first "a" due to the perceived syllable break on the Romantic language looking en-hasa. I don't know. The "hars" quite literally produces a harsh sound inappropriate for a dreamy magical kingdom. In a game with such thoughtful naming decisions, this seems like an odd one.

That aside, this text is riddled with unnecessary ambiguities. What does "Magic Kingdom Zeal's dreaming city" mean? Why does the young man trail off? Why does Doreen say "Listening?" (Was there not enough space for "Are you listening?" But then, why not "Hear me?" or "Listen."?)

We also have two mistranslations; unfortunately, it appears that this translator struggles more in non-concrete text. "All that exists in the universe are the destinies of lives." is a very odd way to render "宇宙は生命の数だけ存在するわ" (There are as many universes as living beings--from the full context of her speech, we can tell she means that every person has their own personal universe of whatever they observance.) I'm not sure where "destinies of lives" came from--perhaps the word 生命 was split in half and treated as two agrammatical words? "the way that was shut" is also incorrect and a much more basic error. While it's true that "shut" is past tense, this is due to a grammatical function that is largely identical to the corresponding English rule. Because the action of "shutting" happened in the past, the path is now currently "shut" or blocked off. This is especially odd, as this translator--who seems to know the game quite well--should recognize the currently sealed path this character is talking about.

Finally, we simply have a variety of clunky wordings to contend with. Ending "there's no telling..." on "reach" is a tad awkward, and the repetitive sentence structure of "The world you see with your eyes and the world I see with my eyes" is clunky. "Get the order correct" doesn't match the rest of Doreen's speech style. A stronger verb would have been more appropriate.

Altogether, rather disappointing! We come away with the impression that everyone in Enharsa/Enhasa talks confusing nonsense.

Let's see how approach two handles it:

[Young Man] Welcome to Enhasa, in the magical kingdom of Zeal. We find truth in the bliss of sleep. Dear me! And who might you be? [Doreen] This is the eternal kingdom of Zeal, where dreams can come true. But at what price? Am I a butterfly dreaming I'm a man... Or a bowling ball dreaming I'm a plate of sashimi? Never assume that what you see and feel is real! I'm Doreen. Seek the hidden path, and open the doors of knowledge, each in turn.

Ohh, so much better. This is understandable! Now, let's pick it apart.

It appears that "searching for truth" has become "find truth." I am almost certain this is due to space, because "the city of dreams" has also vanished. However, this isn't a bad thing! This small passage immediately ties Enhasa to dreaming/sleep and establishes that this is a city (or other small geographical unit) in a larger kingdom. The phrase "bliss of sleep" is elegant and establishes the fantasy tone well. This is an example of great NPC dialogue! Finally, Woolsey correctly recognizes that the young man is surprised to see the main characters (who are very visibly not residents of Enhasa) and renders this in an unambiguous fashion. Bravo!

The majority of Doreen's text is stellar. The correct tone is established throughout, and perhaps as a byproduct of the spacing limits, we receive some lovely pithy lines. "But at what price?" is so elegant; compare that to "However, there's no telling how high the price will reach..."

However, I have a major problem with this infamous line "Am I a butterfly dreaming I'm a man... Or a bowling ball dreaming I'm a plate of sashimi?" I honestly wonder if Woolsey didn't understand what was being said and wrote this to hide his confusion. Is it the だけ tripping everyone up? Guys, this is not that difficult!

The allusion to the Zhuangzi butterfly story is not inappropriate to Enhasa's motifs and setting, but mentioning a "bowling ball" and a "plate of sashimi" is an inappropriately anachronistic and tongue-in-cheek joke. Outside of the medieval-period characters named after condiments, the Japanese text of Chrono Trigger rarely breaks its own setting for humor. This is particularly jarring as this location is bookended between two serious scenes. From this point on, much of the game retains this serious tone. Adding humor can be excellent if the client allows it, but it's crucial to know when and where to place the jokes.

Finally, the juxtaposition of a fairly banal object with a specifically Asian food dish--especially to the target audience of 90s America--casts the rest of Doreen's monologue in the light of psuedo-mysticism wrapped in ostensibly Asian trappings. It's an unfortunate addition to an otherwise lovely bit of setting work.

This is cleaned up a bit in approach three:

[Young Man] Welcome to Enhasa, Zeal's City of Dreams. We seek enlightenment within the bliss of sleep. Hmm... You are...not one of us, are you? [Doreen] This is the Magic Kingdom of Zeal, where dreams can be made reality. But nothing in this world comes free. There is always a price to be paid. The world you see with your eyes may well differ completely from the one I see with mine. There are as many different worlds as there are observers. Never assume that only those things which you can see or touch are real. I am Doreen. Seek the hidden path, and open the doors of knowledge, each in turn.

Slattery's version borrows segments of the text from Woolsey with a few noticeable changes--not all of which I agree with.

Most pressingly, the "There as many..." line has finally been translated accurately and tonally appropriately. Slattery has also toned down some of the enthusiasm in Woolsey's (at times overly) hyper script; this is a recurring theme in the Slattery script and a common problem among approach 2 translators who are being too literal with their punctuation. Lest anyone accuse me of being unfair, I'm aware that I have a horrible case of this problem.

With that said, while these complaints are minor, I am not altogether fond of other tweaks Slattery made. Slattery removed the "eternal" kingdom and gave the phrase "Magic Kingdom of Zeal" to Doreen. I don't mind dropping "eternal," which means very little in the long run, but it's unfortunate that the young man now introduces "Zeal" without any explanation of what that is. NPC dialogue doesn't need to proceed in a fixed order, but because this young man is standing closer to the door, it's likely the player will talk to him first. Being bombarded immediately with two unknown names decreases the player's chance of remembering both and their relation to each other, the key information of that NPC's speech.

I also like Woolsey's tidy collocation "where dreams can come true," perhaps only because I'm sensitive to the phrase "made reality." A dictionary-level corresponding phrase (現実になる) appears with much greater frequency in Japanese than Eng's "made reality" so I'm used to trimming it out of my own and others' work. This is something that would probably only bug a fellow translator; still, I think the lack of spacing constrictions did not help this passage.

Conclusion

Apart from a fresh understanding of my ability to belabor a point, I hope you come away from this meandering essay with a mind ready to ask questions. What sorts of translations do you like to see, and why? What translated stories have you fallen in love with, and how has the storytelling method of the translation shaped that?

I don't think there's a single right answer, but I love discovering new ways to tell stories and translations whose skillful handling of the text lets me appreciate tales I might not have enjoyed otherwise. If others can experience even a fraction of that excitement, I will be very happy.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Keep it real.

[comicaurora]

Hello! I wanted to send my appreciation to you as a longtime fan of OSP and Auroura! I am an English Major with ADHD and your content always makes me inspired and my English Lit. Brain very happy with how good your storytelling is.

My question is what stories inspire you to write or make you want to sit down and tell a story? Your content makes me want to work on my projects, but my Adhd only last as long as I am not disturbed (i.e. need to eat or get up and move). You have always been upfront about your Adhd so my second question is how do you keep focused on your story and not burn out? (Talking as someone who is writing a novel as their thesis)

You have been a great inspiration over the years and someone I look up to as a storyteller! I wish you focus and luck! => 💝

Woo! Interesting questions!

When it comes to inspiration, I haven't really found a pattern for what works and what doesn't. The majority of the time, only new experiences/stories I haven't seen or read before work for me - rewatches and re-reads, while much more comfortable for my brain, don't tend to translate into creative inspiration for me - but it's not like a specific genre, or even a specific kind of relaxation, consistently work for me.

The way my brain works is a bit "no take only throw", as it were. I want to just sit down and make solid, steady progress in a predictable environment with a routine, but what I need is to try new things, go outside, take risks - because all those things give me new material to work with and refill the creative gas tank. When I'm stuck, I can't just hit the gas and punch through the block - I need to back up and try a new angle.

The good part of all this is that whatever engine that's running my subconscious is actually pretty good at signaling what it needs. The ADHD brain will be repelled by activities that aren't working for it and drawn to the things it needs at the time, whether that's creative energy or exercise or cleaning or doodling or listening to music or suddenly binge-watching a show that's not even all that great, and once it's got what it needs out of it - whatever that is - it'll be repelled again, either spitting out a sudden burst of creative energy or retreating to its den to chew on whatever it got out of the experience for a more slow-building reward. Little bursts of motivation and creativity pop up all throughout the day, and if you can pivot to the activity in question - or at least note down the idea you just had - you'll be able to harness that pretty nicely.

This "system" really only works for me because I have an extremely unstructured schedule and nobody relying on me to be consistent moment-to-moment. If I'm following the creative needs of my inscrutable Better Writer In The Back Of My Head, I can't be worrying about things like a consistent lunchtime or classes or a 9-to-5. All of my observations are caveat'd by the fact that I am ridiculously lucky to have the kind of freedom of movement and schedule that I can focus entirely on getting to know my brain better.

When it comes to staying focused on any one project, I've reluctantly concluded that the only way to win is not to play. Creativity needs time and diversity to recharge, and when you stall out in any given work session, it's usually because you're out of gas. This is why I maintain several projects in varying stages of "for my eyes only"-ness - a sketchbook, private writing projects, patreon doodles, music practice; even in the large-scale projects like the channel and the comic I have multiple angles of attack at any given time, where I can as needed switch between scripting, research, drawing frames, storyboarding more plot onto the end of the comic's current draft and lining/coloring/background-ing the finalized pages of the comic chapters earlier. This lets me maintain semi-steady progress on average, even if any one facet of the process is left by the wayside for potentially even weeks at a time.

If you're working on one writing project, one novel, I'd recommend giving yourself some time to do small-scale side-hobbies. It won't feel like they're helping, but they are.

I've started to think of inspiration rather similarly to the way I think about nutrition and digestion. It's a somewhat arcane process that, despite being a part of me, I don't exactly understand what's going on under the hood. If you eat only one thing, no matter what that one thing is, you're going to end up sick because you're lacking all sorts of niche micronutrients. If you parcel out a specific space of the only things you're allowed to eat, you might not get sick (as quickly) but you're likely going to become increasingly miserable as you think of the things you're not allowing yourself to try, or slowly build up highly specific forms of malnourishment by avoiding certain things entirely. But if you start listening to your body and try eating what it says it needs at any given time - oh, I could go for a rice bowl right now, oh I don't think I'm feeling something sugary today, man I could really go for some grapes - you're likely to hit a broadly good balance of health because you're hitting a broad range of things your body needs, even if you don't know all of their names or calorie counts, and your body is putting those resources to good use without your conscious input. Between my brain and my stomach, I only trust one of those to actually understand what a stomach needs to do its thing - and between me and my creative brain, most of the time it feels like I just work here.

I hope there was something helpful in all this!

[honeytonedhottie]

building a new life and identity໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹ ʚ🐇ɞ 🌸

building a new identity and life for urself is actually easier than it sounds. u only need to commit to the new identity.

who is the person that u want to be? how do they act? what is their education? that’s the first question to ask urself. i talked about a garden analogy in one of my previous posts but just in case u missed that i’ll remind u:

so basically imagine urself as a gardener and ur life is ur garden. it’s boundless. u can fill the garden with flowers 🌸 and plants, anything u desire really. think of ur desires as the flowers that u fill ur garden 🪴 with. the plants that u water the most or the pay the most attention to will grow beautifully. this is how manifestation is. 

so what i’ve been doing lately is keeping 2-3 affirmations on loop in my brain whenever i get a minute to. (kinda like when u put something on queue in ur mind) when im doing mindless activities or something. i’ll repeat the affirmations in my mind OR out loud. but i’ll only do this when i want to. (cuz nothing in manifestation should be forced) 

doing this, i kinda imagine my affirmations as watering my manifestations 🪷. now that we’ve established setting up ur garden, let’s FILL it. (this is the funnest part) i want u to write down who u desire to be as though u were already that person living that life. so you’d title ur page (who i am) 

my name is ___ i am ___ years old 

ur personality and character traits 

ur skills and talents 

ur appearance 

ur self concept and how life treats u 

ur education 

ur relationships

how long it takes u to get everything u want 

literally EVERYTHING. this is scripting. ur creating a script in which ur reality will follow. next we need to PRACTICE the script. 

how do we do that? being delulu, affirming, manifestation exercises, daydreaming, SATS, literally PRETENDING. fulfilling urself in ur imagination is u practicing the script. 

once the script is persisted in enough and we’ll practiced you’ll see it play out in ur life. congratulations, you’ve built a new life and identity for urself <3

[alexanderwales]

Save the Cat is a snappy read, and only 8 chapters, so I'm just doing a liveblog of them unless I get bored or distracted.

Chapter one is about the pitch, the logline, the title, what you put on a poster and how you sell it. It doesn't necessarily come first, but I get the sense that for Snyder this would be his preferred way of doing it. (A logline is just the one-sentence "what is it about" that you use to sell people on the idea.)

Snyder says that writing loglines is awful, soul-crushing work, and I agree there. I'm awful at it. But Snyder also says that if you don't have a good logline, maybe there's something wrong with your movie, and that I don't agree with.

I think there's a fairly wide set of stories that have good, snappy, easy loglines, and are also good stories. But I think there are other stories that are good stories and don't have a great way to pitch them. The lack of a good pitch can exist for a lot of reasons, and sometimes it's just that it's more complex than can be summed up in a single sentence, or even a handful of sentences. I think in practice writers will often dumb down the story for the logline, lying about what's contained within, just to make sure that it will sell, that people will want to know what's inside.

One of the other main points of the chapter is that a good logline has irony to it, a twist inherent in the title, some kind of thematic tension, and I disagree with that too, maybe not from the standpoint of selling a script, but from the standpoint of storytelling.

Why does everything have to have an irony to it? Why does everything have to have a twist? Why can't we have stories that are just well-told explorations of conflict and character? It's like at some point people decided that they only wanted Distinct Pieces of Media, so if you wanted to tell a story that's been told before, something with its own unique texture, you're just shit out of luck.

I find this all the more irritating because often the twist/irony/idea/pitch is good, and then the execution is shit, and then people don't want that idea again. It's not like you can say "like that thing that flopped, but good".

Blake Snyder is trying to tell good stories, but he's also trying to sell stories, and this is a good thing for authors to know how to do. I accept this. I just don't like it.

So as a writing exercise, here are some loglines for things I've written, without the amount of care and polish and revision that a good logline needs:

Worth the Candle - A teenaged dungeonmaster gets thrust into the worlds he's created, where his recently deceased friend is a historical figure. (This is bad, not short and snappy enough.)

This Used to be About Dungeons - Five young adults team up to delve dungeons and bake pies. (I don't know man, I said I was bad at this.)

Thresholder - A man travels through portals to different worlds and genres, gathering powers and skills as he fights other people just like him.

Shadows of the Limelight - In a world where fame gives you power, a fanboy saves the life of the world's greatest hero in full view of the public.

The Dark Wizard of Donkerk - An orphan raised by two dark wizards adventures north with a wayward princess.

Millennial Scarlet - A gig-economy demon hunter grapples with the death of his mother and the plans she set up before she passed.

Alright, I found that less soul-sucking than usual, but I don't think that these are the oiled, muscular, perfectly toned and smiling loglines that are necessary to sell, just to be clear. The marketing unit of written fiction is not really the logline, though that helps, it's the blurb, and I am equally awful at writing those. I just don't agree with Blake Snyder that a blurb or logline coming poorly is a sign that you don't know the story.

[homeofthelonelywriter]

Drawn to you | Pt. 7

(A/N) Okay, writing alive!Alastor is a lot of fun. Also, I'll already put out a warning for the next part. It will be a though one.

Pairing: Alastor x bunny demon!Reader (no Y/N)

Warnings: some more murder, foreshadowing, kisses

Synopsis: He remembers you. Finally.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Alastor couldn’t deny that he was somewhat nervous. After all, he had just killed his boss. No matter how much he tried to concentrate on his work and script for tonight, he kept seeing the bloodied body of the man in front of him. And it made him smile. The rush he had felt…was addicting and in his mind, he was already choosing his next victim.

But before he could do that, he had a show to deliver. And knowing that you were among the listeners gave him the boost he needed to finish his script and slowly get ready. While he was in is office, doing vocal warm-up exercises, he thought of you, how you were probably on the bus at the moment, on your way to the tiny apartment that you called home.

If only you’d let him, he could offer you so much more. A house, with a nice backyard where you could plant your favorite flowers. He would build a swing for the two of you and maybe you could get a dog. Something to protect you while he was gone. You could finally quit your job here and escape this thankless, misogynistic place.

He would put the prettiest, little ring on your finger and wear his own with pride. He would take you to his mama and introduce you, sure she’d love you just as much as he did. He would brag to anyone who’d listen that you're his. His best friend. His lover. His wife. The mother of his children. Children…he would put as many in you as you’d allow. And he’d be a better father than his own ever was.

He could see it clear as day, his life with you.

“Al? You have two minutes until you’re on air?”

The voice of the radio host’s assistant brought him back to reality and he jumped slightly in surprise.

“Oh, of course, my apologies.”

With quick steps, Alastor rushed to the booth he was hosting from and quickly got settled, just in time for the red light above the door to turn on and the music to end.

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to today’s late show. I’m your host, as usual, Alastor! What a lovely evening folks, gotta say, I’m kind of jealous that I’m in here, while ya’ll can enjoy the outside.”

He took a practiced pause before continuing his spiel, talking about some nonsense before he started the first song. As soon as his microphone was muted, he took a deep, relaxing breath and glanced out the large window into the room, where the assistant was supervising the show and taking phone calls from listeners. He gave him a thumbs-up to signal that everything was going smoothly and he nodded in return.

After the song was over, Alastor took the time to talk about the 19th amendment, knowing that you’d have to go to bed soon and he wanted you to hear him talk about it.

“All in all, it’s an important step in America’s history folks, and all I can do is hope that everyone in Congress sees reason and votes in favor. If not…well that’s just proof that this country is ruled by old, fat, ignorant men. And if you don’t agree with me, there is this handy little dial on your radio, you can use to switch to a different channel.”

He knew that he’d get in trouble for that little stab at his listeners, but the image of you giggling about the comment made it worth it. His own smile grew into a smirk that stayed on for the rest of the night until another host took his spot and Alastor could finally go home. On his way out of the building, he noticed the police presence. The body had finally been found.

Acting confused, he joined a small group of coworkers who were whispering to each other in the lobby. They nodded in greeting but continued with their hushed conversation until Alastor spoke.

“Do any of you know what’s going on?”

“Al…it’s your boss. He was found behind the building, dead.”

As if in shock, Alastor took a step back as his eyes widened. He even dropped his jacket which he had been carrying. He whispered his boss’s name, for once, no smile on his face.

“Are you sure? I just saw him a few hours ago. He…he can’t…”

The entire group nodded in confirmation that it was indeed his boss and Alastor blinked a few times while looking at the ground. He soon excused himself, keeping the act up until he was a few blocks away from the building. Even as he was walking away, he felt their concerned gazes on his back. If radio host doesn’t work out, he should consider becoming an actor. Or so he told himself.

On his way home, he felt his fingers itch, his eyes scanning every creature he came across, debating if he could kill them. But no, he had to be patient. After all, he already knew who his next victim would be. Maybe it was a bad idea to kill two people so closely connected, but he had wished death upon your boss from the moment he met you. The only thing he had to figure out was how to do it. But that could wait…for now.

Hell - now

“-stor? Alastor?”

You had woken up a few moments ago, confused for a second as to where you were, but as soon as you noticed Alastor next to you, you relaxed. At least until you noticed that he wasn’t moving. Or even blinking. He just stared ahead, eyes blown wide, his smile as low as you’d ever seen it. He looked…haunted.

You carefully sat up and reached for him. For once you didn’t wait for his permission before you touched him, instead just placing your hand on his shoulder and shaking him slightly. You began to whisper his name, getting louder when you noticed that he didn’t react to any of it. Close to panicking, you placed your other hand on his shoulder and started to shake him with more vigor. At least until his eyes snapped up to you.

With movements so quick it took you a second to realize what had even happened, he pulled you into a tight hug, pressing you against himself and whispering your name. No…it wasn’t your name. It was a nickname he used when you were both still alive. Tears gathered in your eyes at the realization.

“You remember.”

Alastor pulled you impossibly closer, just continuing to whisper your name. Your body started to shake as quiet sobs escaped your lips. You buried your face in his neck, wetting his fur with your tears, but at that moment, neither of you cared.

The demon continued to hold you, slowly shifting you so you were sitting on his lap while he still worked through everything he just relived. How could he ever forget you? The love of his life? His best friend? His girl?

Earth - 1920s

“Well, what can I say ladies and gentlemen, the killing spree continues as another victim was found earlier today. My source in the police department reports that there are still no leads to the identity of the killer, so I urge you: to stay in after dark and stay in groups. No one is safe when it comes to that one.”

Alastor took a breath and glanced towards the window, where the radio host’s assistant once sat. But now, there was you. It’s only been a few months since he had gotten you the promotion, but the excitement of seeing you there never subsided. After all, he’d never tire of seeing you. Especially not after you finally allowed him to court you.

You had said yes shortly after Alastor had killed your boss, not that you knew about any of that back then. But the stress relief it brought you, finally allowed you to even think about dating. And after Alastor asked you out, all you could do was say yes. It started with Alastor insisting on accompanying you home after he was switched to host the afternoon show, meaning that both of you got off at the same time. After all, how could he let you walk home alone when a dangerous serial killer was roaming the streets? Especially because back then everyone was still thinking that he was specifically after people who worked at the radio station.

Him bringing you home turned into you inviting him into your apartment for a cup of coffee, into the two of you getting dinner before going home, into the two of you going to a jazz club. And one night, after you had both gotten at the very least tipsy and you complained about your old boss and the misogyny at work, Alastor was so close to confessing. Instead, he admitted that he envied whoever did it, how he would’ve loved nothing more than to do it himself. And in that moment you kissed him.

You pulled him down and pressed your lips against his in a gentle kiss. The fact that he would kill for you made warmth spread through you. You truly loved this man. But you would never know that truth. At least not in this life.

The shy smile on your lips pulled Alastor from his thoughts. He had been staring at you through the whole song and it was almost over. Usually, he would pause to talk some more, but instead, he decided to just let another one play. You raised an eyebrow as you noticed the switch in behavior, but Alastor just waved for you to join him. So you did.

You entered the room and he extended a hand towards you, pulling you onto his lap once you were close enough. You giggled as you fell against him, feeling his chest vibrate as he chuckled.

“How are you doing, my love?”

You hummed, a coy smile on your lips as you gazed up at him.

“A little tired, the usual lately.”

That made Alastor frown. He had noticed that you seemed to have less energy recently, but he chalked it up to stress. With a worried look on his face, he pulled back and properly looked at you, and he quickly realized that you had lost weight. A lot of it.

How could he miss that?

“Love, I think you need to go to the doctor.”

You shook your head and started to talk about how that was too expensive, but he quickly cut you off, assuring you that he would take care of that. After a bit of bickering, you agreed to make an appointment as soon as you were back at your desk.

After one more kiss, Alastor let you go and returned to host the show, while you walked back to your desk and picked up the phone, scheduling an appointment for the next day.

Neither of you had been prepared for what you were going to find out.

@impulsivethoughtsat2am @fanficwriter5 @wonderlandangelsposts @mo-0-o @xalygatorx @fairyv-ice @nixie189

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Hazbin Hotel - Masterlist

Master-Masterlist

[gigidragonbbxxx]

lil twist on the "movie star role"/"memoir method" for visualizing a dream life - another suggested method for the manifesting hotties

spoiler: this may help you figure out what techniques are right for you!

disclaimer: remember that these methods and techniques are just tools to get your mind saturated with thinking in your favor, stay grounded in the basics of the law and have fun with the varied tools!

I love the "movie star role" method. For those who don't know, it's a lil visualization technique where manifesting baddies act as if they're preparing to play the role of X. So if you want to be your SP's girlfriend, they "prep" for the role by living in the end state of already being SP's girlfriend. This includes embodying the attitude, saying affirmations like "I love being in a committed relationship" or "SP changed soooo much to gain my trust. We're so happy now!". Some baddies take a step further and apply it to their self-concept (this is genius btw) and begin saying affirmations like "I'm so beautiful and unforgettable, it is really not that surprising he came back begging for me. Giving him a chance was only fair with how much he groveled!"

Now, enter the "memoir method". This is usually a scripting technique but give Gigi a sec to explain! There are many variations of this method but it's essentially writing the reality you want to happen and putting the date in the future aka the deadline you wanna experience this by. Most encourage baddies to write in the past tense like "I'm so grateful I received enough money to cover my vacation, my bonuses keep increasing."

Now enter Gigi's lil twist on these methods - COMBINE THEM INTO WHAT I LIKE TO CALL:

The Interview Method

Imagine being interviewed by other loass baddies asking you "How did you achieve this?"

Visualize your dream self, the ultimate version of you that would warrant this type of attention and the answers that version of you would give.

Imagine an older Beyonce giving the "tell all" interview of a lifetime - THAT LEVEL OF HYPE.

Gigi's example:

I know I look glamorous and ageless. My skin is smooth and clear, my hair is long, inky black, blown out and curled. My body looks like an advertisement for hourglasses. The dress I'm wearing is flattering, accentuating my curves. I'm as sexy as I am elegant. The interviewer looks on with eagerness, practically spilling over with admiration.

"The Law of Assumption girlies wanna know Gigi, how the hell did you get results like this? Hollywood actresses would get insecure being in the same room as you! What are your methods? What's your daily routine?"

Now this is where the spoiler comes in! WHAT COMES TO MIND IMMEDIATELY? WHAT METHODS WOULD YOUR DREAM SELF LIKE?

bc guess what reader? all the answers are within you. your job is to let them out. coax them out with these exercises. feel empowered.

if your first reaction is: Idk Gigi. I don't know what methods work for me.

My answer to that is: then this technique is not for you. This method favors the baddies who are more familiar with the different modalities of manifesting. I encourage you to go and explore different things. Try them out. See which ones you like and then circle back to this and think about which ones resonated with you.

I encourage you to write it out. Script it as you visualize.

My own experience:

From this method I learned that my subconscious viewed my dream self as someone who was very disciplined and consistent. So I started to include these in my daily affirmations (I am disciplined, etc.). I realized that my dream self would let this quality seep into every facet of her life. I'm big into makeup and skincare so I thought, my dream self would probably affirm out loud or in her mind as she looked in the mirror and did her routine.

then the lil interviewer popped up in my head: "What happens on the days you don't feel well enough to do your routine?"

My mind (thinking in its favor) immediately went: that's rare that I don't have the discipline to stick to my routine so if I'm sick or in an emergency, I would just do a basic routine and play an affirmation tape.

I came to the conclusion that Dream Self would

be reliable

come across as intelligent - immediately

pride herself on good self-care

have a healthy relationship with SP

have friends who knew the law and would be encouraging

be calm and have a calm energy bc she knows everything is in her favor

be seen as a caring, beautiful, deep soul with much to give

never be taken for granted

always be spoiled by life - wealthy in finance and health

I also reversed this method: what would my Dream Self NOT do?

Dream Self wouldn't

talk badly about herself

put others down

get bothered by the 3D

surround herself with people who have limiting thoughts

be lazy

think that the worst would happen to her

This is the type of inner convo I want more loass baddies to have with themselves because it's important to be clear WITHIN yourself what you WANT.

and remember to have fun. Include questions about the silliest things like your favorite lipstick or fav playlist or opinions about dumb tv shows. One of my favorite visualizations is me telling the interviewer that I watched all of Sex and the City and that I vowed to never be a Carrie LOL.

okay, happy manifesting loass baddies!!

xx, gigi