#weaving nerdery

[demonslayedher]

Appreciating the KnY Noh Production: Part 1 of 3

Humans are demons, demons are humans. Weave their eternal feelings, and dance.

...or so goes my very basic translation of the tagline of the Kimetsu no Yaiba Noh/Kyogen production, "人も鬼、鬼も人　不滅の思いを紡ぎ、舞う" which could arguably be translated in other ways like "humans and demons" or "inextinguishable thoughts" or you could rid of the comma. I wanted to keep the translation more aligned with how people might be familiar with Ubuyashiki's words, while also capturing the spiritual element behind dances in Noh, but there is no such things as perfectly translating something's form, especially if you're trying to keep it beautiful. It's wiser to translate in spirit.

That, I feel, came through in adapting a hit manga like Kimetsu no Yaiba into one of Japan's most high-culture theater traditions.

(Source and interview with Ohtsuki here)

As much as I love going to any silly, gimicky KnY event, I admit that my appreciation for this one partly stems from my (overly?) deep appreciation for the original Gotouge creation, as well as from previous study of Noh basics (not to mention understanding Japanese). That means that in order for me to be a simple fangirl about it, I'm going to have to explain a bit of Noh background, at least as far as it relates to Kimetsu no Yaiba. My scene-by-scene fangirling will come in the following two parts, so enjoy the nerdery for now.

This post is going to serve as background information for the sake of pointing out the things I appreciated about this production. It's not going to be a full intro to Noh, because that would be a silly goal when all I want to do is gush. However! My blog has also become a window into Japanese culture for many readers and I am happy to pull you by the wrists to fall through the window with me. As such, I'm referring you to the-Noh.com for English language overviews about the background, meaning, and basic details of Noh, as well as more and more to read about if you find yourself inclined.

For our purposes here, Noh has its roots in humorous Kyogen plays (and the two are often linked), it has a sparse approach to the stage and props, but each element serves a practical and/or symbolic meaning.

Knowing this visual language helps in appreciating the story. For example, knowing which role each character plays based on which part of the stage they stay closest to, or what kind of being they are based on what prop they carry (spoiling this for you right now, I've always loved the tiny demon mallet, it's so non-threatening like the oni is going around bopping people on the head with it). And of course, Noh masks are iconic and prolific, something which can also be said of the KnY universe. Let's Ask Shogo has an enlightening video about Noh masks, and it's a good starting point for appreciating Noh. Another example I'll refer to a lot is the hashigakari, a bridgeway to the left of the main stage where actors make their entrances and exits. This is often treated as a gateway between worlds, and since spirits letting go of their attachments and moving on is a common theme, exiting down this bridgeway implies implies that. As you can imagine, a play with ghosts and demons like KnY makes use of that.

(Source and more about Noh stage design here)

That brings us to the themes... When I first heard about this play, I was struck by how well the themes of KnY line up with Noh, and that's a big reason this project became a reality in the first place--people in the Noh world sure noticed too. I'm probably going to come back to the theme of "demon/ghost/whatever being with a sad past moves on" over and over so I'm leaving this here for now, but that takes us into a couple of the most important character roles: Shite: The main character, the one often going through some sort of spiritually transformative experience

Waki: The side character, who often helps the shite attain that spiritually transformative experience, often simply by listening and bearing witness to it

That created a challenge for the KnY production. Tanjiro is the shite, as he is the focal character, but he plays more of a waki role in the arcs of other characters.

There are also Kyogen characters, who often appear for the sake of comical relief. It's not uncommon for them to have dialogue together, as in the case of the Kasugai crows & sparrow drinking and complaining about their jobs, or to monologue to the audience, as Haganezuka did since he had a captive audience to hear him talk about how swords are made. These are some of the best opportunities to play with the onomatopoeic aspects of Kyogen scripts, often the word play is simply fun and rhythmic to listen to, compared to the chanting and (somewhat dis-harmonic) accompanying chorus and flutes and drums during the Noh drama. There are different structural functions of Kyogen when used in combination with Noh.

That brings us to structure. There are different kinds of Noh plays depending on their subject matter, but sometimes you get a whole menu of plays all at once, like going to a fancy Kaiseki restaurant that hits certain basics while showing you a multi-course meal of different cooking techniques. In Noh, this menu of plays watched in sequence is a Gobandate, five kinds of plays which can take all day to perform one after another. On special occasions like New Years, there's a special sixth elemental to start it all off on a spiritual high note.

*Special Occasions only!* Okina: Also called "Noh which is not Noh," this is like a ritualistic dance that is often associated with gods or other holy characters, sort of like a blessing over the whole event taking place on the stage that day

Waki-Noh: Kind of like an accompaniment to the implied shite character of the previous Okina, if there was one. Regardless, probably some focus on otherworldliness. Shura-Noh: Great tales of warriors, yay, always a safe bet for the stage

Katsura-Noh: Some story about a woman. Often a woman who is suffering, or in love. Or both! Women's stories in Noh are not limited to this category, as you can guess from below.

Zatsu-Noh: Kind of a catch-all category for stories that don't fit in other categories, a common theme is some kind of obsession or chaos.

Kiri-Noh: To finish with a bang, a play about a demon or other otherworldly thing.

In all of these, you'll find other structures of Noh story-telling, like the chanters telling you a lot of what's going on (like the narration in the early volumes of KnY, I felt!), or characters recounting their own story to a listener instead of acting it out in real time. That makes it perfectly plausible for a demon to get their head cut off, and then monologue about their sob story. This performance was formally structured as follows, at least in the first draft of the script, which saw a lot of changes by the time it hit the stage. It had to take a few liberties to fit around a story with a shite who acts like a waki, as well as presenting a Gobandate structure in the span of two hours. Okina: Hinokami (yes, perfect choice)

Waki-Noh: Sagiridoushi (the children of Sagiri, aka our favorite fox-mask wearing children)

Shura-Noh: Fujikasaneyama (Mt. Fujikasane)

Kyogen (Interlude 1): Katanakaji (Swordsmith)

Katsura-Noh: Shirayuki ("White Snow," the theme chosen for Nezuko's part, which I had so many feelings about)

Kyogen (Interlude 2): Kasugaigarasu (Kasugai Crows + Sparrow)

Zatsu-Noh: Kimi ga Tame (I'll explain the cleverness of this title later, but this was where Zenitsu & Inosuke, our favorite elements of chaos got to fit in)

Kiri-Noh: Rui

Or at least, that was the original idea. Some parts of the drafted script stayed pretty close, but other changed significantly based on run-time, overall flow of the production, and input from the director Ohtsuki Bunzou (a living National Treasure and the actor who played Rui), and from one of the lead actors, Nomura Mansai, who played Kibitsuji Muzan, whom I did not see coming.

I saw in the pamphlet that they were making an Okina themed around Hinokami Kagura and in my anticipation for being lulled into this experience with a holy dance entering from the hashigakari bridgeway, I was totally taken off-guard by Muzan, in full Michael Jackson style, strolling through the audience on his way to the stage, asking, "do I look sickly to you?"

HOLY FUDGE, THAT STARTLED ME

Mansai-san (referred to in this photo on the official Twitter as "Muzan-Mansai-sama" instead of just Mansai-san like in other interviews) has other drama experience besides Noh and was chosen to play Muzan from the get-go. Man, what a great Muzan he was. I don't know that I've become a Noh fan beyond having appreciation for it, but I have indeed become a Nomura Mansai fan. Anyway, this is all to set the stage (ha!) for more of my thoughts to come later, but I'll conclude this by saying that although they decided to break from stiff tradition to produce this play, they did so in the spirit of how centuries ago, plays would use content from popular literature like The Tale of Genji and The Tale of Heike to draw in crowds. Throughout the performer commentary, you can see them imploring Kimetsu no Yaiba fans to take this as a first step into appreciating Noh. There was a lot of care in making sure they did not become a copy of the KnY stage play musicals, for example, taking liberties with the costumes to make they recognizable but more Noh style than anime style.

The script writer, Kinoshita Yuuichi, set two important rules for himself: 1. Honor Gotouge's original work As such, he did a very close reading of the 23 volumes of manga and 2 fanbooks, but did not take other adaptations or outside materials into account (such as the anime or novels).

2. Make a true Noh production Although they needed to make a few departures from strict Noh style storytelling in order to fit Gotouge's story and characters, they used the elements of KnY to make something that honors Noh tradition and technique

Rather than just fangirling about the staging choices, a lot of my fangirling is going to be about Kinoshita's care with the script, and how beautifully he paid homage to famous works of Noh canon while also paying careful attention to emotional details and references throughout KnY. As someone who tries to express my love for canon while creating fanfics that are pleasing in the English language, the amount of care he took hit me deeply. Translation and adaptation is never exchanging one structure piece by piece into another. It takes a grasp for deeper meaning and beauty, both for the original work and what it is being transformed into. I shall humbly continue to try to convey my respect for that as I continue fangirling in Parts 2 and 3, my Scene-by-Scene reactions.

[gonna-miss-the-nemesis-roar]

My roller coaster nerdery has breached my dreams. It isn't uncommon for me to dream about theme parks I've been to. The other night I dreamt I was at Alton Towers, looking at Galactica from a distance but the track had a round spine. I thought, "That's not right, B&M rides have box tracks." I looked away and when I looked back it had a box track.

My subconscious is trying to gaslight me into thinking it didn't get the track wrong.

On an unrelated note, it was misty in the dream and watching the track weave in and out of the mist was really cool and I might try to recreate it in Blender or something. (With the correct track of course.)

[gravything]

this year’s NYE marathon I actually started a day early and ended a day late because it was: rewatch Andor and relisten to the A More Civilized Age episodes between. I had forgotten about the five-star runtimes (a joke—they said it!) that mean this is over 30 hours of podcast!

(30h36m, including the two episodes with Adam Serwer and Kirk Hamilton, which I absolutely recommend—the latter in particular because it has a not-on-the-tin discussion about logistics-storytelling and how aesthetics or commitment allow you to play with affordances in your storytelling, alongside the score/score-history nerdery that is on the tin)

I’d never listened to AMCA, but I had listened to some early season of Friends at the Table, and when I first finished Andor I knew nobody else who’d seen it and was talking about it, so finding some familiar voices who were so so excited about it was awesome. I did listen to the whole (existing—just the first 12 podcast episodes) archive in just a weekend. Then I started at the beginning of their archive (but no I am not watching Clone Wars along with them).

Revisiting it, and simulating real-time fandom by listening to the ‘cast between watching the show episodes, was super fun. I switched to watching the episode after listening to the discussion—I remember the show pretty well but wanted to think about their commentary and discussion when stuff came up, because they draw on and weave with a lot of different considerations.

A good example of the kind of commentary they give: something happens in the show that makes Austin reconsider his conception of force ghosts, and he mockingly launches into a recitation of a just-the-facts origin of the “force ghost tech origin story” and then goes “no. shut the fuck up.” and diverts into an enthusiastic explanation of them as a narrative symbol instead.

As well: a theme in their Clone Wars commentary is they tie it to the US political situation in which it was produced and how that may have affected the storytelling or how that meaning may have changed.

This is a rec for both Andor and the Andor episodes for AMCA. probably AMCA in general too if you’re interested in Clone Wars or in hearing the AMCA crew keep talking.

[wandaluvstacos]

THE ONLY SECONDS THAT MATTER

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE IS UP!

Genre: Contemporary Romance Rating: 18+

Includes: Extensive horse nerdery + cowboys, mxm romance (1 trans + 1 cis), some discussion child abuse, some instances of trans/homophobia (it is rural Oklahoma, y'all), depression, occasional sex scene (but it’s a slow burn for sure)

Victor Ortiz-Bennett had some reservations about moving to Oklahoma, but his late aunt willed him a 70-acre horse farm, and he decides to fulfill his dream of running and operating his own training facility. Victor’s been around the reining horse show circuit for a while, and he’s ready to settle down, travel less, and spend more time with the horses he loves and away from the people he can do without. That is, until he picks up a horse at an auction with a bucking problem he can’t fix, and he has to take her to the one guy who can ride anything– Johnny Stearns, a retired professional rodeo rider.

Johnny Stearns is loud, chatty, eccentric, and fears nothing, exactly Victor’s opposite. However, Victor finds himself sinking into an odd friendship with this new foul-mouthed cowboy without a filter, diving deeper into the mess that is Johnny’s life until there’s no way to extract himself from it. Johnny may talk a tough game, but there’s more to him than he’ll let most people see. Victor knows getting in too deep will mean a rough ride, but if there’s anything Johnny’s taught him, it’s how to stay in the saddle.

Excerpt:

    Johnny leaned his arms on the top rail of the pen and watched the mare in silence for a few moments before saying, “I think if anyone can train a buckin’ horse to do anythin’, it’s probably you.”

            “I think you could do it, too.”

            “Takes a lot of patience.”

            “I believe in you.” Victor curled an arm through Johnny’s, rubbing a thumb along the light hairs on the side of his hand. “I think it’s a perfect match—retired rodeo rider with retired rodeo horse.”

            “I don’t have the money to pay you for her right now.”

            “That’s fine. I’ll cover her expenses for the first few months of training. It was my decision to buy her. Maybe tomorrow you’ll decide you don’t want her. That’s fine. I’ll do what I can and just resell her.”

            Johnny looked down at Victor’s thumb on his skin before curling his hand around and weaving his fingers through Victor’s. “Can’t believe you bought me a fuckin’ horse.”

            Victor snorted and leaned his temple on Johnny’s bicep. “Happy two-month anniversary.”

            “Most people just buy flowers.”

            “Shouldn’t date someone like me if you want flowers instead of horses.”

            Johnny smiled and leaned down to rest his head forehead on Victor’s temple. Victor turned and tilted his head up to catch his mouth. Johnny hadn’t shaved in two days, so it made the kiss scratchy and got Victor’s terminally gay heart more excited than a simple kiss warranted. When the kiss ended, Victor reached up to cradle his jaw with a hand to keep him close. Johnny’s face was pinkened with mild sunburn and in this light the scars on his face were more evident than ever, but to Victor’s infatuation-addled brain, he was probably one of the most handsome men in the world. One horse was nothing. Victor would buy and train a thousand for this man.  

[notallsandmen]

Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process?  How do you come up with titles?

Before! I had only written poetry before the Sandman frenzy took me, so most of the time I will play with words until I find something that fits! When I’ve used song titles or lyrics for titles, I’ve tried to weave the general tone and rhythm of the song into the fic (this is just music nerdery on my part and not very deep)

Thank you ❤️

[madamemachikonew]

An actual thought I had when I was reading your fic, I think it was the first or second time you mentioned the painting, was “oh wow this is too smart for me, this is much smarter than I thought.” Not in a “oh this person is above my level and I am a mere fool, everything is stupid now” way, but in a “this has layers I’ve never even considered adding to my own writing” way. Like usually it’s a reference to songs or movies, not historical paintings or ancient mythology/history. I love how you integrate them into your story as both symbolism, character development, and overall just personal flair. You’ve also gotten my 101 reasons why I love your pants man so not gonna focus too much on him, rip king.

It was kinda weird at first because I was like “but genshin not real world” and then immediately kicked that thought out because this ain’t about that. I’m more used to like extra drama or action in my fics so it did take some time to get used to the slower, calmer pace of the fic, but it’s been worth it. I get really excited when I get the email you updated.

That is all :3

Thank you so much! Honestly, you and the other commenters on that fic are a significant part of why it is so much fun to write. I love hearing everyone's theories and interpretations and some angles or theories that I never even considered when I was writing it.

I confess that this fic has been unashamedly self-indulgent in terms of the sheer nerdery of the symbolism. I am also a lore nerd and am *that* bitch who will *absolutely* click on all the NPC dialogue and artifact lore and read it, so it's been super fun to weave all the Pants tidbits into one place. I do worry that I might alienate readers with it or that the references are too obscure or that people will find it boring (as much on account of the slowness of the slow burn as the nerding out). But so far at least, I think the real world/Teyvat crossover works Ok for this particular story..? 

There will be another painting - I haven't decided yet whether it will be in his Fontaine house or a new acquisition when he gets back to Liyue. But I'm going to keep its identity a secret for now. 

[sonderseeker]

Hi! So, this is an ADHDer's new sideblog thingie for keeping herself accountable and trying to get motivated towards change.

Basic things about me

🍰 Early 20s

🌼 Latam/caribbean

🍰 Adhd & Co.

🌼 She/her

🍰 May use he/they (bear with me)

Likes

🍰 Cute things

🌼 Fruits & yogurt

🍰 Cooking

🌼 Snacks & sweets

🍰 Tea & mugs

🌼 Arts & Crafts

🍰 Books

🌼 Writing & poetry

🍰 Deep media & conversations

🌼 Old Internet

🍰 Web weaving

🌼 Anime & nerdery

Dislikes

🍰 Lack of nuance

🌼 Ableism

🍰 Manipulative behavior

🌼 Executive dysfunction

🍰 Inconsiderate neighbors

🌼 Getting out of my own reach

Bear in mind!

I believe setting your mentality up for success is important, but this blog does not endorse 'manifest, watch a subliminal video, be irresponsible and wait for things to magically happen' discourse. We believe in hard work here!

The literal reason I'm setting this blog up is to try and keep a record / diary / motivate myself / be more disciplined.

I might reblog from people that do / mention manifesting stuff and even reblog a manifesting post once in a while, but that would be more in a "get in a good mindset" kind of mood, rather than the alternative. This is a curated space, ok? ok!

[mrdjnyc]

Website : https://www.mrdjnyc.com/

Address : New York City & New Jersey, United States

MR DJ (Matthew) is professional wedding & event DJ based in New Jersey and New York City.

As a DJ who prides himself on an encyclopedic music knowledge and passion for sonic craftsmanship, finding the perfect tracks to soundtrack a couple's lifelong love is a privilege I don't take lightly. When soulmates pledge their hearts in New York City, the peak of human achievement in art, food, fashion and beyond, selecting songs to score their journey from first kiss to first dance and beyond is a creative challenge to relish—and a responsibility to nail.

Experience is essential. My hard-drive holds tens of thousands of tracks, time-tested across countless NYC weddings and events to ignite instant dance floor ignition or craft subtle shifts in mood. Classic party-starters? Check. Lesson-proof slow jams for first dances or parent-child moments? Double check. Decades of hits from every genre and era to cross boundaries and delight demographics? You can take that to the wedding banquet bank.

No two weddings are alike; nor are any two brides and grooms (or brides and brides, or grooms and grooms!). As a "music nerd" DJ, I take joy celebrating each couple's unique love story through the songs that score it. Whether a couple bonds over a mutual love of hip hop's icons, 80s pop's finest, or salsa's classic kings and queens, I've got crates on crates to custom-craft their perfect sonic journey. And let's not forget taking the temperature of guests who might inspire an impromptu singalong or make song suggestions I can skillfully weave in.

Professionalism is my middle name (right after "Music"). I arrive on the scene early with a range of pro audio gear, backup equipment and wireless tech to roam the room as needed. And whether your vision is an understated soundtrack or all-night dance party to make headlines in society pages, my savvy can elevate or recede as the tone dictates. My music nerdery may run deep, but my mission is crafting your dream wedding, not showing off my musical erudition. The reward seeing you, your beloved and your guests revel in each magical song selection is the real joy in what I do.

If you're looking for a wedding DJ in NYC or NJ who can read the crowd and keep the party going, let's chat about your event!

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/mrdjnyc/

Tiktok : https://www.tiktok.com/@mrdjnj

Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEycK2VMbe87SpotYZuptaA

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[bomberqueen17]

inkle inkle

so okay you might be asking, B, you might ask, if you have an inkle loom why haven’t you done any inkle weaving on it, and you would be right to ask this, and the truth of the matter is that I just had always, always wanted to try card weaving and none of my attempts had ever amounted to anything if I had to come up with some way to manage all the shit myself, so the inkle loom was my shortcut to how to figure out how to do it.

But of course, I wanted to use my inkle loom as an inkle loom, as a great deal of attractive weaving can be done with that method, and I already own all the necessary equipment. (You make string heddles for the method to work, and i own string, so.) (I know! Stunning.)

But I couldn’t find any good simple directions that I could understand. That last bit is crucial. I have very little brain cell, see, and the bit where my brain interfaces with reality is badly-worn and slips a lot. I can’t just like. Read a thing and have it actually go into the part of my brain that understands how physical things work. Oh ho ho no! Not at all. And anyway you can’t find shit like that on the Internet anymore, everything is videos.

Let me tell you, video tutorials are horrible. The vast majority of videos I found were poorly-edited, with bad audio, not great camera angles, and crucially, minutes upon minutes of extraneous discussion of unimportant, irrelevant things. The manufacturers’ how-to videos were the clearest, but most of them didn’t really give me a good idea how this was actually supposed to go.

And the worst is that most of them don’t give you written patterns, the way I’m growing used to with tablets. I struggled to figure out what on earth the minimal lists of numbers meant. Sometimes they were graphed. I-- what? Well what do you do? How does this go?

It took me a while to finally puzzle out that, well. Nobody writes down any more because that’s literally it. For a basic band, literally all you do is follow the list of ends, and the top line is heddled and the bottom line is un-heddled, and you just do that until you’re done, and then you just weave it, there’s no further instructions. Pick-up is something else, which I shall puzzle out directly, but.

So here’s the one I made. It took me three hours to warp it, because I did the whole thing, 43 ends, and then realized I’d done 22 of them wrong, and had to redo them all because of course they have to be in order. But I wound the entire assemblage off-- it’s continuous, you tie the color changes together as you go-- onto a spare 120 film spool I had lying around because everyone has those-- left the heddles on as I wound it off, and that worked a treat-- and then wound it back on, and it worked perfectly so now I’m considering that maybe I could just wind warps like that when I’m in a good attention span place, and store them to wind back on when I’m not so coherent, so I could always have an inkle band ready to work on. And honestly I wouldn’t have to wind it on the loom, I could take measurements and do it with a yardstick, so that makes even more sense and may become a thing I do.

But anyway, I’ll start by giving you the pattern, and you can just guess what it’s gonna look like. I had no idea when I started it; the only clue is that it’s got a name. Photo behind the cut.

“CHECKS thru heddle: r r r r r p p p r r r p p p r r r p p p r r (22 ends) not thru heddle: r r p p p r r r p p p r r r p p p r r r r r (22 ends) heddles required = 22 total red ends (r) = 26 total purple ends (p) = 18″

In my case, R meant white and P meant maroon.

[image description: a close up of a bit of weaving, very narrow, on a pale-wood loom. The weaving is white with maroon checks in staggered rows of six. There is a visible flaw along the left selvedge halfway up where the weaver made a mistake, but otherwise it is quite regular.]

So that took me like.... mmm... I started weaving at like 8:15 pm and with very few breaks I finished at 10 pm, and wove not the longest weft path for this loom but not the shortest either. This is just crochet cotton; I still had a lot of white wound onto my belt shuttle from the Exhausting Tablet Weave With Skip-Holes that I didn’t do very well at but did finally finish, and I figured I’d just do something with white to use that up. Of course I used it up and still had more to go BUT i managed to wind only what I needed on for the last bit, which was really an achievement I think.

Anyway inkle weaving is really fukkin easy so I’m gonna do more of that. Like, it is so easy. It is not possible to-- well, it’s possible to make an error or two, as you can see above, but-- one of the videos I watched, the narrator was like “well so your first two inches are gonna look terrible so don’t worry”, but the Schacht-sponsored pamphlet I finally wound up using had the extremely sensible advice that you weave your first four or five passes with either sticks or thick waste thread (it suggested broom straws as a possibility), and then pick it out afterward to leave a fringe, because yeah, you need to weave everything into position, and it’s going to look like shit, so as part of your finishing you make it easy to unpick that. And your end will always have all this extra to be a long fringe; you can make the beginning match, and have a fringed belt. Yay!

[la-li-lu-le-lol]

If you could revamp the mgs franchise so that there were no plot holes or things that make no sense due to retcon, what top four things would you chaaaaaange?

I don't know about top four, but my biggest pet peeve is that Liquid wasn't actually possessing Ocelot. I wish he were, because then it would have been awesome, and that's all the justification I really need for that. Actually, let's go broader: I wish a lot of the more supernatural elements of the series were kept supernatural and not explained by technology. Some stuff such as psychic powers was def pointedly left un-explained and I appreciate that, but I wish it went a little further. More paranormal nerdery under the cut

I have a ton of headcanons about psychics in the world of Metal Gear in general. There are a lot of imo interesting and impactful ways in which psychic-ness could have been weaved into the lore so that it doesn't feel as much like a "I put this here to be weird and now I barely mention it" Kojima-ism.

Example: highly advanced codec technology that involves someone being able to telepathically communicate with others? That could have been developed using extensive research of psychic powers so it's like a technological mimicry. The Patriots could have recruited psychics and used their powers to aid them in spreading propaganda and influencing politics to bring the world into mgs4 and mgr times. Ocelot could have inherited some latent form of spiritual/psychic powers from his father which could have helped explain why he's so persuasive and why he's so good at 4D Chess.

Also like?!?! The existence of ghosts and spirits?!?!?!?! Why isnt that literally ever mentioned again after 3 and like a tiny part of V?!!? Fuck off lol, that's WAY too cool of a lore thing to leave completely untouched and I'm mad about it!!! Can you imagine the sheer value of ghosts and the information they can give in a game series about war and politics?

Also like, I love the idea of parasites but I also have a kinda crack-y headcanon about them where instead of being directly responsible for a host's powers, they place the host in a semi-dead state so that they have "one foot in the spiritual door" so to speak, and thus begin to have weird powers.

Idk maaaaaaan

[owldaughter]

I am weeping

Good Omens geeks meet the tartan nerds and they both hold hands with the fibre arts fandom

It’s one glorious Venn diagram and I am HERE FOR IT

I love everyone here.

(OMG PEOPLE THERE WAS ONLY ONE SHED)

(sorry that is totally a weaver geek pun and I really apologize BUT IT IS A VERY GOOD PUN CACKLE WITH ME WEAVERS)

A Discourse on Tartan

For those who don’t know, the various patterns of tartan actually hold special significance to Europeans. Different styles of tartan are used to indicate a person’s allegiance to a certain clan, family, or order. It is even illegal in some places to wear specific brands of tartan without permission from the person in charge of the group to which the pattern belongs.

This being said, Aziraphale wears a very specific style of tartan. It’s called “Heaven’s Dress Tartan,” and it was designed specifically for Michael Sheen to wear in the show.

The naming of this tartan, along with the fact that it is the only tartan we see him wear, would indicate that this pattern is actually the official tartan of heaven. But as we see when Aziraphale is handed his military uniform and told to go assume command of his platoon, (they wouldn’t be waiting for him unless he was their Sargent - fight me,) Heaven has its own official Tartan, and it’s not the one Aziraphale is wearing.

Furthermore, when Aziraphale is discorporated and winds up in Heaven, the Heaven’s Dress Tartan on his bow-tie is gone.

This leads me to conclude that, since Aziraphale is wearing a unique tartan that does not match heaven’s, our dear Principality made his own tartan. He didn’t see that pattern somewhere and think it was nice, and he doesn’t wear it to show his allegiance to Heaven. This is A.Z. Fell’s clan tartan. He designed it for himself to wear, as his symbol. If he had a family, it would be their family tartan. 

Now, a thing about clan tartans is you’re only really supposed to wear it if you’re a member of the clan; i.e., a member of the family. Which brings up an interesting point:

Twice in the show, Aziraphale gives Crowley the Heaven’s Dress Tartan. The first is when he gives him the holy water. (Isn’t it sweet, the vessel he uses is decorated to represent himself?) This could perhaps be dismissed under the theory that it was simply what Aziraphale had on hand - it could easily have been any other securely-shut cup. 

However, in the scene where Crowley and Aziraphale meet Anathema, Aziraphale miracles a tartan bike rack onto the Bentley (which I couldn’t find a picture of). Aziraphale is willingly giving Crowley his specific tartan. Now remember what I said about clan tartans only being worn by members of the clan?

Thesis: Aziraphale considers Crowley to be his family and has since at least the 60s.

[pog-through-the-suffering]

it occurs to me perhaps i should elaborate on “you think tommy is theseus? no, tubbo is theseus.”

i probably don’t have to because this is tumblr and the greek mythology nerdery came free with your xbox but... i want to :)

why you’re always stronger than a greek hero

they’re always doomed to fail :)

or: karo spends wayyy way way too much time thinking about greek mythology, parallels, and block men, because she’s a nerd.

the first part is easy to explain: techno’s saying this speech to tommy, but while tommy gets nominally/officially/physically exiled, tubbo gets emotionally exiled. and that’s maybe even a greater tragedy than tommy’s.

sure, tommy has to spend time away from war. boo hoo. he still has his brothers he can talk to, and his friends back in new l’manberg believe in his cause—the only reason it didn’t work out was because tubbo shut it down before it could massively fudge over new l’manberg.

but tubbo - tubbo has very few people. first, as his position as president, he is automatically a little detached/isolated from everybody else. second, because tommy (like wilbur) deftly manipulated the narrative so it seemed like he was completely reasonable in declaring war against a near-god over some fudging music discs and “dignity” was a good idea. and so people come to view tubbo as a traitor and the second coming of jschlatt.

who else can tubbo talk to? niki - but she might still take tommy’s side, what with her connection to ranboo. and everybody else trivializes him a little.

he is - if not a hero, at least justified and trying to do the best for new l’manberg. and what does he get? exiled, emotionally.

tommy is a classic greek hero plagued by hubris, no two ways about it. the whole time he was like “dream you have no power over me” i was just mumbling “wax wings, tommy, you’re on wax wings.”

because it has historically never been a good idea to challenge a god. arachne, one of the classic examples of hubris, challenged athena and was turned into a spider. if you read into the interpretation that dream lashed out over feeling helpless, then there’s a version of the arachne myth where athena turns her into a spider because arachne weaved a tapestry depicting all the faults of the gods. if you read into the interpretation that dream simply wanted to punish tommy for his hubris, athena does this in countless other interpretations.

which is why it bothered me that people wanted techno’s welcome to tommy to be “welcome home, theseus.” the aesthetic is wonderful, i admit, but tommy is not theseus, not the version techno projects at least. he is a greek hero born of hubris, he deserves to be laughed at and scorned. he is a cautionary tale embodied, but because he’s so good at appealing to the narrative and his main character syndrome, the audience views him as a theseus rather than an icarus.

on that note about the version of theseus techno projects-

you know... when techno did his whole speech about theseus being a hero but still being cast out, like of course i love the drama of it—never stop—but it occurs to me now that he’s misquoting (at least of what i understand) theseus’ story to be.

theseus (of what i remember, and also a quick wikipedia search) never gets exiled. his father is initially suspicious of him (because his father abandons him at first) but learns he’s theseus and accepts him with open arms. he never gets exiled, what??? on a meta level i’m pretty sure techno just changed it around for the drama (and if phil is to be believed, the improv might’ve just shut off his memory of the myth itself), but i choose to believe in the power of happy accidents and deeper meanings.

theseus never gets exiled: in fact, he’s celebrated as a hero. in fact in fact - theseus never really has some huge tragedy. sure - his father commits suicide after thinking his son died, he has a couple tragedies of family. but none of it is a real Greek Tragedy, you know? achilles has a Greek Tragedy because the love of his life dies (and is striken by grief, you’ve all read song of achilles), narcissus has a Greek Tragedy because he’s his own undoing, but theseus doesn’t get that.

which: makes me wonder whether it was intentional. techno, the character, makes theseus’ tragedy seem all the more important, all the more apparent, when in reality theseus didn’t really have anything to his name. is he, in a weird meta kind of way, creating a dialogue about how c!tommy really doesn’t have Tragedies?

his life is tragic for sure, but what c!tommy is focused on is the discs. something that ultimately doesn’t matter—and what people focus on is what ends up getting told in stories.

and despite the fact that theseus literally does scummy stuff like try to kidnap persephone (and in some interpretations try to force himself on her), but his heroics (his killing of the minotaur) overshadow everything else. so the scummy stuff tommy does—trying to coerce his friend into not punishing him, separating from the smp to sell drugs—all gets overshadowed by tommy’s crippling main character syndrome.

but i’m probably just reading too deeply into an improv-induced slip-up.

EDIT: an anon has informed me that theseus does in fact get exiled, but not for no reason - he gets exiled because he kidnapped women and started a war. i answered their ask... so if you want elaboration on my thoughts on that go read that one :)

[jackalgirl]

[ Image description: a length of decorative chainmail using stainless steel links, on a light grey-blue felt background.  It is constructed primarily using the Byzantine weave, with variation in the sizes of the links so that the chain overall has a thin-thick-thin pattern to its diameter. The center section of each segment is joined using larger links connected in a moebius pattern. The artist’s watermark is superimposed. End ID. ]

Progress on the Vicar Max Pocketwatch project.  Entirely too much chainmail nerdery follows under the cut.

I’ve been wanting to do a graduated Byzantine or Turkish Round chain for a while now (all weave hyperlinks go to the Maille Artisans International League’s website).  It’s tricky, though.

This is because specific weaves have something called an “ideal AR”.  If you’re not a chainmail person, AR stands for “Aspect Ratio”, and is the ratio between a jump ring’s inner diameter and the diameter of the wire (in other words, the gauge) it’s made out of.

It’s important because these weaves usually involve, well, weaving jump rings through other jump rings, and they need room to do so*: if the AR of the rings are working with are too small for the weave you’re doing, it means that the space inside the rings can’t accommodate the thickness of all of the other rings that need to go through them, and you won’t be able to close the rings properly.

* there are exceptions were certain rings are held “captive” by their surrounding rings without actually linking with any other ring, but the weaves I’m using here do not do that.

On the other hand, if the AR of the ring is too big, then certain weaves won’t hold together properly: their constituent rings will be too floppy.  This is the case with Byzantine, which incorporates a technique where you reverse, or flip, a pair of rings over the preceding two rings and then lock them in place (with another pair of rings).  You can see that in the picture above, where the rings kind of look like a little Pac-Man.**  Too big an AR and the flipped links will just un-flip themselves.

** Om nom nom

So if you’re going to have a chain where the chain itself gradually gets bigger, you have to watch out: if your bigger links are of the same gauge as what went before, eventually you’ll get to links that are too big, AR-wise, and you will end up with floppy link syndrome.

One way to solve this is to go with heavier (thicker) wire: the thicker wire compensates for the larger inner diameter, keeping the AR more or less constant.  And another is to resort to shenanigans.  

I’m doing this project out of 20 gauge*** with a base link size of 7/62″ (inner diameter), giving them an AR of 3.5, which is Byzantine’s ideal AR.  Each section of chain consists of three units of Byzantine (where a unit is two repeats of the Byzantine weave).  In the center unit of each section, I’m linking together the two repeats of Byzantine with larger rings that are woven together in the Moebius Ball weave****.

*** American Wire Gauge (AWG), as opposed to Standard Wire Gauge (SWG), and there’s a difference, Architect help me.

**** The central Moebius of each section is 20 gauge wire with 4.5mm ID, with an AR of 4.75.  But the AR of these links does not technically matter, since they aren’t flipped -- they’re lock links, holding things together.

Plan #1: my original intention was for the flipped rings on either side of that central link to be slightly larger, so that the section would gradually increase in size to the middle, and then decrease again.  And I’d originally done my AR calculations and figured that rings of 3mm ID would still keep me within a good enough AR to avoid floppy ring syndrome.  But upon actual visual comparison (since my brain does not map so well between the Imperial and Metric systems at all), there’s really not that much of a difference between 7/64″ and 3mm: the increase in the chain’s overall diameter would not really be all that apparent using 3mm ID rings.

My choice appeared to be either a good AR for the weave (but a graduation you can’t actually see) or a size that’s large enough for you to actually see that the chain is swelling...along with floppy link syndrome.

Plan #2: use 3.5mm ID links on either side of the central Moebius.  That’s not much larger than 3mm, right? I tried it, and had an instant problem: they’ve got an AR 4.4, resulting in floppy link syndrome.

Argh!  I don’t have heavier gauge links on hand!

Okay, time for shenanigans.

Plan #3: I wanted to use the 3.5mm links on either side of the center Moebius, because they look cool.  I went with using 3 links in the Moebius, so that it would lock them in on that side good & tight (also, 3 is a special number in my hc for the OSI).  On the other side, I decided to use 3 of the 3mm links to lock in the two “flipped” rows of 3.5mm links, then make one half of the “flip” out of 3mm links, then back down to 7/64″ links for the remainder.

It seemed to work! I am not 100% certain I like the three 3mm lock links in the chain, but they’re not completely isolated, given that the center Moebius also has three links. I also decided to link the sections together with three 22 gauge 7/64″ Moebius links, so there’s another repeat of three.  It’s still a pretty subtle increase, but I think it works well enough.  It’s okay.

Perhaps if I ever make another one of these, I’ll go with heavier gauge links on either side of each section’s center moebius and see how that looks.  But for now: onward!

[doomedandstoned]

Seven Records That Stirred The Pot in 2018

~By Jacob Mazlum~

Ten is such a passé number. Top ten album lists are for the sheeple. We nonconformists like to be individual and only make Top-X lists that aren’t divisible by five.

We like the number seven though, because it’s edgy and cool, just like us. So here are seven albums you probably didn’t hear in 2018, but they’re my favourites and they really do deserve your time -- if you enjoy staring into the all-consuming abyss. They do anyway.

Go listen...

Esoctrilihum

Pandaemorthium (Forbidden Formulas To Awaken The Blind Sovereigns Of Nothingness)

Pandaemorthium (Forbidden Formulas To Awaken The Blind Sovereigns Of Nothingness) by ESOCTRILIHUM

France does it again, with yet another one of its sons churning out yet another forward-thinking extreme metal masterpiece. Pandaemorthium (and the rest of that pointlessly long album title) is what metal needs -- something that manages to be simultaneously challenging, engrossing and strangely fun.

It uses death metal as the blueprint upon which it builds its twisted spires of warped black metal and dank sub-basements of doom. This moves and evolves in a way that makes other "blackened death metal" sound like a croaky Motorhead. Truly, it’s the delicacy with which the obtuseness and extremity is handled that is most impressive here.

This is a solo project, too. Yes, it’s all just one guy. I’m not sure if I, Voidhanger Records got lucky or if Esoctrilihum did in this arrangement, but they make a perfect match.

Uada

Cult of a Dying Sun

Cult of a Dying Sun by UADA

By the end of the first song on my first listen of Cult of a Dying Sun I realised why I loved it so much. It’s because it reminded me so much of Let The Devil In-era Sargeist, which is a quick way to get into my heart. The rest of the album may not have committed itself to this sound as much as expected, but by then I didn’t care; it already had me hooked.

Done wrong, this kind of black metal can sound bad, like really bad. The kind that makes you not want to take a chance on unfamiliar artists. But Uada execute their individual parts so competently that any doubts are banished. The sheer musicality of each passage is a joy to hear and it’s all executed with such damned sincerity.

It’s shamelessly melodic, with the clear production bringing out every note and embellishment with clarity. This stellar production even gives the album a thick woodland-sounding atmosphere that is probably responsible for the Cascadian touch of certain parts, almost making it sound like the vibrant younger sibling of Marrow of the Spirit.

But it’s not Agalloch, it’s not Sargeist. It’s Uada, and any fan of USBM should find something in here to love, even if it’s just for one spin. Go Portland!

Inexorum

Lore of the Lakes

Lore of the Lakes by Inexorum

What happens when you get a remarkable metal musician and a highly-lauded producer together to work on a frostbitten black metal project with an unwavering commitment to melody and high fidelity? You get Lore of the Lakes apparently, and despite it sporting the kind of title to make you think Amorphis-worship or power metal nerdery, the album is actually really impressive.

It’s the ex-solo project of Carl Skildum, live guitarist of Obsequiae (who I should note are one of my favourite metal bands in existence right now), and RIAA-certified gold producer Matt Kirkwold -- or at least that’s what Bandcamp tells me.

My ears simply tell me this is black metal of yesteryear played with modern sensibilities and a thoughtfulness that negates any concerns for trends or time periods. There’s a slight Windir vibe in Lore of the Lakes that is at once more chilled and more furious than the band’s seminal '90s work, and I can’t get enough of it.

Ignore the front cover, this is totally worth listening to.

Burial Invocation

Abiogenesis

Abiogenesis by Burial Invocation

Think of Turkey and death metal probably isn’t the first thing to come to mind. Spend enough time there though and you begin to understand how metal can find a natural home in that blood-stained gateway between Europe and Asia. There’s something in the spirit of the place, something that makes you imagine it being a potential hotbed of quality E-string pummeling just waiting to be created. (Anyone in doubt about Turkey’s pedigree in modern music should check out the history of Turkish disco.)

Well, as you might have guessed by now, Burial Invocation are a Turkish band whose brand of death metal impressed me so much that I don’t much feel like making any myself...ever.

In truth, I don’t know where to start with this record. It’s huge, it’s elaborately constructed, and it weaves between sections with a technical prowess that impresses with tastefulness rather than rote motor-function wizardry. This is 2018 death metal done near-perfectly.

Svartidauði

Revelations of the Red Sword

Revelations of the Red Sword by Svartidauði

The best Icelandic metal band ever to exist came back in 2018 with their first full-length since 2012’s Flesh Cathedral. The three interim releases could only muster a footnote quality due to their short lengths, and could never conjure the labyrinthine aura of winding lava-tunnel madness that only builds with an extended runtime.

Having visited Iceland this year, it became apparent that this is a nation that lives alongside the nature of the land, rather than simply building on top of it. Nature may have been partially tamed in certain urban areas, but never felt defeated as in most other developed countries.

With this in mind, the vibe of Svartidauði and their compatriots Misþyrming started to make more sense, and whilst the airy magic of the latter is impressive (enough to make them to be my favourite band of Brutal Assault this year) it is the earthy, subterranean texture of the former that truly grabs me.

The thick textures and muscular vocals are more Neurosis than Immortal, and they take this album outside the realms of the predictable. Yet it is the simple joy of treading ever deeper into Svartidauði’s dark and heated underworld that makes this journey so persistently rewarding.

Under

Stop Being Naïve

Stop Being Naive by Under

Considering I’ve spent the last five years devoting far too much of my time and resources to my doom band, it’s amazing how few bands in this area manage to move me anymore.

Doom is one of the great unexplored lands of metal, second maybe only to black metal in terms of potential (in fact, doom has far more potential than black metal ever did -- black metal just ran with it far better). It lets you explore atmosphere, texture, pacing and genre-melding in a way that would sound fundamentally incompatible with other subgenres. It has a spiritual element to it, a ritualistic quality, and this should make it the artistic breadbasket of the metal world.

This may not be the case, but thankfully there are bands out there that realise the potential doom holds. These bands build upon the fundamental tenets of doom to craft something new that isn’t neutered by convention. Under are one of these bands, and Stop Being Naïve is one such album.

I don’t even want to talk much about the album itself. There’s too much to say. There’s too much going on that’s worth discussing. This isn’t a review, it’s a synopsis, but a synopsis can’t capture anywhere near the breadth of what Under consistently achieve through the album’s runtime. I could throw out names like The Jesus Lizard, Mr. Bungle, Bauhaus, but that would only set unhealthy expectations.

The best way to experience Stop Being Naïve is simply to be a fan of sludgy doom and have a desire for something truly new. No, not just some new riffs, but for a new conceptualisation of what doom can be.

Truth be told, a whole lot of doom fans probably won’t like Stop Being Naïve, and that’s the highest praise I can give it.

Délétère

De Horae Leprae

Whilst this list is in no particular order, Délétère’s offering can confidently lay claim to my award for metal album of the year. One of the most noteworthy of the Québécois black metal hordes, Délétère have always been impressive with their past output but seem to have upped their game even further with De Horae Leprae.

Much like Uada, it is the sheer accessibility that makes De Horae Leprae so likeable. Melodies buzz with clarity and chord progressions fall with the dramatic weight of Maiden in their '80s prime. These are songs, like real songs. They have build-ups and crescendos and bridges and dynamics and the same emotional gravitas that makes even a band like Goatmoon so musically enjoyable despite their subject matter.

This never stops Délétère descending into spells of atonal BM madness when the occasion calls for it though. They may never plummet the aurally uncomfortable depths Deathspell Omega manage, but that’s not the reason you listen this Québécois stuff anyway. You listen to it for its majesty, for its dark tales of times long past, for its cross-Atlantic ice-tinged otherness. Délétère have created something with De Horae Leprae that few others ever have, and few others ever will.

[tallangrycockatiel]

WoT.2.11: In which the two main themes of this blog collide

Short chapter, this one. Two halves. First half: the Horn Hunt makes camp, and Ingtar gives Rand a package from Moiraine and tells him that she insisted that Rand be Ingtar’s second. The whole Hunt knows this! The package turns out to be Lews Therin’s dragon banner from the Green Man’s place, which is not a particularly great thing to have. Mat and Perrin catch him with it and he admits he can channel. This actually seems to go some way to repairing their relationship with him. Second half: Padan Fain! With the Horn and the dagger! Killed the Fade and is controlling the Trollocs! Oh shit!

I only have one specific point to make about the Rand half of this chapter. The banner is described as “all of one piece, neither woven, nor dyed, nor painted” with a gold and crimson dragon on it. Now. I am a textiles nerd and I am fairly sure Robert Jordan was not, but I have Questions here. If you’re gonna put a multi-coloured dragon on a banner and not weave it in or dye/paint it on, you’re gonna have to embroider and/or appliqué it. Appliqué would make it not “all of one piece”. So, embroidery. But then why not just say that? The way the banner is described seems to be intended to mean that Rand has no idea how it was made. Possibly also because it’s “all of one piece” but unreasonably huge. So all of this says to me that it was made using techniques Rand doesn’t know of. Either magic, or, as I have heard theorised, maybe this world was a lot more technologically advanced before the Breaking of the World.

Moving on from my textiles nerdery to the nerdery people actually read these blogs for.

Padan Fain aaa. Okay. He has gone off the deep end in a major way. The dagger seems to have allowed him to get out from under the Dark One’s influence and become his own agent – as far as he can tell. He has twenty Trollocs and a dozen Darkfriends, all terrified of him and ready to do whatever he says. The hamlet was apparently abandoned when they got there, but they took the people from the larger village with them, and now he lets the Trollocs eat them. He plans to meet and kill Rand at Toman Head, and enjoys the feeling that Rand is now chasing him rather than the other way round. Unclear if he has any real motives at this point except some kind of revenge? Is he still working for the Dark One, but believes he’s kind of promoted himself here? How much of “him” is now the dagger controlling him? I have no idea how any of this works. Padan Fain’s brain has just become a kind of Evil Influence Hotel at this point.

Finally: Uno claimed to see the same woman from the hamlet at the village too. Knowing now that the hamlet was already abandoned, uhhh, what the hell? My money is still on this being Lanfear, I think.

[onemorepagethenbed]

Rogue Fantasy: an anaysis and overview

So for my second term of high school (I do clonlara school, basically an online high school) I decided to give in to nerdery and do a summary on the Rogue Fantasy subgenre. I know, I know, it’s crazy. But here it is.

*Deep breath*

~Rogue fantasy~

Introduction and general overview

Fantasy is an incredibly rich genre, but since it's birth, it has grown enormously, new subgenres evolving seemingly endlessly. Fantasy as we know is fiction whith otherworldly, unnatural and/or magic elements incorporated to the story and world.

To name a few genres;

There's High Fantasy & Epic Fantasy – great stories that take place in entirely fictional universes, often letting the reader follow several protagonists' points of view.

There's Urban Fantasy, which is fantasy themes applied to an urban, often steampunk setting.

There's 'Grimdark' where the name almost speaks for itself, dark worlds filled with evil and disaster, where the morality of the characters are in most cases questionable.

I've recently been reading a lot of Rogue fantasy. Like the name suggests, it's subgenre about thieves and rogues, where the criminal aspects are key to the story.

However, I've had a hard time defining the genre. The books I've read during my work with this genre have all fit into different subgenres according to other readers, and because of that, I've been able to see connections between different subgenres.

For example, I read a series called the Gentlemen Bastards Sequence – a story of thieves and conmen in a world which is not entirely dissimilar from our own rennaisance world. Someone classified those books as Grimdark fantasy. I read another book, a classic, the Princess Bride, just to realize that this book is more of a 'Swashbuckler' fantasy novel. Swashbuckler fantasy is mainly about heroism in a world full of adventure, with swordfighting and pirates and whatnot. And then I realized that I could absolutely fit the Gentlemen Bastards books into the Swashbuckler genre as well as the Grimdark genre. And so on.

I think that this particular genre, although it's a very popular one – with thieves more or less dominating the Young Adult section of fantasy – is rather 'unclassified'. Or maybe that's the wrong word. Rather that the books can fit into several genres, which would make more sense.

For example, I could see the book 'The Princess Bride' as a rogue fantasy book because it shares the Swashbuckling action and adventure that many other 'rogue' fantasy books I've read have. I think it's very important to realize that when talking about different Fantasy genres, it's often a personal case of classifying it.

1: The Rogue

If I had to name one thing that makes Rogue fantasy Rogue fantasy – it would of course be the rogue herself. But there isn't just one rogue – there are different kinds. Especially in this genre, the types of rogues are many. I've made a list where I describe the different kinds of rogues I've found in fantasy fiction.

First off, the word 'Rogue' means 'An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal'.

This means that a rogue doesn't have to be a thief although most of us probably think of an assassin when we hear the word rogue (courtesy of World of Warcraft) but that's only one of the many things a rogue can be.

The different kinds of Rogues

The first thing that springs to mind when we think of Rogues is probably the Thief.

The Thief

There are many kinds of thieves just as there are many kinds of rogues, but a thief is always a person who steals, if not, they'd be called something else. The thief could be anything from a professional housebreaking burglar to a lowly orphan pickpocket to a corrupt politician working to fill his coffers on the work of others, But in the end, it's still a thief we talk about. The fantasy thief we get to follow is often an orphan, either working alone, a miserable soul alone in a dangerous adult world, or they could be a member of a gang, where the orphan works together with others. Often, these gangs have distinct hierarchies where the bigger, tougher orphans keep the younger ones at bay with violence and threats, with the younger ones doing the hard work just to have their stolen goods confiscated by the ones higher up in the ladder. But a Thief can also be adult, of course. Then we're looking at burglars and pickpockets who could either have grown up doing their job, or have become thieves as a result of for example poverty or bankrupcy. In the end, anyone could be a thief, if there are no other choices.

The Assassin

Another of the most well-known types of Rogues is the Assassin. Just like the case with thieves, there are numerous forms of Assassins; From the lowlife cutthroat waiting in the alley for someone to kill and rob to the professional hired killer that hunts down people in exchange for payment. The typical fantasy Assassin doesn't usually hold any personal grudge against her target – she simply kills because whoever paid her told her to. For this, the assassin has to be cynical and resistant to emotion. The idea of killing anyone – young or old, king or peasant – has to be acceptable for the ideal assassin. The Assassin is known to work alone. She rarely have friends or close contacts, maybe because she has a habit of not trusting anyone she's not threatening with a dagger. However, assassin guilds are not entirely uncommon in the world of organized crime. An important thing to remember is that not every assassin is a specialist trained to kill kings and politicians, quite the opposite actually. Being a professional assassin takes a lot of practise and a good pinch of skill, so simple cutthroats and stranglers are common in gangs, working along with burglars or other thieves to achieve a common goal: money.

The Bandit

A disclaimer: When I say bandit, I don't mean the same kind of criminal as the Thief. The bandit, to me, is a criminal with an adventurous spirit. Think Robin hood, or Captain Jack Sparrow, for example. The Bandit usually has slightly better morals than the thief or the assassin, but that doesn't mean they are kind members of society. Bandits steal and pillage too. But the bandit is in some occassions almost a folk hero. He steals from the rich and (sometimes) gives to the poor. There are many kinds of bandits. There's the forest bandit, working in gangs together, robbing kings and dukes and then withdrawing to the safety of the deep forest, there's the heroic but scumbag-ish pirate, who is the most 'evil' kind of bandit, there's the highwayman – an almost ghostlike bandit who appears out of thin air on the roadside to rob you of your belongings. There's the steampunk freebooter, much like a pirate, often a member of an often dysfunctional criminal gang dedicated to adventure and treasure-seeking.

To summarize the bandit;

Where the thief does it because she has no other choice, the Bandit does it just because she can.

The Trickster

This is a tricky one. See what I did there? No, but seriously, this is where the lines start to get blurry. From the corrupt aristocrat to the orphan street actor, the Trickster is a thief who swindles others. Also often called a conman, this is one of the more interesting types of thieves according to me because it involves so much play. The Trickster carefully plans his jobs, wether they involve the swindling of a wealthy aristocrat or a simple street con. The Trickster is often a richer kind of thief, who can afford costumes and disguises which he or she can use in their jobs. Example: The Gentlemen Bastards book series is about a gang of tricksters. The first book involves them playing a heist against a rich nobleman, seamlessly weaving a totally fake story to get his attention, and then, spinning the web even wider, they begin hauling off bags of money right in front of their eyes. The Trickster often enjoys his job. A personality trait common to many tricksters is good charisma. The Trickster can convince and bluff anyone with a little time and perhaps just a little bit of luck, wether it be that rich, influental lady down in the Ballroom or the paranoid duke in his well-guarded office.

The Bruiser

This is another kind of weird type of rogue because the Bruiser is often not just a bruiser. A Bruiser is a strong person who has experience with weapons and can handle themselves well in a fight. For example, the Bruiser might be a war veteran or ex-guardsman. The Bruiser is a teamplayer, definitely. She is very important in a gang of Rogues. A Bruiser can rough people up while the Thieves empty their treasury, or if something goes wrong in a job, one can always rely on the Bruiser to be there with either her fist, swords, or in Jean Tannen's case – his two hatchets. But as I said, the Bruiser must not be limited to just fighting and brawling, in many cases, a Bruiser is skilled in the arts of stealth and pickpocking as well

~The Rogue Character~

In Rogue fantasy, the main ”element” is the character, without doubt. What I mean with this is, in for example, Epic fantasy or High fantasy, the world is the focus. Worldbuilding is key. But Rogue Fantasy involves getting personal with the characters. Very personal.

The rogue is a lawless person, who steals money or valuable property from others for their own gain. The morals of a rogue are always a relevant topic in Rogue Fantasy. What separates a heroic ”steal from the rich – give to the poor”-bandit from a lowly murder? Both are criminals, right?

For a rogue fantasy story to be interesting and enjoyable to read, the rogue character has to have some human side that can be understood by the reader. This can and will of course vary from reader to reader. I've seen reviews of books with ”evil” characters where I really don't agree at all – and vice versa. It's a tricky thing to know who's going to enjoy the book and who's going to disagree with the mission of the main characters. Sometimes one can both enjoy the book and also disagree with the characters mission, as I said, it's a very personal thing.

Gender equality

This is also something that varies from author to author. But the Rogue fantasy books that I have read have actually surprised me. I would have loved to see even more female main/important characters but I will have to give this genre a pass on the gender equality test. Sexism was actually very sparse in the books I read, even Goldman's 'The Princess Bride' from the 1970's, which did include some sexism, but that was in the 70's and from what I've seen and read, Rogue fantasy and Fantasy in general has more or less grown past sexism. But again, this varies. Not all authors are the same of have the same views on society, but I'm very happy to see that the authors I picked for this analysis haven't dissapointed me.

The Female Rogue

I'm only doing this paragraph because even though the sexism I found while reading was sparse, it existed. I'm writing this to sum up all the positive depictions of female rogues I got while reading.

The female rogue is every bit as skilled as the male one. There is no difference between the sexes. I've met tall, brutal killers and short sneaky assassins among the women in Rogue Fantasy stories. Just like their male counterparts. Badass female rogues are very common in todays Rogue Fantasy, which I think is epic.

One of the main characters in Scott Lynch's 'Republic of Thieves' is Sabetha Belacoros, a total criminal expert and con artist mastermind.

In 'Red Seas over Red Skies', in the same book series, we meet the ruthless and widely feared pirate Drakasha, ruler of the Sea of Brass, and her swashbuckling sidekick Ezri.

In Brandon Sanderson's 'The Final Empire' (Mistborn series), there's Vin, the assassin/crook who uses ancient metallurgic magic to gain superhuman powers as she helps ignite the flames of revolution in an autocratic country.

In 'Retribution Falls' by Chris Wooding, we meet all sorts of steampunk pirate women. There's the navigator Jez who is hiding a secret which has kept her running across the country for many many years. Most notable character in this entire book: Trinicka Dracken. Bounty hunter. Captain of a huge airship. Cold-blooded traitor and killer. Former lover of the main character. A great character!

Another character, this one from a non-Rogue Fantasy novel is the debt collector Devi from The Name of the Wind. She's definitely malicious and tricky enough to earn an honorable mention in this list.

2: The Goal

Crooks want money. That's common knowledge. Often, the goal of the Rogues in a story is a pile of gold, but like most fantasy heroes through ages of epic stories, many Rogues seek adventure. This is especially seen in Swashbuckler fantasy, closely related to Rogue fantasy.

But that adventure is often achieved on the road to that big pile of gold.

Most thieves become thieves because of two reasons: 1), They have no choice, or 2), they have a great greed for wealth and power, and achieving it the lawful way is too hard and takes too much time. To complete this goal of wealth and/or power (the two often come together), some things are essential. Brains are the number one components in the plan, second come nimble fingers for picking locks and cutting purses, muscles for breaking open doors and immobilizing guards and also, very important, cunning. The rogue must be able to think quickly, and act quicker. She needs to be able to make important decisions quickly and under pressure if the situation comes to that.

That's why it's important to the rogue to either be all of this things herself if she works alone, or assemble a trustworthy and qualified gang where everyone is assigned their role. Both work. Both have their pros and cons.

Back to the goal.

In many rogue fantasy books, the goal is achieved and the rogues live happily ever after (until someone catches them and they meet a swift end at the edge of an axe or a not so swift one at the end of a noose) but sometimes that goal can be quite nasty to reach. It may take a few books (or seven, as Scott Lynch allegedly plans for his Gentlemen Bastards) but at least in most completed Rogue Fantasy book that I have read, the main characters reach their goal and all is well. It takes a lot to write a story where the main characters fail their goal and still have readers praising the book.

3: The World

Just because I stated above that Rogue fantasy is built on character development doesn't mean that the world is less important. For the story to be interesting and believable, the world has to be as well.

Rogue fantasy is incredibly adaptive. It can take place in an urban setting. It can be set in High Fantasy worlds like for example ”The Way of Shadows” by Brent Weeks. It can be set in a world historically similar to ours, like in ”The Lies of Locke Lamora” by Scott Lynch, where the world is similar to our own Rennaisance Venice.

I like to think that while High Fantasy worlds are vast and with many different countries and provinces, Rogue fantasy worlds are often smaller and more focused on a few places, usually. Of course, there are exceptions but the Rogue fantasy books that have really stood out to me and been the most enjoyable have been that way.

The rogue fantasy world is often somewhat evil. I don't know if that's the right word, but it certainly often has a dark undertone. I think it is there to amplify the dark theme of Rogues and crime, and Victorian Steampunk is a classic theme for these stories.

For example, not that the Sherlock Holmes stories are thief stories – it's the other way around, but they're criminal stories set in a kind of dark Victorian england. That kind of world is perfect for rogue fantasy, as seen in the video game Dishonored, where one plays an assassin in a huge steampunk city.

But as I said, High Fantasy worlds suit Rogue Fantasy perfectly. This is seen in Swashbuckler fantasy stories for example, like ”The Princess Bride” and even sometimes, although the world is darker and grimier, in Brandon Sanderson's ”The Final Empire”.

The world plays a great role in Rogue Fantasy. The character is the main element, while in High Fantasy, the worldbuilding is key, more often than not. But for the story to be alive and functioning, emulating a living society where the Rogues do their play, the world has to be seamless. Who lives in that huge city where the thieves roam at night? Who's that baker and what's he hiding in his basement? That rich aristocrat in the fancier neighbourhood, I heard he's got a stash of gems that could easily be lifted with a little tricking. People play huge roles in fantasy stories. Where they would usually be more ”good” in stories like ”The Hobbit”, they might be more cynical, ”evil” or otherwise wicked in some way. This is especially seen in the High Fantasy series ”A world of Ice and Fire”. That kind of world, like in Martin's novels, fit Rogue Fantasy extremely well.

A hostile world is a perfect environment for Rogues.

The world has to be functioning like our own in order to achieve as good a story as possible. I'm not saying everyone has to do that, I've read stories where the world isn't really that well-crafted and unique but the story hasn't suffered from it at all.

Other than those few points like darker undertone and ”strange” people, a Rogue Fantasy world could be just like any other fantasy world.

Summary: Rogues are awesome and Rogue fantasy is the best thing for rainy days, best enjoyed with chocolate and a cup of tea. (based on personal experience)